IG: @tylerhikes
Sitting upright against the side of Doc's Knob Shelter, I felt thrashed by my 57.9-mile gauntlet. It was 5:30am and I just walked 23.5 hours straight through the night. The shelter was at full capacity. No room at the inn. Resigned to the fact that I could walk no further, I sat down against the back wall of the structure. Sleep took me instantly as a soft pattering of rain began to soak my rigid limbs.
24 hours earlier I awoke at the Chestnut Knob Shelter, a converted fire warden's cabin atop one of Virginia's southern balds. The sunrise was at 6:00am, and I wanted to walk as far as possible that day. Chasing Anish was becoming my obsession. The only way to catch up to her 42-mile daily pace was to throw down unprecedented mileage. This would be interesting.
Sunrise from Chestnut Knob
Reaching Kimberling Creek at nightfall, I was still feeling great. The undulating Appalachain Trail hadn't defeated me yet! Dismal Falls soon roared through the forest. Eating the last of my Uncle Ben's rice after midnight, I willed myself up to the Wilburn Valley view. That's when the struggle began. The final 7 miles took 3.5 hours. Much like someone suffering from hypothermia, I began to lose my ability to reason. Falling asleep on the cold, wet leaves seemed like a very good idea. I had to promise myself that I would keep going. Escaping the wind and the mist was what mattered. Arriving at Doc's Knob I was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. Shivering from the frigid morning rain, I wiggled my way into an uncomfortable spot beneath the overhanging roof.
It went unnoticed, so I simply muttered to myself, "I just walked 57.9 miles in one day." Challenge complete. I don't know if I'll ever hike that far in one day ever again.
Is this a sustainable approach to breaking the Appalachian Trail self-supported speed record?
Pushing onward through Virginia, I walk by Dragon's Tooth and McAfee Knob in the same day. The Priest Wilderness and Three Ridges Wilderness were quick to follow. It was about this time when I calculated that I would need to average 50 miles a day to catch Anish. Simply put, I did not feel capable of hiking that pace for 30 days. While soaking up the sun rays on Spy Rock, I decided that I'd slow down. The self-supported speed record would no longer be my objective.
Credit has to go to Anish! She was able to maintain an incredible pace over arduous terrain for 54 days. What a testament to her fitness and discipline! I am more impressed with her accomplishment now more than ever.
Dragon's Tooth, a Virginia highlight
McAfee Knob, the AT's most iconic spot
On a journey that has primarily been a solo endeavor, two things happened on Spy Rock that I did not expect...
1) My high school friend Mike Downey and his wife Jess invited me to spend some time in Staunton, VA for a few days.
2) My friend Erin Crossett reminded me that I could still come to a combined bachelor/bachelorette bonanza weekend in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.
With my self-supported speed record attempt ending on Spy Rock, I was now able to do a few things...
• Hitching / riding in vehicles would now be permitted
• I can finally indulge in trail magic
A local from Nelson County in Virginia named Russell North had a trail magic outpost between The Priest and Three Ridges. Greedily guzzling Gatorade, I immediately felt like my decision to slow down was validated. Although, I still fully intend to maintain my continuous purist footpath all the way to Katahdin.
White blazin' or bust!
My five day trail hiatus began at Ming's Garden in Waynesboro. This legendary all-you-can-eat and not "eat-all-food" establishment is a must-do for thru-hikers. As I waited for my friend Mike to arrive, I pulled the ultimate hikertrash move... I showered in the decorative fountain outside of Ming's. Even other thru-hikers seemed to be embarrassed for me as I washed the dirt from my legs. I felt no shame, which signifies my official transition into accepting my new lifestyle.
After a great meal, Mike took me to Staunton, VA. What a gem! There's a Shakespeare Theatre downtown, great restaurants, a public piano (my favorite thing to find), and wonderful views of the Appalachian Mountains. Most importantly, Jess, Mike, and I played Sequence all night. The first zero day along the AT was a resounding success.
Good times kept rolling as my former Cross Country teammate Dan Lane picked me up for Craig Baumgartner and Courtney Legg's bash in the Pocono's. The laughs almost never stopped as we picked up other University of Rochester graduates Tyle Stelzig and Matt Metz along the way.
I'm an avid gamer. Board games, card games, sports... You name it! This Memorial Day weekend was a college throw back. Whether it was belly flops off the dock, canoeing, running, playing a ruthless game of Blank White Cards, croquet, billiards, Thirst Games III, Courtney and Craig Jeopardy, or harpooning a blow up whale in a rain storm, we kept having fun. Returning to the trail was actually a bit hard to fathom after experiencing a weekend of debauchery. All stories have to end to make room for more stories. I received some solace when Craig, Jon, Brian, and Tyle all promised to meet up with me in a few days on the trail.
Thru-hike vacation at the #CraigLegg Bonanza
Back on the trail, I felt rejuvenated. The speed record put me into a hellbent grind. Now I could take the opportunity to look around. Next up was Shenandoah National Park. My 20th National Park!
"These mountains are made for a road," President Hoover stated. For better or for worse, the increased presence of automobiles in American society increased access to leisurely pleasures.
In The Lorax, the Onceler prioritizes modernization over wildness in his world... "But... Business is business, and business must grow!" He continues, "I biggered my factories, I biggered my roads, I biggered my wagons, I biggered the loads of the Thneeds I shipped out..."
Shenandoah National Park should feel majestic, because, well, it's labeled as a National Park. My experience along the Appalachian Trail has felt anything but remote since then. How does one measure a sense of "remoteness?" Well, luckily one family is trying to do exactly that!
This family is calculating the most remote spot in all 50 U.S. States! Specifically, they are measuring the furthest distance from any road. I've broken down the most remote spots along 13 of the 14 states that the AT travels in:
Georgia - Not surveyed yet.
North Carolina - 5.5 miles
Tennessee - 4.0 miles
Virginia - 8.3 miles (on a barrier island)
West Virginia - 3.2 miles
Maryland - 7.6 miles (island in the Chesapeake Bay)
Pennsylvania - 2.7 miles
New Jersey - 3.3 miles
New York - 5.3 miles
Connecticut - 1.1 miles
Massachusetts - 8.2 miles (out in the Atlantic)
Vermont - 2.6 miles
New Hampshire - 4.4 miles
Maine - 6.0 miles
Average furthest distance from a road among the AT states...
62.2 / 13 = 4.78 miles
4.78 miles, on average the furthest away you can get from civilization on the East Coast. A takeaway message is that America has fragmented its wilderness areas by building a hell of a lot of roads.
Shenandoah National Park is frustrating for an AT hiker. We cross Skyline Drive dozens of times. The trail parallels the road at all other times. The constant noise of civilization hums in the distance. Planes, trains, and automobiles, one can hear them all along Virginia's AT. These noises seem to be inescapable.
Excessive roads, but Shenandoah has the views!
Finally out of Shenandoah, the next challenge was on the horizon... The Four State Challenge. It's a story so compelling that I'll have to tell it in my next post!...
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