We’re Back on the Trail

Bear’s Den Hostel, Northern Virginia

After an almost fortnight hiatus, it feels great to crush 9.5 miles on our first day back on the trail. Since our replacement gear is too heavy to carry, we've decided to slackpack the remaining 500 miles, which will inadvertently allow us to hike faster and farther. We're aiming to pick up the pace, pushing for over ten miles a day until we finish. Keeping a steady pace is crucial as we race Old Man Winter to the finish line.

For now, the crisp air is filled with the delicious scent of autumn, which makes me want to use my hiker hunger as an excuse to eat all of the pumpkiny delights.

As luck would have it, since the leaves are two weeks behind schedule, we haven't missed the peak of fall foliage. When we got back on the trail, I expected the trees to be bare, but instead, most of the leaves are still clinging tightly to their branches, just beginning to reveal their brilliant yellow, orange, and red hues.

Our first day back, the daytime temperature was 47 degrees, which felt a bit cold when standing still but perfect once we started moving. We were all comfortable with two layers of pants. The older boys wore a T-shirt, a fleece, and a hiking vest. Ice Cream Sandwich had on a long-sleeve shirt, a fleece, and a vest. I wore two long-sleeve shirts and a fleece. We have to make sure we bring extra layers to add or shed as needed.

Around midday, we all had to shed our top layer, then layer back up just before dusk. We finished just as the sun was setting. As the days grow shorter, we'll need to start earlier to get our miles in. Actually, who am I kidding? We’re just going to have to get used to doing a lot more night hiking because we are not an early out of camp crew. I’ve never known a crew to do so much night hiking—but here we are.

Our first night back on the trail, we stayed at the Bears Den Hostel, which turned out to be one of our favorite hostel stays in the past six months. The Appalachian Mountain Club converted an old mansion into this official hiker hostel in the early 1980s. It’s the perfect stop for any hiker before or after the "roller coaster." This was supposed to be our finish line, but due to hurricane damage in the South, we've flipped back up to Virginia and will head south to finish as close to Erwin, Tennessee as possible.

Bear’s Den Hostel

The caretaker of the Bears Den, Glen, was wonderful, and his two sweet dogs, Chang-Chang and Madahara, made our stay feel extra cozy. Complete with clean sheets and pillowcases, towels, comfy couches, and board games, this hostel has a very welcoming vibe. The "make your own pancake" breakfast in the morning is a great touch. We had plenty of leftover mini-pancakes, which we packed for a carb-dense lunch on the trail.

We had a bunk room that sleeps eight all to ourselves, with a bathroom right off of our  room. The boys were fast asleep, and I had just crawled into bed when I heard a clank and a splash, followed by some expletives from the bathroom. Then I saw The Tramp reach into the toilet, pull something out, and drop it in the sink. I assumed phone, but he had forgotten he was still wearing his headlamp. Amazingly, his headlamp still works.

If we could have, I would have stayed at every one of the hiker hostels along the trail, because meeting other hikers is one of my favorite aspects of the trail. Unfortunately, we had to skip out on many of the hostels because it was cost prohibitive to pay for five beds when a hotel room was less expensive.

As we head into Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we're looking forward to trying out our new sleep setup. It may take some tweaking to get it just right, but we'll get there.

The park is known for its scenic Skyline Drive which draws heavy crowds in October due to the beautiful fall leaves. Shenandoah National Park is also home to diverse ecosystems, with nearly 200 species of birds, numerous black bears, deer, and over 1,300 plant species. We're hoping to see some of this wildlife along the way.

Nighttime temperatures will be near freezing for the next few days, but then it'll warm up to the 70s during the day and 50s at night. When the cold really sets in, everything becomes harder. It's no wonder so many animals hibernate. If given the choice, my crew would hibernate as well. Getting out of our sleeping bags in the morning is especially tough, but once we get moving the hiking is always fun.

I love it out here so much that I would live out here if I could. The only thing that I wouldn’t be able to hack for the long term is the cold. To me, winter camping is garbage-y, and I struggle to find anything good about being cold. I can manage it, but I don’t like it.

Despite my dread of the cold, it feels incredible to be back on the trail. We're determined to push on and finish what we've started. I'm going to cherish every last freezing, difficult, beautiful moment. I know how lucky we are to have been able to carve out this time in our lives, and I will relish these last few weeks and not take anything for granted.

Happy hiking!

Side Excursion to Dinosaur Land