Date: 2016-02-08
From: US 220, Daleville VA

To: VA 311, Catawba, VA
Miles today: 19.8

I knew today would be a long cold windy day. Once I hit the trail, there was no getting off until I reached the large trailhead parking lot on VA 311. I also knew that I had been off the trail over 2 months. It was going to be tough.As I started the steady climb away from US 220 I noticed that water in the trail tread froze and expanded, giving the light brown dirt beneath my feet the appearance of frothy foamy rootbeer. The frozen airy ground crunched under my boots.The wind was freezing my nose and burning my cheeks. Concerned about the potential for frostbite, I stretched the wool Buff around my neck up to also cover my mouth and nose, leaving only my eyes exposed, and I kept hiking. The sun was trying to burn through the clouds. I was hoping that as the day progressed it would get warmer.The AT took me up on a ridge for quite a while, crossing under sizzling powerlines several times, and occassionally offering a view. I stopped briefly to take a look a few times but did not linger due to the cold and number of miles I needed to cover today.Occassionally I lost the trail, especially in the rocky outcroppings. I was glad I had Guthook to verify that I was still on the AT. But pulling out my cellphone and using the app so many times burned a lot of valuable daylight, and stopping up on the ridge in the wind made me chilled.I stopped at Lamberts Meadow Shelter. There was quite a bit of trash there. I collected a plastic bag full and strapped the bag to the outside of my daypack. I wish I could have hauled out more trash, but I still had a long way to hike and I needed to limit the weight.One of the items I found was a large heavy hunting knife. This is not something a thru hiker would carry. Looking more like a weapon than a useful tool, I decided to err on the side of caution, and I removed the hunting knife from the shelter. Then I began the long climb through Scorched Earth Gap and up to Tinker Cliffs. On the climb up along the back side of the cliffs I noticed broken chunks of ice on the trail. When I looked up, I noticed long icicles hanging off the back side of the cliffs. Great! I could come this far and be taken out by an icicle! I decided to jog through this section, hoping I could get through before another icicle decided to fall.The trail switchbacked, climbed, and took me from behind the cliffs to the top of the cliffs. Then the AT followed the edge of the cliffs for about 1/2 a mile. I am still not comfortable with heights, but today my heart did not feel like it was going to beat out of my chest, as it had so many times in the past. Apparently I have made some progress with this phobia.As I looked down into the valley below I noticed a snow storm approaching from the direction I was heading. Tiny random snowflakes were already starting to fall and fog was rolling in.I was concerned about time, and I already had a full load of trash to carry out. So I skipped stopping at Campbell shelter. Instead, I started the last long climb of the day, up to McAfee Knob, probably one of the most photographed places on the AT.I reached McAfee Knob while it was still light. I had the place all to myself. (In fact, I did not see another hiker all day.) A few years ago, a middle aged AT hiker from Bradenton, FL had his picture taken on McAfee Knob. He was butt naked and in the "thinker" pose. He put the picture on the cover of his book, which was equally tasteless and inappropriate. I was glad I had the place to myself, without the "thinker."I took a few pictures, texted my husband of my location, and then moved on. It would soon be dark, the snow was picking up, and the temperature was dropping. My husband, who was waiting for me at the parking lot, would start to worry.I am not a fan of hiking in the dark, but sometimes I have no choice. Fortunately the trail between the parking lot and McAfee Knob is only a few miles, and it is frequented by day hikers and tourists.   I knew it would be relatively easy, well marked, and almost all down hill.I was soon hiking in complete darkness, and the snow was coming down heavy. My headlamp picked up what I initially thought was another headlamp coming up the trail towards me. Instead I quickly realized it was the light from my headlamp reflecting off a snowflake. Then, up ahead just off the trail to the right, I saw what appeared to be 6 headlamps in a row. These were not snowflake reflections, they did not move or disappear. Funky stuff is more likely to happen near road crossings. But I could not imagine why 6 people would be out in the cold, in the dark, along the AT in a snowstorm waiting to harm an AT hiker. So I held off imagining that I was hearing banjo music.As I proceeded down the trail I kept my eyes on the "lights" - they never moved. About the time I realized there were actually 3 pairs of "lights" I saw the outline of the bodies of 4 deer apparently grazing near the trail - 3 facing me and one with its back to me. I quietly laughed. What I thought were 6 headlamps were actually 3 pairs of eyes reflecting back the light from my headlamp. The 3 deer continued to stare at me, and all 4 deer did not move as I passed. It was the classic "deer in the headlamp" scenario.The trail was smooth, well worn, and easy to follow despite the snow and darkness. But I was still very glad to see my husband and Maggie waiting for me in the parking lot. The AT is calling. It was a long, cold, tough day, but I was glad to be back.