Mile 484.8
Elevation 3,369
Miles Hiked 16
There is a discrepancy in mileage totals between the AT Guide and my GPS application, Guthook, so I’m using Guthook’s numbers.
I’m on my own again. The two hikers with whom I was hiking reached their destination at Damascus, so they are on their way home. This morning before leaving the Woodchuck Hostel, I weighed my backpack. I knew it was heavy, but 43 pounds with 3 liters of water was kind of a shocker. When I get home, most of the equipment will be sold, and I’ll buy new lighter equipment if I go hiking again.
As promised in yesterday’s post, the bikers were out in force. They were riding their bicycles on the Creeper trail. The Creeper Trail is an old railroad bed that goes deep into the woods. Many years ago, trains hauled lumber from the forest. When that stopped, Damascus turned it into a big recreational attraction. So big that the bikers had all the rooms for hire taken.
As usual, the hike had a lot of ups and downs. The biggest was a 1,200 foot elevation gain over four miles. Part of the hike was on the Creeper Trail. The bikers like to stop hikers and talk, so there was a lot of that.
One part of the AT went under a bridge, and it was there I lost the trail. It took about 15 minutes to find it again. After that it was clear sailing to the shelter. When I arrived, I was alone, but eventually two couples came in separately and set up tents. One woman just about talked my ear off, but in the end she gave some great tips on what to see during tomorrow’s hike.
