Date: 2015-07-31
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Bears Den
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today is the day! The Roller Coaster awaits! Thirteen miles of steep ups and downs, with very little respite in between. As pictured, those straight ups and downs were over lots of rock (and that trail does go straight up in that photo). That type of footing alone guaranteed it would take longer to traverse the trail. Lots of huffing, puffing and sweat went into hiking this trail. Eyes would be glued to that trail as well - very little time to enjoy the scenery.But there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Bears Den! A hiker hostel some 10 miles hence that boasted some of the best accommodations on the AT. For $30 bucks a hiker would get a bunk, a shower and towel, a chance to do laundry, plus pizza for dinner and a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Wow!! That would really hit the spot after today's hike. And for breakfast there would be pancakes with syrup. Did I mention that?I was fortunate. I had planned my food provisions to be fairly light by this point in the trip. I would only need one and a half day's supply of food in my pack from this point forward to Harpers Ferry. I could reach Harpers Ferry within one day after Bears Den, assuming I felt like hiking 20 miles. Not likely though. There would still be 3 more miles of the Roller Coaster to traverse after leaving Bears Den. I was in much better hiking shape after almost two weeks on the trail, but still not at a tough 20 mile/day level. I'd need to stay out one more night after Bears Den before reaching Harpers Ferry.Aside from the light food supply in my backpack (oh, that trusty backpack!), I also planned to use the strategy told to me by More-to-Go back at the Manassas Gap Shelter. That was to rely on water being available in all the hollows of the Roller Coaster. I would guzzle water at Rod Hollow Shelter and empty my water bottles to lessen weight. Then I would hike to the first hollow, purify some of the stream or brook water there, guzzle it, then take the next uphill towards the next hollow with empty water bottles. Would do the same thing at the next hollow and available water supply. Carrying water is heavy. My water bottles would weigh 4lbs when both filled. So carrying empty bottles made sense when the water supply from streams or brooks was plentiful.OK, it was a tough trek. My distance averaged a paltry 1.6 miles/hr. Dancing on rocks as pictured slows a hiker down considerably - especially when it's uphill, or downhill for that matter. There are no great views on the Roller Coaster either. Nothing to break the monotony. The only mental high was getting sight of the light thru the trees towards the top of each uphill. Now that lifted the spirits!I would later meet thru-hikers who scoffed at the Roller Coaster. They said there were other sections of the AT that were just as tough, and maybe tougher. I couldn't argue with them not having hiked those other parts of the AT. But my body told me that day that I'd put it through a real test of endurance. Perhaps one of the toughest endurance tests this section hiker had experienced in a long, long time - if ever.I saw no other hiker on the Roller Coaster that day - at least until a mile or two from Bears Den. That hiker hostel was accessible by car. It had a nice view of the valley below it from a rock outcropping along the AT in front of it. So there were people that drove up there to park and day hike. Besides, the grounds of Bears Den and the building itself were beautiful (as you will see in my next post). So that was an attraction for sightseers as well.That was the longest 10 mile hike I'd ever taken. And when the end came and the sign for the Bears Den side trail was visible - oh, was I happy! And what a sight it was when I turned that last corner of the side trail and the hostel became visible. But more of that in tomorrow's entry.....