Date: 2013-05-25
From: Jennings Creek, VA 614

To: US 501/VA 130- Buena Vista
Miles today: 28.6

I woke up to a beautiful clear cool morning at Jennings Creek, Saturday May 25. I left Jennings Creek around 7:30am, about 1 hour later than I usually did when I was solo. I enjoyed some fresh berries and an apple, which Heart Rock had purchased at a local market the previous day, along with my usual carb load for the morning. The climb out of Jennings Creek was abrupt, about 1,000 vertical feet over the course of 1.5 miles, to the summit of Fork Mountain. This was merely a warm-up for what was about to come; Floyd Mountain (EL= 3,560-ft) and Apple Orchard Mountain (EL= 4,225-ft). Before making this colossal 3,000 ft ascent to Apple Orchard, I first descended about 800-ft, crossing several streams before intersecting the Bryant Ridge Shelter, which was a short distance up hill from the valley I had crossed. It was here, that I had met Two Sticks and Two Tails, who had stayed at the shelter and were preparing for departure. Two Sticks appeared to be Japanese-American, with long black hair in a pony tail with a Fu Manchu mustache and pointed goatee. He was packing up his ultralight tent, draped out on the shelter floor when I arrived. Two Tails, a young woman with braided pigtails who appeared to be from the states, was eating breakfast. Both had apparently met earlier on the trail and were hiking together. I was curious about the mint green tent Two Sticks was packing, which did not appear to have a brand name. Two Sticks explained that it was about 10 years old and top of the line in its day for ultralight tents. It had held up remarkably well over the years, however, was clearly constructed of a heavier synthetic. We spoke a bit about trail name origins, and our ambitions for the hike north, and experiences on the trail. By early afternoon, I made it to the open grassy bald of Apple Orchard, where another large FAA radar facility was perched. The trail skirted a few hundred yards around the perimeter of it, before the long roller-coaster descent to the James River and the US501, where I had planned to rendezvous with Heart Rock. A short distance downhill from the Apple Orchard summit was a large "chock stone" feature called the "Guillotine" that the AT passed beneath. The word "stone" is a bit of a misnomer given the size of the rock, a boulder the size of a FIAT 500, lodged by several points of contact between solid walls of rock. There would be no worries about getting your arm pinned by such a rock if it moved, because it would become your tomb stone if it dropped. A short distance following the Guillotine, the AT crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway twice. The Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) is the precursor to Skyline, which BRP becomes at the crossing of US250 before entering the Shenandoah National Park (SNP). The BRP is smooth and curvy, extending about 470 miles through the Appalachians, mostly along Blue Ridge, from its southern terminus at the Great Smokies National Park in North Carolina to its northern terminus at the SNP. Where the AT diverges to the west from the BRP, it converges and weaves across it at numerous points in Virginia. As I crossed this road, I thought, with the child in me, how much fun a moment of skate boarding this road would be! The final descent in the late afternoon beyond Matts Creek Shelter to the James River was quite scenic. Numerous hikers had settled into the shelter here, as I crossed the large slabs of rock with turbulent waters flowing over them. I filled my water here, before hoofing it to my final destination, the US501. It was a race against dark, which had deceptively settled in prematurely by the shadows of the steep canyon walls that surrounded me. The AT was mostly smooth and flat, following the enormous James River banks for about a mile, before it crossed the longest foot bridge on the AT. Along this final stretch, I spotted a heart with the name "Rock Steady" inside, constructed of sticks, off to the side. Heart Rock was nearby! A short distance further, I spotted her hiking along the AT towards me. I embraced her, with great joy to have made another successful rendezvous. We hiked together, to the James River Footbridge, where we took photos of each other on the bridge before crossing it entirely. It was another epic day of hiking. Heart Rock and I each enjoyed a massive plate of pork at Todd's BBQ on the edge of town, before checking into the Budget Inn on Rte 60 across from Burger King and the Maury River. A hot shower and warm comfy bed after a full belly of BBQ'd pork, would surely produce wonderful, much needed rest!