Day 61
Start: Stealth Site
End: VA 52, O’Lystery Pavilion
Miles Hiked: 8.5
Miles on AT: 558.5
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Town day! Tomorrow is a zero, so I was not too concerned about getting to town early, but I did want to get there in time for lunch. Last night, I looked up the location of Kristian Morgan, the ultra-runner attempting to beat the AT NOBO fastest known time and finish the trail in 42 days. I saw that he was stopped at I-81, a few miles behind me, and figured he would probably pass me at some ungodly hour during the night. Well, this morning when I checked his location, I found out he had passed right by me sometime between 6 and 7 am. I totally could’ve gotten up early to see him if I’d have known! Darn! Oh well.
In no big rush, I left camp and started hiking around 8:30 am. After a few minutes I reached the ¼ GA->ME sign. Wow, one quarter of the way done with the trail. That’s progress! Speaking of progress, I made a lot of progress on my audiobook this morning. Nothing else really occupied my mind.
With the sun out and summer rapidly approaching, the air was very warm. Down in a tree-covered gap, though, it was several degrees cooler and a nice respite from the rising temperatures. Almost no sunlight got through the thick rhododendron tunnel; it felt like I was night hiking a bit.
I climbed about 1,000 feet of a nice, gradual trail, then made it back down the other side. Once out of the forest, I emerged into a grassy field. It felt good to have the sun on my skin even though my shirt was wet with sweat.
As I climbed the grassy hill, I continued to look back, soaking in the views of the mountains I had just descended. At the top, I entered the forest once again and then came upon a stream that was calling my name. I just had to put my feet in. My ride was scheduled to pick me up at 12:30 pm, but, looking at the time, I was ahead of schedule. To the stream!
With my shoes and socks off, I stepped gingerly into the flowing waters. Oh, it was perfect! Not too cold, it was cool enough to be refreshing and inviting. I wished I could get all the way in, but I didn’t have enough time for that.
After a few minutes, I put my shoes back on and continued on to finish my last two miles. This part of the trail went through an easement area on private land. I want to say thank you to the landowners who allow us hikers to hike on their land. We appreciate you and your trust that we will respect the trail and your land.
Before I knew it, I made it to the road crossing at 12:15 pm, right on time. My ride was waiting and off we went! Reunited with my fiance, we got lunch and relaxed for the rest of the day.
And that’s day 61.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.