VA 46.6 Mile AT Section Hike
- Jerry Caldwell
- Sep 13, 2021
- 2 min read
Appalachian Trail Section Hike - 46.6 miles
9 September to 12 September, 2021
Fox Creek (VA 603) to VA 42, Ceres, VA
NoBo. Solo initially, then joined by Backsass and Peterbilt.
46.6 miles covering four days, three nights.
It is difficult to say if the weather could have been any more perfect. I don’t believe I saw a temperature above 75 degrees, and the mornings were around 52 or so. Clear blue skies the whole time.
I was dropped at Fox Creek parking around 1:20 PM on Thursday, and immediately took off at a fast pace, making camp at 8.2 miles before 5 PM. The campsite was nice, though near a road, so there was some traffic noise during the evening.
On Friday I was off and hiking by 7:30 AM, and managed a total of 16.4 miles, arriving at a lovely campsite by 4:15 PM. The terrain on both of the first days was as you would expect on the AT, with the only rocky portion being toward the end of my Friday hike. The climbs and descents were average.
On Friday I met some neat people. First was Slow Walker, a 90-year old hiker with a full pack. He was quite the fella. Great energy! Then there was Reroute, a lady thru-hiking SoBo. Her trail name is a result of getting lost often. At Partnership Shelter I met Defib, yet another SoBo thru-hiker. He got his trail name from hiking up Albert Mtn (North Carolina) back in 2018. He didn't have a heart attack, but said he thought he would.
On Saturday I met up with Andy and Elizabeth at the Settler’s Museum, which is an old one-room schoolhouse. Very neat. We hiked 2.8 miles to where the AT crosses under Interstate 81, and stopped at a Mexican Restaurant for lunch. We then hiked another 6.7 miles to a campsite, which placed my day at 16 miles total.
Sunday was another lovely hiking day, with only 6 miles remaining to our cars, which were parked at Bear Garden Hikers Hostel. We finished our trip with a nice meal in Marion, VA.
The 31.6 miles was my longest solo trip, but only by about a mile. That portion was my fourth solo trip. For this hike, I carried a bear container. It is heavy, but I appreciated not having to sling a food bag, especially after those two 16-mile days. I’m not sure if I will continue carrying this, or purchase an Ursack, for future trips of this length or longer.
Comments