Day 1 – Daleville, VA to Lambert’s Meadow 

Sunday, March 29, 2026. Up at 8:00. Sunny and 34 going up to mid-50s. Sunrise: 7:08 a.m. Sunset: 7:41 p.m.

Had a big breakfast in Blacksburg, VA with Ed and our friend Jon. Dropped my truck off at our friend Don’s house for the week and drove to Ed’s brother Stuart’s house to drop off Ed’s car. Stuart drove us to the trailhead. Thanks a lot, Don and Stuart. We really appreciate the support.

We got on the trail where the AT crosses US 220 near Daleville, VA at 12:30. We are headed SOBO. I hiked this section in 2024 on the thru-hike NOBO.

I’m carrying my full load for the PCT including 5.5 days of food and 1.75 liters of water. Call it 33 lbs. I won’t have to carry more than 3 days of food on the PCT until mile 300 or further. This is a good test / prep. There won’t be water until we reach camp in 9.6 miles today. If it were summer, like last time I did this, I would carry a third liter today. 

The first 2 miles were our worst climb of the day. Hiked up to a massive set of high-tension lines. You can hear them humming and crackling.

We made it to an overlook of the Roanoke Reservoir at 1:45. That steep climb is as bad as I remembered it, plus I don’t have trail legs yet. 

I’m also still getting used to this new pack. I need to fine-tune it a lot over the next few days. Passed about a dozen day hikers in this area.

We took a break to swap water bottles at 3:49 and 5.77 miles in. We have 3.8 miles to go until we reach camp. The pack is doing okay after some adjustment.

We reached an overlook and cliffs at 4:30 and 7.1 miles in. My hips and calves are not happy. I have not carried more than 28 pounds yet this year and on less steep terrain. 

We got to the ledges at 5:00 with 1.4 miles to go. Took a short break. My back is not happy. More on that later.

We arrived at Lambert’s Meadow campsite at 5:45. There is 1 bar of cell service. Great water right by my tent spot.

We both set up our tents. I set up about 5 feet from a babbling stream just past that picnic table. While we were setting up, a group of 6 high school kids stopped for water. They are camping 2 miles further ahead. I guess they are out for the week based on their loads.

We filtered water and made dinner fairly quickly as it’s getting cold fast. We had to put on my fleece while making dinner. We both finished dinner and got in our tents by 7:15. It’s going to be COLD tonight. 

Decent day overall. My hips hurt a fair amount, but that’s expected with this much weight. My calves were a slight issue, which did surprise me. The real bummer is my back…again. The last 2.5 miles were very annoying. I will try shortening the torso length on the pack (thank god it’s adjustable) so that I can crank down my load lifters to raise the weight off my shoulders. The net effect SHOULD be to get more weight off my back and instead transfer it to my hips. I also need to rearrange the gear in my pack and try to get my camp shoes inside my pack so that they are not pulling down and back on the rear of my pack. I will work on all that in the morning.

Tomorrow we have 17 miles and 2 big climbs in the first half of the day. There are only 2 options for water, and both are in the first 9 miles. This time of year, that should be fine in terms of water. Given my pace, which is very slow at present, and my back issue today, I guess we will need about 9-10 hours tomorrow.

Curious to see how bad my back feels in the morning. It could be annoying, could be very painful. It also depends on how well my back feels after sleeping on an air mattress on the ground:)

Talked to Dana for a few minutes and played some games on my phone until 10:30 before trying to get to sleep.

Technical Notes:

• 2 eggs: 140
• 4 pieces of bacon: 210
• 4 sausage patties: 250
• Coffee: 90
• Peanut M&Ms: 250
• Dehydrated chicken: 170
• Curry noodles: 450
• Water liters: 1.5
• Miles: 9.6
• Time: 5:25
• Up: 2352
• Down: 1642
• Calories consumed: 1600
• Calories burned: 2969
• iPhone battery used: 30%