14.9 miles / 53.4
Mountain Home B&B
It was cold last night and this morning in the Whiskey Hollow Shelter (38° when I got up). I went to bed last night wearing my puffy jacket, since it has a hood, which my sleeping quilt doesn’t have.
It was great to have the NOBOers to talk to over breakfast and while we packed up. I was last out; got started up out of the hollow around 7:30.
Today was a good day, for the most part. I was mostly in my head, although the flowers made me smile. The prospect of a 15-mile day with a full pack was daunting, and my mind was pretty caught up in that. Still, I find that singing really helps, and so I trust-fall back into the arms of song.
Being out early on the trail has it’s benefits and drawbacks, and I was thinking of Jay (from the YouTube channel “Jay Wanders Out.” https://youtube.com/@JayWandersOut) and his complaints about the spider webs the first hiker of the morning continues to walk into. I walk along with my head tipped forward to catch them on my hat. But that obscures my view forward; with that and eye aimed inward, I ran full bore with my forehead into a branch or fallen tree (I’m not sure which). It actually made my vision blur and darken, and I felt myself falling backwards, and barely caught myself. Dazed, I stopped at the next shelter to sit for a bit, grab a snack and refill my water. It was really cold sitting there, which kept the rest stop relatively brief.
Another 2.5 miles took me to the halfway point of my day, crossing route 55. With 7.5 miles to go, the idea of climbing back out of the gap was disheartening, but with the climb came a change in landscape. I also gave in and turned my audio book back on. So, while visiting with Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police, the initial climb transitioned into rolling meadows. I passed a NOBO flip-flipper (I’ve met many folks who have started in Waynesboro; I wonder why so many have chosen that a a starting point?), and he talked up the Denton Shelter, how he wished his backyard was as pretty. So I determined to stop there for lunch, leaving 5 miles to complete.
Meadow walking is a beautiful change of pace, but it is also a little like walking on a bobsled run. Other’s feet have worn a U-shaped rut that makes foot placement a little tricky.
The shelter was as pretty as he said, but, like the last shelter, it was also windy and cold, so I quickly prepared an almond butter wrap with honey, packed back up and started off again.
The last 5 miles was the usual blend tired legs, feet and shoulders, and seemed to go on and on. But I arrived at rt 522, and did the very short road walk to the Mountain Home B&B, arriving a little after 3:30.
Once at the hostel, I got my laundry done and went into town for a chicken Caeser salad and some ice cream (yum!) Then I couldn’t reach the hostel for a ride back, so to warm myself up, I started walking back the 4.7 miles. Eventually, Lisa at the hostel reached out to me, so they picked me up after I’d been walking for 45 minutes.
I’m gonna zero tomorrow to regroup (my toenails are tender) after a 15 mile day; not counting the road walk this evening.
Tom Maynard 
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