Day 80
Start: Big Cove Branch
End: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles Hiked: 14.6
Miles on AT: 798.0
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Last night was very eventful and we didn’t get much sleep. Around 3 am we heard something large stomping around the campsite. We didn’t see it, but it sounded a lot like a bear. Janitor got out of the tent to investigate and scared whatever it was off with his headlamp. It didn’t go near our food bags and was mostly near the stream, so I figured it came for some water.
We laid back down to go to sleep, but I was a little paranoid for a while. Just as I had drifted off to sleep, another creature came from a different direction, snorting and making a lot of noise. It didn’t quite sound like a bear to me, but it did sound large. Janitor came to the rescue again and scared it off.
By this point, it was around 4:30 am. We found a little bit more sleep, but agreed to get up and out as early as possible. We were out of camp by around 6:30 am. I was soooo sleepy and not at all energized for the hike ahead of us.
We descended from the ridge and started our walk along the James River. We stopped for a snack a bit before the longest foot bridge on the AT. We wanted to take a dip in the river, but there didn’t really seem to be a good spot to get in.
The foot bridge itself was beautifully built and a gorgeous way to cross the river. The sky was blue and the waters still. A little after the river, we came to a creek that fed into the iver. This was our chance; we were finally going to get in the water!
Ahhhh, it was so refreshing! There was a water snake that slithered off before we got in and we saw what looked like a crawfish in the water. It was a bit cold going in, but perfect once we sat in the water for a while.
Far too soon, it was time to dry off and get back walking. The previously-submerged parts of my body felt nice and cool, but that only lasted for a few minutes before I was hot and sweaty again.
We hiked along another creek and spotted more perfect soaking spots; I wanted to jump into all of them. We stopped at John’s Hollow Shelter for an extended second breakfast and took our time since we still had the whole day ahead of us. Janitor successfully avoided getting stung by the bees this time.
We had 2 big climbs in front of us today. I went ahead with the plan to meet Janitor at the top of the first one. It was sooo hot! Right when I reached the top and set my pack down to rest, I heard voices and, lo and behold, it was Janitor chatting with Lentil as they climbed the mountain. I was impressed by his pace. They were having a career conversation, so he was highly motivated to keep up with Lentil.
When they finished their conversation, Lentil moved on and we took a break to hydrate. Then, it was on to the next one. This climb was pretty exposed, so we had to deal with heat directly from the sun. I tried eating a few black raspberries along the trail, but they were all small and seemed like they hadn’t gotten enough water. When I finally reached the top, I found the shadiest place I could and rested.
Once Janitor caught up with me, we headed to the view point and ran into at least 5 other hikers. We may be at the end of the bubble, but there are definitely still people hiking around us. The descent down was much smoother than the ascent and we made good time on the cruisey trail.
We reached Salt Log Gap around 3 pm and, after having talked about taking a nap all day, I figured this was the perfect place to do so. We had about 3 miles left, so we could spare an hour for an afternoon nap. And, boy, was it a nice nap. The gentle breeze lulled me to sleep and the green leaves high overhead shaded me from the sun.
30 minutes later, I woke up, ate a snack, and we headed on our way for our final uphill push. The climb wasn’t bad and we eventually made it to our shelter. There were already 3 hikers there, a couple of whom I had met before, and they already had the fire going. By the end of the night, there were at least 12 hikers in the shelter area. I hadn’t seen this many people since the Smokies.
Now, we’re zipped in our tent and looking forward to town day tomorrow.
And that’s day 80.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.