Mile 530
Sunday morning, we left Damascas and planned on a 16 mile day. But I had been feeling kind of sick since Hampton and I made us cut our day short. I was bummed to only have hiked 10 miles that day, but that night we figured I just wasn't eating enough because my appetite was off from feeling sick earlier. Burning 3 to 4 thousand calories a day and not wanting to eat anything makes for a bad situation. Anyway, I vowed to make the next day better and we planned to go to a shelter amidst the wild ponies of Mt Rogers.
Everything was going great until it started POURING at 3pm. Our shoes were soaked through within 5 minutes, and we were still 7 miles or so from the shelter. At 4 we came upon a road crossing and huddled under sign with 5 other hikers. We all wanted to hitch to the nearest town, but so few cars were going by, we didn't know what to do. The shelter would surely be full. After 30 minutes or so, a Damascus shuttle pulled into the parking lot to drop some section hikers off at their car. Score! It was a little discouraging to be back in the same place we had just been, but it was good to dry off and put some more food in me.
The next morning we shuttled back to the parking lot we left off from and continued on. It was on and off raining all day, so we did a shorter mileage day to be able to grab a spot in a shelter. We walked through Grayson Highlands, which is a state park that preserves herds of wild ponies. They are super friendly and love to lick the salt off hikers. We took some pictures of my new event prospect; hopefully Martha will approve.
The weather is cleared up for now and we're currently at a Chinese buffet in Marion, VA. I've had three bowls of ice cream.
Some photos:
Sunday morning, we left Damascas and planned on a 16 mile day. But I had been feeling kind of sick since Hampton and I made us cut our day short. I was bummed to only have hiked 10 miles that day, but that night we figured I just wasn't eating enough because my appetite was off from feeling sick earlier. Burning 3 to 4 thousand calories a day and not wanting to eat anything makes for a bad situation. Anyway, I vowed to make the next day better and we planned to go to a shelter amidst the wild ponies of Mt Rogers.
Everything was going great until it started POURING at 3pm. Our shoes were soaked through within 5 minutes, and we were still 7 miles or so from the shelter. At 4 we came upon a road crossing and huddled under sign with 5 other hikers. We all wanted to hitch to the nearest town, but so few cars were going by, we didn't know what to do. The shelter would surely be full. After 30 minutes or so, a Damascus shuttle pulled into the parking lot to drop some section hikers off at their car. Score! It was a little discouraging to be back in the same place we had just been, but it was good to dry off and put some more food in me.
The next morning we shuttled back to the parking lot we left off from and continued on. It was on and off raining all day, so we did a shorter mileage day to be able to grab a spot in a shelter. We walked through Grayson Highlands, which is a state park that preserves herds of wild ponies. They are super friendly and love to lick the salt off hikers. We took some pictures of my new event prospect; hopefully Martha will approve.
The weather is cleared up for now and we're currently at a Chinese buffet in Marion, VA. I've had three bowls of ice cream.
Some photos:
I've been up to Grayson and Mt Rogers some and I LOVE that area! The ponies are fun too!! Glad you're feeling better!
ReplyDeletesounds like you're feeling better, but just so you know... your fan club in reston is rooting for you! (:
ReplyDeleteoxxox.