Date: 2016-04-13
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter 

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter 
Miles today: 24.2
Weather: clear sky

The gang was up earlier than I usually see, moving around starting at 7. I hung around in my sleeping bag for a while, as did Crumbum and Doodle next to me. It was still pretty chilly last night even in the big cabin. Today was sort of a strange one to plan. There was very little water anywhere, which means there were very few options for camping. It was either 10, 15 or 24 miles. Most people thought they could do the 24 but were hedging their bets with 15. Everybody but Lightning was out before me, but I followed closely behind Crumbum and Doodle down the first pitch of hiking. The trail this morning brought us along the south rim of Burke's Garden, a giant geological bowl where - apparently - underground caverns collapsed. The south side of the ridge sloped away gently and the north side fell in granite cliffs down to the farms below. It was neat. The 9.7 miles to Jenkins Shelter (essentially the first landmark on this empty day) were not particularly easy, a lot of up and down along the ridge line, and often quite steep in short pitches. My feet were also still sore from yesterday and the sharp rocks underfoot weren't making me too happy. I passed Slowhand, whom I'd seen in a picture slug sent me last night. I stopped in for lunch at Jenkins Shelter, joining Bill Nye, Grandma and Judge. They're my kind of people. Grandma is a recent Dartmouth grad and Bill Nye is a big nerd with a ton of information from Georgia State. They're witty and fun to hang around with and laugh at my puns. Nice. I leapfrogged a couple times with Quixote and Audubon for the next little while. The ridge after Jenkins was all along an old, flat woods road and was lovely compared with the morning. I rolled down to Laurel Creek, the 15 mile option (and home of a gorgeous footbridge. Seriously. Some of these VA footbridges are feats of architecture and beauty) passed the couple for the last time and decided to push on the 9 and a bit miles to Helvey's Mill Shelter. There was no water to be had between here and there (as there wasn't between Chestnut and Jenkins, essentially) so I tanked up for the second time of the day. The hiking was very nice and easy grades along a ridge with views down into a Valley where I could see the town of Bastian in the distance. I moved pretty quickly but popped in some music with about 4.5 miles left just to get my mind off my feet. Eventually I came to a dirt road, the start of the longest road walk the trail has gone over yet. The gravel was tough on my sore feet, but I moved decently quick down to the state route where the pavement began. I pushed on down the hill to the overpass above I-77, jamming to Arcade Fire's song Deep Blue. I hope some driver saw me. The trail moved down to a trailhead and jumped back into the woods. I saw an owl fly up into the trees and he watched me as I passed, his head turning 180 degrees to follow me. The trail climbed more steeply than it had all day up to the final ridge. I was ready to be done for the day. Just as a final challenge, something overstrained in my hip about a half mile short of the shelter which made me stop taking long strides. Should be better by morning. I finally made it to the shelter turnoff, and shuffled down to where I found there was still space in the shelter, which currently just had two occupants, Homemade and Short Leash from Manhattan who are sectioning to Damascus from Pearisburg. Aaaaaand Slug! It's good to see the man. He seems happy and healthy, and having a good time. We caught up as we made dinner. It was news to him - as it was to me last night - that Brit got driven to DC and is staying there for a few weeks before getting back on the trail at Harper's Ferry. Audubon and Quixote showed up soon and began to cook. Grandma was next, followed by Bill Nye and Judge sometime later. Lightning didn't make it here, and I wasn't expecting Crumbum and Doodle to. I'm in the shelter tonight with the two New Yorkers, Bill Nye and Judge. Tomorrow everyone's plan is to walk at least 16 to Trent's Grocery, a deli/market that's a half mile off the trail, then probably camp or a few miles onward. I think this is definitely the longest I've gone in a series of two days, so I'm ready for a shorter day tomorrow.