Two Lies and a Truth

There's a lot of rumor and tradition surrounding the AT, some of which overlaps to a ridiculous degree.  For example, let's examine a handful of things I've heard about the state of Virginia.  For two months now, many of us have been hearing about how easy Virginia is.  Back in Damascus someone told me that what with the long and flat ridge lines, most people are easily able to do 30 miles per day in Virginia.  Someone else told me that Virgina can be done in less than a month, all 500+ miles of it.  And finally, I've heard that Virgina is the place where people tend to leave the trail, because they grow bored of the 'Long, Green Tunnel' and yearn for better views.

I've got to be honest: Virginia has been the hardest state for me so far.  While yes, there are long ridge lines periodically, they are tough on the feet and are certainly not flat.  Instead, they have nearly a constant upward or downward angle, which wears out the legs quickly and disheartens the soul (especially, if, for example, you were counting on the profile in your guidebook to be correct, as I tend to do, even though time and time again it's not).  Very few people I know can do even 20 miles per day in Virginia, let alone 30, unless they're slack packing (new vocab word for all of you!  Slack packing is making arrangements with someone with a car so that you only have to carry a day pack, and not your (stupidly heavy, in my case) 40 lb backpack.)  In that vein, I don't think Virginia can be done in a month, at least not by me, with the bruised and swollen stumps I have for feet (slight exaggeration, but wow, do they hurt, and I just took a bunch of days off last week).

Sadly, hiking pairs seem to be splitting up in this sate and people do seem to be leaving the trail.  I know a handful of folks who have gone home from Virginia, and can't really say the same for the last three states.  I don't think it's the views (because while they're few and far between, they're spectacular when they do happen), but instead the drudgery, and the heat, and the fact that we've all spent two months getting only 1/3 of the way up the trail.  Oooof.  Still, the views, and the gorgeous green leaves, and the joy of it all make it absolutely worth it for me.

Cliffs near sunset.

Mcaffe's Knob again.  There may or may not be a photo of me doing this,

but I'm not telling, based on my parent's reaction to the last photo I posted

from the same location.  Instead: here's Rainbow!