175.9 Miles to Go

Cow Patties and Wide Open Spaces from Pearisburg to Troutdale, Virginia

Nov 14, 2024

We’re cruising along, absolutely crushing these 12-mile days. The weather's been perfect—sunny skies and no rain in sight. We’re loving the wide-open rolling pastures between Pearisburg and Troutdale, Virginia. The meadows offer a fresh perspective compared to the usual cliffside and ridge views. Honestly, every view is beautiful in its own way.

The 300 year old Keffer Oak is the largest oak tree along the AT in the south.

From the ridges, it’s like standing on top of the world with 360-degree views. From the cliffs, we’re in awe of the endless rolling mountains. And in the meadows, we’re right in the thick of what we usually see from above. Each scene has its own charm—each one jaw-dropping in its own right.

Night hiking has become a must for us now that the sun’s setting by 5:30 p.m. It feels good to be out in the open, especially since the trail’s pretty brown now. Plus, being out of the woods makes it feel a little lighter for a little longer. The trees may be bare, but the grass in the meadows is still green, and the fine temperatures give the illusion that winter is not quite upon us.

We had the most unexpectedly amazing night hike through an active cow pasture, complete with a mini stampede. There were glowing eyes everywhere as curious cows turned to check out the odd, headlamp-wearing creatures disturbing their late night snacking.

Usually, the cows don’t pay hikers any mind—they’re used to seeing us during the day. But I’m guessing they haven’t had much experience with a gang of five headlamps stumbling through their pasture after dark. They were definitely curious. We got a lot of stares, and heard plenty of cow conversations in the distance. A few brave ones came in for a closer look, and three cows must’ve gotten spooked as we approached, stampeding across the trail right in front of us. It was definitely a unique trail experience—one of our absolutely favorites.

Ice Cream Sandwich had the proud distinction of learning what a cow patty looks like. We were careful to step around the fresh ones in the dark. We learned that dried cow pies are actually used as fuel in India for cooking and heating. One source claimed that cow patties burn with a “burnt popcorn” scent, and they apparently burn like coal, glowing red in the center. Just one of the many survival nuggets we’ve picked up on this trip. If we ever find ourselves near a cow pasture with no wood available, we’re set!

Luckily, we practice Leave No Trace principles, because otherwise, I’m sure Ice Cream Sandwich would have had us collecting dried cow pies and packing them out in our backpacks for future campfire use.

We’ve officially hit the 2,000-mile mark. I’m beyond proud of what we’ve accomplished as a family. With just 175.9 miles left, we can almost see a glimmer of the finish line on the horizon.

Since we've been back on the trail, we haven't encountered much hurricane-related trail damage. But judging by what we saw in Erwin, we know the damage is coming. There are some trail closures ahead, but that won’t take away from what we’ve achieved.

Two thousand miles is a long way. To put it in perspective, it would take us 21 hours to drive the entire length of the Appalachian Trail—and almost eight months to hike it. That’s 5,844 hours of walking. It sounds crazy because it’s way cray-cray, and fun—our best family adventure to date. And, now we know we can do hard things, so I’m already scheming up our next adventure, and a PCT thru-hike in five years.

Homeschooling is going exceptionally well. By allowing the boys to choose subjects that interest them, they’re engaging deeply and learning so much. As a family, we’ve recently finished The Wild Robot Returns by Peter Brown, which captivated our group of listeners, spanning ages 5 to 48. Now, we’re reading Homer’s Iliad, aiming to complete it before we return home.

Although we’re covering all their curriculum requirements, we plan to switch to a more traditional core curriculum when we resume homeschooling for the remainder of the school year. Having homeschooled during COVID, I already have all the materials on hand and am excited to put them to good use.

Socially, all the boys have expressed interest in returning to the classroom next year—they miss their friendships most of all.