Date: 2018-08-31
From: Pearisburg

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I say goodbye to the Lickskillet Hostel today, and with it my hostel-hopping run. North of Pearisburg there are no towns or hostels until Catawba, 68 miles away. Mongo takes Solo and Windrider out first to slackpack back to the hostel. I take my time doing laundry and eating breakfast while I wait. Eventually we head down to Pearisburg where I pack out a lunch from the supermarket and head up to the trail on Cross Ave. Two southbounders are at the road but take off without saying much. The trail winds around Pearisburg, past an old cemetery holding Colonel Pearis, the town's founder, and over a highway bridge across the New River. It's my biggest river crossing on this trip and the biggest until at least the James River 140 trail miles north. I pass and chat with an overnight backpacker from Cleveland who's in the area on business. The trail then starts climbing back into the mountains. I hear the disconcerting rumble of a tree crashing to the forest floor nearby. It's maybe only the second time I've witnessed a tree falling in the forest. Descending into a small valley towards a road I cross paths with two young, fit-looking local boys who are dayhiking up and who ask hopefully if the top is near! It's only a 200-300 foot hill and the parking lot is closer than the peak, but I say something encouraging. I don't think to ask why they're climbing, since there's no view or anything interesting up there.More than 2000 feet of climbing later I reach the ridge drenched with sweat. The humidity is high and I didn't start until 10 so it's already hot. I push myself on to the Rice Field Shelter for lunch. It rests on the edge of a large open summit with gorgeous views northwest across West Virginia. In fact the trail roughly follows the state line for the next ten miles so my left foot is in a different state than my right. I take a long break in the shelter. When I return to the field a Virginia Tech education student is taking in the view from a rocky promontory. She's recovering from an ankle injury and hasn't been able to get back up here since winter. I leave her to her reverie and hike on over the ridge.The grades are easy and so is the tread, except for some rocky stretches. There are few trees and the trail corridor is mostly meadow. But much of the sun-drenched trail is overgrown and I have to fight my way through weeds and grasses, gaining all kinds of burrs and seeds on my clothes. There are wild apple trees over portions of the trail (or perhaps remnants of an old orchard) and I taste a few of their fruit. Most are mealy and I toss them immediately but a couple are sweet and give me an energy boost. Meanwhile, thunder has been rumbling in the distance and the skies have begun to darken. As if to relieve me of the humidity a cool wind starts blowing through. Seems like a shower should be upon me but it holds off for hours. Finally a light rain begins, more refreshing than anything, and peters out fairly soon. Despite a relatively short day, the last few miles down off the ridge to the shelter seem to take forever. While I didn't get wet from the light rain, all the rhododendrons and bushes along the trail did and they soak my clothes, shoes, and pack as I push through. The trail follows a stream down and it's roaring from runoff. I fill my water bags in about five seconds from the gushing stream before reaching Pine Swamp Branch Shelter.The shelter is stone with wooden bunks on either side of a dirt floor with fireplace. I once again have it all to myself. I'd passed a sign in the morning warning of potential deadfalls near this shelter and not to use it, especially not to tent in the vicinity. One southbounder had told me yesterday to ignore this, that the place was in good shape.So I go about drying clothes and making dinner. I prep the bear bag line on a branch before dark. Then, as I'm waiting on the noodles to cook and looking at tomorrow's elevation profile, an incredibly loud and extended crash rips through the air. A tree is collapsing maybe 50 yards away near the stream! I can't see it, but it must be tall and sounds like it's taking out other trees as it goes down. At this point it's dark and I'm not moving on to the next shelter. So I hope for the best and that the metal roof is sturdy.