Beginning Point: unnamed campsite
Ending Point: Atkins, VA
Daily Mileage: about 18.3 miles
Total Mileage: 535.1 miles
Weather: Nice morning to wake up to, then the fog rolled in, then the sun burned it off, then a torrential rain fell, and fell again!
Today's mission is two-parted; goal 1 is Pizza and goal 2 is Mom. We had a 6-mile hike to Partnership Shelter which is the nicest shelter by far that I've seen. It has running water, a shower (!), a sink, and nice privy (sans view). And a 3 minute walk to the Mt. Rogers NRA Visitor's Center gets you to a phone, primarily used to obtain pizza deliveries... mmmm, pizza....
We waited until 11 am and placed an order for a large pepperoni and mushroom and a side order of 20 hot wings. We sat on the lawn of the visitors center and anxiously awaited our lunch. From the time we placed the order to the time we finished eating, we had consumed MANY calories. Lets do the math... (and we made assumptions on the caloric densities of pizza and wings)
Dan had 2 iced teas and 2 sodas (~760 cal), half a chocolate bar (110 cal), 3 slices of pizza (~900 cal) and wings (~800 cal). That presents a grand total of 2570 calories from one meal. Stephan and I ate similar amounts of the same. We would have ordered a second pizza but we had a big climb coming up and didn't want to lose what we just gained, as it were.
No sooner did we pack up our things when it began to rain. Then it began to fall in cat-and-dog fashion. Then the thunder and lightning show started. We have incredible luck at finding thunder storms. Stephan tried to convince Dan and I to turn around and ask Mom to meet us at the visitors center, however in the end we continued hiking and the storm lasted about half an hour. It was a pretty cold rain and I did have second thoughts....
This section of trail has many styles - these are stairs that take you up and over barbed wire fencing. We hiked through lots of pastureland in the afternoon (careful where you step!) and passed some cattle... Dan had a tip he wanted to share with everyone... "Just because a cowpie looks dry on the outside doesn't mean it's dry on the inside!" He had to scrape off his boot.
Eventually we found signs of civilization - the last 2 miles of trail into Atkins lead through a field (and every blade of grass! why put switchbacks on a low elevation hillside??), and then to the truckstop where Mom was waiting for us!
Yeah Mom - Awesome to see you!
www.hikingat.com
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