Sun 31 Oct - 635 Stony Creek to 613 Mountain Lake

Beautiful day again - warm morning but still cool in the afternoon.

Said our goodbyes to Neville and Michael at Woods Hole.  It was a great place for us (and any hiker) and perfect as the last hostel of our trip. 

Only hiked seven miles today.  It was uneventful except for 1.5 miles of rocky, bad footing.

Needed to allow time for the drive home today (which we are doing now).  We will be in our own house tonight. 

On the way home we went through Catawba to checkout the trail crossing and the parking.  I will post our remaining hike plans tomorrow.  

While in Catawba, we at at the Home Place,  arguably the best food on the trail according to many thru-hikers.

Woods Hole pictures

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Sat 30 Oct - Rt. 606 to Woods Hole

Great hiking weather, upper 60s. 

Hiked the last piece of trail - we are now complete through 20 miles north of Parisbutg.  We have done 67 miles whole based at Woods Hole. 

Hiked with Dennis,  aka Snow Head.  We did 14 miles including 2000 feet of climb.  It was a good hike.

The good news is we get to sleep in the hostel tonight instead of the bunkhouse.   It has been really cold the last two nights.

Fri 29 Oct - 635 Stony Creek south to Pearisburg

Cold this morning - near freezing.  Stayed cold hiking on top of the ridge - in the 30s with 20+ mph wind.  Warmed up in the afternoon. 

It will be in the upper 20s tonight.  We sleep in the bunkhouse so, no heat.

Tough hike today - cold and long - about 20 miles in 10 hours.  Climbed up on the ridge first thing and followed it all day back to Pearisburg.

Hiked with Joel (McJeep) again today.  He is hiking separately tomorrow then driving back to New Jersey.   He has about 400 miles left to complete the AT.

Everyone here at the hostel had dinner at the Mexican restaurant in town tonight.  Neville got the night off.  Good food and a good time.

Thur 28 Oct - Bland to 606

Beautiful hiking day.  Cool but not cold.  High in low 60s

Hiked 18.6 miles today.  Big climb in the morning and then we followed the ridge top the rest of the day.  Came back to Woods Hole for a wonderful Indian dinner tonight.  

Hiking the 20 miles of trail immediately north of Pearisburg tomorrow with Joel. 

Wed 27 Oct - Pearisburg to Woods Hole

Warm overnight but hard rain and wet trails.  Rain this morning then clearing, breezy, colder, and then rain again.  Some sun and warming this afternoon but getting cold again now.

Last night it was nice listening to the raon on the metal roof.  A great day to have a short hike and come back to a warm shower and hot meal.  Only 10 miles today but better than not hiking. 

Saw lots of peoplle on the trail today saw no one yesterday.  Saw Drifter and BB hiking north.  Still can't believe we met him again.   Like Wendy said, you expect you might see SPBOs or flip-flopers again - but not section hikers.

Hiked with McJeep (Joel) from NJ.  We will likely do it again the next couple of days.  We can share shuttles or shuttle each other.  It means we will continue to hike sections out of order.

Woods Hole is a great hostel.  Neville cooks a great dinner and breakfast,  and Michael gives us shuttles.  Both are licensed massage therapists.  Neville's grandfather started the hostel and her grandmother continued for 20 years after his death.  Neville and Michael have been running it for a year and a half now.

Woods Hole pictures

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Tue 26 Oct - Woods Hole Hostel

Cloudy but nice hiking weather - mid 70s.  Rain has started tonight.  Thunderstorms tonight and or tomorrow.

We hiked 12 miles today, completing all the trail south of Bland Virginia.  Done by 2:30, we drove to Woods Hole Hostel which is about 10 trail miles south of Pearisburg.  The main house is full so we are staying in the bunk house with about 10 other hikers (SOBOs and section hikers).  The bunk house is a chestnut log cabin with bunks on the second floor.  The hostel is featured in AT Magazine this month.  Pictures and more in coming days

You may remember Drifter and Boxman from last April in Pennsylvania.  They are section hikers who have done a lot of the trail.  Boxman loaned (permanently) a knee brace which helped me continue hiking.  Well today when arrived, I heard my name called and it was Drifter.  He is down here hiking for a week with another friend BB.  What are the odds?  We had a great dinner together in the main house with some of the other guests.

Tomorrow rain and thunderstorms are forecast.  We had a big hike planned from Bland north.  Rather than not hike, we will take advantage of a ride into Pearisburg and hike back here.

Sun/Mon 25 Oct - Relax Inn

Heavy rain and high wind this morning and a little more rain this afternoon.  Warm day yesterday.

We took a zero today because of the rain.  Thunderstorms possible tonight but tomorrow looks better.

Yesterday was a nice, warm day.  We hiked 15.5 miles.  Saw a composting version of the "box over a hole" privy.  It works.

Tomorrow we will finish the last piece of trail down here and drive to Woods Hole Hostel near Parisburg.

Sat pics

Forgot to mention that we passed our 2000 mile mark this morning.   We have 162.9 left to go as of tonight.

Fall late colors

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Sat 23 Oct - Relax Inn

Warmer today - hiking in shirt sleeves by 9:30.  Clear until this evening, then some clouds.  Hi upper 70s.

Hiked 17.4 miles today less than yesterday but it took longer.  I think we are getting cumulatively tired. 

We are hiking NW of I-81 for 3 days.  This will get us up to Rt. 52 and Bland, VA.  Then we will move the car up to Woods Hole Hostel south of Pearisburg.  We will get close to finishing by next weekend.  Problem is there is rain in the forecast Mon-Fri next week.  Monday looks bad so we may take a zero.

Our plan is to get as far as we can before going back next Sunday so Wendy can start work on Monday 01 Nov.  We hope to get past Pearisburg and finish on the two weekends before Thanksgiving.

I forgot to mention yesterday that in addition being treacherous, newly fallen leaves hide the trail.  Until enough people walk the trail, it all looks the same.  You really depend on the blazes.

Also, got a birthday note from Andi.  She was just safely back from her second trip into the jungle. 

Fri 22 Oct - Relax Inn, Groseclose

Beautiful day but cool in the mountains. Only 31 here at the motel this morning.

Hiked from the footbridge over the south fork of the Holstein River at Rt. 670 back here to the motel at the I-81 underpass. It was 19.4 miles in total.

We climbed about 2000 feet and passed the Mt. Rogers HQ and visitor center. Nearby is Partnership Shelter. It is a new, two story log cabin with an addition that has a shower. Because it is near the road, you can have pizza delivered. Who needs a motel?

Generally, the leaves are passed peak in most places. Some of the warmer slopes at lower altitude still have good color. The leaves are becoming a problem on the trail. In addition to being slippery, they hide the rocks and roots.

We will do another slack-pack tomorrow.

Thur 21 Oct - Relax Inn, Groseclose

Sunny.  Warmer at times today - high around 70 in afternoon.

Slack-packed today from Rt. 603 north to 670 with a shuttle from Bindesh at the Relax Inn.  No wild ponies or grand vistas today but nice hiking, two climbs, not too steep - "A Walk in the Woods" kind of day. 

Wendy is feeling better but I think we will still slack-pack tomorrow, from 670 back here to Groseclose.

This is where the AT crosses I-81 from east to west.  Then the trail goes northwest to Pearisburg and back northeast to Daleville where it again crosses I-81 to the east.  That will be the end of our hike - closing the loop of our flip-flop on the AT.  It is less than 200 miles away.

Grayson Highlands Ponies

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Wed 20 Oct - Groseclose, VA

Cold rain last night and much of the morning.  Lows in the 30s last night and only into the 40s this morning at altitude. 

Hiked from VA 603 Fox Creek to VA 600 at Elk Garden - 17 miles.  We went over Grayson Highlands State Park and Mount Rogers NRA.  Mount Rogers is the highest peak in Virginia at 5729 feet.  It is a "forested, viewless summit" so we did not take the side trail.  However the Grayson Highlands, Wilburn Ridge and Pine Mountain  offered plenty of views.

Wendy is sick with a cold.  The morning weather did not help.   When we arrived at The Scales (an area where they used to weigh cattle before sale), it was still raining.  We had a morning break in the toilets to be out of the rain.

When we came out there was the first hint of clearing skies.   Then came the highlight of the day.  We saw the first "wild ponies".  Grayson Highlands has wild ponies similar to those found on Assateaque Island and the Outer Banks.  At first we saw two at The Scales but we saw many more during the day including two groups of over a dozen.  They are fairly tame but still easily spooked.

Hopefully we will hike tomorrow depending on how Wendy feels.