(Niday Shelter (mile 687.8) - John's Spring Shelter (mile 711.5))

I woke up at 6:45am and got hiking at 7:45am. I had decided that I would stop at Catawba Grocery for a few supplemental food items, including some extra bars, chips, and meat packets. My goal for today was to get about 3 miles from McAfee Knob, which will make it a ~24 mile day. Including a stop at Dragon’s Tooth as well as Catawba Grocery, I expect it might be another late evening of hiking. Fortunately, I was getting a fairly early start. Tomorrow, I’m hoping to dawn hike to McAfee Knob and then end the day right outside of Daleville. That way I can hike in early the following day and basically have a zero day while only paying for one night in a hotel. Or maybe I’ll get into Daleville tomorrow. As always, only the trail will tell.

After almost 2 miles, I reached a large foot bridge over Craig Creek, which appeared to be a popular car camping spot. I then began a steep, 1,500 foot climb to the ridge of Brush Mountain. As I climbed, I was passed by a US Army recruiter whoo was joggin up the mountain. He stopped and walked with me for a bit, explaining that he was taking a group of Army recruits up to the Audie Murphy Memorial on the summit of Brush Mountain. The recruits were nowhere to be seen. Presumably they couldn’t keep up and were lagging behind, huffing and puffing up the mountain. I chuckled to myself. His behavior reminded me of my own when I was a canoe guide. At the first portage of every trip, I would sling a canoe onto my shoulders and blaze down the trail. I always thought of it as a reality check for my crew. I wasn’t going to hold their hand. I taught them what to do, now they had to execute what they had learned. Eventually, the recruiter jogged on.

At the summit of Brush Mountain, I briefly stopped at a memorial to Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII, who died in a plane crash on Brush Mountain in 1971. He earned every military combat award for valor available from the United States Army, including the Medal of Honor, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Service Cross, and three Purple Hearts. He also received French and Belgian awards for heroism. Impressive.

I hiked passed John and Kayla and then stumbled on the remains of what appeared to be a controlled burn along the northern side of the ridge. The burn must have been recent because the ground was still smoldering as the trail wound down the northern slope of Brush Mountain. In the valley below, I ran into Lighthouse at a large campsite next to a bridge over Trout Creek. Lighthouse had stopped for lunch which he explained was a blueberry smoothie. Apparently, he has powdered meal replacement smoothies for lunch just about every day, which must be pretty expensive. As I was chatting with Lighthouse, John and Kayla caught up and explained that the smoldering slope of Brush Mountain was no controlled burn. They had run into a forest ranger who explained that there had been a small forest fire. Fortunately, the fire was only a small brush blaze and was easily contained.

I continued over Trout Creek and hiked up the next ridge. From there, I could see wispy columns of smoke rising from the Brush Mountain forest fire remains. Along the ridge, I also spotted my first pink lady slippers of the trail, which I initially mistakenly identified as carnivorous plants. Although they vaguely resemble pitcher plants, pink lady slippers are actually an orchid species. These orchids form mycorrhizal relationships with fungi, which are necessary for germination and growth. This makes pink lady slippers essentially impossible to cultivate, so they have to be appreciated in nature.

The next 3.5 miles routed me along a hot, dry, and exceptionally rock ridge. The rocks were a fun change of pace, although the trail was a bit tough to follow at times. I ran into a day hiking couple who were looking for Dragon’s Tooth. I explained that they were headed the wrong way and helped orient them northbound on the AT. I hiked on, admiring the occasional views offered from ledges along the ridge. I reached Dragon’s Tooth, which was both bigger and busier than I had expected. I ate lunch near the base of the tooth, surrounded by screaming children. As I ate, I reassessed my food situation and did a little mental math. I concluded that I should have enough food to get to Daleville tomorrow, as long as I dawn hike tomorrow morning. So I shouldn’t need to stop at the Catawba Grocery. After lunch, I climbed up to the top of the tooth for some spectacular views.

The hike down from the Dragon’s Tooth ridge got crazy technical. Most of the time, my trekking poles were utterly useless as I scrambled hand over hand down rocks and ledges. The descent was made all the more difficult by gaggles of day hikers who seemed to bottleneck the trail every few meters. I ended up scaling down some sketchier ledges in an effort to get past these throngs.

The afternoon was a scorcher, and my need for water soon outpaced my supply. As the last drop of water splashed from my bottle, I checked Guthook and was disappointed to learn that the next marked water source was in 1.7 miles. This was my first time truly running out of water on trail. 1.7 miles probably wasn’t dangerously far to hike without water, after all, I had felt pretty hydrated most of today, but I knew it would be unpleasant. As I hiked, I kept my eyes peeled for any unmarked streams. There had been many water sources earlier in the day that were not marked on Guthook. Unfortunately, this section was bone dry.

As I was slowly dying of dehydration, I realized I must have missed the 700 mile mark. It should have been on the ridge before Dragon’s Tooth. Oh well, Dragon’s Tooth will just have to serve as my 700 milestone🎉

After 0.8 miles, I reached VA Route 624, which is the road to Catawba Grocery. Across the road was a small footbridge over a stream not marked on Guthook. I consulted the app, which warned that “the water here is not good for drinking, as it runs beside the road and past many cow pastures upstream. I crossed the bridge and stared longingly at the water as it flowed beneath me. The next 0.9 miles involved a single, steep, pointless up and down (PUD), but I was highly motivated to reach the water source on the other side. After what felt like forever, I finally made it to the small brook marked on Guthook and chugged its cool, lifegiving water.

I soon found myself again hiking through cow pastures. Yesterday, John and Kayla had warned me about a monstrously steep hill at the end of a cow pasture. I soon found myself approaching the hill, which climbs over 300 feet in 0.1 mile. I might have done steeper climbs already, but for whatever reason, this one felt tougher. I think it might be because it’s up an open field, meaning that there’s no protection from the sun. Additionally, and maybe most critically, you can see the top of the hill in the distance, and without other trees or rocks for reference, it just feels like you’re not making any progress. Fortunately, the climb put me most of the way onto Sawtooth Ridge, which held Johns Spring Shelter, a little less than 5 miles away.

After 3.7 miles and a couple nice views, I made it to McAfee Knob parking lot, which was about a mile to the shelter. The parking lot serves as the trailhead for McAfee Knob, so I was soon surrounded again by day hikers. Some were on their way back from the knob, others were heading out, presumably in hopes of catching the sunset.

Photos never do steep hills justice… but trust me, this one was TOUGH

I soon made it Johns Creek Shelter. After setting up my tent I joined a group of hikers around the picnic table for dinner. I enjoyed chatting with the group, which included a philosophy professor who now teaches math to students with emotional trauma. Most of them were from Pennsylvania, and they warned me that the state really is as rocky as its reputation would lead a hiker to believe. As I crawled into my tent, I set my alarm for 4am with hopes of catching the sunrise over McAfee Knob.

Last drop of water both bottles are now empty guess I’ll just die now