Old Face
As light began to filter into the tent, I simply crawled under my quilt. The logical part of my brain was telling me to walk further before the heat set in. The instinctual part of me just wanted to sleep. They compromised. I woke up 15 minutes later.
As I started packing up, I heard some hikers crossing the river. One voice sounded very familiar. I stuck my head out of the tent and kept listening. When they crossed the river, I got out of my tent and walked over to them. It was Joey (now called Stiles). I hadn't seen him since NOC. The Night Watch was with them too. It reminded me of old times. They were the first people I hiked with. I laughed inside.
Hike to Garden Mountain
We packed up, ate, and headed out. It was soon uphill. A 200 foot climb, then a descent. I had forgotten that I had to climb this small hill before the main climb of the day. Just before crossing the road, there was a trash can. I was so happy to find it. One of the trash bags had leaked mac and cheese sauce and I wanted to get it out of my backpack. I had the opportunity to do so.
After crossing the road, I found the trail would start to go uphill. It would be a 1,600 foot climb in 3 miles. I was nervous because it was easy at first. I passed Gourmet. She ended up doing a night hike with a friend for a few miles. After I passed her, the trail got tough. All the while, I tried to mentally calm myself down so that the climb wouldn't be so hard. I really tried. And I failed. It was already hot outside and I was drinking water like crazy. I needed to conserve water. As I trudged along, I passed a fairy garden. The climb was steep and my eyes were burning with sweat.
I was really happy when I got to the pond because the path wasn't too steep and I could fill it with cool water. The bugs quickly became a nuisance and I was constantly swatting at them.
As I continued walking, the terrain became much easier. It was all grassland, and I occasionally checked my feet for ticks. The view behind me was amazing. I could see Mt. Rogers in the distance. I was blown away by the view.
When I got to the shelter, I had a peek inside before heading to the picnic table. It had a great view. I sat down and looked at the view in front of me. Someone told me I had cell service so I checked. I did. My dad called right away and asked how things were going. Apparently as soon as cell service is available, he gets a notification on his phone. We talked before hanging up. I noticed a message from Fine Young Buck. He hadn't been on the trail at all. He got off because he had a heart condition. He was waiting to speak with his doctor. As soon as I saw that message, I knew I'd lost my hiking buddy. There was no way he would have kept going if his heart was bad.
Trailhead Food Delivery
Before leaving, I ordered a BBQ pulled pork sandwich at Mattie's Place. They asked me if I wanted anything else and I said lemonade. “I'll see what they have, but if not, what else would you like?” “Root beer?” I asked hesitantly. “We have root beer. Would you like it ordered here or delivered to the trail?” I was surprised. “If you can deliver to the trail, that's great.” I decided to pick up my food at 11:30 in Walker Gap. I was excited.
The hike to Walker Gap was steep, but downhill. I arrived with about 20 minutes to spare. A group of three guys were getting ready to leave and asked if I wanted some cold water. I said yes and gulped it down in one go. The thing about this section of trail is that you don't get to rehydrate for 12 miles because of the ridge walking. I needed to conserve my fluids. At that point, I had 2 liters of water at mile 7.
I sat in my sleeping bag and waited for my food. I called my dad back and we chatted for a long time. I decided to stay at Burke's Garden Hostel for another two nights. I wanted to have a completely relaxing day tomorrow. It was past 11:30 and I wondered what was going on. A stranger called my mobile and said that Mattie was cooking the food now and would be delivering it in her car. I thanked her for the update and waited. By 12:15, a truck pulled up. I assumed it was her and asked to confirm. She said “no” and asked why she was asking. I replied that I was waiting for my food. The woman then said she had food and gave me two sandwiches and a bag of grapes. It was their leftover lunch but it looked delicious. I thanked the couple. I walked back to my luggage and another car came.
This time, we got food as well. It was another couple who had done a thru-hike before. I asked them how much they would pay, and they said it was free. “Really?” I asked. I hadn't misheard. We got a pulled pork sandwich on homemade sourdough bread, two bags of potato chips, two homemade donuts, an orange (because “hikers are vitamin deficient”), and a liter of root beer. It was a great deal. I thanked them profusely and we chatted about life on the trail and where I'm from. “Montana” is now my default answer.
Afternoon Schedule
I couldn't believe that there was so much food available for free. I ate my sandwich in less than two minutes. I decided to eat the rest later. Duck and Gourmet showed up and we discussed whether or not I should stay at the hostel where I was staying. The hotel was less than a mile down the dirt road, but I intended to go another five miles before being picked up at the next road. With that plan in mind, I continued hiking.
On the way up, I talked to my sister. We chatted for the full 45 minutes until she had to go to class. I was starting to feel sick, so I called her to try and distract her. The heat was getting to me. I wondered if I should turn back, especially since we missed the view of Burke's Garden, but I didn't. I wish I had. The rest of the hike was awful. The heat was making me hot, and the weight of my backpack was noticeable. What should have taken less than 2 hours took nearly 3. Sadly, there were no views at all, which made the journey even more difficult.
He's gone..
Around this time, Fine Young Buck said he was going home. I assumed he was, but was shocked to find out he was. We had hiked nearly 400 miles together and had become really close. Two days ago the sweeper went off the trail and yesterday Keir got norovirus, so it was just Fine Young Buck and me left. Now I'm without Tramily again. It's going to take me a while to get used to the idea of ​​being alone again. He was my friend.
Berk's Garden Hostel
I walked up one last steep hill, then down, and I saw the road. I had called about a mile in advance to let someone know I was coming, so I knew someone would give me a ride. I waited about 10 minutes, and then a large SUV pulled up. That was my ride.
The drive to the hostel took 20 minutes, but during that time we got to see Burke's Garden, which is set in a giant sinkhole where the mountain collapsed, and the trail followed the ridge, mostly through pasture.
We arrived at the hostel and were impressed with the look. The hostel is a converted Amish barn, but with a very modern feel. The bunk beds are just beds. The common area was spacious and a nice place to drop off our bags, get some drinks and snacks, and relax. But we immediately wanted to take a shower. So we did. It felt good.
I spent a few hours downstairs. Sunbird and Tag Along were there and gave me leftover pizza. I'm just a parasite now.
I emptied my food bags and started doing laundry. I spoke to two women I met yesterday and they were apparently going to cut their section hike short. Hiking in the rain is no fun. They said anything I don't want to eat in the morning is mine. Including my Noon tablets. If I get hungry, I can dry out to my heart's content.
As the night went on, most people headed off to bed, but I stayed downstairs to continue blogging, and continued writing well into the night.
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