Date: 2007-04-07
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Comfort Inn, Troutville,VA via VA 632
Miles today: 20.9

Wow! What a day. Today was cool (CHILLY actually) but SOOO did NOT go as planned.Woke up as I said before, slept in a bit for the "easy 21" miles to VA 42. Awoke to much colder morning, probably in the teens or mid 20's. Water frozen in hydration bladder hoses & bottle necks, 2" fresh snow outside.What a beautiful site to awaken to. Gotta luv it.Since we knew it wasn't gonna get warm anytime soon got movin by 0830.While we luved the snow, it remained quite chilly all day and CONTINUED to snow all day, accumulating 6" total, with small drifts, some 10-12", but very slippery footing climbin back up to high elevation and running the ridge all day, especially maneuveriing through rock gardens with uneven footing covered by by the snow blanket. This made it slow goin for sure. Usually with a fresh start we can crank AT LEAST 3 mph and easily maintain 2.5's all day. We used to use 2mph for conservative "worst case" guesses to estimate how long it will take. But we've found all last week we were always 2.5mph or better overall for the day, often 3 or 3-4mph for 2-4 hour blocks of time.NOT TODAY!!! We slipped and stumbled every step. Climbing was slick but descending was worse! We spent most of the morning in rocky terrain at quite a slow rate, finally getting to first shelter 0930, just 3.9 miles. But it seemed even slower, being fresh. We knew we were in trouble. Woodstock noted in a trail register just 3-4 days prior he forded a stream where a bridge was out an loved it, dryin out his shoes and feet, baskin in the sun-how energizing and fun it was. When saw the bridge out and the notice, there was no question it would be insane just 4 days later to ford the stream today with temps in the teens! We bypassed via the alternate road route.By 1130 we barely reached Wind Rock, just 7.8 miles in 3 hours, just short of 2.5mph. Doesn't seem too bad but we still had 14 miles to go to VA 42 and then hitch 11.5 miles into town before dark. But based on how it was goin, we were cold and gettin tired, making slow progress with lots of effort. Though it was fun hikin in the snow, it was cumulatively killin our progress.We kept gettin further behind schedule and if we stopped 1 shelter short (12.7miles) I'd never make the 8.3 miles Sunday morning in the very same snow and THEN hitch 11.5 mi to town in time for church.It was lookin like we might not even make the 18.5 mi to Laurel Shelter by dark(leaving 2.5mi before the VA 42 plus the hitch to town for Sunday morning)Our biggest concern was it kept getting colder and if the wind picked up ....BRRrrrrr!!!Anyway we decided to revise the plan and bailed off the trail at VA 632 Johns Creek Valley on a HUNCH (based on Osprey's trail map, which didn't show the detail we needed). We would hike out a Forest Service Rd until it became ??paved VA 632 and hopefully get a ride to a ?town called Maggie (?5 miles total) hoping we could somehow then hitch to New Castle where the Church was. We had no idea if the roads went directly between the towns and guessed it would be ??10-15 miles more, town to town.Ha ha. So much for the plan.We jumped off at 13.4miles and started road walkin and walkin and walkin.Dead end road comin outta the forest with mostly farmland. Asked a farmer we saw at the beginning of our walk who confirmed ~5miles to Maggie then ??15 or 20 more to New Castle via VA 311. Sounded ok, as long as we got a ride.Ha ha.NO RIDES. Very few cars or houses. Walked the whole 5miles. (2 hours) Saw a volunteer fire truck headin out to a call. A church next door. two roads intersected. ?? Was this the "town" of Maggie??Kept walkin on VA 632 for another hour (3 total). Gettin MUCH colder and windier, now 1730 hours. Gotta get more aggressive with the few passing cars.We didn't even know for sure if we were headin the right way to New Castle.The farmer was kinda vague so we weren't sure if the VA 311 directly intersected or if we had to take a side road. By now we clearly should have hit 311 (we thought).Flagged down a car goin the other way, but they weren't much help. Not exactly sure where Maggie was, but sure that New Castle WAS this way, but more like 30+ miles. Yikes!What to do.Then another small miracle. We stopped the next car headin our direction.A girl driving was quite helpful. The firetruck that had passed our direction was staffed by her husband and father-in-law. She was en route to pick up her husband at the fire so he could get to work tonite on time. AND he drives right through New Castle on the way to work! YEE HAHHH!!!! BINGO!!!She drove us to the fire scene and hooked us up. Wood stove Flume fire, I guess they handled it with just the two of them and one engine, mostly smoke inside house, but could've been a house fire soon.Anyway, they drove us back to their house to switch cars, hoooked us up with soda and Little Debbie snacks (oh so good! can never get enough of them!).Apparently that intersection WAS Maggie. And there are no motels anywhere near here or New Castle. Glitch. After some discussion of options JB drove us all the way to Troutville, VA roughly 60+ miles north of where we jumped off. We should be able to get a motel and he could pick us up at 0700 on his way back home and drop us back in New Castle for 1115 church (3+ hours early), then we'd still have to hitch back ~12 miles to the trail on the expected COLDEST nite yet. (We'd hoped to take a zero and stay a second nite at the motel)We thanked him immensely and grabbed a hotel with the wheels already turning in our heads.Within a few minutes we had decided to grab a warm shower & mega dinna, take a zero on Easter Sunday (tomorrow)for church, a good meal, then hike the ~60 miles SOUTH Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday til we hit VA 42 or so and get off roughly where we got off, and use one of a couple options to somehow get another ride back North to Troutville, then continue hiking north.A little confusing, but it should work.The shower was awesome, located a different church 7 miles a way, found a local former hiker who does "trail magic" locally on request for a ride to church in the morning, grabbed Steak and all you can eat deluxe salad bar & dessert at Shoney's next door and updated this journal.Wheh!What a day.It was fun hiking in the beautiful snowy woods, frustrating having to abandon the original plan and bail off the trail, though it was prudent. Gettin caught between shelters on a REALLY cold night and having to get up wicked early to finish it and then hitch to town seemed INSANE. Gettin off was a good choice, though the location turned out to be horrible. And we paid the price.But good people came thru and bailed us out in the end.I've got a full belly, am toasty warm and lookin forward to chillin Easter Sunday in Troutville.Another FLEXIBLE day on the trail.Alls well that ends well.FedEx