Date: 2017-09-07
From: Niday Shelter 

To: Warspur Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: fog

It was cold last night. Probably in the 40s. I slept well from about 8 p.m. until shortly after midnight. I think I tossed and turned the rest of the night. Hi got up between 6:30 and 7 a.m. Ben and BFG had just gotten up, & I heard wisely say it's cold out there. Ben replied, "Yes, but if not so bad with the right clothing. I'm wearing everything." Picture. I put on my puffy jacket, & I pulled on my rain pants. I had forgotten to hang my rain pants and jacket up to draw last night so they were damp. Wearing the now would allow me to use body heat to accelerate the drying process, but it would provide less Comfort. I made breakfast and packed up kama putting away my puffy jacket and exchanging the wet socks I had one yesterday for dry ones. For breakfast I had oatmeal and hot coffee. I noted that the canister of fuel I was using was the same one that Joey had used when he hiked with me. It was running low, but it was not yet empty. I was impressed again with the fuel efficiency of the jet boil. However, its ignition system was failing again. I made a minor adjustments to the spark gap, and tested it. It sparked reliably, but it still did not light automatically. I used a Bic lighter to get it going. I think it may just have been lower fuel pressure that was the problem. We will see.About 745 am I went across the trail to a spring where someone had installed a green leaf in a manner that made it function as a spout. I usually collected hand treated to liters of water. I then started hiking South about 8:05 a.m. Wesley had already set out, and Stewart, who had camped at the river 2 miles back, caught up and passed me before I finished treating my water. I put my rain pants back in my pack, but I continue to wear my rain jacket for about a half an hour, until it would mostly dry and I was beginning to sweat, which would of course make it wet again. So then I stopped and put it back in my pack as well. It was still cold, and my hands were read from the exposure, but the Sun was shining, & I knew that it would soon be warm out.As I hate slowly, my left knee warmed up, and it was no longer painful. However, I decided that I should be deliberate about taking it a little easy today so as not to further aggravate the situation.The morning hike started up and a 1800 foot climb over the course of about 2 1/2 miles. It was not as difficult as yesterday's climbing. It ended at a marker for the eastern Continental Divide (picture), at which point began a6 mile Ridge walk.I got to the sarver Hollow shelter between 1030 1045. Wesley and Stewart were at the intersection with the side trail. It was .4 miles to the shelter so we decided not to go there. After a very short break for me, we continued South. After about 2 and a half my house the trail emerged into a pastor. The ground was occasionally spotted with couch chips. I was careful not to step on these. Haha. Shortly thereafter, I arrived at a spot where there was an old tree known as Keffer oak. This is apparently the largest Oak Tree on the Appalachian Trail, and it is over 300 years old. Picture.Shortly after that, I came to sinking Creek. Wesley was there, and we stopped to have lunch. So sometime shortly after noon, I started back down the trail to the south. Although actually, it was uphill. Be afternoon climb started gradually, up Andover a hill in a large pasture, on the other side of the creek. At the base of the hill on the far side, the trail crossed Virginia route 42. Then as the trail met this side of the next Ridgeline, it went up a total of another 1800 feet. About halfway up, I arrived at the Laurel Creek shelter. I stopped for a snack break. Then I continued at about 1:45 p.m.Sometime before 2:30, the trail leveled out and I saw a sign for Kelly knob view. I took the 120 yard so I trail, & I found a formation of large rocks, but the trees below had grown so tall that there was no longer really any view. I took a picture of Mr lippy (Wesley) standing on the rocks. Then we both continued hiking South.The trail continued with relatively little elevation game or loss for about two miles. Then it begin to slope downward. As I continued toward the gravel road and a parking lot I passed a young woman who was hiking up. We said hello and just continued. When I got to the parking lot shortly after that I saw one car with a Virginia Tech sticker on the back. So likely the only woman in a hit seeing was either a current student for an alumnus. As I continued past that parking lot the trail re-entered the forest and proceeded downward across a steep slope of mountainside. This was my least favorite part of today's hike. The trail was overgrown with stinging Nettles, and they were not kind to me. The trail was also nearly washed out in several places and very narrow making it difficult to negotiate in other places it was very Rocky, sloped, and narrow. Here I was glad that today's son had mostly dried off the rocks so this was much safer than it would have been doing yesterday's rain. After about a half mile I came to a dried up Creek bed, & I noticed the vegetation was similar to that around the Laurel Creek shelter I had passed earlier today. This area seemed to me like a rhodadendrun jungle. However now I also had learned to differentiate between the taller Rodadendron, which I knew would bloom with pink flowers, and the smaller mountain laurel plants, which I knew would bloom with wife flowers. Pictures.Sometime after 4 p.m. I reached the base of that descent. I stopped at a creek to fill and treat to liters of water. I would carry 3 from here to the shelter, and if necessary I would get more there. Shortly after that, I passed a campsite and a parking lot. Then, as I crossed Virginia route 632, I started another upper climb, and again this proceeded through pastor before we answering the woods. At about 4:45 p.m. I arrived at the war spur shelter.18.2 mi trail