Day 78
Start: Jennings Creek VA 614
End: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles Hiked: 8.7
Miles on AT: 767.4
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Back on trail! We started the day with a good warm up climb (1,000 feet of gain) right at the height of the heat of the day. It always takes us a while to leave where we’re staying when we’re getting back on trail, so it was around 1 pm when we started today.
This climb wasn’t bad, but it brought us through some very wild and bushy areas. Luckily, trail crews had come through and our path was wide, clear, and plant free. Thanks, trail volunteers!
We stopped at Bryant Ridge Shelter for a break and, wow, what a structure! 3 stories, full deck, windows – this was one of the best shelters I’d seen on trail so far. Janitor dipped his buff in the stream to cool off while I laid in the shelter, eating snacks and hydrating. For some reason I was really sleepy today; my energy levels weren’t doing me any favors on this hot day.
Next, we had a doozy of a climb – almost 3,000 feet of gain stood between us and our shelter. Fortunately, the climb came in stages, with perfectly placed rocks to rest along the way. We took a break after the first 1,000 feet and, as we continued, Janitor was starting to slow down. I moved ahead and, after the 2nd round of 1,000 feet, I stopped and ate an egg and bacon breakfast bagel I had packed out from town.
It was so good! I surprised myself with how quickly and effortlessly I wolfed it down. And it wasn’t a small sandwich either. My pack felt noticeably lighter after I ate it, but my stomach wasn’t as full as I hoped it would be. Yep, I’m a hiker with hiker hunger.
A few minutes after I finished licking the remnants of the bagel from my fingers, Janitor came around the corner. We said ‘hi” and he continued moving, trying to make progress while he felt good. I took a few minutes to pack up before I started walking again and caught up with him. We completed the last stage of the climb together, pushing our weary bodies uphill.
While we were up there, I spotted a new flower – the Turk’s Cap Lily! This was the first time I had seen them on the trail, their bright red petals suspended high off the ground. The lilies stood about 5 feet high; sometimes there was just one on a stalk, while other times 4 or 5 flowers were arranged around each other like a chandelier. They’re so cool!
Eventually, we made it to our shelter. Just before that, though, we passed a tree with obvious bear claw marks. Never seen that before!
Our shelter for the night was nice. We only passed one other thru hiker today, but no one else joined us at the shelter. Since the day was long and the sun remained suspended in the sky, I took the time to catch up on my journal entries after dinner, then crawled into the tent for sleep.
And that’s day 78.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.