“Wet, Day 3”

AT Day 34

Miles: 9.39

Total Miles: 661.87

(Angel’s Rest Hostel; Pearisburg, VA)

It felt weird booking myself a private room for tonight, but after how hard it rained the last three days (today included), I’m really happy to have a warm and dry place to myself for the night.

It also feels kind of surreal because this is the start of 4 days off from trail. Tomorrow I’ll catch a ride back south to Damascus Trail Days Event. I’m really excited for it, but it’s also nice to just have some time off from hiking. It’s been a little over a month now since I started in Georgia, and the only real time that I’ve had off in that month was when I had the bacterial cellulitis infection and I had to stay at Standing Bear for those 3-ish days. This time off trail feels a lit better because it’s planned and because it’s not for an injury.

The place that I have rented for tonight is literally just the master bedroom of an old trailer. But it also has a private bathroom and shower. The private bed alone feels worthwhile though.

Last night just after I’d finished writing my journal, there were two more hikers who rolled into the shelter that I was sharing with one other hiker and his dog. With the addition of two more very wet hikers, it was significantly more stuffy. Last night was wet and cold. It rained most of the night. At one point when I stepped out to piss I stepped off the deck of the shelter and into ankle-deep water. By the way–no most shelters do not have full out decks. But I guess that heavy flooding like today probably isn’t uncommon for this area. Thus, the deck.

I only had about 9 miles to hike today, but they were wet and claustrophobic miles. The forest is growing denser by the day, especially after the recent rains. The trail is shrinking into the density of the forest. The trail was mostly a river today, much like it was yesterday. There was absolutely no hope of keeping my feet anything close to dry. It was soaking wet. It was cold.

Days like today I think back to the kid I met who told me he was hiking the trail without any rain gear at all. I told him he should take the trail name Kamikaze. Maybe I already told that story. But I think about it on rainy days. There’s no way you could survive this whole trail without rain gear. I double up with a heavy rain jacket AND an umbrella (and rain pants). I’m not scared of getting a little bit wet, but I am willing to carry that little bit of extra weight if it means being more dry and comfortable on days like we’ve seen on trail this week.

Drank tea and got to trail quickly this morning. Or I should say that I got to trail after making tea, and just sipped it down trail for that first mile or two. I will say that without having to break a tent, it’s a lot easier to get on trail quickly. That’s one of two things that I want to look into upgrading at Trail Days–I may get a new ultra-lite tent, and I may get a new quilt. The sleeping bag that I’m carrying is significantly heavier than I need for this trail, and it has a lot a lot of miles on it. Last night I found a somewhat significant rip in the bag. I may be able to get it repaired at Trail Days, but I’m open to getting a 30 degree quilt to replace this. What I’m carrying right now is a 15 degree bag, and I just don’t think that that we’re going to get temps that cold for the remainder of the trail.

There was a shuttle from the AT to Angel’s Rest Hostel about 10 minutes after I reached the road crossing that completes this segment. Since then I’ve been in Pearisburg. I sent home my Size 12 shoes. I got my new Size 11.5 shoes. I ate too much food at the Chinese Buffet by the grocery store. It was my first time being in one of those in maybe a decade. My girlish figure just don’t let me chow down like that anymore. Not like I used to be able to get away with anyway.

Also resupplied food for the upcoming segment, even though I won’t be starting it until Sunday or Monday. I just wanted to get that chore over and done with. That does mean that I’ll be carrying all this food back down to Damascus, then back to where I left trail this morning. But whatever. It’s still worth it to have my resupply done.

At this point I’m well past the 500 mile mark. I have said many times that it takes about that long on a thru hike to get your routine nailed down and figured out. I mostly feel that way now. I have figured out the foods that make me feel best on trail. I’m finding ways to increase my protein intake to hopefully hold onto muscle for the remaining 1700 miles of trail, or whatever it is that I have left.

The trailer that I’m staying in is absolutely filled with hikers now. there has to be 10 people in here–about half of them in the kitchen with me where I’m typing while they put dinner together. The place is heavily smoked out from someone burning a chicken breast on the stove.

I like it here though. It feels nice to know that I’ve got a place to myself when I want to step to the back of the trailer, close the door, and go to sleep.

My shuttle to Damascus is tomorrow at 8am. It sounds like most everyone else here is going down to Trail Days too. Most of the AT hikers within 500 miles probably are. Not everyone, but most of them.

I hope that it’s not a disappointment. I also hope that it doesn’t end up being too expensive. Even after being off trail for a few hours in a town like I have been today, I already look forward to getting back to trail. I’m sure after 4 days I’ll feel that way all the more.

Wormwood.