VA 311 to Lambert Meadows Shelter

September 27, 2014 – Saturday

I’ve been home now for only 36 hours after this trip and am now faced with blogging about the trip I just took. On my thru-hike, I won’t be able to afford this luxury – I have no choice but to blog each night about that day’s events. Either that, or I could simply abandon the blog all-together! Not to worry – that’s not my intent at all. I started this thing, and I plan to see it through (thru?) to the bitter end.

So, the itinerary in the previous post noted there was a Day 0 which would’ve been Friday. I really didn’t see the need to do an entire post about Day 0 because the only things I did were to write the introductory blog post, drive to Roanoke, make some last minute adjustments to my gear, drink a beer and then go to sleep. It was not an exciting day – and certainly not worthy of a blog post. The only thing exciting about Day 0 was that it meant the next day would start my trip! Woo-Hoo!!!

I went to sleep at 11:30pm on Friday. Then – on Saturday morning at 6:30am – alarm sounds… beep… beep… beep… Time to wake up!!! Get up!!!

I was at my cousin Jennifer’s house. Even though I was in a house, I chose to treat my morning as if I were on the trail. As such, I had the same coffee and the same breakfast I would normally have on the trail. With all of that done, and some bathroom items tended to, I packed up my car and headed out for the 30 minute drive to the parking area on VA 311 near Catawba.

It was an uneventful drive, although very scenic. Nearing the end of the drive, I was able to see the mountain range I would soon be ascending which led to McAfee Knob. I finally arrived at the parking area by 7:30am. The lot was already full – there were only a few parking spots from which to choose. After parking, I placed my non-trip related stuff into the trunk, brought out my backpacking gear and locked the car. Boom! Just like that, I was now mobile, and on my own.

Here’s a poorly framed selfie of me with my car in the background. My license plate (THRU15) is visible, but had I framed the shot a little better we’d have seen that the plate shows a picture of McAfee Knob – which was my immediate destination for the day!

And here is a sign showing that this is the parking area for Appalachian Trail hikers!

And a shot that shows the A.T. itself across the road. Don’t worry – I’ll be sure to watch for traffic before I cross!

So I crossed the road and headed to the other side where I shot the first video of the trip.

The transition from civilization (i.e., my car) to the hiking experience is an interesting one. It is a gradual change of mindset that actually doesn’t take long. Each trip I take, the length of that transition period lessens. Following the above video, it certainly didn’t take long for me to be in full-on “trail mode.” One aspect to hiking is that it can be very technical. Over time, one develops a scan pattern which splits ones attention between the big picture and the immediate surroundings. It is a process that is hard to describe in words. For myself, I tend to scan the immediate area of the trail in front of me – enough to get a mental picture of the next 50-100 feet, and then I look up and around to take in the big picture view. After a few seconds, the process repeats. Look down, make a mental picture, and then look up.

Only a few minutes into the day’s hike, I heard another group approaching from behind. Before long I arrived at an information kiosk. (I don’t know the correct name – it’s basically a small structure that contains a big map and lots of information about the area ahead) Because I am a slow uphill hiker, I decided to hang back here and let the other group pass ahead. After they passed, I also noticed a minor overlook area where I took my next video and photos.

And from that vantage point, a couple of stills…

 

Heading back on the trail, I continued on towards McAfee Knob – the first major stop of the day. I had about 3.4 miles to hike from this point. I knew there were two shelters between here and McAfee Knob. I arrived at Johns Spring Shelter shortly after the above pictures. I checked out the shelter, but did not stop there. There was evidence of hikers being present, gear and such, but I did not see them.

Continuing on, I soon encountered a feature I’d never seen on the trail. The trail maintaining clubs do all kinds of cool things to ensure the trail remains accessible and passable. Here, there was a foot bridge that appeared to go over something. It didn’t really go over anything at all. It’s purpose seems to be to reduce erosion on the trail. The area under the bridge is loose rocks. So repeated hiking would tend to erode that away. The bridge then serves to prevent, or at least minimize, that. I totally get the intent behind these bridge constructions, but they are harder to hike on than the underlying terrain would be. (Tall steps mostly)

Soon after the bridge to nowhere, I arrived at the Catawba Mountain Shelter. This place was my first planned rest stop, since it had a potential water source. The water source was according to the trail guide. As it turns out, the water source was dry. Seeing as how this was the only water source before McAfee Knob, I was glad I hadn’t depleted my water supply yet. A quick video shows the environment here, as well as me! (Just what you wanted to see right?)

And a still shot of the shelter – with the picnic table and my gear in the foreground.

Shortly after these video and photos were taken, I heard a group of “kids” approaching from the trail. As they neared, it was clear they’d decided to visit this shelter for a break – as I could tell they were headed my way. Although I could see them approaching, they could not see me. I stood in the “shadow” of the shelter. They arrived on the left side (as seen in the photo above) of the shelter and were somewhat shocked that someone was present.

Following my own break, I was ready to leave but decided to hang back a couple of minutes to socialize with the natives. (Or at least the immigrants) Their “leader” (I say that because he was the most vocal of the group) had a thick English accent. His perceived girlfriend was concerned that there was no “bathroom” here at the shelter. I quickly pointed out that, indeed, there was a privy just up the hill. That fact alone told me I was dealing with amateurs. That’s not meant as a slight, but anyone being out here would know that a privy was available at most shelters. As I talked more with the group, I noticed that the “leader’s” accent seemed to dwindle to non-existence. At this point, I was convinced he was an English-boy-wannabe. I can’t rip him too much for that – I went through the same thing in my younger years – I thought that English accents sounded “cooler” somehow. But from my present vantage point (and age), my internal reaction was: “This is ridiculous.” LOL

On that note, I was out of there. I wished them well, and at the end of the day, that’s all that you can do. “All that you can do is to wish them well” – for Rush fans. (NOT LIMBAUGH – THE BAND) Enough of that though, I was back to hiking which is why I was here. A half hour later, the trail took me to the west side of the mountain I was on, and afforded the following view into the Catawba Valley.

And then an obligatory selfie…

Another 30 minutes up the trail, I had arrived at McAfee Knob – a major stopping point. It was at this spot I would have my traditional photo taken, and to take in the view. First up was a selfie of me on the Knob:

The photo reveals I am not alone on the Knob – per expectation. There were about 40 people up there when I arrived. Following the selfie, I shot a panorama video:

And then, it was time to have my traditional McAfee Knob photos taken. A kind fellow hiker was willing to take them. The first one was me sitting all chill-like with arms lowered.

And the next one shows me with my arms outstretched – in a display of accomplishment. Also visible are the ridge lines I would be hiking Saturday (foreground) and on Sunday (background).

And here are a few more stills from McAfee Knob – looking out into the Catawba Valley.

 

 

 

The next photo shows English-boy-wannabe in the foreground and his girlfriend at the extreme right – cut in half by the framing.

After visiting the Knob, I took a photo of the trail from where I’d hiked. The sign here indicates I’d come 3.9 miles from the parking area. With a 10.7 mile day, that meant I had 6.8 miles remaining to Lambert Meadow Shelter.

From the same spot, a shot showing the trail ahead.

And before heading on – a shot of me looking all confident and ready to get on with it.

While hiking onward, I had some thoughts which I am proud to say survived in my memory so that I could write about them here.

Even though my thru-hike has not started yet, hiking these short sections is such an amazing experience. Further, it is awesome that people are following my journey via my blog. As part of my own preparation, I have read several other thru-hiker’s blogs. In some way, reading those helped contribute to my own inspiration to take on this journey. So, just I was inspired by others to get out here, if reading my blog were to somehow inspire just one person to visit the trail who had never considered it before, that would be such a bonus. I’m not talking about a thru hike or even a section hike, but at least a day hike to experience some of these vistas. My photographs and videos do some justice to the trail’s surroundings, but there really is nothing like BEING THERE.

I have seen McAfee Knob more times that I can count – many many many cool photographs. Each of them would inspire thoughts of, “Wow. That’s so cool!” But when I was just here myself, in person, it is a totally different animal. There are no words that describe that difference. If you were to experience it yourself, you would understand why there are no words for the difference. So, someone – I don’t care who – get your ass out here and experience the awesomeness this trail has to offer.

With thoughts behind, I continued hiking until I arrived at a powerline clearing. The mountains have several areas where powerlines run over them – and there is always a clearing. I have a mixed reaction to these clearings. Clearly, people have to get power and so they are necessary. However, they do tend to punctuate the natural environment. But on the positive, they do provide good views.

I continued on to the next shelter, Campbell Shelter, which has a potential water source. I stopped to check it out. There were several people here – a group of 5 guys that were section hiking, and a lone guy who was southbound thru-hiking. The southbounder was telling stories when I arrived, so I hung around to listen. When talking about the Appalachian Trail, people are always concerned about animals and crazy people. The southbounder was telling a story about a guy who was hiking the trail. The guy was a little “off” as he put it – talking to himself, telling others that he heard voices and how the demons and shadows were “out to get him.” He said the dude was harmless, but was not someone you’d want to be around for an extended period. It’s probably inevitable I will encounter someone like this on my thru-hike next year.

While stopped, I had some food and then headed down the trail leading to the water source. Being that most water sources are very close to shelters, I decided I had gone far enough. I gave up the search for water and decided to simply ration my remaining supplies. I bid everyone a good journey and got back on the trail – heading to Tinker Cliffs, the next major feature of the day.

After leaving, I short video seemed to be in order…

And an hour later at 1:51pm, following a minor rock climb, it was time to shoot another video showing the current environment.

And a few stills for those who don’t watch my amateur videos…

 

And a selfie. Yes! Keep that mouth closed!

45 minutes later, at 2:30pm, I arrived at Brickeys Gap which had a great photogenic quality to it. So, here is a photo of it!

Climbing out of Brickeys Gap, I was presented with a nice thoughtful mileage sign, to satisfy those are-we-there-yet types! It shows only 1.3 miles to Tinker Cliffs!!!

From here began an 800 foot ascent over a distance of one mile. I’ve certainly done harder ascents, but damn – the day was wearing on and it was a tough climb. Along this section of trail, I encountered dozens of “bear patties” – large features of bear excrement. With the large number of acorns around, someone had the good sense of humor to create a smiley face in one of the bear patties. I *so* wish I’d taken a picture but that would’ve taken time and I was really ready to get to Tinker Cliffs.

Also, during this climb, I encountered my first group of hikers that were heading in my direction. Just like myself, they were making a slow ascent. As I approached them, I said hello and introduced myself. It was group of ladies aged 55, 60 and 67. I later learned the younger two were sisters, and the older a cousin. The cousin was a relatively seasoned hiker/camper, while the sisters were relative newbies. A couple years ago at a family reunion, they’d read an article about the Appalachian Trail and decided that, “we should do something like that!” After many months of preparation, they were out here on their first section hike. Hell yeah! My dog-ugly hat is off to them for seeing it through!

Almost an hour later, I arrived at these rock features pictured below that might indicate I’d arrived at Tinker Cliffs. The three ladies were not far behind – seeing as how we kept leap frogging each other through the remainder of the ascent.

 

I was right – this was the start of Tinker Cliffs. Why? Because only 10 minutes later I arrived at a beautiful vista and shot the following non-narrated video. You can hear the group of three ladies in the background though! (Maybe I should call them the trinity?) On this video, about 10 seconds in, you see a peak that looks like a mound – no sharp edges. That is McAfee Knob from four hours ago! The ridge extending to the left of it is exactly where I’d hiked for these past 4 hours. Impressive. Most impressive.

In addition to the trinity, there was another group of two guys passing through. They were headed to Lambert Meadows Shelter – my destination! At least I knew I’d have company for the evening. While we were all present, we took turns taking pictures of each other. So, here’s one of my rare photos not taken by myself. Again, that highest point left of center is McAfee Knob – my location 4 hours previous.

When I first saw this photo my initial reaction was, “What is that thing behind your pack???” (In the photo it’s to the right of the pack) It looks like something attached to the pack. At first I thought maybe something was dangling on my pack that I wasn’t aware of, and then it hit me. They are my bad-ass CAMP SHOES!!! I hang those on the back of my pack – why didn’t I realize that’s what they were???

Tinker Cliffs is basically a half mile walk along a cliff on the side of this mountain. For folks that don’t like walking on a cliff, there is an parallel interior trail. But it is not the official A.T. – there are no white blazes on that trail. I decided to go traditional and follow the blazes. Only a few minutes after the last photo, I took the following photos…

 

 

And here is a final photo centered on McAfee Knob.

Because these vistas were so beautiful, I could not resist shooting another video. This time, it is narrated.

And also, a few minutes later, I took a video walking along the trail – showing how it really is a cliff walk!

After leaving Tinker Cliffs, we had a thousand foot descent over a mile off that mountain to the Lambert Meadow Shelter area. No problem. I will take downhill any day over uphill. That is only since using trekking poles, though. Before poles, I would favor climbs over descents. No more! Give me descents and a good set of trekking poles!!!

I finally arrived at Lambert Meadow Shelter to find that the two guys I’d previously spoken with were already there and setting up in the shelter. There was also another guy here whom I hadn’t seen yet. Turns out he was a southbounder and, I learned later, was encouraging people to “go on” to the Lambert Meadow Campsite. He seemed to be the type that didn’t want a lot of people around. Too bad for him, because all told, there were about 20 of us in the shelter area.

Even still, I decided to check out the Campsite. Not because the southbounder suggested it, but because that was where I’d planned to stay in the first place. I hiked the extra quarter mile to the campsite and found there was not a soul there. It was a nice area, but given the choice of solo camping and having companions around, I will choose companions every time. So, I hiked back to the shelter site and found this spot to pitch my bad-ass tent.

Ain’t it cute? The area is the perfect size for my tent. Not too big, and not too small. It was perfect. Afterwards, I had to gather water from the stream below. As with the last trip out here, the water levels are really low. I had to employee the same technique of drawing water using the syringe. Finally, after bringing the water back and filtering it, it was time to make dinner for myself. The trinity were already having their dinner and I asked permission to photograph the shelter area with them in the frame. They had no issue with it, so I snapped a few shots.

And then a slightly different vantage point which shows our lone southbounder a little more clearly. On that subject, the guy did seem a little anti-social at first. I’d previously asked him, “So, are you thru-hiking?” His response was a very pointed, “I’m hiking from Maine to Georgia.” Ohhh – Kayyy… Well, that definitely qualifies as a thru-hike. I guess maybe he had an issue with the term “thru-hike.” So here he is in the left of the frame.

After taking those photos, I deemed that a selfie was in order. It’s a bit blurry, so I’m not sure what happened. But it was a decent attempt!

I made my dinner which was a Mountain House dehydrated meal. The variety this time was Beef Stroganoff with Noodles. It was the first time I’d tried it, and it was most excellent. I have to say though – after a 10.7 mile day, almost anything would’ve tasted like a gourmet meal. Heavy exertion makes the most basic meals taste amazing. At this point, though, I’d only tasted it – it was much too hot to consume.

And about that distance – I think 10.7 miles represents the minimum I hiked this day. One has to count the extra miles spent on side trails to shelters and water sources. On top of that, at the end of the day, hiking to the campsite area and back again. I probably had a 12 mile day when I think about it. Hell yeah.

So, four of the campers had been telling everyone they were having a fire and that we were all welcome to come join them. Their campsite was on the other side of the stream. I decided to take the remainder of my meal to their fire and eat there. After informing the trinity of my intention, the cousin asked me, “Do you have a flashlight to get back?”

Good question~ I did have a headlamp with me, but unfortunately, it was not on my head at this time. It was in my tent. I thanked her for her kind reminder, as it would’ve been a major pain in the ass to get back to my tent in the darkness! So, full credit to the cousin of the trinity! After retrieving the headlamp, I headed down to the campfire.

There were nine of us in total and I tried to get some ambient shots of the group around the fire.

The legs you see there are from Lauren. Lauren attempted a thru hike several years ago with her then-boyfriend. She stated that a thru-hike with a significant other is a sure-fire way of making, or breaking, the relationship. In her case, it was a breaking. Lauren said her boyfriend was constantly annoyed with so many people being on the trail, while she enjoyed meeting the various people out on the trail. Seems he thought it was more of a solitary experience and that resulted in a clash between them.

Now, several years later, she was back on the trail with her new boyfriend, hiking a 10 day section hike.

Here’s a very short video that attempts to grab the ambiance of the campfire.

At the campfire, drinks started making their way around! It seems that everybody except me had brought some form of drink with them. There was Vodka, Rum, Gin, Whiskey, and several mixers. One guy brought a bottle of Tequila that he bought in Mexico on a recent trip there. The bottle contained an actual worm in it. There was a short debate over who would eat the worm. It was finally decided that the bringer of the bottle would have to eat it. (Thank goodness it wasn’t me)

So here is a photo of him going to eat the worm from the bottle! It is a little blurry because of low light and the fact that he was moving. I did contribute to the act; his water chaser is my own Gatorade bottle which is in his right hand!

A while later, at 9:30pm I shot another video to capture the ambiance…

And a still photo – all smiles!

While around the fire, I noticed someone charging their phone using a hand-crank device. I saw the situation and, without hesitation, proclaimed, “I gotchya covered – I’ll be right back.” I headed down to my tent real quick and retrieved my bad-ass portable re-charger. It’s the one that can charge a Samsung Galaxy S4 like 3 times. I arrived with that, and passed it around – to everyone’s delight. They were all asking questions about it and, upon hearing the details, proclaimed they would have to get one. It really is bad-ass, and their reaction confirmed that fact.

A final attempt to capture the ambiance of the campfire – at 10:10pm

And by 11:30pm, I’d decided it was time for me to sleep. I had 9.4 miles to cover on Sunday and needed my sleep. I bid everyone a good night’s sleep at the fire, and headed down back to my tent. That was after retrieving my bad-ass charger though! Upon entering my tent, I set up my sleeping back and crawled in. As I lay back on my bed, all the day’s hardships just flowed out of me. Laying flat felt so good. It did not take long to fall asleep at all.

 

Wandering On,

Kelly