Frolicking Fool

Yesterday evening I had come across a rocky outcrop with a nice view and decided that was the perfect place for dinner. By the time I was finished with my meal the sun was setting. I still had about 4 miles to go to the shelter I planned on staying at. With a full stomach I knew I would be moving slow. About half way there it became too dark to see so I put on my headlamp. The white beam of light eliminates any night vision and severely limits your peripheral vision so your visual field is confined to a circle on the ground in front of you. This is great for seeing rocks or roots you might have tripped over but prevents you from seeing outside of the circle. I had fallen into the altered headspace night hiking seems to create when I heard crashing in the bushes off to the side of the trail. There are lots of animals in the woods but this sounded big. I shined my light in the direction of the sound and saw two eyes looking back at me. Forward facing eyes glowing yellow from my light. That’s not a deer I thought. The eyes rose as the bear stood up to look at who was so rudely shining a light in its eyes. Nope definitely not a deer. Before I had the chance to call out to the bear it turned around and took off running into the woods. I let out a sigh of relief. Fully alert and a little more awake I made it to Niday Shelter. It was late so I opted to set up my tent instead of waking up the hikers in the shelter. 

In the morning I could feel the sun shining on my tent as I opened my eyes. I had slept in. I lay there for a minute wanting to fall back asleep but the sun had other plans as it turned my tent into an oven. Before I started sweating, I crawled out of my tent and saw a familiar face sitting at the picnic table in front of the shelter. Geo, who I had met hiking the Ocean to Lake Trail in Florida, waved good morning. We caught up over breakfast. She asked me if I had seen a bear on the way in last night because she thought she heard one around the shelter. I told her about my encounter. The bear must have run toward the shelter after I saw it. 

Geo told me that she had planned to hike a marathon from where we were now, Niday Shelter (mile 688.1), to McAfee knob (mile 714.5) but something had come up and changed her plans. At 26.4 miles it happened to be almost exactly a marathon. Looking at the time, it was already 9 am. It would be my longest day on trail so far and would cause another late night but it sounded so appealing. Adding in the possibility of sunset on top of McAfee knob I couldn’t let it go. I think I’m going to try it I said. Geo wished me luck.
Happy Trails. Off I go. 

Around 10:45 am, I arrived at the Audie Murphy Monument (mile 693.2). An excerpt from the monument reads:“Born in Kingston, Texas. Died near this site in an airplane crash. America’s most decorated veteran of WWII. He served in the European theatre 15th infantry regiment 3rd Infantry division and earned 24 decorations including the medal of honor, legion of merit, distinguished service cross and three purple hearts.” If you are unfamiliar with Audie Murphy he is worth looking up. Saying he did a lot of hard things is an understatement. A moment of reflection gave me motivation to continue my mission for the day even though it seemed a little silly in front of a monument like this. I was 5.4 miles in with 21 miles to go. Even at my current pace it would take at least 7 hours to get to McAfee Knob. Luckily it was June 18 so the days were long. But I knew I would stop along the way and inevitably would slow down at some point. A 21 mile day would normally be a full day of hiking for me. At this point I thought maybe I could still make it for sunset.

Around 2:45pm I came across an assembly of sticks on the ground in the shape of the number 700. I had walked 700 miles from that first day on trail. I thought about how it felt when we hit that first 100 mile mark. It had felt so big in the moment, it was the furthest I had walked on a single backpacking trip. Then the miles seemed to come faster and faster until I hit 500 and that was a big moment. Now 100 miles didn’t feel as big. It was an average week or less. But 700 felt big again because it was almost 1/3 of the way to Mt. Katahdin. The first third of the journey had been amazing, more than I could have hoped for. What would the next third feel like? What would the end feel like? These thoughts drifted through my mind as I continued up the trail. Feeling one of those boosts of energy that the mind can provide from something as random as sticks on the ground. The human brain is a funny but powerful thing. 

Around 4:30pm I came to a side trail that led to Dragon’s Tooth (mile 702.4). I was 14.3 miles in and still had 12.1 miles to go but there was no way I was going to pass it up. The “Virginia Triple Crown” is Dragon’s Tooth, McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs, three iconic spots on the AT. I dropped my pack at the base of Dragon’s Tooth and took a seat to eat a snack and admire this geological formation. A hiker that was set up in a hammock came over and we started talking. He was just out for the day and I was out for months but we were there for the same reason. He told me I should climb up onto Dragon’s Tooth because it was a good view. There were some metal rods anchored into the side as a ladder. We scrambled up a ways and took in the view. Whether it’s a day, a weekend, a section or a thru hike they all provide opportunities to appreciate the planet we live on and be grateful for our experience on it. After telling this hiker about my goal for the day I realized I needed to get moving again. I left there thinking about how the outdoors bring people together. Even if it is just small moments or conversations there is a connection. A childlike wonder. 
Look at this cool rock! 
Wanna climb on top of it? 
Hell yeah I do!

A few miles up the trail I came to a road crossing for VA Route 624/Newport Rd. About 1/3 mile down this road was a store called Catawba Grocery. I had heard about a delicious burger they served there. Word about food passes quickly on the trail. This would add extra miles and time to my day but I could not pass up the idea of a hot meal and extra calories. I realized even if I skipped this detour it was unlikely I would make it to McAfee knob for sunset. So I chose food and committed to night hiking afterwards. There was no need to be in a rush. I was fully in the grips of hiker hunger by this point on the trail and my stomach was making a lot of decisions for me. At Catawba Grocery I ate a huge cheeseburger. Then I ate an ice cream. Then I ate a slice of pizza. Then I waddled up the road and back to the trail. At the trailhead my stomach demanded a stop. I sat there on a stump for a while. Why did I eat so much when I still had so far to go? I was 16.8 miles in and had 9.6 miles to go. I thought maybe this was the end, I could just camp somewhere near here. I looked at the map and saw the next shelter was 6.9 miles ahead. That was still a couple hours of hiking. There would probably be a place to set up my tent before then, I reasoned with my self. After my stomach settled a bit I lifted my pack and slowly hiked up the trail with the feeling that I had accidentally sabotaged my attempt at this goal. 

Around 8:15pm, I took a picture of the trail crossing through a pasture in the evening sunlight and realized I was feeling better. I thought about how lucky I was to be there in that moment and felt a slight surge of energy. 

Around 9pm I came to a road crossing with a parking lot. This was where most people start their hike up to McAfee Knob. This was where I committed to my final push. I put on my headlamp and knew I was going to get to the top of McAfee Knob tonight no matter how slow I walked or how long it took. I figured I would camp at the top somewhere and catch sunrise in the morning. This seemed like a fair trade off for the sunset I had missed and a good reward for my first marathon. I was 22.7 miles in for the day with 3.7 miles and 1,463 ft of elevation gain to go. It was time for the big climb as day faded into night. I passed two shelters along the way. Both times I saw several tents around the shelter which meant the shelters were most likely full. This was a blessing because it further pushed the thought of quitting from my mind. As I climbed, my paced slowed more and more. I was getting tired, physically and mentally. Thoughts of the day went through my mind. It had been one of those days where so much happens. I couldn’t see much past the circle of my headlamp beam but I could hear the change in the wind. It wasn’t passing through the thick lattice of trees in the forest. It was blowing easily through the ones at the top. I was almost there. 

Emerging onto the top of McAfee knob the cool wind blew across my sweaty face and I felt relieved. I dropped my pack and sat down. Breathing heavy, sweating profusely and smiling. As I cooled off, I realized how consistent the wind was. I had been so focused on my goal I only had a vague idea of where I would camp that night. My plan was to cowboy camp, sleeping in the open under the stars, so I could wake up to the sunrise. It was sinking in how much of a factor the wind was going to be. I was so tired I knew I needed to start finding a place to set up. I was not going to go back the way I came because there hadn’t be a viable camping spot. I don’t like backtracking so I didn’t want to move on only to hike back this way for sunrise in a few hours. After running through my options I decided to make the best of sleeping in the wind on top of McAfee knob. I walked back and forth searching for any cover from the wind. The best I could find was a crack in the rocks that created a space just big enough for me to lay down where I hoped I could get some protection from the wind. I shined my light in the crack and saw spiders and centipedes scurrying around. Had this not been the only spot with the slightest cover I would have quickly moved on. Instead I stood there and observed my new roommates. There was nothing harmful, just some creepy crawlies minding their business. I gently brushed them away from where I wanted to sleep, knowing they could easily come back, before laying down my ground sheet. The wind made it very difficult to put this piece of Tyvek down. I sat on the groundsheet as it flapped in the wind and inflated my sleeping pad. Light headed from blowing up the pad I quickly stood up holding the Tyvek down with one hand and positioning the sleeping pad on top with the other before sitting on top of the pad to hold it all down. After some repositioning, I was satisfied with my location and pulled out my quilt. I tucked the edges of the quilt under my legs and body to hold it down as best I could. Then I inflated my pillow and laid down to hold it with my head. Looking up at the stars, I felt the relief of finally being able to rest. I could feel the wind on my face but I was warm in my quilt. As long as I could keep my quilt over me I should be good. 
But what if it rains I thought. 
It won’t rain I assured myself.
I mean it didn’t look like rain and there wasn’t any in the forecast. 
But this is the AT, rain is a constant possibility out here. 
It won’t rain I reassured myself again before putting that thought out of my mind. 

As I lay there a gust of wind came and blew sand into my face and I realized this would be a long night. I put on my beanie, pulled it down over my eyes, and pulled my quilt up over my mouth so only my nose was exposed. I must have dozed off because I was woken up to my quilt being blown off my upper body by another strong gust. Shivering, I quickly repositioned everything while trying not to let my pillow blow away in the wind. Once back in my warm cocoon, I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous this was. But I was so tired that at this point there was no way I was going to pack up and hike. Plus I didn’t know what time it was and sunrise couldn’t be that far away. If I left to set up camp elsewhere I would definitely not wake up in time to see the sunrise on top. I decided that even if I just lay there warm it would be good enough to get to morning. Luckily, I was able to fall asleep. I drifted off for a while before being woken up to the sound of footsteps quickly approaching. By the time I realized it was just trail runners out for a very early run, they were already basically on top of me. I saw the beams of their headlamps sweep over me and heard a brief murmur and they passed by. Not sure if they saw me or not, I was just glad they didn’t step on me. At this point I was so tired I fell asleep easily. 

It felt like a minute later I woke up to a soft sound some where behind me. Pulling my beanie back just enough to peak under it, I saw the morning light starting to fill the sky. The wind had subsided a little but now the sky was cloudy. As I lay there for a few more minutes I realized the sound that I heard was laughter and it was very close to me. I slowly sat up making sure to keep my pillow from flying away and staying wrapped in my quilt for the moment. Looking over my shoulder I saw two faces looking back at me. It was just light enough to make out their smiles, as they tried not to laugh at this homeless guy looking back at them. I said good morning with a smile and the slight tension broke. Did you sleep up here they asked? I tried to I replied with a laugh. They laughed and asked why. I told them I was thru hiking the AT and they seemed to understand. We talked as I sat there and made my coffee. They asked about my thru hike experience and we watched the sun come up. The rising sun illuminated the area and revealed all the others who had made their way to the top for sunrise. Again I felt the connection of community that these outdoor places provide. It was a good morning, talking to people and enjoying the sunrise. My adventure had paid off. I hiked down from McAfee knob with another thru hiker who told me of his plan to hike 20 miles a day for the next 20 days. I was too tired to consider something like this at the moment but I respected the challenge he had created for himself. But my next goal was to get to town and rest. There was plenty of time for more adventures. 

June 18, 2021
26.4 miles
Total ascent: 6,768 ft.
Total descent: 5,582 ft.
Total elevation change: 12,350 ft.