Jenny Knob Shelter, N of Bland, VA.  17.3 today. Here with Dodger, who isn’t annoying at the moment.  Had a long, dusty day, but it wasn’t too bad – mostly flat.  VA is nice. Feet are bugging me, so I called in a Campmor order including some new Superfeet.   Also a smaller fuel bottle,…

Wise Shelter – Grayson Highlands Great day!   Cloudy and gloomy, with flurries.  Once I got past Mt Rogers (highest in VA) the trail entered a big heath, with few trees and a lot of big open spaces.  Very remote and desolate, it reminded me a little of northern England, or some of the more…

Damascus!   The promised land.    (note the picture is recent – there was a call out for money because the Place had been falling down, I think people raised something like $40K to fix it up!) Pulled 18 to get here, after waiting out the rain until 9:30am.  Why get wet?   Saw my…

Watauga Lake Shelter Chilly, 40 deg F, clear. Walked all day with Oreo (the dog I rescued/fed/adopted).  Went through Laurel Fork Gorge – very cool w/ a big waterfall.  Dog and I had a bit of a swim.   After some reroute, today ended up at 16.4 miles.  Hiked all day alone, awesome.  There was…

A.M. Well, lame.  The combination of daylight savings time and Sheltowee being an insensitive jerk kept him, Hosehead and Little Engine up and giggling until 10pm or so last night.   At 9:30 I grabbed my stuff and went off behind the shelter & flopped down.  Now the sleeping bag is soaked with dew.  …