Date: 2017-06-28
From: Priest Mountain Summit

To: Reeds Gap/Devils Backbone Brewery
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: broken clouds

Day 57Wednesday, June 28, 2017 Stealth Site atop Priest Mountain (827.5) to Reeds Gap VA 664/Devils Backbone Brewpub (842.5)*Miles:  11.9 miles in 8 hours with two breaks*2017 AT trip miles: 842.5Total AT miles to date: 2128.9Weather: Sunny, cooler, 60sDinner 1: Lamb burger and salad; Dinner 2: Kid¢s menu chicken tenders, fries and zucchini, one flight Devils Backbone samples and a pint of lagerHikers: Tinker and Bell, Mama Bear and the three children, half a dozen in passingWildlife: Thousands of firefliesForgot to mention that I had signed the confessional in the Priest Shelter Trail Journal yesterday before heading on to the summit. The journal is full of fun things to read¢better than more shelter journals. I ate breakfast on the same summit boulders where dinner had been made. It was still chilly¢wore my rain jacket again for warmth, but I'll take this over heat any day. This was definitely one of my best campsites to date. Red Beard and Kaitlin were still in their tent when I left at 8. I had been led to believe that the Priest Mountain descent was worse than Dragon¢s Tooth, but it was only long, not treacherous. Really no different from anything else to date. Crossed a highway and over a suspension bridge. There were inviting smooth boulders along the creek shoreline and I took an early break, soaking my feet and reading a few more chapters from Jewelweed. This is the only book of three (all housed on my iPad) that I've cracked and I am only now reading with any regularity. Beside descending the Priest, today's section included another PUD¢another almost as high mountain to simply go up and then back down. At the seven mile mark, I encountered a blue blazed trail indicating it was only three miles to the next shelter vs. the 6.1-miles following the A.T. Hmmmm¢¦Last night Flash, the southbound hiker had told me he had stayed at the Devils Backbone Brewpub¢a hiker-friendly facility. Apparently they let hikers sleep in the woods and you can get a $5 breakfast and get shuttled back. It's five miles off trail, so the trick is getting a ride. A shortcut would make this idea feasible¢¦but I¢d technically be skipping 3.1 miles, thus the above asterisk to today's data points.I definitely have a case of senoritis. I'm almost done. This mountain is big and the trail totally just goes up and right back done. Both trails lead to the same point. It's only a difference of 3.1 miles. I've already done more than 2000 miles, which is minimum that the Appalachian Trail Conservancy recognizes for completion anyway. I could charge my phone. There is beer. Done. I started following the blue blazes.Long story short: Shorter does not mean easier.I had assumed that the blue blaze would simply cut off the summit climb. Boy was I wrong. The Mau-Har blue blaze began in the usual way and about halfway, it reach some fantastic waterfalls. I smugly thought¢what a better decision! Except for New Hampshire¢s White Mountains, the A.T. rarely passes by this kind of scenery. There was a nice campsite adjacent near several clear swimming holes. I was moving on when I thought, what the heck¢I should take the time to swim. After all, this is a shortcut and I need to slow down. So I headed back to the campsite and went for a super fast skinny dip. I wasn¢t on the AT highway, so the risk of being seen was minimal at best. That done¢and it felt so good¢I continued expecting to reconnect with the AT again within an hour or less. Nearly two hours later, I was beginning to think I had made a huge mistake. Surely that shelter was over the next hill. I climbed and climbed and climbed. I had given myself until 3 p.m. and then I would retrace my steps¢something that by now seemed insane, yet I wasn't certain where this trail was leading. It just seemed to be taking way too long and was too high. My guidebook (and the sign) only told of distances¢it isn't a topo map. Finally, at 2:50, the roof of the shelter, and the AT, came into view. The kicker: On the blue blaze trail sign posted by the shelter, there read this: ¢While the 3.0 May-Har trail is shorter, it is more strenuous and will take as long as hiking the 6.1 Appalachian Trail section.¢ That would have been nice to know. Regardless, the waterfalls and swim were worth it and only slightly overshadowed by my anxiety of correctly reaching the shelter turnoff.Thus a visit to the brewery became a self-soothing priority. I reached the road before 4 p.m. and got a hitch within five minutes from a nice young man whose grandmother lives in Wisconsin. And I am indeed camped in the woods behind this vortex of a brewery. It's located near Wintergreen, a resort in the mountains. There are native flowers, two green houses, huge meadows and lots of outdoor seating. Nothing too urban about being here. Except I'm camping behind a brewery. There are a other few hikers camping here tonight including the family who I saw two nights ago in the meadow. I looked up bear huffing noises while online (thank you brewery!) and now I think it might have just been a deer. I'll have to let the family know. They heard me yell that night.20.1 miles left and one more night to go.