Date: 2022-09-05
From: Rockfish Gap (Waynesboro VA) Mile 864.2

To: Maupin Field Shelter Mile 843.5
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: broken clouds

I got to bed pretty late last night and set the alarm later than usual and then hit the snooze a couple of times so we got a pretty late start. After that it felt like a bit of a lazy morning and it took a while to make sure all the gear was packed up and make some last minute changes I thought of overnight. We didn¢t leave the Airbnb until about 9. When we got to the Waffle House it was packed and we had to wait a couple minutes for a table. Fortunately they served pretty quickly so we left about 9:45 and were at the trail head around 10. We took a bunch of pictures and said our goodbyes and then with one last hug and kiss I was off south into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Almost immediately I noticed a big change, and that is the trail tread was actually very nice. It was mostly dirt for the 1st mile or two which is a welcome change from a lot of the trail in the last couple of weeks. Also, they believe in switchbacks and not just sending the trail straight up the mountain. Shortly after I started I got passed by a hiker we had seen in the parking lot EarlyBird. We hiked together for a little while and I got caught up on the trail status for things like water, animals, and people before I had to stop and adjust my shoes. Stopped for water and a snack at the first Shelter andcouas EarlyBird was there eating and got a couple other questions answered. He left and I finished eating. As I was leaving SpeedyG arrived and we ended up hiking together up Humpback Mt which climbs 1800 over 5 miles so it is not a bad climb and it had lots of switchbacks. Notably she is hiking while her wife LoLogistics meets her with a van and their trail cat MeowMagic. It started to rain close to the summit and I put on my rain skirt and after that we ended up mostly leapfrogging each other. I had gotten some views from lower elevations, but with the start of the rain the upper elevations were all fogged in even though the rain only lasted 45 minutes. As I got to the Blue Ridge Parkway road crossing SpeedyG was waiting and I stopped briefly to chat some more. Luckily for me,  LoLogistics pulled up and I got to meet MeowMagic who is a very pretty white and silver tabby. I got a couple of face scratches before MeowMagic decided to go off and do some exploring and try to figure out what was up with a little spring by the side of the road. She was actually pretty tolerant of a little yip yip dog that passed with some day hikers although she did fluff. Up until this point had passed 40ish day hikers mostly in 3 big groups, but after this only saw one other backpacker going north. Up until this point the trail had been pretty nice, but after this it felt like Jekyll and Hyde. You would have 200 m of nice trail followed by 200 m of wet rocky trail. It was definitely a lot more of a challenge and I slow down quite a bit.It started to lightly rain about 1 mile before getting to the shelter, and I stopped to put on all my rain gear. I got to the shelter around 7:30 just before it got dark. There was one other person, Coach, in the shelter and he is also a southbound Flip Flopper. He¢s 71 and has done the AT, PCT and CDT before - a good role model for me (sorry honey). The two of us ended up being the only ones at the shelter tonight. I managed to get everything set up, ate dinner, and hang the bear bag on the bear pole before it started to rain heavier. We got many hours of rain overnight. One slightly annoying thing is I swapped out my sleeping mat since it was losing air for the warmer one, but it¢s much noisier and very loud every time I toss and turn. Steps 35100Weather Forecast: 78/66 with rain