5/25 Mile 641.5 – Clendennin Road

Got an early start today; I was so excited to meet up with Jacob and Mitch and catch up to Gwen. Left my site just after 7 in perfect weather. Hiking as the forest awakens is always lovely. So many deer. Got to Angel’s Rest, a lovely overlook, around the same time as a nice hiker named Hip (actual name, not trail name) who I first met just before Trail Days. Always nice to see the town you’re walking into from above before you get there.

It was a pleasant 11 miles or so down to the road for Pearisberg, then a walk of about .7 into town. I saw Gwen sitting in front of the Grocery store from far away on top of a hill; we waved excitedly from at least a quarter mile apart. It was a lovely reunion; we went to a Mexican restaurant and caught up on all the things each other had missed during our longest period of hiking apart since the Smokies.

Next, we had some missions before our guests arrived. First, a resupply at the grocery store to get us to Catawba, VA (around 70 miles). Next, I had previously encountered the owner of the Angel’s Rest hostel and been offered free laundry when I got there. Without time to do laundry, I headed over there and they were happy to let me take a free shower instead. I quickly did that as well as picking up a package I had sent there, then hustled back to the Mexican place to meet Jacob and Mitch while Gwen finished up a phone call with his mom (she’s going to come do a section of the AT with him!)

They were here! They had currently been awake since 3AM the previous night for their flight to Roanake via Charlottesville, where they were then shuttled to Pearisberg by a nice driver named Homer who thru-hiked in 2004. It was fantastic to see Jacob and Mitch after so long. We went back to the Mexican place and had a lovely time catching up over margaritas while Gwen finished his planning call with his Mom.

With that, we were off! Jacob and Mitch were starting their first AT adventure.

The hike away from Pearisberg followed a highway for a bit, but pretty soon we were climbing through the woods as usual.

Of course, for the full AT experience, there needed to be some rain. That started maybe an hour after we set off. I was very worried that would continue the whole weekend, after the week of perfect weather we’d just had. Luckily, that didn’t bear out. We passed through a rare area where no camping was allowed, and just after we got through it the rain let up.

With the rain done (for now) and 6ish miles accomplished, we found a flat spot and made it work as a campsite. We had a little wine and cooked a lovely group dinner for the four of us: rice and beans with fritos and cheese, which Jacob and Mitch brought for us! It was already dark at this point, but the vibes were great; it was a lovely start to this new group adventure. Now was the start of the wonderful series of “surprises” Mitch and Jacob had brought to share with Gwen and I. The first two were the wine and a bag of Maltesers, which are like Whoppers but better (Jacob had brought them from France, you can’t get them in the US). Everyone was pretty beat at this point; Jacob and Mitch had been up for most of 24 hours. It was time for bed.

5/26 Mile 651 – Campsite before Dickensen Gap

Waking up to a lovely morning after some rest, we made breakfast and got rolling on our first full day. Eventually, we came to a nice open ridgeline with lovely views down into the valley, as well as Jacob and Mitch’s first ever AT shelter. At the shelter, we stopped for a nice long break and took advantage of another of the surprises: the game Carcassonne! This is a game all four of us enjoy very much; Jacob, Mitch, and I play it all the time at game nights, as does Gwen at home in France! It was lovely to play a board game with friends for the first time in months, and to play it outdoors with a beautiful view was even better. Some note: introducing friends who you know will like each other is always fun, and this was no exception. It was so fun having Jacob and Mitch meet Gwen and vice versa, everyone got along so well.

Eventually, after that lovely shelter stop, we pressed on. Most of the rest of today’s hike followed the ridgeline we were now on, so the elevation change wasn’t too bad. We had another lovely little break at a campsite with a great view before finding a spot to settle down at after 10 miles. It looked like a site that didn’t get a lot of use. We started off by clearing leaves, weeds, and some fallen branches. It was a nice little 3-place campsite when we were done with it, which was satisfying.

We got a fire going and shared the three remaining mini wine boxes while having great fireside chats. After dinner, Jacob and Mitch revealed another surprise: gooey butter cake! I’ve been craving it like crazy, and Gwen got to try it for the first time. Amazing that it had traveled all the way from STL. It was unspeakably good.

Truly ideal evening of camping. Good friends, good fire, good food and wine.

5/27 Mile 660.6 Bailey Gap

Another lovely day of hiking the AT with friends. We ended up playing a couple word games while hiking that ended up being a lot of fun. Mitch suggested one of the games: two players each think of a random word, then say them simultaneously. Then, they each try and think of a word that relates those two, and say those simultaneously. The game ends when they get to the same word. There was a fantastic moment where Gwen and Mitch were absolutely thrilled to finally get to the word “swim.”

I also took this opportunity to do a little gear repair. With 900+ miles on them, my trekking pole tips were looking pretty round. New tips and my pliers were some of the many things Jacob and Mitch brought for me.

After another entry in the shelter log on behalf of the Fleur de Lis crew, we moved on. There were some healthy hills this afternoon, but we made it to Bailey Gap shelter, our destination for the evening. Jacob and I decided to tent, while Gwen and Mitch stayed in the shelter itself. And who showed up, but Cookie and Snore! It was amazing to see them, this was the first time since just after Hot Springs! The “shelter social hub” experience was another nice little AT first for Jacob and Mitch.

5/28 Mile 675.2 – Laurel Creek

Lovely slow morning leaving the shelter. I made coffee and tea for the group, and we played another game of Carcassonne. This time, Jacob won. Eventually, we moved on and finished the final 4 miles or so to get Mitch and Jacob to their pickup point. It was a drizzly one, a sign of things to come. We used the informational sign as shelter for a bit once we arrived at the point, then braved the rain once more to get one last photo by the nearby overlook. I can’t overstate how appreciative I am that Mitch and Jacob wanted to come out and experience a bit of the AT with me. It was a wonderful weekend for so many reasons (including all the thoughtful things Jacob and Mitch brought with them), and I’m so glad I got to share a piece of this experience I’m having with two amazing friends from home. Thanks again, guys, I miss you already!

Eventually, Homer arrived to pick up Jacob and Mitch, and we all said our difficult goodbyes. And with that, Gwen and I hit the trail once more. It remained a mildly wet one, but not unpleasant. We made it another 10 or so miles after Mitch and Jacob got picked up, which put us at Laurel Creek Shelter. It was aptly named, I tented in essentially a tunnel of Mountain Laurel, while Gwen slept in the shelter. I joined him in the shelter for dinner out of the rain, then headed back to my tent.

Some bonus photos: