Date: 2017-04-02
From: Atkins, VA

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

What a beautiful day to start my hike! Mark and Steve dropped me off at the trail head. Steve took some pictures of my departure -- I can't wait to see them. It was really hard to say goodbye to Mark, but hopefully I will see him again over Memorial Day Weekend. The trail today started off fairly flat which was a very nice way to start the day. Usually when I leave town the trail likes to go straight up, so it was a nice surprise. The trail had a little bit of everything today. I went through several open wide pastures that give lovely views of rural Virginia farmland. I saw lovely little farms while dodging some cow patties, but didn't see any actual cows. I did hear them though. In one pasture, I decided to take a break, enjoy the sunshine and check out some birds overhead. The monocular showed them to be vultures that came to circle over where I was sitting. I told them I was still alive and kicking and they flew back to their original location. I walked by babbling brooks and a creek with cascades. I walked under several Rhododendron tunnels and can't wait to see them bloom. I had to go over and through what felt like a dozen stiles. The majority were ladders requiring me to climb up one side and down the other. Those had an opening close to the ground for dogs to duck under. The ladders would be hard for a dog to negotiate. They keep the cows where they belong I guess. I had to climb several mountains and for the most part they were nicely graded with switchbacks. There was only one section coming down that had a lot of rocks to be negotiated. It took awhile for the traffic of I-81 by the trail head to fade away, but when I left that behind I heard many birds. I even saw a few. I saw a squirrel hanging out on the trail that decided I needed to be scolded about something before he scampered off. I saw some pretty wildflowers which made my day as well. I was originally going to stop at Possum Campsite a couple miles before the shelter. It was a very pretty setting, but a little to close to a busy road for me. It was only 3:30 anyway; therefore, I hiked to the shelter. I did fine with the mileage and just struggled a bit with the last climb of the day. I saw a couple hiking southbound that were hiking with a baby. She was carrying the baby in a carrier on her back and he seemed quite happy and content. They started in Catawba and are doing a southbound flip flop. I wished them much success on their journey!The only other hiker I met today was Salesman. Very nice guy that is staying here at the shelter as well. We had dinner and a nice chat about his trip so far. The weather is gorgeous so I decided to tent just a bit away from the shelter. No cables here for my feedbag so I had to string a rope for my food. As always, it took several tries to get the rope over a branch, but success was finally mine. Tomorrow will probably be a shorter day for me. I have the biggest climb of the week and a thunderstorm is predicted for tomorrow evening/night. The first shelter is at 9 miles and the next at 20 miles. I think 20 is a bit much, so 9 it is. If we do get the thunderstorm, I'd like to be in the shelter. We shall see what the day holds and I will see how I feel in the morning. I do hope I get many more days like today.