Rockfish Gap to Humpback Mt.: Mile 850.5 - 839

It felt really good being back on the trail after 6 months, the temperatures were very nice and there was no rain. The one thing that really jumped out at us was how many creek crossings and how much seasonal water was prevalent. Not surprising considering the very, very, very...did I mention very...wet spring we have had.


Straight Leg decided that it would be nice to take up residence here, a glass house taken to an extreme. At least there is a fire place.


Or here, the Paul Wolfe Shelter, pretty nice as shelters go.



More Creek Crossings.


Finally at camp atop Humpback Mt., we had only seen two hikers all day so I was not too sure about my (more than six) hikers wager. The day was really nice, no rain and wonderful temperatures. We set up camp and settled in for the night.

Back on The Trail

So here we go, after 6 months Straight Leg and I got back on the trail for a few days...man it was really great! The weather forecast was less than stellar but we wanted to be out there so bad that we did not care--and we were hoping that was not a mistake. The forecast was for rain, rain, and more rain.

Our plan was to hike from Rockfish Gap @ Interstate 64 in Virginia to US 60 near Buena Vista, Virginia. We have already hiked a loop that included Three Ridges with Bike and Moses, so we decided that we would take a side trail to cut off the section that we already hiked. It would be a total hike of about 52 miles with 48 on the AT.


We started off from Rockfish Gap in a dense fog...for those of you who are familiar with Afton Mountain you know mornings at Rockfish Gap are almost always in a dense fog...but I digress.

The hike over all was beautiful and surprisingly dry except for the last night and the final day, we planned to hike about 10-12 miles a day starting on Thursday and getting out on Monday.

Before we started out Straight Leg and I discussed how many (or should I say how few) hikers we would meet on the trip, Joe thought we would meet less than 6 and I thought we would meet more than 6. With the forecast I was worried about losing this wager. We were also trying something different, instead of hiking in boots we were hiking in trail running shoes to see what difference it made...

Tomorrrow: Rockfish Gap to Humpback Mountain

Want to Camp with Croc and Straight Leg?

So as we already established hiking with Croc and Straight Leg is very boring, I have several other examples showing how boring but would not want to put you to sleep and lose the few readers that I have.

How about camping with Croc and Straight Leg?

Well that is a loaded question, do you mean camping or getting in your bag and going to sleep? Because just like hiking with Croc and Straight Leg, camping with Croc and Straight Leg is even more boring. After 15 miles on the trail and shortened days (as there were in GA during October) there is not much else to do but crawl in your sleeping bag after a nice hot meal and pass out for the night. Well, by "the night" I mean you pass out until you get uncomfortable then you wake up and toss and turn for a few min hours before you fall back asleep.

As my wonderful mother says, "when the sun goes to bed, so do I".

Although, when it is nice and you have a nice fire burning, there is nothing more appealing than sitting around the warmth of a camp fire telling stories, jokes, and tall tales.

Want to hike with Croc and Straight Leg?

What is a typical day hiking with Croc and Straight Leg like?

Well first of all it is really boring, I mean so boring that it is more fun watching moss grow then hiking with Croc and Straight Leg . . . if they made a TV series about hiking with Croc and Straight Leg the cameramen and women would revolt, run, or fall asleep from boredom!

Here is a sampling of a typical conversation while hiking along the AT . . .

"hey Straight Leg"
"yeah Croc"
"look at that cool tree"
"sweet"

"hey Croc"
"yeah Straight Leg"
"look at that sweet rock"
"cool"

See, not very exciting...plus after several days on the trail we begin to smell really badly. You know, the whole no place to take a bath thing.

And the views, solitude, camp fires, wildlife (especially the acorn toting squirrels), sunrises, and sunsets are quite boorish also.

So as you see hiking with Croc and Straight Leg is really boring, so what about camping with Croc and Straight Leg...

Haines, Alaska

Thoughts from Off the Trail

The most pervasive thought in my mind was that the trip was amazing, the time on the trail (and away from work) was so healing. The views were outstanding and the weather...despite the cold weather and high winds...was amazing, there was not a drop of rain the entire trip.

The trip enabled me to clear my mind and focus on something other than work.

What I learned:

• 17 - 18 miles a day is too much for my 33 year old flatlander knees. 10 - 12 miles a day is perfect for having time to sleep in at the beginning of the day and wind down at the end of the day.
• 1/2 pound of gorp will last 3 days.
• Shoes make great storage for acorns.
  
• 2 energy bars (I like Cliff and Odwalla) a day is good, 3 or 4 is better.
• I can get my pack weight down to 25 lbs if I need to.
• You can hike in Crocs, it is not preferable but it is possible.
  

Muskrat Creek Shelter to Deep Gap: Mile 78 - 82

This was it, the end of a wonderful hike through Georgia (and 7 miles of North Carolina). We woke up with the hunting dog still in camp ate our breakfast and headed down the trail to meet Bike, we were hopeful that we could return the dog to her owner when we got there.

Along the way we noticed a very interesting spur trail name...



We Met Bike at Deep Gap, he had brought us McDonalds bacon egg and cheese bagles, mmmmmm....


Closing thoughts from off the trail to come.

P.S. The hunting dogs owners were at Deep Gap getting ready to head out hunting for the day and we were able to return her.