Dave Matthews Got it Right

Virginia hosts approximately 550 miles of the 2197.4 miles of the Appalachian Trail. (Winning!) So, whether it would be their preferred choice or not, thru-hikers stay awhile in the Old Dominion. This week, I tested my physical boundaries by completing my first twenty mile day. The accomplishment brought a whole mix of conclusions about how wise that choice really was. 

AT Box Score

• Kind People – 93/93
• Unfriendly Wild Critters – 2
• Errors – 1
• Injury Report – Achy feet, heat rash

The Kind People statistic is especially high this week for two beautiful reasons. First, I hiked the “Virginia Triple Crown” which boasts some of the most stunning spots on the Trail. This popular section attracts large numbers of day hikers, section hikers, and thru-hikers. Also, twenty of those people were part of an apparent home-school group of second-graders, which cheered me on in the middle of a ridge walk. They had hiked up quite a climb and looked so happy to be outside. When they confirmed that I did, indeed, plan to walk all the way to Maine, I saw a mix of confusion and awe on those sweet faces. Nonetheless, they left me with a chorus of “Enjoy your hike!” It was great to see kids outside in the wild.

My error this week was really sort of inevitable. I took my first fall, so focused on the wet leaves on top of wet rocks, I underestimated how slick the wet leaves on the wet dirt were. I’ll just ask, as you construct an image of this fall in your mind, make it athletic and graceful, almost intentional, like the great Rickey Henderson stealing second base. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 

I haven’t said much about the injury report in past weeks. In general, I’ve felt healthy and fit, but did indulge in my first Epsom salt foot soak this week. Chemistry nerds will know that more properly as magnesium sulfate, which supposedly helps reduce inflammation. It seemed to work both on the puffy feet and the heat rash around my ankles.

Stay, Stay, Stay, Stay for Awhile

“Let the hours roll by
Doing nothing for the fun
Little taste of the good life …

I shall miss these things
When it all rolls by
What a day
Want to stay, stay, stay, stay for awhile”

– Stay (Wasting Time) by Dave Matthews Band (DMB)

I think most thru-hikers would agree that there’s a conflict between the deeply ingrained desire to count-strive-achieve and the soul-feeding behaviors of taking your time on the Trail. From day to day, one might vacillate between wanting one or the other of those things and it’s hard to get both. As the Damascus Trail Center volunteer told me “the points don’t matter” and every past hiker I spoke with said to take my time. So, as I completed my first twenty-mile day, I felt that conflict crash into me (see what I did there, DMB fans?) 

There’s a lot of ego and stubbornness involved in pushing yourself to walk 2197.4 miles. With my fun-size stature, I’ve never been the strongest or fastest in anything, but I am often the most tenacious. So, when I saw a logical place to push for 20 miles, I wanted to test my ability to make it. I planned my food and water, checked the weather, and read the map a bunch of times. I’d been feeling pretty strong, despite the fact that I hobble around each evening doing my daily chores. And the particular section I chose included both McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs, two of the three crowns in this bejeweled portion of the Trail. And, guess what? I made it! 

Although it fed my ego to hike 20 miles with a full pack over 3900 feet of ascent and 4800 feet of descent, I raced through one of the most beautiful sections of trail in my home state. I’ll probably question the wisdom of this choice as I think back on this magical time in my life. Maybe next time I decide to push my physical boundaries, it should be in an area with dull scenery and poorly maintained trail. Or, maybe, I should just focus every day on soaking up the best of what’s around me.  We’ll see. There are a lot of miles yet to be conquered.

The beautiful ripples of the Blue Ridge Mountains go on for miles.

There was some good, fun rock scrambling this week!! A blaze is usually around six inches tall, so that gives you an idea of scale.

The amazing trail crews in Virginia build a lot of stairs. I especially appreciated these, secured into a steep rock allowing access to a water source.

Curiosities From the Trail

Along the top of Sinking Creek Mountain, there are massive piles of rocks that someone carefully stacked together. The going theory is that farmers cleared the land as pasture and these pesky rocks were in their way. But is that really what happened? Maybe it was the work of aliens marking the perfect landing spot, since the views are gorgeous. Or, maybe, the rock-collectors had aspirations of building a castle on the mountaintop. Whatever the truth is, it was no easy job creating dozens of piles of rocks.

This was the tallest of the rock piles, perhaps having been rebuilt by some ambitious trail maintenance crew.

Remember to Look for The Beauty

There were lots of these gorgeous girls out this week on the trail.

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