This morning we set our alarms for 5am, aiming to set out early to avoid as much of the rain/thunderstorms/hail/tornado warnings as possible. We actually got on the trail just before 6:00am and started booking it through the roller coaster. The roller coaster, for those unfamiliar, is a 13 mile stretch of trail with aggressive ups and downs of approximately the same magnitude. Basically, it's a pain in the butt but the section is home to both the Virginia/West Virginia border as well as the 1,000 mile mark. Pretty badass.
Let me touch briefly on the fact that I have not completed all of the first 1,000 miles. I know. I'm a yellow blazer. However, I have gone through an insane amount of injuries, trials and tribulations to get here. Hike your own hike is the constant motto along the trail and that is precisely what I'm doing. I do hope at the end of this adventure to go back and complete all of my missed miles but for now it is infinitely more important to me to be with my trail family, giggling up a storm and sharing stories at shelters. As far as I'm concerned that's what this is about.
As we descended the second bump of the roller coaster the sky darkened to the point where I almost got out my headlamp. Here it comes. The thunder started shaking the sky and eventually the rain came in torrents. For the second time I found myself, with 2 Pack, stranded on an exposed rocky ridge line in the midst of thunder and lightning. Perfect. And with Goatman's feet in dire shape (he hasn't had them checked yet but he has definitely fractured a bone in his foot) we needed desperately to get to the first shelter 7 miles in.
We eventually made it and hunkered down with the other people still at the shelter including, to our surprise, Roadrunner, to wait out the remainder of the storm. Beetlejuice, 2 Pack and I decided to hike out an hour later but Goatman, his feet still swollen and sore, decided to hang back and recover.
As soon as we began our ascent out of the shelter, the skies cleared and it was like a new day. Sunny, beautiful and disgustingly humid. You can't win them all. We lunched atop another bump in the roller coaster on a large outcropping overlooking the last of Virginia.
We pushed on another few miles to come to the 1,000 mile mark and the end of Virginia. Thank goodness! We took pictures and goofed around until we realized that the sky had again begun to darken and we were in for a second nasty storm with 5 miles and 2 climbs still to go.
It started to rain shortly after and then it started to pour. Not rain, but the kind of torrential downpour with aggressive wind that causes poor visibility and less confident drivers to pull to the side of the road. Shockingly quickly, the trail went from dirt and rocks to a quickly flowing, shin-deep river that washed over our shoes and drenched our socks. I immediately gave up all hope of staying even remotely dry.
The descent was equally brutal. I slipped and stumbled through the river, struggling to keep Beetlejuice in my line o sight and frequently turning to make sure 2 Pack hadn't fallen and drowned in the trail river (a serious concern).
At the bottom of the hill the rain finally began to lighten and I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. The last 4 miles were mostly 2 Pack and myself bemoaning the infuriating nature of the trail, still covered ankle deep with water, and scaring day-hikers (a favorite pastime).
We finally arrived at Blackburn Hiker Hostel at 5:00pm and treated ourselves to 3+ rounds of dinner. It was glorious. We are now cowboy camped out on the deck enjoying a cool evening breeze before a slack pack tomorrow into Harpers Ferry to catch up to and bid goodbye to Kermit who is getting off the trail. Should be a glorious, hopefully rain-free, day.
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