Date: 2018-04-28
From: Niday Shelter

To: Catawba Shelter
Miles today: 24.7
Weather: clear sky

The AT really does take me through a crazy variety of different landscapes. One moment I can be on 'normal' summits, the next on rocky knobs followed by marshland or rolling Meadows. It's amazing and that's what made today so great.The morning started out waking up to the sounds of birds chirping and the warm sun rising. We slept at only 2000' so it wasn't cold or anything! I zipped my pants off into shorts and took off my layers. Sunshine and Two Clicks took off before me so I had time to eat breakfast in my sleeping bag and do some dynamic stretches which I usually bypass in the morning. I felt no rush and took off when I was ready.I jumped over a few creeks and rivers in the lower valley then hiked up Brush Mountain. Finally, Virginia gave us our switchback climbs back and the climb was fun and easier! Even when gaining 1600'. I passed by a family thru-hiking. There are 6 kids aged 2 years old to 14 years old or so with their two parents. That's crazy!! On the top of the mountain, there was a memorial for Audie Murphy who is the most decorated veteran from WWII. It was an awesome memorial.I descended then ascended once again just like every other day on the AT. The weather was beautiful around 70 or 80 degrees in full sun. I hiked up to Dragon's Tooth which is a popular tourist destination. We eventually hit the top where a massive rock lays that is in the shape of a dragons tooth. It is at mile 701 which is just another milestone for us! It was really cool but a tough hike and after 5 minutes the novelty of seeing so many day hikers wore off. Eating lunch like an animal while people watching was fun but nobody even had backpacks to Yogi food off of and most people seemed to have no idea what the AT even was! They were just hiking the 2 miles up and wondering why we were carrying full backpacks. It got old quick.The AT eventually broke free from the societal rut of day hikes back to the regular loneliness of the woods. It's amazing how accustomed I've become to being alone and comfortable out on the trail by myself. It's also really cool thinking about the small society we thru hikers have created and maintain by looking after each other.The next set of terrain after the Rocky top of Dragon's tooth was a few miles of rolling Meadows. I really love these sections because I'm not use to them being from NH and they offer amazing views and the smell of fresh grass and cow poop... Which I like. Weirdly or not.Finally, we connected back to one of the most touristy sections in the area... Mcafee's Knob on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon. Two Clicks and I rolled into the parking of this popular hike around 3:30 after having hiked 23 miles. We found a stash of trail magic cold drinks and snacks off the side of the trail and literally devoured food like animals while crazily staring down tourists. It was a sight to see for sure. We were so hot and tired that the cold Gatorade and drinks some nice person had left really boosted our spirits. We ate our fill and took more for later because there was so much. To finish the day, we hiked another mile or two up to a shelter.On arrival, we noticed more hikers. I'm not joking when I say we could tell they weren't thru-hikers by their smell alone. That's the power of pinesol baby. Anyway, we were able to snag two spots and these guys were really nice! They gave us extra snacks and even salted caramel chocolate bars. I felt bad for cursing day hikers all day. We hungout with them all night and enjoyed having phone service and bear boxes once again. Oh the wonders of touristy areas!To end the night we told our scary stories of southern VA to the day hikers and listened to a few of them and their plans to hike the PCT in the next few years.P.S: the total mileage section on this app doesn't really seem to be up to date so don't believe it! Believe me!