(US Route 19E (mile 395.3) - Moreland Gap Shelter (mile 413.7))

Although I could have used a little more sleep, the hostel was already crawling with activity at 7:30am and I begrudgingly rolled out of bed. I packed my things and made my way down to the dining room where the free breakfast was served at 8am. I helped myself to two heaping plates. The first was loaded with buttermilk pancakes and the second sagged under the weight of biscuits, gravy, hashbrowns, and bacon. Nothing fancy, just a hefty southern breakfast. There have been few moments on trail when I struggled to finish a meal. This was one of those moments. Fear not however, I was eventually victorious🤤

I grabbed an apple and orange to go and loaded onto the 9am shuttle back to the trailhead. It was a quick trip, and the shuttle driver used it to explain how we had finished the "hard part of the south." In my short time on trail, I’ve noticed that people spew a lot of *cough* *cough* bullshit. Things like: “If you make it to Hot Springs, you’ll finish the trail” or “Virginia is basically flat.” I’ve learned to take these statements with a mountain of salt, and I mostly ignore them.

I got dropped off and decided to sit at the trailhead and enjoy my apple. To my surprise, an SUV pulled over across 19E and Delta hopped out with his parents. Apparently, his 21st birthday was a couple days ago and his parents and sister drove down from Cumberland to celebrate with him. They opened the trunk of their SUV to reveal a bounty of food. His mother offered me a slice of very tasty strawberry pie, as well as a banana, orange, apple, and some Nutty Buddys, which I packed out. Hopefully, packing out the fruit will help me get some extra vitamins in my life. As we were gobbling up the pie, Katie and Jasmine arrived, who also helped themselves to the spread. After we had eaten our fill, I stayed behind to finish my morning stretches while Delta, Katie, and Jasmine headed down the trail.

My plan was to make it 33 miles to Hampton over the next 2.5 days or so. I was hoping to stay at Boots Off Hostel & Campground outside of Hampton. Boots Off has a reputation as one of the nicest hostels on the trail, with $15 tentsites, $5 full service laundry, free showers, and a town shuttle. It sounds like a nice spot.

As I began hiking, I could tell that my knee was still tender. Fortunately, the terrain was mild, with a gradual climb over the first 3 miles or so. The first interesting landmark of the day was Isaacs Cemetery, an old local cemetery which the trail passed through at about mile 398. After two miles and two small road crossings, I looked up and noticed “400” painted on a tree to the left of trail! Another milestone🥳🍾

About a mile later, I reached the short spur trail for Jones Falls and noticed Delta, Katie, and Jasmine’s packs lying beside the trail. I found them eating lunch at the (very large) waterfall and joined in on the fun.

We hiked on together and Katie asked me a lot about frogs. I’m always happy to chat about frogs😁 After yesterday’s crazy weather on Big Hump, today was warm and sunny. We rounded a corner and I spotted a garter snake basking in a small patch of sunlight to the left of the trail. This was the first snake siting of my hike and the little guy was polite enough to pose for a few pictures. Eventually it grew fed up with the attention and slithered away into the brush.

The trail entered Sugar Hollow, routing us through a series of narrow fields beside the Elk River for about a mile. Wildflowers flaunted their colors beside the trail while butterflies seemed to curiously flutter by. I spotted a large water snake with keeled scales (maybe a northern water snake) which quickly darted into the river.

After another 2 miles, the trail passed the base of Mountaineer Falls, a large and scenic waterfall. We stopped briefly to collect water and check out the falls.

A nice view from a small bench at mile 407.5

The trail continued lazily over the next 6 miles. The area was beautiful, with abundant rhododendrons and regular creek crossings. We chatted extensively about food (as hikers tend to do), favorite movies, and Jasmine invited us to visit her parents on Long Island whenever we make it to New York. We were promised more food then we could ever eat, as well as her fathers infamous YouTube video marathon. I thought it sounded great!

We reached HARDCORE CASCADES, a series of small waterfalls named after Bob People’s legendary “Hardcore Trail Crew,” which is a large volunteer trail maintenance crew that performs trail work each year during the Trail Days celebration in Damascus, VA.

After another 3 miles, we finally reached Moreland Gap Shelter, making it a nearly 18.5 mile day. I didn’t expect to make it this far today, but the easy terrain, beautiful sites, and good company made it feasible. It really was a great day, with three different waterfalls, two rivers, and two snakes.

During dinner, I chatted with a group of middle-aged weekenders who were occupying the shelter. One of them owned a Dunkin Doughnuts and another had such bad blisters that he had opted to abandon his too-small boots and instead hike in three pair of socks. During Dinner, Katie and Jasmine busted out their Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Craft mac n’ cheese, which was disturbingly red and apparently very disappointing.

Side note - I pooped four times today. The huge breakfast at the station probably helped, but maybe I should also ease up on the olive oil😅