Mountains Under Foot

From Hazard’s notes:
Day 45: June 23, 2009
Travel:
From: Middle Creek Picnic Area, VA (Va. 614, Jennings Creek)
To: Marble Spring, VA
Beginning: 9:15am
Ending: 7:30pm
Number if miles hiked:
a) Trail – 20.9
b) other – .3 to trail from campground.
c) AT Mile Marker – 767.6 cumulative
Weather:
AM & PM: Beautiful weather again, same as yesterday. I could get used to this!
People: Hardee (and Bruce the dog) joined us during lunch. Alex gave us some magic on the BRP. Turtleback, Knees & his hiking partner (her name is Curio) at the campground tonight.
Animals: The usual number of tamer than normal deer.
Money: $0, $783 cumulative.
Notes of the day:
AM: Day began with the sun shining brightly in my face. Breakfast, then filled our water at the creek per the usual routine then cruised down the road to the trailhead. First thing in the morning we climb 1100 vertical feet to the top of fork mountain and then back down to Bryant Ridge Shelter. This shelter was the king of all other shelters in terms of size. It was a massive tri-level mansion that made us wish we weren’t on a schedule. We reluctantly left because ahead of us was Floyd Mountain, a 2300 vertical foot climb. This mountain is a textbook example of what we lovingly call a “kick-in-the-pants mountain”. It starts with a long and well graded climb that gets you into the mindset that “Hey, this isn’t so bad”, but just when your muscles are getting really tired the trail flattens out or even goes downhill. This is where the fun begins because the trail makes a turn and proceeds straight up the next mountain. This pattern of turning and going straight up the next hill continues, each time the trail flattening and appearing to be on top of everything, but of course it wasn’t. This ascent took us a good two hours and we were ready for lunch coming off its view less summit.

PM: Lunch was had at Cornelius Creek Shelter with a guy named Hardee. We had passed him on the way up Floyd and he stopped for a bite to eat as well. He had fallen on some rough times and was getting off the trail on Friday. This meant he had lots of time to take it slow and check out side trails like the Apple Orchard Falls. He left and we wished him good fortune. We pumped some water and continued along our way. Next big hurdle of the day was Apple Orchard Mountain, which was once an Air Force radar base and is the highest point on the AT from Chestnut Knob and Mt. Moosilauke in NH. We stopped on top to take in the view and for me to eat a Snickers. Down the trail, a short way, is the Guillotine which is a big rock stuck between two other big rocks. The rest of the afternoon seemed like it was going to be pretty easy, or so we thought. We got to an overlook and met a guy named Alex who took our picture and our trash. He even offered up some water he had in his car. We graciously accepted and then Spoon went so-far as to ask if he had any food. He had some bananas. Jackpot! It has been since Kincora that I’ve had a banana and it was delicious. We thanked him and moved on. The final great feat of the day was High Cock Knob (bring on the jokes) and it really lived up to its name; 700 vertical feet over about a mile with a false peak. It was super steep coming both up and down. Not the best way to end the day. Good thing we planned on this day being tough so we rolled into camp at a reasonable time today and had dinner before it was dark. We also built a fire and had time to relax. Feels good.