Edge of Town 1724.1 to Abingdon Gap Shelter 1733.8 (9.7 miles, 1733.8 total miles)
Friday was a lovely day to round out my quadruple zero, as Iroh and Jake made the trip to spend the day in Damascus and hang out with me, which was a real treat. They brought Quasar, of course, who was very happy to make a couple new friends in Charlie and Roxy, one of Bojangles’ friend’s dogs.
Although Bojangles told me I didn’t have to, I wanted to help out, so I cleaned the kitchen while waiting for the others to arrive. After we all met up, Jake and Iroh started a fire in the pit out back, and we played croquet and mumbley-peg, which was a new one to me. Bard arrived to set up his tent in the yard and leave his things before heading over to work at 7 Trails Grill.
Afterward, we walked over to Laurel Creek Park to get Jake’s car, spending some time laying in the grass meditating and reading. It was a gorgeous day, 70 and sunny. When we drove back to the house, we met Artemis Gordon, a former AT hiker and Roxy’s dad, and hung out with him for a while at the fire.
Later on we went to see the movie Smile, which was quite good and I found to be rather scary. Iroh and I both love going to the movies, and it was a fun reminder of when we saw Spider Man in Waynesboro.
Bojangles was at a music event, so we turned in before he got back, Iroh and Jake wanting to have an early morning the next day so Iroh could start hiking big days again. Unfortunately we didn’t get up till 7:30, but they were on the road again not long after that, back to the alpaca hostel.
I wasn’t sure the next time I’d see Iroh, but I also hadn’t been expecting to see him the last couple days, either. It had been a very unexpected surprise, but I’m still not the best at goodbyes, though I’m trying to get better. For someone who wants to travel around as much as I do, it’s a skill I want to improve on.
I listened to music, meditated, finished an episode of a tv show, and played a game on my phone to ground myself. After one last round of laundry and a shower, I cleaned and organized the guest room I’d been staying in. I knew it wasn’t something I had to do, but I really enjoy those tasks anyway, and I wanted to give back to my very kind host.
I checked in with Bojangles, because he’d asked if I could possibly stay one more day and dog sit Charlie for him. He’d said he was all set, however, but told me I was more than welcome to stay longer.
I was sorely tempted, but everything in me was telling me I was time to hike out. It was a beautiful day, much nicer than tomorrow was supposed to be, and I knew it would be harder to leave town in the rain than on a sunny, warm day. Plus I thought it would help me emotionally, as I was experiencing a bit of a drop after having such a fun few days and knowing the people I’d been hiking around were now a few days ahead of me and Iroh and The Bard would be behind for a while.
So after getting everything packed (and calling Iroh to tell him my wool hat might have gotten mixed in with Jake’s things), I gave Bojangles and The Bard hugs, wishing more than anything I could stay in town as well, but knowing I had to listen to my gut. It had been a wonderful time, and I thanked Bojangles for everything, who’d been most kind and generous with me.
At noon, I shouldered my pack and walked to the end of the road, turning left toward the trail again, to hike my last few miles of Virginia, another emotional drop I was experiencing. Virginia had thrown everything she had at me to get me to stay longer, and it was with great regret my current time in my favorite trail state was about to be over.
My pack felt unusually heavy, my arms were clunky and awkward holding my trekking poles as I climbed a crunchy, leaf carpeted trail leading me to the next ridge. I had only committed to 10 miles today, enough to get me out of town and to the first shelter, but I knew I wouldn’t feel back in the game till tomorrow at the earliest.
I passed a few people going in the opposite direction, as I focused my gaze on the ground in front of me, lest any rocks hidden under leaves trip me up. I’d told myself I’d get a little way out of town then stop for lunch, so when I arrived at a blue blaze to water and a campsite next to it, I stopped at the campsite to eat. I’d gone 1.7 miles in 40 minutes, which was much faster than I’d actually felt I was accomplishing.
Mixing my last liquid IV, I ate chicken salad with tortillas, then spread peanut butter and put mini Oreos in another tortilla and had that to wash it down. I listened to all three renditions of Bard’s original song I’d now recorded, as I read online that listening to the same songs during transitional phases can ease the task switching I can often have trouble with.
I’d listened to a few comfort songs earlier, but it was Bard’s song that had helped get me through one of the most charged transitions on this trail; that of going north to south, which had been the scariest one for me on this trip. It calmed and soothed me again, as I sat eating my lunch amidst strong breezes that shook more leaves from trees, dropping to join me on the ground below.
As I was getting up to continue on after half an hour, a large group of people passed by going north on a day hike. It really was the perfect day for it. I climbed another mile and a half, the second half of which got rather steep as I trudged along with very little momentum to work with, until I reached the Virginia/Tennessee state line.
I stood on the spot for several minutes, first to take pictures, then to procrastinate on stepping out of Virginia. It broke my heart a little to leave, as not only was it a place most dear to my heart, but had also encompassed nearly the entire southern half of my hike so far, a six week time period.
I said goodbye, and teared up as I stepped forward into my first unknown trail state since Maine. From here out, the only trail affiliated place in Tennessee I’ve been to by car is Shady Valley for Riff Raff pre days in 2016, a pre party to Trail Days. That was our first stop and kicked off Pockets and my whole trail travel by car expedition that year.
The trail looked the same going into Tennessee, but it still somehow felt different. I’ve always been very cognizant of which state I’ve been in the entire trip. As my first order of business in Tennessee, I switched off my podcast for a moment to play Bard’s song one more time, hoping to train my brain to use music to have smoother transitions. I thought this might be something I’d been doing a long time without realizing, but with intention could enhance the process for present and future situations.
I kept climbing a less steep incline for another mile and a half, stopping at another campsite up on the ridge to take a break. If I was only doing 10 miles and easing myself back into my hike after a brief intermission, I wanted to take advantage of that and reward myself with a nice break. I believed being gentle and compassionate with myself would take me much farther than pushing down my feelings.
After a very lovely 45 minutes spent writing, snacking, and enjoying the fair weathered day, I was back on the move around 3:40, 5 miles to go to water and shelter.
The ridge after that was almost entirely flat, and I was able to cruise along it, making great time even without expending much energy. I started to feel in the groove again amidst the dying leaves, glimpsing a couple views to opposite ridge lines through the trees.
Some of the trees were fully bare now, though I knew the views would be even better when they all were. I tried to imagine the area I was hiking through in summer or even spring, trying to picture what the NOBOs had seen this year as they came through.
I didn’t see any other hikers after that break while I was walking, and it was just me and the trail. When it was 4:45 I stopped to take a break on a very large downed tree just off trail, lounging on it for 15 minutes because I could and had extra time to spare.
A little uphill took me 1.7 further to the shelter, where I was surprised to have reached it already as those last couple miles flew by. I saw another hiker sitting at the picnic table just off the AT, and was glad to know I wouldn’t be the only one there tonight. The scary movie I’d watched yesterday was still fresh in my mind.
Hunter had been hiking the PCT this year, but had needed to come back to Virginia for a funeral, and decided to hop on the AT instead and hike south. He was a good natured, easy going sort, and a little chatty, which I didn’t mind.
He’d been at the Broken Fiddle and taken a zero in Damascus, so he’d run across Little Cave, Bard, and Mary. He’d also met KT, Hippy Gandalf, and Rudolph. Hopping on trail in Daleville, it sounded like he’d met a lot of SOBOs so far.
I excused myself to collect water down the very steep .2 blue blaze. I brought four liters back with me, knowing I probably wouldn’t drink that much, but certainly not wanting to hike back down there at any point to get more.
Hunter started a fire to cook over, and we hung out while I ate my Knorr side alfredo, several cookies, and some candy. When it got dark I laid down in the shelter to watch downloaded tv on my phone, wishing I had a book again. The trouble was I never had one when I wanted it, and by the time I got a book, I was too busy to read it.
It was a warm night, with a low of 48 degrees, and I was able to sleep in only a couple layers, extremely comfortable but for the asthma that was suddenly coming back after several years. I drifted off around 11, listening to music to disguise the sounds of critters running around on the forest floor, magnified by the crunch of leaves that littered the ground. There was nothing to worry about if I couldn’t hear it, I hoped.