An Elusive View

The heat has been really oppressive up to now but we knew that change was on the way.  Rain and some cooler weather was coming, and coming fast.  While we were not looking forward to hiking in the rain, we were hoping the rain would get some of the springs flowing again.  We left Waynesboro, VA with an updated weather report, a new knee-brace for me and new pants for Bear Claw.  The next section is part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a Scenic Byway meaning more road crossings.  The section along the Blue Ridge Parkway lasts for about 100 miles, going in and out of the George Washington National Forest before finally entering the Jefferson National Forest.

Cracked Tree along Trail

A touch of fall color

Our first day out of Waynesboro was short and nice.  Sadly the next day the weather changed to drizzle which lasted all day and the going was rough over Humpback Mountain.  We stopped for the night and zeroed the next day hoping the weather would pass.  Of course it rained even harder with no signs of letting up.  I'm sure we missed out on those rare and elusive views because of the mist and cloud cover.  We kept moving forward to the next shelter.  Having spent most nights alone or with just a couple other people, imagine our surprise at finding a shelter already full with five people and more on the way.  I managed to secure a spot, but Bear Claw (ever the gentleman) opted to camp out in the now torrential downpour.  We started with ten people in a shelter for eight.  When his tent flooded out, Bear Claw brought the total up to eleven.  Soaked and tired, we left early and hustled into town.  What was supposed to have just been rain with a cold front, turned into remnants of Hurricane Nicole.  What a miserable section.  We took two days in town to dry out.  One day was clear and sunny so we dried the sleeping bags (and the rest of the gear) outside on the parking area.

Rain from the Remnants of Hurricane Nicole

We found that the cold weather was here to stay.  And boy did it get cold.  There was really no transition between the too hot to hike in and the too cold to sleep in weather.  And the hitches into the towns along Blue Ridge Parkway were some of the roughest hitching ever.  The towns were at least six plus miles away and hiking it was definitely not worth it but we needed the food.  And of course there was more rain on the way and no good places to stay in these small towns.  Luckily the rain missed us but the skies were very threatening for a couple of days leading up to early starts to get out the miles while it wasn't raining.  It is quite miserable at night now, we roll into camp and pull on as much clothing as possible and even then that doesn't seem to be enough.  After eating, we pull our quilts around us and conserve heat.  The cold weather is definitely affecting us, we can't sleep and if we wear too much during the day to stay warm, we sweat too much on the uphill and freeze on the downhill.  At night we can't sleep because we can't stay warm.  Without the fall transition we hadn't had enough time to prepare for the cold weather and are left unprepared.  With more rain coming and even colder temperatures, we finally landed in Daleville ready to get off.

The Guillotine in Virginia

In total we did over 800 miles completing Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and touching Massachusetts, Virginia and Maine.  I went through two pairs of shoes and two pairs of sandals before finding a pair that fit, Bear Claw was working on his second pair (his first having lasted over 500 miles and might have gone a little longer).  I went through five knee-braces and Bear Claw was working on his first near the end.  Other gear destroyed includes a melted shirt, and worn out pants.  We swapped out one sleeping bag, one pack, hiking skirt for hiking convertibles and a tank for a shirt.  We used two different AT books (hated one more than the other but both had issues), plus had an electronic version of ALDHA which we barely consulted.  It was all a fun ride while it lasted.