Wilson Creek Shelter 1452.8 to BeeCh Hill B&B/hostel 1463 (10.2 miles, 1463 total miles)
I slept great in the shelter last night, but it turned out that Shrek hadn’t with Moose waking her up every 20 minutes or so. He would cuddle with her on her sleeping pad, then push her off so she woke up on the hard shelter floor and had to try to fall back asleep after that.
I’d had my unfortunate nights of sleep on trail for sure, and felt bad her first night back on trail hadn’t been a great one. On top of that, she was feeling quite sore after jumping into an 18.5 mile day out of nowhere.
We were supposed to hike 21 miles today, but I wasn’t married to that plan. Additionally, I didn’t want to get too far ahead of Iroh and his wife, Sydney, because I knew we were supposed to be meeting up in the not too distant future.
We settled on a tentsite at a creek just outside of Daleville, but Ben soon arrived at the shelter. After his couple days off in Buena Vista he’d been booking miles and was already 8 into his day while we were still hanging out.
He told us he was going to BeeCh Hill for the night, which I’d actually thought was closed for some reason, but probably had gotten mixed up with another place that was done for the season.
It was only $25 for a bunk there, including breakfast, so I was very intrigued, and thought it could be a good opportunity for Shrek to get a needed night of rest. I texted Beth at the hostel to make sure they were dog friendly, as that was a consideration we had to take into account now.
Ben left after a bit, and a section hiker showed up around the same time. He chatted with us for a few minutes, and said he’d been section hiking the AT for 20 years. After the spot he was working on now, he’d have the Connecticut border north to complete.
Moose seemed to have accepted me as part of his pack, and was rather loud toward the newcomers this morning. He’d been full of energy, seemingly still unfazed by the mileage of yesterday, ready to play fetch and run around. He was only two years old, after all, and still full of potent puppy energy.
Shrek and I headed out around 10:45, into another beautiful day of weather. She couldn’t have picked a better time to get back on trail, save for the acorns that still seemed determined to chase us down.
After just half a mile, we stopped at Wilson Creek to collect water. I had a liter still, but Shrek had to carry for both her and Moose, who drank a lot. It was going to be in the 80s today, so we needed plenty.
Moose lapped drinks from the flowing source, while Shrek and I played fetch with him between alternating me eating snacks and her filtering water.
We continued on a decline, hiked over a small hill, then ended up at Curry Creek, almost 3 miles into our day. We were both sweating heavily from the small climb due to the hot temperature and high humidity.
Wondering if I should have worn my short sleeve hiking shirt today, I proceeded to drink a bottle of water mixed with 4C Energy Rush and propel, washing that down with a few fun size Snickers bars and my last, squished package of Nutty Buddies that I’d been carrying since Waynesboro.
Ben was at the creek when we arrived, and left a few minutes later, as we thanked him for getting the cobwebs for us, which were apparently quite intense this morning.
The section hiker passed by as well while we were stopped, and Moose was still feeling protective of us. Fueled by taurine and sugar, when we headed out I felt strong going up the steep, 1.3 mile climb, music playing in my ears for the occasion.
Moose wanted to lead the charge, but we had him hike between Shrek and I, his leash at the ready for when we saw other hikers. At the top of the climb, I saw the section hiker taking a break, and stopped to chat for a few minutes.
His name was Coyote, and he had been hiking through Pennsylvania area when Shrek and I had been out there, though I didn’t specifically remember meeting him then.
Finally, Moose was much calmer when he saw Coyote, and after several minutes we continued on a nice mile and a half descent down the ridge, enjoying the easier terrain.
As we climbed up another mile to Fullhardt Knob Shelter (another classic name), I was aware of being very hungry and thirsty, but didn’t want to stop until the top.
Shrek had the same idea, and we made our way .1 down a blue blaze to the shelter, where we hung for quite a while taking a nice break. We had no rush to get into town, and I enjoyed reading the logbook, telling her the familiar names I was coming across that we both knew from NOBO days.
After an hour or so, we continued on for a 4 mile descent to town. I continued Goblet of Fire as I hiked, using my trekking poles to try to protect my knees from the downhill.
After a couple miles, I was starving again, intensely anticipating the BBQ joint in town I’d been to a couple times before and loved, even having become friends with one of the staff members there in 2015.
We crossed a very busy road that I recognized would lead us into Troutville if we walked down it, then somehow encountered our toughest climb of the day not far after.
We were in a sunny, exposed swath cut into a pasture, and the intense heat mixed with the steep grade made for a sweaty, panting, 1,000 foot per mile climb of only .1 to the top of the hill.
I busted up it, knowing the only way over was through, Moose hot on my heels, showing off his four legged advantage. When I stopped at the crest to a beautiful view of a meadow full of yellow flowers and mountain ridges in the distance, I saw Shrek looked just as winded as I was.
I downed the rest of my water, while she gave Moose her remainder. I knew it made no sense to catch our breath in the sweltering sun, but I’d used everything I had on an empty stomach to make it to the top.
We descended back down into the mercifully protected forest, another .8 to go to the hostel. We crossed and walked along Interstate 81, just after encountering the sign telling me I’d made it 2/3 of the way over the entire Appalachian Trail.
Shrek said she vividly remembered sitting at that sign for a long time with a few members of the Cult. I was enjoying being here for her second AT experience, knowing only too well what it was like to be hit with those memories while rehiking parts of the trail.
I also thought it was cool she was getting a taste of SOBO life, and validating how different it was. I’d almost grown used to empty shelters, not seeing more than a couple other hikers on trail all day, and the early nights and late mornings that come with fall. It was interesting to see it from her perspective, almost as a refresh.
After crossing the interstate, I saw we could continue down the road to the hostel. There was no blue blaze marked in the guide, but I dug into the comments for the hostel and found out there was a side trail we could take that was much less sketchy.
We walked along another exposed and grassy area until we hit a water cache, a fantastic advertisement for a hostel if I ever saw one, turned right, and headed down a short side path.
Ducking under a gate, we saw the large Victorian across the road, and Ben walking down the drive to greet us, freshly showered and in town clothes.
Yeeha, a nice older gentleman, greeted us, giving us the rundown of the place. Moose finally seemed to have been tired out by all the hiking, and Shrek and I were both glad we’d done a shorter day for his benefit as well.
The property of Beech Hill was beautiful, with a bevy of cherry tomato plants that had fat, red fruit hanging off them, gorgeous, bright colored zinnias, chickens roaming around, and two bunkhouses on premises.
I ran upstairs in the house to take a shower, admiring the zen and eclectic decor, washing off the grime of the day, and checking out my bright red lower back chafing from my pack in the bathroom mirror.
Shrek showered after me, and I hung up my dirty clothes to dry in the sun and made our beds in the bunkhouse we had to ourselves while Ben was nice enough to watch Moose for me.
We all hung out for a bit, Ben and I devastated when we found out Three Lil’ Pigs just so happened to be closed on Wednesdays. I had thought to myself earlier that nothing was closed on a Wednesday, having had far too many experiences of hitting places on the wrong day through this hike.
Shrek assured me that after we hit Four Pines in a couple days and we got back to her car, she’d drive me around to wherever, including back to the barbecue joint so I could visit another place I’d been thinking about since the start of this hike.
My blood sugar was so low I almost cried at the news and thanked Shrek for her kindness, truly grateful for her presence in general for this part of my hike. It was hard to believe she was really here hiking with me again on such a beautiful section of trail.
We all decided to go to the Mexican place instead and when Beth arrived, the other hostel owner, we piled into her Ford sedan to town shortly before 5PM, our only thought to get food.
We did stop at the outfitter first, because I was finally going to buy a new water filter, then went to Kroger for resupply food. I only needed a couple days to Four Pines, and we sat outside the store for several minutes waiting for Beth, anxious to relieve our lightheadedness and low blood sugar.
Finally, we were at Pancho, ordering a round of margaritas and meals, devouring the first round of chips and salsa like rabid animals. It was a lovely time, and I was thoroughly enjoying sitting with a current SOBO and a completed NOBO, me in the middle, the combination of two very different, but inherently similar, worlds.
After dinner, stuffed to the brim, we hit the gas station for snacks then waited back at the restaurant for Beth. At the hostel, a couple other men had joined Ben’s bunkhouse, and we all sat near the porch in the growing darkness, talking amongst ourselves, playing more fetch with Moose.
The bunkhouse was nice and cool by the time Shrek and I turned in, the heat of the day forgotten in favor of serene night air, cicadas harmonizing outside the doors, stink bugs crawling around the screens.
Tomorrow we would hike into the Southern Virginia portion of the map, and set ourselves up for a sunrise hike to McAfee Knob, one of the most photographed and well known spots on the Appalachian Trail.
Ben was going to hike ahead, but I couldn’t be happier I had Shrek and Moose to enjoy this very special place with. I felt like the luckiest version of myself possible, as the trail just kept giving me more gifts the longer I hiked it.