Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 92 – The Grayson highlands
26th October 2023
Trimpi Shelter (1674.1) - Thomas Knob Shelter (1699.3)
Daily miles: 25.2
Total miles: 1701
The days are going so fast, I can’t believe I’m on day 92 already. I slept real good last night, it was so warm, which was unexpected, and I was actually a bit sweaty. It wasn’t even a struggle to get out of my bag in the morning. I went with earplugs straight away which helped.
I’m a little congested. A lot of eye ooze and my right ear is waxy and blocked. My nostril holes are also really sore and have been for a few days I think it’s from where my nose has been so runny all the time.
I needed to use the privy quite urgently this morning which was great and very different to the last few days so hopefully those Mexican beans are doing their job!
Privy, I like this one because you can see people’s heads
Last nights shelter
Always love the light through the trees
I left the shelter at 07:45am and was too hot with my fleece on before I left so I lasted less than 2 minutes before stopping to take it off.
Professor, Lemonhope and Toe were ahead of me. When we passed Safety and Sidequest they mentioned a road walk they were going to do.
I was struggling a bit this morning to get going and dealing with all the fluid coming out of my face. And the heat; it was so warm. May Queen passed me. And Cal passed me. But when I looked at the map I had done 4 miles and I was going 3mph. So I wasn’t going slow, just everyone else was going crazily fast!
I wondered if I would catch up to them or they would wait for me before getting on the road. If they didn’t wait then I would have just done the trail. But when I got to the bridge they were all there filtering water. I’m not sure if I just caught up to them and they were intending to wait or I just got lucky. I’ll never know.
Water filtering break
Everyone checking where the next water is
So we took the gravel road which cut off another climb and descent on trail that was really rocky and covered in leaves. We walked side by side which was nice and I got to catch up more with Professor. The road walk was so nice and went quickly and smoothly and I wasn’t having to stare down at my feet the whole time.
The trail is so golden
Back on trail we walked the 1.7 miles up to the shelter where we took a lunch break, then everyone was keen to get going and see the ponies in the Grayson Highlands.
The other 4 arrived just as we were leaving and carried on, so I was at the back with Professor behind me and I slogged my way uphill as fast as I could make my body go, which felt pretty slow but actually wasn’t that slow.
Hiker train
Nearing the Grayson Highlands
We came to an open area and I saw them all walking together not very far ahead and I tried to catch them up but I couldn’t. I caught Howard and Jet at a river where they had stopped for lunch then I caught up to Sidequest and Saftey who said they were going to stop up ahead and they thought everyone else was too.
Sidequest and Safety Inspector
I caught up to them and we took a break in a sunny spot with a nice view. It’s still really hot. Rabbit Foot caught up to us having taken the red line the whole way and we hadn’t seen Lemonhope since this morning.
Jet on a big rock
We hiked on and found some ponies. We did exactly what you’re not supposed to do and when they came up to us we let them lick the salt off our hands. There was a cute baby one.
Professor with the wild ponies
Everyone went mad for the ponies
They are pretty cute
Licky licky
Lol
They love the salt
We spent a while with the ponies before hiking on and going up a side trail to a rocky outcrop where there were nice views and nice light. Then there were more ponies that we spent some time with. It was such a nice day. Nice trail (apart from when I took a fall just after lunch and bashed my shin - another scrape to add to the collection), ponies, good views, nice colours, lots of people around…
Hiking through the Grayson Highlands with Toe and Professor
Such a beautiful day
See a big rock. Climb the big rock.
Hiker fam
Worth it for the views
Rabbit Foot the horse whisperer
Besties
The Grayson Highlands wild ponies
Making friends
Looking back at the others on the big rock
Views around every corner
The last of the ponies
500 miles to go!
Last climb of the day
We only had 1.6 miles left to get to the shelter and I hiked it with Toe and May Queen and we saw Professor had pitched his tent just before the shelter. He said there were 6 people in the shelter already and when we passed by to collect water they were all old men and, unfortunately, old men snore. So we camped at the same spot as Professor.
The trail to the water was super rocky but the water was great and flowing straight out of a pipe so easy to collect. The light was beautiful and the sun was just setting behind the mountain. We actually arrived before it got dark tonight!
Golden hour!
Really golden tonight
Living our best lives
Water filtering party
The beginning of sunset
Back at camp I got all my stuff set up and we all sat together to eat dinner but the sun was setting and the sky was all pink and pretty so we were taking loads of pictures. Everyone else started to arrive and we are all camped together, apart from Safety and Sidequest who like to camp a little away from everyone.
The evolution of sunset
Perfect selfie light
She was just trying to get a nice photo of herself
But we had other ideas
Photo bomb
For the win!
The peak of the sunset
What a crew! May Queen, Toe, Puff Puff, Howard, Lemonhope, Jet
We all ate together. It’s pretty windy now and getting a bit chilly. My thermometer says 11°C / 52°F but the wind is making it feel colder. I had noodles and then a hot chocolate. I made it to 8pm and then the need to be horizontal took over and I retired to my tent.
Campsite
Does it look cold?
I inspected my feet as I have a sore bit on the ball of my foot, the opposite side to the problem toe (which hasn’t hurt for a couple of days thankfully) and the pain was because my skin had cracked. It’s so dry and I haven’t been putting anything on it so it’s split and it’s really painful.
Yes it hurts. Yes it’s gross.
I took a Benadryl tonight so hopefully I won’t wake up with so many eye fluid problems. I am cozy in my bag and it’s going to be a problem getting out of it tomorrow. The tent is offering some protection from the wind, not sure how the cowboy campers are getting on. It would be too windy for me.
It was a great day.
