Date: 2015-11-08
From: Stealth Camping 

To: Pearisburg 
Miles today: 10.6

Last night was freezing. Literally. It reached a low of 25 degrees. My sleeping bag was a little cramped with me, my fuel canister, sawyer squeeze water filter, water bladder, and wet and dirty hiking clothes; all in an effort to keep everything from freezing. I was so cold I put my trash compactor bag that lines my backpack around my down bag for extra warmth. This was a big fail as the condensation completely soaked my bag. It wasn't just damp; it was wet like it had been dumped in a bath tub. I broke camp later than I wanted considering I was out of water, but it was simply freezing and hard to leave my tent. Someone had so kindly left a handwritten note stuck between rocks on a small cairn that said spring with an arrow pointing downhill.  I never would have found the water without it. Thank you!The sun was trying to come out as I crossed a delightful meadow with outstanding views of West Virginia on one side and Virginia on the other. At the top was Rice Field Shelter and a sign with arrows pointing in the direction of the two different states. This shelter is the one I was aiming for last night but didn't make it because of the cold. What a beautiful location! I bypassed the shelter because I was going to the town of Pearisburg for resupply and to spend the night at the Holy Family Hostel. I just continued on the path from the sign and followed the white blazes. I enjoyed having my lunch in another meadow looking at the town below and thought what a great day this is turning out to be.I checked my Guthook App several times today to check my mileage to Pearisburg because landmarks were not matching up with AWOL'S guide, and it kept showing me I was WAY off the trail. I was confused and thought something was wrong with my GPS because I was very clearly on the trail following frequent and well marked blazes. I couldn't understand why I wasn't in Pearisburg yet based on my pacing. The trail got very steep descending for a long time and was extra slippery from the leaves.  I seriously considered sitting and just sliding down the trail thinking it might be safer. Finally I came to a road crossing and didn't know what to think when I saw the signs saying this section of the AT is permanently closed. These signs were in front of the trail I just came from and in the woods across the street. I was totally perplexed and walked to an intersection and could not figure out where I was or what I was going to do. It was five minutes before sunset and getting really cold again. I turn around and see a truck and two people walking towards me. It is Stately and his shuttle driver. The driver thought I looked lost and Stately recognized my purple backpack. I have never been so happy to see a familiar face. The shuttle driver said the trail was rerouted recently at the shelter, and I followed the old trail as there were no signs indicating a reroute here. It was decided I would drive the 15 miles to Woods Hole Hostel with Stately and pay someone to drive me back tomorrow to slackpack what I missed. We stopped at Food Lion first and ran into Old School.  He has a hotel room here in Pearisburg and offered to split it with me as it was the last room at The Plaza. This made more sense than going to Woods Hole tonight. Timing really is everything! Talk about trail magic from two other Flip Floppers. I also get an unplanned night in a hotel room.Old School and I had a great dinner at the Mexican place across the street. We still can't figure out where I hiked and how far off I was from the reroute, but I definitely hiked extra miles. Tomorrow is 90% chance of precipitation with significant drop in temperature. I will backtrack some tomorrow out of Pearisburg so I do what I think I have missed. I am a purist and have not skipped a single blaze, but today I followed last year's blazes. I hope that counts.