Day 57 - Friday, May 7, 2021

Today’s weather was going to be mediocre at best. Forecast is for cooler temperatures only reaching the high 40s and cloudy all day with periods of intermittent rain. Oh, and by the way, there was also a high wind advisory this afternoon for winds up to 30 miles an hour gusting to 45 mph… Sounds like a peachy day to be hiking 😒. 

Today we hiked from VA 601 Beech Mountain Road (489.1 NoBo) to US 58 Straight Branch Footbridge (476.3 NoBo) for a total of 12.8 miles. We began hiking at 9:15 am and it was raining 😠. 




Trail Magic can appear in many ways. It can be drinks left on the side of the trail, someone leaving clothes or food for you to use.  Or it can be “First Gear”. TP and I were a little confused on which direction was south and which direction was north. We actually began hiking south when we thought we realized we were going in the wrong direction. Then along came “First Gear” hiking NoBo who pointed us in the right direction. “First Gear” who’s from Sarasota, Florida began in Springer on March 23rd. We ended up passing each other several times throughout the day and saw him again at the Lost Mountain Shelter where he was staying for the night. Mucho Gracias again “First Gear”.
(You may read on TP’s Facebook page that “I cried” when we were temporarily disoriented. First of all, I don’t “cry”and secondly don’t believe everything you may read on his Facebook page. You know how everyone/everything is so wonderful and perfect on Facebook 🙄).



And then there’s Trail Fairy’s and Gnomes. Some are good luck and some are bad luck. It’s bad luck to ever move one or more serious, take one; only the person who placed it there can. Anyone can add to them though 😊.  





And yes, it’s still raining 🤨.


Drinking rain water caught in the Rhododendron leaves. Fresh water can be obtained in many ways when in the woods. This water does not require any filtering or sterilizing. 




Running water like this would not require filtering for drinking, only sterilizing. 




It stopped raining about 11 am and the sun came out 😎.




Turtle Power sitting on the Virginia Creeper Trail bikeway. 



Turtle Power crossing the Luther Hassinger Memorial Bridge on the Virginia Creeper Trail. Approximately .7 mile of the AT  is shared with the Virginia Creeper trail bikeway. 



Approaching VA 601 Beech Mountain Road and the end of today’s hike.

We finished hiking at 5 pm. The temperature was 46° under partly cloudy skies. 

Till next time... Happy Hiking  🥾 
😋

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