Date: 2013-10-30
From: Dickenson Gap

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 14.5

The wind blew hard, and at times it also rained hard, throughout the night. It was an easterly wind that showed no sign of changing direction so I assumed the wind and rain would continue, at least until a wind shift occurred. I ate breakfast and got packed up inside my tent while the rain contined to blow across the Peters Mt ridge and pound on the tent. By 8 am I decided to just go, with no break in the rain and nor change in the weather appearing likely anytime soon. The fog rolled past and it was still dark enough that my headlamp was actually somewhat helpful at times. The trail was relatively smooth and gentle for mile after mile along the crest of the ridge. Mostly I just tried to keep the hardest rain, coming from the left and in front of me, off my glasses enough so I could see where I was going. The fog kept rolling in and then receding, and the rain came in sheets then receded, and I just kept walking through it. The temp was a steady 44 but I stayed warm and reasonably comfortable as long as I kept moving. When I got to Rice Field Shelter I took a quick bagel break, but it wasn't long before the chill began to set in. The wind was howling with a hard rain driving across the open fields in front of the shelter. After hitting the trail again I was happy to get back into the relative protection of the trees and continue on down the ridge. In good weather this would be a very scenic and pleasant section. Today, the scenery was a bit different. Unexpectedly, the small spring at the south end of the ridge that I had been told by a NOBO was dry actually had a decent amount of water in it. By the time I got down off the side of Peters Mt and on to the outskirts of Pearisburg it had stopped raining and turned into a hazy and humid day. The first real view of Pearisburg as you come to the town is a large factory complex across the interstate. It was a bit of a contrast from the isolation of walking the Peters Mountain ridgeline just a few short hours ago. It seemed to be a relatively long walk across the big bridge over the New River, then on to north Main Street. It was about 3 pm when I checked into a hotel a few blocks from the post office. I realized as I walked up the long hill towards town that the Rendezvous Hotel where I had stayed in '07 had burned down. The vacant foundation was still there and fire was obvious on some of the debris. I found out later it had happened a few years ago but I saw no evidence of attempts to rebuild or replace it with another business. Once checked in to my room I exploded my pack and draped everything I had on every available surface to dry, did a load of laundry, then went across the street for a Mexican dinner. Although I had gotten completely soaked by the end of the day and blisters had reappeared on the outside of both feet, it was still an interesting day on the trail. If I were going to continue, I would definitely have to trade in these Keen Voyageur boots for something else. They have been a problem since the end of the first week, and pretty much self destructed in spite of rounds of freesole on all the welds. The soles are now delaminating and the lacing guides are tearing out. They were comfortable right out of the box, but have broken down way to quickly and caused too many foot problems I haven't had before. They'd have been fine for day hikes but don't appear to be constructed well enough anymore for long distance hiking. At dinner, I realized my wonderful three-week walk in the autumn woods was now over and within a few short days I would be back at my desk at work wishing I were walking in a hard rain along the crest of Peters Mountain again. Such is the way long-distance hiking gets into your blood! But, I'll be back again, not for a while probably, but I WILL be back!