Date: 2011-05-14
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Bears Den Rocks, Bears Den Hostel 
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained lightly most of the night. Woke up about 6:15AM. Everything was wet or very damp. I am looking forward to getting to the hostel tonight. Hot shower, laundry and food...the trifecta! Got on the trail at 7:30AM. The rain had stopped but it was very foggy and the leaves and grass were very wet. It didn't take long for my shoes to be soaked. The trail was muddy and the roots and rocks were very slick. I stopped for lunch at a shelter and 5 Korea tourist out hiking for the day showed up. They gave me some of their lunch, noodles and stuffed pasta. I am not sure what it was stuffed with but it tasted good. Nice and spicy. I also made a helping of stuffing, instant potatoes, canned chicken and bacon bits. I needed the energy to hike the famous "roller coaster". It is a 13 mile section with 10 ascents and decents. The Virginia AT corridor is narrow here, leaving the trail crews very little choice other than going almost straight up and down. Surprisingly there was some nice level portions of the roller coaster.Bears Den Hostel memorabilia.Bears Den Hostel dinning room.I arrived at the Bears Den Hostel at 5:00PM. It is a hostel run by the Potomic AT Club with support from the AT Council. For $27 you get a bed with fresh linen and pillow, a shower, access to their washer and drier and soap, a large Tombstone frozen pizza to cook in their large kitchen, a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, a coke, morning bagels and coffee. What a deal!!! There is a couple who manage it. Both are thru-hikers. The hostel is a huge stone building with a large living room, dinning room, kitchen, TV room, and multiple bunk rooms. It can house up to 36 hikers. I met several hikers, TREE FROG a 40 year father of 4. Normally he is a stay at home dad and part-time engineer consultant. SHORTS is a 18 year old just graduating from high school. PEANUTS a 24 year old young women who graduated from Duke. After hiking the trail she plans to go to University of California Berkley. Her major is environmental engineering. She is hiking by herselt but has been hiking with TREE FROG and SHORTS for the past several weeks. Also met two southbound section hikers. Bobby and Fabian are there names...no trail names yet. Plus I met a 78 year old section hiker from New York named PICADOR. This hostel has been a great experience. I have only 19 miles to go for my section hike this year. The forecast for tomorrow is for scatter thunderstorms. I hope I miss them!(Click image to read)The living room at Bears Den Hostel.First Previous Next LastHiker Entries May 14, 2011JournalistDestinationTrailCanaryBeauty Spot GapAppalachian TrailPortable GDay 2Appalachian TrailFoxtrotBromley ShelterThe Long Trail - VermontLocomotive BreathhomeAppalachian TrailOne TrackDamascus, VAAppalachian TrailVictusGraymoor Spiritual Life CenterAppalachian Trailsumak-- View Entry --Appalachian Trailsumak-- View Entry --Appalachian Trail~Lemur(55) Trail Days 2Appalachian TrailPapaDocWaynesboroAppalachian TrailMore...Grouped By Trail... Last night there was a magnificent sky. The Big Dipper seemed so close, I could have reached out and touched it. We left the door to the dungeon open all night and this morning I looked out my "bedroom" door and saw a clear sky over Mt Washington....    Flinch ¢Appalachian Trail2014HikingTrailsJournalsPhotosCalendarGearLinksPartnersULA EquipmentREIPatagoniaNetworkTrail ForumsTrail NewsAbout UsContactDonateJoinLoginHelpFollow UsFacebookInstagramTwitterPinterest LinkedinTop Photo © Jerry Lutgen - The Wonderland Trail, 09/10/2002 by CookieTrailjournals LLC © 2024All Rights Reserved. privacy policyNewburyport, MA 01950Terms under which this service is provided to you. Build: 20210226:165913Manage Settings