Day 53

Mile 533.7

So far the southern part of Virginia has been a return to better weather. Sunny days and cool winds ushered us through the Creeper Trail out of Damascus. Instead of schlepping through the hills, Tiger and I strolled the relatively flat walk by a creek for 10 miles which joined up with the AT later on. Technically this is called Blue Blazing (or cheating by the purists) because the AT which is marked by White blazes followed the same direction but is considered harder. I don’t really care though. I didn’t start this journey to walk every single mile of the AT but more to have adventures where I find them. If I hadn’t gone on the Creeper Trail them I would have missed one of the most bucolic parts of the trip so far.

After all that rain illustrated how poorly my tent protects against water I decided to have my hammock sent me and sent that bothersome tent back home. I am now a tree dweller, swinging in the breeze. I’m sure it will present it’s own issues but it sure is easier to set up!

We stayed at a shelter that had been beset by food stealing bears. They even put an electrified fence around a bear box (where you store tour food overnight). I didn’t see any bears though and my food remained unmolested in the morning.

One of the highlights of the AT so far has been the hike through the Grayson Highlands. There a feral ponies everywhere that the park keeps to eat all the negative vegetation and maintain the balds. They run right up to you and start licking the sweat off your skin. I have a suspicion that it might have been some enterprising ponies that may have added to the bear’s bad reputation.

You also walk through pastures with cows idly munching grass. They don’t appreciate when you moo at them. That or I might have said something rude. My Cow is very rudimentary.

The walk through Grayson was a nice change in scenery as well. Most of the AT is a green tunnel where the things just seem the same mile after mile. It’s always a treat to come upon a view and in this case be out in the open. It was a gorgeous sunny day walking through blooming Rhododendrons and grassy fields. There was a rock tunnel you had to pass through called the Fatman Squeeze and I reached the 500 mile mark. All in all, this portion of the trail refueled my determination to continue the journey.

*photos of me taken by Tiger. There you go. There’s your credit.