Injury on the Trail

They say if you make it to Virginia then the only thing that will take you off the trail is illness or injury. In our case, that would be injury.

Day 58 – Angel’s Rest Hostel to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter: mile 637.0 to mile 656.7

We got a ride from Angel’s Rest Hostel back to the trail around 7:30 am to start the next leg of our journey. Our plan was to take 5 days and 4 nights to get to Daleville for our next resupply. Days 4 and 5 would contain Virginia’s triple crown with the Dragon’s Tooth on day 4 and McAfee Knob along with Tinker Cliffs on Day 5. 

The day started with some street walking and crossing the river before beginning the long climb up to the ridge line.  There has been a lot of ridge walking in Virginia, which tends to make water sources more scarce.  As soon as we reached the ridge, we came upon Rice Field Shelter and some amazing views.

As the day progressed, we walked through meadows, old farmlands, and the trail passed by many flowering trees in bloom.  After several miles along the ridge, we worked our way down to Pine Swamp Branch shelter. This shelter had very little to choose from for tent sites, but we managed to find something. It must not have been too bad because we both slept well that night. Either that or the long days were starting to catch up with us.

Day 59 – Pine Swamp Branch Shelter to Laurel Creek Shelter: mile 656.7 to mile 675.2

We had about 18.5 miles planned for today so we got up and out early, starting our hike around 6:30 am. Based on our past several days in Virginia we were thinking no more than 10 hours for our hike, maybe less. We should be at our stopping place by 5:00 pm, at the latest. Boy, were we wrong.

Amy said she was low on energy and was having a hard time getting moving and then we hit a big long up hill climb. We gained over 1000 feet in less than a mile, with a big chunk of it being very steep. Once the trail leveled off, it became very rocky and our progress on rocky terrain, even relatively flat rocky terrain, is slower than steep up hill. This was rapidly becoming our most difficult day so far.

In two days, we were scheduled to hit the Dragon’s Tooth, the first marquee attraction of Virginia’s triple crown. We had heard that the trail shortly after the Dragon’s Tooth contains some steep rock surfaces with metal rungs to help you down. Some hikers complain about the treacherous area even in dry conditions and the forecast for that day was rain with thunderstorms and high winds. We decided it would be best to take a day off to recharge and let the weather clear.

We got in touch with a fellow hiker whose wife was supporting him and his daughter while they hiked.  She has gotten the name Momma Bear because she has been helping other hikers as well. In fact, she gave us a ride into Gatlinburg from Newfound Gap back in the Smokies. Momma Bear stays in an RV at a nearby campground while her husband and daughter hike a section.  She then moves north as they move north. I made sure she was still in the area and secured a ride for the next day, Saturday April 30.

We finally finished up this difficult day, arriving at the tent site near the shelter at 7:20 pm!  By the time we got everything setup and started eating our dinner, it was getting dark. We both were looking forward to our relatively short 14.1 mile day and spending a relaxing 2 nights and a day in a hotel. We told Momma Bear we should be at the pickup point by 3:30 pm and to make sure we planned to get another early start.

Day 60 – Laurel Creek Shelter to Virginia 621: mile 675.2 to mile 689.3

We woke up to light rain and we were glad we would be spending the night in a dry warm hotel.  The hike took us up to a ridge like most hikes in Virginia. As we were making our way up the ridge, we passed an old rundown building. Shortly after that, we passed the old building, we came across Keffer Oak, the largest oak tree on the trail in the south. It is estimated to be over 300 years old.

On the ridge, there are a bunch of old large cairns that were built by early farmers of the area. Shortly after the cairns, the incident that would change our plans in an instant occurred. Amy slipped on a wet rock and broke her wrist. We still had 7 miles to go to our road crossing and the ride we already arranged. How is she going to manage?

We used the ace bandage we had as a makeshift sling and Amy began the long hike with one good arm, her non-dominant arm at that. The first 4 miles of the remaining 7 contained many rocky cliffs that we had to navigate. On more than one occasion we were concerned we wouldn’t make it.

I texted Momma Bear to inform her what had happened and that we would be late. Progress was slow but we eventually made it to more reasonable terrain and started the descent toward the road. With about a mile left to go, we were met by Rock Hoppa (Momma Bear’s husband) and Pale Moon, their daughter.

They helped me get Amy’s backpack off and Pale Moon carried it out the rest of the way. When we made it to the parking lot, a man doing trail magic checked Amy over. Evidently, he was a retired paramedic. He was happy with what he saw (he was checking for good blood flow to her fingers). He told us the best hospital to go to and off we went.

It took two attempts to get the break set to the PA’s satisfaction and it was past 9:00 pm before we were done. As it became apparent that we’d be leaving within 30 minutes, I texted Momma Bear. The campground she was staying in was about 30 minutes away. Her response was that they were already in the parking lot waiting and to let them know when to drive to the door to pick us up. We owe this wonderful family a debt of gratitude. The generosity of the people you meet on the trail is truly amazing.  Nancy and Mike (real names) live in New Hampshire and we plan to stop by this fall as we leave Maine at the end of September.

We are now at our daughter’s house in Rochester and Amy has surgery scheduled. Once the surgery is over, I’ll return to Virginia and continue the hike alone.  Actually, let’s call it solo because on the trail, you are never truly alone.  There are angels everywhere, watching out and ever ready to lend a hand.