TeaTime and Peak

Peak here, giving y’all a good ole’ update from Southwest Virginia. This update is mainly from our most recent stretch of the trail, Roanoke to Damascus, VA. Roughly 680 miles have been covered since beginning our thru hike and we have been averaging over 15 miles a day along the way. What a crazy thought to think about! It seems like yesterday that we were gearing up for this adventure and to think we are now more than a fourth of the way through it is kind of frightening. Doesn’t take an expert to prove that time really does fly when you are having fun.  We took a few days in Roanoke to slack pack the trail and to hang out with our friend, Tommy, and my sister, Maria. We hiked over the famous MacAfees Knob in some clouds but still had a great time.      Dragons Tooth is another famous mountain in the area, and the top is considered the toughest mile in Virginia due to the boulder climbing required. It was amazing and we saw some of the best views in Southern VA.       

Every time we take a step off trail for a day or two it feels as if a brief chapter of our journey has ended. We begin this latest chapter in Elkton VA. We stepped back on the trail with our bags shaken down, broken equipment replaced, and legs rested. The weather that caused us to get off trail was incredibly humbling. Personally I don’t think it is in my nature to ask for help from others, this trait likely works to my detriment in more situations than I know. After our break from trail I was glad that we had taken a breather and asked for help. Our first full day back we set out to do an 18 miler, and got hit with an ice rain storm right off the bat. It was like nothing had changed since we left the SNP 3 days before. We wondered if we had made a mistake and returned too early. We persevered through the long day of hiking to the shelter, and when we sat down to make dinner the evening turned to 55 degree weather. We had done it! We survived winter’s dying breath, one last hur