Date: 2018-04-26
From: VA 683 - Atkins

To: VA 600 - Quarter Way Inn
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started the same as yesterday ended, at The Barn Restaurant. After an anything but relaxing stay at the Relax Inn, Heartburn, Butter Knife, Which Way and I were there at The Barn when the doors opened at 7AM. The plan was to eat a quick breakfast and hit the trail early, in hopes of hiking at least 16 miles. This would set us up nicely for a drive-by resupply in Bland on Saturday. Also, rain was forecast to move in later in the day and we wanted to get in as many fair weather miles as possible. Although the sun was shining, it was a chilly start to the day. The trail followed VA 683 for about 1/4 mile, passing under I-81. Then the white blazes led us off the road onto a soggy path that followed a stream through some lowland. Soon enough we were climbing out of the lowland and into an open pasture, where we were now dodging cow patties. Which Way and I found a safe zone (patty free) to do our stretches as Butter Knife, ever amused by our routine, took pictures. Nothing to see here, keep moving. Move we did, exiting the pasture over a steep stiles (a-frame ladder/steps built over a fence) and into the woods. We passed several campsites as we began the climb up Gullion Mountain. Oddly, one of the sites had a privy. You don¢t see many privies that are not in close proximity to a shelter.Like most days, the terrain and vegetation were very diverse¢open fields, wooded mountains, hardwoods, Rhododendrons, etc. Oh, big news, we passed the 547.725 mile mark. That is 1/4 of the 2,190.9 mile length of the Appalachian Trail. We are officially a quarter way there! There is a hostel along our path today called ¢The Quarter Way Inn.¢ Before we hit the mark, it had not occurred to me where it got its name. We had heard great things about the house turned hostel, but it would not work into our mileage plan to stay there...So we thought. Our second big ascent was up Walker Mountain. At the top we found a spot to break for lunch and take off our still wet shoes. We checked our progress on Guthook¢s App as we ate and noticed that it was having a difficult time pinpointing our location. Plus, the elevation profile showed a distinct leveling off at the crest of the mountain. Instead we had just skirted the top and the trail never really flattened. Seeing white blazes around us, we figured it was just a re-route that the app had not yet updated.After following the blazes down the other side of the mountain, we crossed VA 610 and began hiking through another hilly pasture. Although the trail here was not well worn, stakes in the ground with white blazes painted on top were positioned within line of sight, marking the way. The trail cut diagonally across the undulating terrain and the markings showed the way until we were about 3/4¢s of the way to the wood-line. I could see Butter Knife, who was out front by a couple of hundred meters, pause at one of the stakes and then followed a well-worn trail down the hill. I thought, ¢That¢s odd, why would the trail come all this way up the side of this pasture just to go down and cross the same road?¢ By the time I got to the marker where I saw Butter Knife pause, she was at the bottom, getting ready to cross over a stile and back onto VA 610. She was also following yellow blazes. I yelled out to her to wait, adding ¢I think the trail continues up and into the woods.¢ The problem was, that the trail going up was faint and I could not actually see a white blaze from where I stood. Butter Knife yelled back that Guthook (GPS locator) showed that she was on the trail. I pulled out my phone, opened Guthook, switched to map view, and toggled on the GPS. Sure enough, the arrow pointed in the direction she was headed, never mind that it appeared to be going south. By now Heartburn had caught up. We could see that the fresh yellow blazes were painted over the white blazes and rationalized that someone was playing tricks on us hikers. Perhaps it was even a disgruntled landowner who did not like that the trail was passing through his domain. So we all followed Butter Knife down the hill, across the road, through the field on the other side, and back into the woods. We hesitantly followed the well-worn yellow blaze for about a mile. Periodically we would receive a clue indicating that we were on the right track (e.g. a white blaze that had not been painted over or an ¢Appalachian Trail¢ sign coming from the opposite direction). Plus, Guthhook had our location on the trail. Still, something felt very wrong as we were now starting to climb Walker Mountain again. Which Way was on up ahead and called out that she was not seeing any other boot tracks in the soft mud that she was walking on. I got the idea to call Tina at The Quarter Way Inn, as her place was just 3/10 of a mile from VA 610. Surely she could tell us what was going on with the yellow blazes. Just one problem, bad reception. I could hear Tina fine, but she could not hear me. She said, ¢Sorry, I can¢t hear you, but if you are looking for a room we have plenty of beds still open in the bunk room.¢ A minute later Heartburn called her from his phone. Although the reception was still bad, she was able to hear that we were having problems and said that she would drive down VA 610 and point us in the right direction. By now we were all together and collectively decided that we should turn back and hike the mile back to VA 610. By then, we also decided we were staying at The Quarter Way Inn tonight, as the rain was coming soon and we were mentally exhausted. After hitting the road and walking half the distance to the hostel, Tina drove up in her van, with homemade cookies. She told us that they had just done a trail reroute three days ago. That explained the unworn path, fresh yellow blazes, and Guthook error. It didn¢t matter now, we were staying at the Quarter Way Inn and would worry about the next 3/4¢s tomorrow. In the end, I think it was all meant to be. Tina is a sweetheart and her place is awesome. Plus, we will now have much more manageable miles going into Pearisburg. The trail still provides.Peace & Blessings - Next StepElevation Data:               Weather:Ascent ~ 1,590                  Day ¢ 60 degrees / Mostly SunnyDescent ~ 1,300                Night ¢ 49 degrees / Rain ShowersGrade ~ 7.1Over the Horizon: McAfee¢s Knob