05-23-13 Crossing the Longest Foot Bridge Together

The rain had ceased by the time we woke up but had left behind a wet tent to put away. There were clouds above and below as we hiked along the ridges down to the James River. We would have stopped at Matt's Creek shelter for our morning snack but K dunked her foot during the creek crossing and was too embarrassed to stop.

Crossed the longest footbridge on the Appalachian Trail around 10 a.m.--the lowest point in elevation of the day--and made it to Johns Hollow for an early lunch of squeeze cheese, pepperoni, and tortillas. We would be without water from then to the end of the day so we drank as much as we could.

Also we heard the Cicadas for the first time. We have been told they are really bad every 17 years; guess when that will be? That's right, this year. Fortunately, we only hear them at the lower elevations.

The climb back up was a toughy and took us about an hour and a half. The rest of the day was fairly easy with some good ridge miles. We got to the next water source (Punchbowl Shelter) around 5 p.m. where we set up for the night.

As the night wore on a few familiar faces came in that we hadn't seen for awhile; Steady-State, Hangman, Grey Cloud and Loan Wolf. The night also brought a legit thunderstorm to soak the tent for another day!

05-21-13 With the Creepy Crawlers Somewhere

Hot. Humid. Buggy. Opened our eyes to see a tick crawling on our tent. Thankfully, it was on the outside.

We woke up early to catch the sunrise at Harvey's Knob Overlook. The fog prevented the view, but the clouds and the colors were gorgeous nonetheless.

We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway several times today. The parkway runs from the Smokies to the Shenandoahs and the Appalachian Trail will loosely follow it the next 100 miles.

Saw our first rattlesnake during lunch at Cove Mountain. A dragonfly at Jennings Creek. Dozens of worms weaving webs along the path. Invisible biting bugs. The trail is alive.

Arrived at Bryant Ridge Shelter and were so impressed with the construction that we rolled out our sleeping pads to stay. As we slumbered, the night came to life with the creepy crawlers.

05-20-13 Together near Harvey's Knob Overlook

Enjoyed the morning with Judy, Jerry and Lucky. They drove us back to the trailhead and we enjoyed one last soda before disappearing back into the woods. Thank you so much for your generosity and encouragement!

We stopped for lunch at Fullhardt Knob Shelter and were entertained by a group of hikers out for the week. One was playing the trumpet. All of them had too much stuff and odds and ends hung to the outside--bell peppers, a cutting board, 10 pound sack of potatoes.

The day was pleasant until the thunderstorm hit. It actually wasn't entirely near us, but the downpour soaked us to the bone nonetheless. We ducked into Wilson Creek Shelter to get out of the rain, but it was pointless at that time.

We stopped for the night short of Harvey's Knob Overlook. We were close enough though to walk over to marvel at the sunset and also three deer nearby.