Date: 2003-05-27
From: Pearisburg, VA - Daleville, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA - Daleville, VA
Miles today: 91.9
Weather: moderate rain

Pearisburg, VA - Daleville, VA91.9 miles (713 total miles)We woke up on day 51 to rain. We were all so burnt out from the rain, that no one wanted to leave. We couldn't handle it mentally. We decided to take another zero day. We went to the library, ate lunch out, played cards, read old magazines, and roasted marshmallows. There was some guilt for taking 2 zero days in a row, but they were much needed. Even working folks get a 2 day weekend.Day 52 was back out in the rain. Bill dropped us off at the trailhead at 8:30. He told us that as much as the hostel helps hikers, it helps him more. He wished us all best of luck, then drove off to help more strangers.It was a cold, muddy day on the AT. I was miserable, and near my breaking point. I knew I would be hiking in the rain sometimes, but it had been so long since I had seen sun! The trail was so muddy and steep that I would take a step forward, and slide right back down. To make things worse, the trail was covered on either side by poison ivy. We did 19 miserable, wet miles to a crowded shelter. I fell asleep immediately.Day 53 was yet another wet one, but it was tolerable. There were some pretty stream crossings, and the mountain laurel was starting to bloom. We did 4 miles to a shelter for breakfast, and another 8 to the next one for lunch. We waited for the rest of the crew to arrive, but it was just too cold. I started to cramp up. So we set up our sleeping bags, and crawled in for the rest of the day. They say that you can send your winter gear home after Mt. Rogers. But I have used my winter gear almost every day since Mt. Rogers, compared to only 2 days that I used them before.Day 54 started out promising. Weather report rumors called for partly sunny. Yes, rumors of sunshine! It was a steep climb out of the shelter, broken up nicely by some trail magic. A past thru-hiker named Super Dave left a cooler full of Coke. Thanks, Super Dave!We stopped at Kelly Knob, where we saw some farms below and mountains. Wow, we saw some views other than just fog! We continued on, and found a creepy looking cabin. Someone realized this is where they filmed Blair Witch! Cool! If I had known that, I would have pushed on to sleep there for the night. Another 4 miles and we had lunch under a 300 year old tree. We finally hit the shelter at 18 miles on the day. My feet were really hurting. I think need new socks.Day 55 was full of trail magic! It was overcast, but dry. We were up and out by 6:30, only to be welcomed after a mile by a couple named Southpaw and Sue. It was their 4th annual Memorial Day (Sunday) breakfast. They had a table and chairs set up with doughnuts, bananas, strawberries, and orange juice! We sat and swapped thru-hiking stories for a half hour. They were such fun people, and this was easily the best trail magic we have seen so far. We didn't want to leave, but we had a hard day ahead.From there it was a long, steep hike up, which would have been almost been impossible without the great breakfast. The trail followed the rocky ridge, then fell back down into the valley. It was there that we met a guy who called himself The Runner. He gave us sodas. Just through casual conversation, it came up that he set the AT record by finishing in 52 days! Just by comparison, I am almost at the one-third mark on day 55. The Runner's record was broken 8 years later, so he is currently #2 on the list.It was a long hike up to Dragon's Tooth. It seemed to pound over rocks without ever ending. Finally, we got to this amazing rock formation at 1:00. We found a nice ledge, and had lunch. I could have stayed there for hours, but dinner was calling below. We climbed around a little, then headed on down. Everyone complained about the tough rock scramble down (with metal rungs), but I thought it was fun. We got to the bottom, and headed for the hostel for showers. We went to the Homeplace Restaurant, where we had a table of 9 hikers sharing a family style country meal. It was excellent, and we filled ourselves up. It was a great ending to an awesome day.I was out of the hostel by 6:30 on day 56. We walked to the store for oj and stale doughnuts before we left. We hiked up and down for a while, through some cow pastures. I was very excited to see the sun out when we hit McAfee Knob. We stopped for lunch on the knob, and enjoyed the excellent views. We took the obligatory pictures of each other out on the ledge. I had been looking forward to McAfee Knob since I started, and I was over-excited that we has sunshine for the day.We hiked down from the knob, and soon found the 700 mile mark. Another miletone! Then we hiked up to Tinker Cliffs. The trail follows the cliffs for a half miles, with great view overlooking the Appalachians. We layed out on the cliffs and enjoyed the day. Hiking is so much nicer when it is not raining. From there it was just a mile down to the shelter for the night.Day 57 was a fairly easy 10 miles into town. It was raining and miserable, but I tolerated it, grateful for the sun during yesterday's great views. It rained harder, and we just hiked faster. We met a dayhiker named Pat coming up in the pouring rain. "Are you guys thru-hiking?", he was so excited to meet us. "You guys are my heroes! You're living out your dream, and my dream too. Seriously!" It was nice to see such enthusiasm in the miserble weather. It was also nice to be reminded that this is my dream, and many other people's dream as well. I suddenly felt so fortunate to be out hiking in the rain.We hit Daleville by 10am. We were so wet and dirty. The weather is supposed to get somewhat better. We're going to spend one night in town, then hike out just a few miles in the afternoon. There is a Pizza Hut right next to the trail at the road crossing. Nice!