Date: 2015-04-09
From: Mt Rogers National Recreation Area Headquarters

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: clear sky

4/9, 6.6, Chatfield ShelterHis first comment was, "I didn't think it would be this steep." "Tired" as he has named himself, is resting on his sleeping pad. I am not sure what he is thinking now, because he hasn't said much since we arrived. We awoke on time this morning, Tired was excited and I was nervous. I feel some responsibility for his experience, and it does give me pause. We utilized the free breakfast at the motel and headed to Bland to meet our shuttle driver. In Bland at 7:30 we met Bubba, and followed him to the mountaintop trailhead. The road was windy and we soon discovered why he wanted to make sure our vehicle had some ground clearance. The gravel mountain road with hairpin turns lasted a good forty minutes. Tired and I were glad we had not tried to find this trailhead without him. When we reached the trailhead we parked off the road, transferred our gear to the shuttle van and locked up. Our shuttle runs us back to where I left off, at the Mt Rogers visitor center where we will hike back to the vehicle, forty trail miles away. Our plan is to complete this portion in five days. Our hike started at 10 am with a pretty aggressive climb out of the visitor center gaining 900 feet over several rises in a couple miles. But I think what really surprised Tired was the number of times we had to keep climbing up. The AT will do that and some have even called it a hiking roller coaster. There are no level coasts, only up and not as much up. Even the downs today seemed a little up. We took our time, enjoyed nice, but very warm weather. Today was e warmest yet for me wi temps topping 78 degrees by 1 pm. We took our time learning how to adjust the pack, take our rests and try to keep eating. Tired was drinking a lot, and sweating, but we had plenty of water.We took a long lunch break at noon on top of a rise, resting against a fallen tree. Beau and Dude hiked up the hill and joined us for a snack break. I was surprised to see them but they had resupplied and stayed in Marion last night, and hiked out late morning. Beau shared a good analogy in that hiking downhill is like a Sunday afternoon as you know it is ending soon and the work will begin again. The afternoon had our toughest climb yet as it was steeper, though not as long, as earlier climbs. As the early afternoon wore on, tired's legs began to, ...well, ...tire. He was concerned, as was I, that his footing would not be as sure. I assured him to take his time, we were in no hurry. We managed the hills, several small, swollen stream crossings and made it to the shelter at 4 pm. There were two places left in the shelter so we grabbed them as the forecast is for thunderstorms this evening. I set about filtering water and arranging my things, Tired just sat for a time. Tree Ninja, Deer Dog, and Smasher are our shelter mates for the evening. Their plan is out at 7 for an 8:30 breakfast at The Barn. Our plan is out by 9, and lunch at The Barn. The Barn is a trailside resturant near I-81 that caters to hikers, including a one pound hiker burger. I'm just hoping they serve breakfast all day. We plan to hike 7.3 to an established campsite by the end of he day so we are hoping tonights rain/ thunderstorm is the extent of our challenging weather for the five days of our hike. We have eaten, watched the rain begin, figured out how to hang the tarp over the shelter opening, (rain protection), and settled inside to read and write. Tired managed to eat a protein bar before falling asleep. We will see how he feels tomorrow night, but our hike will be getting a little harder over the weekend. As for me, I am glad to provide him the experience and hope he ends up having a good time, so..Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.Silverback