Day 2: Walking Uphill in an Oven

26 May 2016

Start: Mosby Campsite 

Finish: Manassas Shelter tent site

Miles: 7.3

Total Trail Miles: 10.9

 

Elevation chart from Guthook's AT App. 

Today started in a daze. Watching two seasoned hikers do their morning routine like a panzer division, I was reminded how completely new we are to this whole camp chores thing. What took them an efficient, well-oiled 45 mins took Viki and I approximately 2.5 hours to do. Don't judge, it's a ton of work! And packing, then repacking my pack. Then forgetting something vital inside and having to do it all over again. 

We left camp at 8:15am. We got to the shelter at 4:00pm. Somehow it took us almost eight hours to hike 7.3 miles. In our defense, Viki's weakened state (she's sick), plus just getting our trail legs, plus hiking in a damn oven...equals a lot of stopping for water, shaded breaks and sitting on as many large boulders as our battered bodies could find. 

 

 

 

Today, we met Trolling Dot. She was going south. She is approximately 75-80 years old.  Solo hiking. Talk about an inspiration! Such fortitude! She was having a great time too. She gave us words of encouragement, she smiled a smile that cuts right through you. It was the type of smile that warms your heart and makes you grateful to be alive. She made me want to finish this hike even more. Viki and I were tempted to turn around and follow her to Waynesboro. But she may have thought us stalkerish and we wouldn't have been able to keep up with her anyway. I thought about her most of the day. It was sweltering. Every thru-hiker we met said it was their hottest day yet on the trail. Fantastic. 

We also met Chaser. He's in the shelter here at Manassas. He's doing a flip-flop so he can spend his 30th anniversary with his wife. He started in Daleville and is going north to Maine. He watched Viki and I hang our food bags on the shelter bear pole. While he was very helpful during our talks with him, I'm positive he got some amusement watching us two worn out women lift a metric ton pole, hook our impossibly heavy food bags, and hoist them both up individually to a 20ft tall hook...THEN turn around and do it all over again because we forgot to put our trash bag in the food bag. Let's just say I can earn a few extra trail favors (think camp chores people) by being the shelter bear pole hoister person for a night. 

 

 

The sun is now going down and the temp may have dropped from 88 to 80. I'm laying on top of my sleeping bag, sweating. So much for the mini-bath I took today. Speaking of which, the springs here are icy cold and refreshing. Thank goodness they're all over the place because we've been like two water buffaloes! A gallon for us both today. 

 

 

Tomorrow's goal is 11.3 miles. It's a lofty, but attainable goal I think. 

Happy Trails!