Day 36 - Mar 28
If I thought yesterday was warm then I definetly ate my words today. By the time we woke up at 630, the temp was nearing 65. We packed up quick, ate some pop tarts, and started hiking.
As we began our climb back into the mountains we realized that our packs did not feel as burdensome as they typically do with a 4 day resupply. There was one more thing we realized too, that ate 830 in the morning the temp was now 75 degrees. One final fun fact about Virginia, the water sources are not as abundant as in the other southern states. In NC you could go 3 miles and see 7 streams while in VA you can go 8 miles and see a single dry creek bed. Today was a sweat bath. The high reached 83.
By the time we stopped for lunch the heat was overwhelming. We layed down in a shelter and drank two liters of water while eating lunch. After refilling our waters at the nearby stream we continued relaxing in the shade of the shelter. I easily could have stayed here all day long but as I began to recover some stamina I noticed that yellow jackets and mud wasps were also settling into the shelter. I hate bees. The sight of them flying around was more than enough motivation to get back on trail.
We climbed up and over 4 mountain ridges today. Every time we climbed up we were dripping with sweat. Every time we got into a valley, we would walk through a cow pasture or green grassy rolling hills and the sun would just shine down upon us. Still, Walker and I both agree that southern Virginia has been our favorite section of the trail. Its simply gorgeous. No heat nor rain could take it away.
Our final challenge of the day was hiking up Chesnut knob. We gained 2000 feet of elevation in 4 miles. We finally reached the top and celebrated the end of a long hard day.
Once again, we were able to set up our tents without our rain fly's. We recieved a brilliantly orange sunset, there was a zero percent chance of rain throughout the night, and the sky was partially clear.
We hiked 22 miles today, from a campsite 2 or 3 miles out of Atkins to Chesnut knob.
Goodnight,
Tyler M.
As we began our climb back into the mountains we realized that our packs did not feel as burdensome as they typically do with a 4 day resupply. There was one more thing we realized too, that ate 830 in the morning the temp was now 75 degrees. One final fun fact about Virginia, the water sources are not as abundant as in the other southern states. In NC you could go 3 miles and see 7 streams while in VA you can go 8 miles and see a single dry creek bed. Today was a sweat bath. The high reached 83.
By the time we stopped for lunch the heat was overwhelming. We layed down in a shelter and drank two liters of water while eating lunch. After refilling our waters at the nearby stream we continued relaxing in the shade of the shelter. I easily could have stayed here all day long but as I began to recover some stamina I noticed that yellow jackets and mud wasps were also settling into the shelter. I hate bees. The sight of them flying around was more than enough motivation to get back on trail.
We climbed up and over 4 mountain ridges today. Every time we climbed up we were dripping with sweat. Every time we got into a valley, we would walk through a cow pasture or green grassy rolling hills and the sun would just shine down upon us. Still, Walker and I both agree that southern Virginia has been our favorite section of the trail. Its simply gorgeous. No heat nor rain could take it away.
Our final challenge of the day was hiking up Chesnut knob. We gained 2000 feet of elevation in 4 miles. We finally reached the top and celebrated the end of a long hard day.
Once again, we were able to set up our tents without our rain fly's. We recieved a brilliantly orange sunset, there was a zero percent chance of rain throughout the night, and the sky was partially clear.
We hiked 22 miles today, from a campsite 2 or 3 miles out of Atkins to Chesnut knob.
Goodnight,
Tyler M.
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