A full 1/4 of the entire AT lies within Virginia, its 541 miles roughly following the lengthy diagonal border to the west. Here the AT proves a war of attrition; and by its end at Harper's Ferry, a full half the hikers' dreams of Mt Katahdin will have been dashed.

Spring is considerably delayed this year, snow and ice storms still sweeping across our undone northern sections, so we're obliged to return to the south for a short section. Having left off at Burkes Garden, we'll hike northbound from there this time - at least we can now get there without placing our shuttle driver in mortal peril. But before returning to our car, we'll know the real face of the challenge offered by the Virginia Highlands.

3/9 Garden Mt- VA 615 campsite (8.8 miles) "Indian builds little fire - sits close white man builds big fire - sits far away" Boy Scout adage Our shuttle is arranged with Mickey & Diane, proprietors of a small B & B / bookstore in Pearisburg, and pulling up to the our planned rendezvous at the Rendezvous Motel, we see the expected red van waiting there. Mickey takes us a bit by surprise - he's a good ol' boy who seems quite at home here in Appalachia. We rattle our way up the familiar 623 to the trailhead, saying our goodbyes and beginning our hike at a late 1: 42, stopping at the first overlook to finally see "God's Thumbprint", which we'd been denied by weather on our last section (it'd be a bit more stunning with good weather and green fields). Walking the ridgeline we're treated to a few deer and numerous grouse, the blustery wind up here giving us the familiar "singing trees" - creaking with all manner of animal sounds as they blow across each other. We take a quick pm break at Jenkins Shelter, continuing down a forest road and through a series of campsites before making a quick hop over Brushy Mt. One of a dozen crossings of Laurel Creek Approaching Little Wolf Creek is a high water bypass that we shouldn't need (although in prophetic fashion, the rain starts as soon as we pass it). We'll cross the creek 12 times over the next 2 miles, with the first couple easy enough, though the creek grows progressively wider as we head downstream, with greater spaces between the scattered rocks. We make it through without having to ford though, our trial by water ending with a trip across Laurel Creek on a narrow bridge - so narrow in fact that our packs won't fit across without turning sideways. Here we cross VA 615, where the trail starts uphill through a series of campgrounds, stopping on one of the picnic tables here to assess our navigation. We'd planned to continue a few more miles tonight, but this site is too good to pass up, and with the speed we're making today, a 19 mile day to the shelter tomorrow should be a piece of cake. Besides, it'll be far calmer down here, and the wind's already rising on the ridgeline; plus we have a picnic table here - the lap of luxury. So, at an "early" 6:00 we set up camp, with plenty of wood around for a fire and the creek adjacent for water, having our sandwiches for dinner. As we're sitting around our "white-man's fire" reflecting, I dry out boots by the fire, although as we're making our hot drinks for the evening, Coleen adds a huge pile of wood as I'm heating the water. As the water nears the boiling point, I notice that it's melting our homemade pot stand; and as I take off the pot to save it, I turn around to find one of my boots burning in front of the surging fire. We knew we'd need a better pot support - now it looks like new boots as well; and we turn in to our cozy tent nestled in the pines at an early 2110. 3/10 VA 615 - Jenny Knob Shelter (19.0 miles) "Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff, which the storm carries away?". Bible - Job 21:18 There is but one word for today's hike - WINDY!!!. It all began last night about an hour after we retired, only to be awakened by a mighty roar and the feeling of my Thermarest being lifted off the ground. We wake to find the wind trying its best to turn over our tent, in spite of our weight and sheltered location. After a bit it calms down and we're able to get back to sleep, but not before I have go out to find all the clothes we'd had hanging out to dry. This morning it roars through the campsite, but our coffee wards off the blustery 26F temp (with ice in all our outside water). As we start hiking, the fierce wind of the valleys intensifies to gale force on the ridges - the sheltered south faces of the ridge are calm and warm, but the north face of Brushy Mt is brutally cold, and we can't wait for the descent. Luckily the trail winds around the contours of the slope, alternating between short legs in the sun, and much longer legs on the frigid north face, but the former can't begin to equal the latter. Finally we come to US 21/52, where the Mt Hope Holiness Church looks so inviting that we almost stop in to warm up (after all, what evangelical church doesn't have a coffee pot somewhere on Sun morning?). Brushy Mt Overlook We push on to the I-77 crossing though, the wind blowing us down the hill to the bridge. It's quite an exercise getting across the overpass without losing anything to the wind, but once across, the trail descends into a far calmer woods around Kimberling Creek. We're ready for a break down here out of the wind, but decide instead to push on to Helveys Mill shelter - just on a mile further. It's a steady but easy climb up, and on arrival there we find the shelter's .3 miles off the trail, so we take our break on a log here at the trail, on the sheltered and sunny south face. From here it's an uneventful ridge walk, with a pm break / lunch at a sheltered location, continuing on towards Jenny Knob shelter.

We come across the shelter trail at 4:00, and though I'm seriously considering going further, Coleen is ready to stop now, her feet hurting badly. It's amazing - in spite of our 19-mile day, we're here hours before sunset - this section's just too easy. She heads down to the spring for water - a long way, but not as bad as advertised, and I canvass the area for the sparse firewood supply. The sun slowly retreats over the ridge just ahead of the shelter, and we have to put on our sunglasses as we prepare dinner. It's a beautiful evening, and as darkness falls and the wind declines, I start the fire, even though we'll watch it from within the warmer shelter. We have a good chance to read through the register, and I even do a crossword as Coleen searches the radio for weather and news. Soon it's time for hot drinks and dessert, listening to an owl and watching the vibrant stars; turning in at an incredible 9:06.

Setting up camp in the sun for a change

3/11 Jenny Knob - Sugar Run tent site (19.8 miles) "It's life, Jim... but not as we know it" Leonard "Bones" McCoy - Star Trek (Gene Rodenberry)

It's a good night for sleeping, waking at 6:20 to a beautiful calm clear morning; and after coffee and breakfast we're able to get an early start. Today's first goal is VA 606, where we hope to catch a town meal and check the answering machine. It's an easy climb over the spine of Brushy Mt, cruising the ridge until the desc into 606, preceded by Kimberling Creek once again. It's spanned by a beautiful suspension bridge, and on the opposite side we hide our packs for the walk to Tony's Deli. It's alleged to be .8 miles, but it's only about .3, a mini-mart situated just across from a logging camp (now Trent's Grocery) ; and filled with the clientele one would expect. They all ask how our hike's going, and as we sit to have our meal, a story is passed along behind us that's emblematic of the region (names changed to protect the innocent) "Billy Jim Bob drove that nail right through his fanger, so hard he couldn't get it out". "What'd he do then"? "He had to saw off the board and go to sleep with it still nailed to his fanger". "Bet he didn't get much sleep that night".

Bridge over Kimberling Creek

We listened to such entertainment over a couple slices of pizza, Dorito's and a 2L bottle of DC, and finally had to finish up with our bathroom chores and phone messages, and get back underfoot. We're back at the trail at 11:34, bound for our next entertainment - Dismal Creek Falls. As the trail winds up the mountainside, we can hear the falls below, and for a while it seems we're going away from them, but finally we come to the old sign showing .2 miles to the falls. We leave our packs here and head down, finding this .2 far longer than the .8 to Tony's. it's worth every foot though, as the falls are gorgeous, surrounded by a hemlock grove, and would be an excellent place for a dip in the summer. After consuming the last of the film on my camera, I finally run back to our packs for more as Coleen rests here, and on my return we have yet another photo session.