(Bobblet's Gap Shelter (mile 748.9) - Thunder Hill Shelter (mile 772.5))

I got hiking at about 8:00am. I wasn’t sure of my destination for the evening. North of Bobblet’s Gap, there was a shelter at 18.5 miles, and another at 23.5 miles, so I’d probably end up at one of those. I crossed Blue Ridge Parkway three times over the first 3 miles. Most of the crossings seem to coincide with parkway overlooks, and I was treated to views from the Peaks of Otter Viewpont and Mills Gap. On one hand, although there aren’t too many cars, I wish the trail wasn’t so close to the road. However, the ridge is beautiful and the overlooks along the parkway are spectacular.

The trail broke away from the Blue Ridge Parkway after 3 miles, following the ridge as it rose over the small hump of Cove Mountain. After another 3 miles, I reached Cove Mountain Shelter where I stopped for a snack and privy break. Just 0.1 miles beyond the shelter, the trail passes Buchanan View, a rock outcrop overlooking the town of Buchanan to the northwest.

As I hiked on, the trail began its gradual descent towards VA Route 614 and Jennings Creek. As I hiked, I soon caught up with Carly, who explained that she had earned herself a trail name: “Bonanza Jellybean,” which is a reference to the book Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, which I had never heard of. We reached the road and crossed over Jennings Creek on a concrete bridge. Below the bridge was a large swimming hole apparently popular with locals. Carly hiked on, but I opted to stop at the swimming hole for lunch and a quick swim to cool off. Being a Tuesday morning, I had the swimming hole to myself. The water was brisk and refreshing. As I ate my lunch on a rock, Delta reached the swimming hole and also stopped for lunch. The day was quickly getting hot and the water offered a lovely reprieve. Lebowski hiked by and we encouraged him to join us. He explained that today was his 30th birthday and he wanted to do 30 miles. “30 for 30!” he explained with infectious enthusiasm. We wished him happy birthday and he continued along.

After lunch, I continued on and the trail immediately began a steep, hot ascent over an unnamed mountain. As I reached the top of the mountain, I noticed a large fence lizard basking on a tree trunk. I stopped to take pictures, and was surprised by how close my new reptilian friend allowed me to get with my camera. She just sat there watching me with caution and maybe a dash of contempt. After a short but steep descent, the trail crossed a number of small streams and I found myself at the massive Bryant Ridge Shelter, apparently one of the largest shelters on the trail. It was a double-decker with a wrap-around porch and enough room to easily sleep 20 hikers. I decided to stop, stretch, and cool off for a bit. As I was doing my stretches, I could hear thunder in distance. Nice.

From Bryant Ridge Shelter, I had 10 miles to Thunder Hill Shelter where I was hoping to camp. Those 10 miles included two major mountain climbs, for a total ascent of approximately 4,255 feet and a total descent of approximately 1,598 feet. About 5 miles away, in a gap between the two mountains was Cornelius Creek Shelter. So if the weather got crazy, that would be my chance to bail. I got hiking as thunder came closer. After maybe 30 minutes of climbing Floyd Mountain, the skies opened up. It had been a hot day, so frankly I welcomed the rain and did not even put my rain jacket on. As I summited Floyd Mountain, the rain and wind really picked up. Visibility was low as I hiked into a wall of wind and rain. This had to be the hardest rain I've seen on trail.

Up ahead I spotted Delta’s orange OR rain jacket and Gossamer Gear umbrella. He was sitting to the left of the trail, huddled in a little ball underneath his umbrella. As I approached, I yelled “Beautiful day, isn’t it!” The huddled form lifted the umbrella and I was startled to realize it wasn’t Delta. It was some man I’d never seen before. “Fuck off!” he responded, clearly annoyed at my cheeky comment. Oh well.

I made it to Cornelius Creek Shelter just as the rain was starting to ease up. I prepped my dinner in the shelter as the rain stopped. Carly AKA Bonanza Jellybean joined me and we talked about all the weird dreams we’ve had on trail. I bid farewell to Carly and continued hiking. I soon caught up to Delta, and I told him about my amusing encounter with his body double in the rain. We briefly stopped to admire the Black Rock Overlook and then hiked together for the last climb over Apple Orchard Mountain. As we climbed, we encountered a few spotted newts, who must have been lured from their homes under leaves, rocks, and logs by the torrent of rain. I also stopped to forage some ramps which would feature nicely in my ramen bomb.

As we reached the summit of Apple Orchard Mountain, the trail routed along side a crazy-looking tower, which Guthook described as an FAA long range radar.

0.3 miles past the summit, we reached “The Guillotine,” a famous AT landmark involving a large rock wedged in a crevice. The trail passes through the crevice and under the rock, which seems as if it could fall and smush a hiker at any moment. I passed through, followed by Delta. Fortunately, neither of us got smushed.

We made it to the shelter and set up our tents. Unfortunately, I had to backtrack 0.2 miles for water, which felt way longer than 0.2 miles. The water source wasn’t even that great, and I had to bushwhack a bit to find it. There’s a stagnant pooling spring at the shelter. I’ll take my chances with that in the morning. Fortunately, my spirits were lifted by the inclusion of ramps with my ramen bomb. Fresh veggies on trail really is a game changer.