Day 74 – US 60 Long Mountain Wayside to Glasgow, VA

Up at 5:00. Had blueberry pancakes for breakfast courtesy of the hostel. We headed to the trailhead at US 60 at 6:05. Should be about a 40-minute drive.

Clear, hot, going up to 98.

We were on the trail at 6:45. We need to be done before 6:00, which means we have less than 11 hours to do 22 miles. More like 9-10 hours. We have one big 5-mile climb midday. Overall, we need to move quickly today…3 miles per hour where possible.

Got to Brown Mountain Creek Shelter at mile 1.9 at 7:20. Back on the trail at 7:30.

Stopped at mile 5.1 at 8:30 to get water at a very dry “cascade”. Not the best flow, but Overkill was able to collect 2 liters with some patience.

Stopped at mile 10.7 at 11:30 for water and food. Very good water flow here, so we topped off. No water for the next 9 miles. We are just about halfway after 5 hours. Back on the trail at noon.

We just don’t make the kind of time on the trail that the younger folks do. We are staying around 2 mph average. No way we are finishing by 4:00. Lucky if we make 5:00. I’m not unhappy with our pace, just in slight awe of those who are doing 3 mph even in these mountains.

Just after lunch, we have a nasty climb. It’s only .9 miles, but it’s 832 ft/mile….ugh. This will take us past Punchbowl Shelter. 

And immediately after that climb, we ascend Bluff Mountain. Another .9-mile climb but only 704 ft/mile.

Summited Bluff Mountain at 1:15. 

Took a snack break at 1:30. We have 8.7 miles to go by 5:00. Mostly down…some of it VERY steep down. The sun and heat are brutal today. We need to be careful with water as what we got is all we get until just about the end.

We got to the parking lot at 5:25. That was 22 miles in 10 hours and 40 minutes. We were the last ones back to the hostel by an hour. We just aren’t fast…we are slow and steady. 

We crossed the 800-mile mark today. Woo hoo!

The trail mix I got yesterday was a fail. There were chocolate chips in it. That did not work once it got hot today. I put it in the hiker box and I’ll buy some different trail mix tonight. I need to expand my selection of snacks as well. I might look into some bars or cookies. Will browse the store this evening.

Success at the market. Trail mix without chocolate plus some fig bars, crackers, Little Debbie’s, sausages, and electrolytes. Got my slackpack all ready for tomorrow by 9:00 p.m. We have 17.5 miles to go tomorrow. 

Got an hour to chill out before quiet time. In bed at 10:00.

It seems like we have temporarily formed a new bubble. There are about 20 of us who are hiking around each other and leapfrogging each other for about two weeks. This includes Puzzler, Rose, Zach, Shaggy,  23, Tortilla, and several others. Partially because of the heat. People are doing shorter miles and hiking at night and split days. Also more slack packing and hostel time due to heat. The hostel in Glasgow is full again tonight. That is unusual for this time of year. My guess is things will spread out in the Shennies.

Technical Notes:

• Pop-Tarts 380
• Blueberry pancakes with syrup 600
• Beef sticks 480
• Cheese crackers 250
• Trail Mix 370
• Beef sticks 360
• Trail Mix 500
• Dr. Pepper 150
• Chicken cheesesteak 750
• Fried mushrooms 350
• Cider 400
• Water liters 5
• Miles 22
• Time 10:40
• Elevation gain 4519
• Calories consumed 4600
• Calories burned 7400