Daily Miles: 19.7, Total Miles: 490.4 I opted to forego another big breakfast in order to get some miles in before expected rain in the afternoon. Once I got up and out of Damascus, I dropped down to the Virginia Creeper Trail along Whitetop Laurel Creek. I followed it for several miles on a gentle uphill gradient, sharing the trail with a few cyclists coming downhill. A very pleasant hike on the old Carolina-Virginia railroad bed which also goes through…
Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 470.7 First order of business was a big breakfast at the Damascus Diner. It came with the room as the Dragonfly Inn is owned by the same couple. I got the Mt Rogers Special – 3 eggs, 5 thick slices of bacon, hashbrown casserole, biscuits and gravy, and grits. Stretch offered me a pancake but I had to turn it down. I strolled down to an outfitter shop and bought a new Opsack to replace…
Daily Miles: 19.9, Total Miles: 470.7 My original plan was to hike until just before Damascus VA and go into town tomorrow for a Nero. But a rare day of more descent than ascent, I found myself crossing into Virginia and in Damascus by mid-afternoon. Hadn’t even finished a liter of water. I had already made a reservation at the Dragonfly Inn for tomorrow night. The same room was fortunately available tonight and I took it. The AT is one…
Daily Miles: 22.3, Total Miles: 450.8 Early start from the Boots Off Hostel on a near freezing morning. I didn’t want to leave the warm and toasty little cabin but wanted to get some miles in today. The morning was spent getting around the end of very large Watauga Lake finally walking across the large earthen dam. Now the climbing started, eventually reaching the top of the ridge high above the lake. I ran into Stretch who I had met…
Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 428.5 I could have done a paddle on the lake or even fishing but just took it easy and conserved energy here at the Boots Off Hostel. Almost freezing last night – the little heater in the tiny cabin got a workout. Not the best nutrition today – trail mix and burrito for lunch and peanuts and pizza for dinner. At least I had granola and a banana for breakfast. I skipped the shuttle to…
Daily Miles: 8.3, Total Miles: 428.5 Took a shower at Black Bear Hostel this morning and headed out, leaving at the same time as Dapper Dan. We quickly returned to the trail down Laurel Fork and entered Pond Mountain Wilderness. Beautiful, blooming azaleas along the creek and over the water. A seemingly endless rock “staircase” led us down to impressive Laurel Fork Falls. A bit confusing at the bottom but headed downstream along the creek eventually picking up the trail…
Daily Miles: 17.8, Total Miles: 420.2 Just as I was drifting off to sleep last night, four ATVs came roaring through our campsite between myself and Patriarch. The idiots just missing the front guyline of my tent. They actually had to drive down the AT to get access to this primitive road. To add insult to injury, they all yelled “wake up” as they came by. The thunder, lightning and heavy rain started about 5am and it finally lightened up…
Daily Miles: 21.1, Total Miles: 402.4 Despite the noisy, flapping tent, I did enjoy the beautiful sunset and sunrise from my perch on Round Bald. A fun day overall, hiking the ridgelines and balds of the Roan Mountains. Some of the best, clear views yet of the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains and countryside. Made it even better that there wasn’t near as much climbing as in days past. Leapfrogged with a hiker named Stretch since yesterday. I also caught…
Daily Miles: 17.6, Total Miles: 381.3 Mrs. Haze suggested I download an app called Merlin used for bird identification. One feature is to record the birds and it will attempt to ID them. I tried it from my tent this morning and the predominant bird was an ovenbird. But also a yellow-bellied sapsucker, white-breasted nuthatch and a black-throated green warbler. Very cool! Back on the stair climber today along the NC/TN border, about a mile of elevation gain over 18…
Daily Miles: 19.4, Total Miles: 363.7 I arranged a ride to the TH with Miss Janet, a well-known trail angel. By the time she arrived at the motel at 8:30am, there were too many hikers for one shuttle. We split into two groups – I managed to get on the first haul. Miss Janet announced she couldn’t take anyone that wasn’t feeling well. She said that a norovirus is now running rampant on the AT and is extremely contagious. Her…
