Saturday, June 20 9:24 pm 16.7 mi
AT 687.8 Niday Shelter → AT 704.5 Four Pines Hostel
Weather: Gorgeous day – light sprinkling in afternoon, but not enough to need my rain jacket or to make descent of Dragon’s Tooth dangerous
Trail Conditions: So much variety today – gentle switchbacking climb early, wide service road-esque trail to Audie Murphy memorial, technical, every-step-placement-matters descent from Dragon’s Tooth
My Condition: Feeling good – pizza, snacks, and a light resupply will do that. Thrilled I finally got to dry out some of my stuff that’s been damp since Pearisburg
Hit mile 700 today – every one of these milestones makes me smile and shake my head when I pass it. 700 miles from anywhere is pretty darn far – even totally clear highway, that’s 10 solid hours of driving. The Audie Murphy memorial was quite interesting – he is the most decorated US veteran of World War 2 - 15th infantry regiment 3rd infantry division, 24 decorations including medal of honor, legion of merit, distinguished service cross, and 3 purple hearts. He died near the memorial’s location in a plane crash. It is clearly a well-visited, fondly remembered memorial, American flags, patriotic remembrances, veteran/military memorabilia and keepsakes. Dragon’s Tooth would have been a nightmare to descend in wet weather, so I thank my lucky stars today was such a nice day. Today, it was just a matter of carefully placing each step. On a wet day, it would have been downright dangerous on unsteady footing. Saw LOBO, She’s The One, and Joe Hikes (I’ve seen She’s The One 4 or 5x now as she slackpacks by, but she kept mentioning Joe Hikes and how close I was to him). Finally caught up today! He is ex-military and did quite a bit of training at Fort Benning. Now he lives in Alabama. Got my butt handed to me by Nature Boi in chess. Also met a SOBO section hiker from Philly who hates capitalism and the gas station for price gouging and restaurants serving overpriced, low quality food, and seemingly everything else. Glad he’s headed the other way!
Post Trail Analysis
Four Pines Hostel is a donation based facility – and I opted to donate even though I didn’t use a bunk or do laundry, but I did take advantage of a ride into town, the shower facilities, and the clotheslines outside. Overall, I had a lovely time here. Enjoyable scenery, welcoming people, and some pretty cool animals. I’m INCREDIBLY glad I stayed outside in my tent, however, because LOBO thinks he may have gotten bed bugs during his stay here. At this point in the trail I was so bit up that Puddles and Blue would later say “they thought something was wrong with me,” so I can neither confirm nor deny that I too picked up these unwelcome hitchhikers. So far as I can tell, my legs were a tapestry comprised mostly of mosquito bites, a couple of spider bites, heat rash, chafing, and a general lack of hygiene on top of hot, sweaty, constantly damp conditions. I would end up mistakenly leaving behind my Rubz foot roller ball, which fortunately LOBO recognized, carried along, and returned to me next evening when he saw me. He thought Rubz might have been a good trail name and I VEHEMENTLY disagreed. Seeing it again now, the climb down Dragon's Tooth actually reminds me quite a bit of the type of terrain you see in Maine and New Hampshire, rebar hand/footholds and all!
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