Date: 2016-05-27
To: Dennis Cove Road
Miles today: 9.1

Since leaving Erwin, TN, on Monday morning, I have not seen a drop of rain, and temperatures have gradually warmed into the eighties. The trail has dried out and hiking conditions have been superb. By putting in sixteen miles yesterday, a few more than planned, I had an easy nine miles to Dennis Cove Road, and then a half-mile walk to the Black Bear Resort. Black Bear -- a series of cabins, a bunk room, common showers and bathrooms, a laundry, and a resupply store -- is a haven for hikers. Taken over five years ago by Stephanie and her family, it is uber-clean, pleasant and relaxing. I can't crow enough about it. I chose to grab a two-person cabin instead of staying in the bunk room when I decided to spend a second night here, which takes some explanation. My targeted destination for tomorrow was the Watauga Lake Shelter. But due to recurring bear activity, it was closed in April, and there is no camping allowed at all in the surrounding area. Thus, northbound hikers either need to camp south of the area, resulting in a short hiking day, or hike through the Watauga Dam area out to the other side and camp there, making for a long day, longer than I wanted. Once at Black Bear, I discovered a third option. Tomorrow morning, I will be shuttled by car north, beyond the bear activity area, and I, now heading south, will hike the thirteen miles back to the Black Bear Resort, spending a second night here. Then, on Sunday morning, I will be shuttled back to the same point and continue my journey northward towards the Virginia border. With this somewhat convoluted route, I will not miss a step of the AT, while avoiding the bear-threatened shelter. Today's photo is a page from The AT Guide, an indispensable reference book compiled by AWOL, a thru-hiker some years back. Now in, I believe, its 15th year, The AT Guide offers hikers a mile-by-mile description of the entire trail. It notes all water sources, shelters, campsites, towns, roads and other landmarks along the trail. Thus, you are always able to place yourself on the trail with a good degree of accuracy. In addition, the Guide shows the elevation in feet of those various landmarks, and, in each page's watermark, depicts the elevation profile of that section's terrain, broken into one thousand-foot bars. Each page presents 19.5 miles of the trail. This particular page shows northbound miles 508.5 to 526.0 (equating to southbound miles 1,663.1 to 1,680.6.) In this section of the trail, located in Virginia, elevations range from 2,450 feet to 4,240 feet. There are two shelters, Hurricane Mountain Shelter and Trimpi Shelter (noted in bold) , and at mile 518.3, one can get to Troutdale, VA, by taking VA-16 south 2.6 miles. This book allows one to plan out their hiking schedule, as far into the future as one would like. I tend to look two or three days ahead, developing an idea of how many miles I would like to hike each day and where I would like to stay. Needless to say, those plans often change. At mile 518.3, you'll also notice a reference is made to page 58. That page presents a map of Troutdale, showing in detail the location of hostels, hotels, grocery stores, the post office, laundromats, restaurants and any other points of interest for hikers. If you find you want to stay or resupply in Troutdale, you'll be fully prepped before you get there. To save weight, I bought the book in loose-leaf form, started out with only the first 500 miles, and dispose of each page after I pass through its miles. The Guide also comes in a downloadable version for your phone, but I like to work with paper on the trail. Having said that, I do have an app on my phone, Guthook's Hiking Guide, that presents much of the same information, but in electronic form. I have only referred to Guthook a few times, but when I have, it's been extremely valuable. Guthook has a GPS function that, when activated, pinpoints your location on its map of the trail. The GPS function does not require any cell service or wifi -- it even works in airplane mode. Thus, if you are ever unsure of your location, or, for instance, whether a certain landmark is ahead of or behind you, Guthook will set you straight. There are so many tools, websites, blogs and videos about long distance hiking, gear and the AT that, with somewhat concerted effort, an aspiring hiker can feel better prepared for the journey at hand. In the end, if you can learn to use all the information available in The AT Guide or Guthook, and stay alert enough to follow the trail's white blazes, then you'll have a pretty good chance at understanding how to navigate the AT. Then the fun part begins.