Virginia is easy!

Or so they say.

"We done Geaorgia."
"You'll do 30s, its flat!"
Liars!

Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying Virginia immensely. The past couple weeks have been a blast.

Now I can do the 30s, I did three in three days. But do I want to? Was it easy? Not particularly. There are some very big climbs here. With big climbs, come big descents. Between Pearisburg and Waynesboro, there are some up and downs in excess of 2000 feet. From Tye River to Three Ridges is 3000. And with June comes heat.

However, I do have some theories. By the time they reach Virginia, most hikers have been on trail for over a month. They are in shape. They have worked out the kinks gear and body. This allows them to travel further more comfortably. There is a lot of well maintained trail. At times, one can really move. But then there are rough patches of rock and steep grade.

Another theory I have about the non-flatness of Virgina is one of expectations. So many people say that Virginia is flat, that one expects it to be so. It may be flatter than Georgia, but it isn't as flat as I expected. And anything steeper than what I expect is somehow more difficult...

Of course, my lack of 30 mile days can certainly be attributed to swimming and lounging. If not trying to break a record of keep to a schedule, what is the point of doing 30 plus.

I jotted these notes down over the past couple weeks, but just two mornings ago, was read something interesting. "Northern Virginia is flat." The last 100 miles apparently leave that flat taste in your mouth. Am I really supposed to believe this?

Swiss Cheese Socks

June 12
Mile 626 to 853
Pearisburg to Waynesboro

Summer has fallen on the eastern mountains like a big giant hot wet towel. "it is 90 degrees" I heard one hiker say (June 4) "94 in Town today" I heard another report in Waynesboro. And that ain't your average west coast stuff. This stuff is thick... oppressive, soggy... I feel like I am trying to breath under water! Well I did... I am beginning to acclimate. The last few days have been better, even with the thick, hot, steamy weather. On the 12th, today, Ladybird and I (a hiker with whom I have been traveling since mile 370 or so) made 20 miles by 2:00 with limited stops. Naturally we were drawn by the spinning vortex of town, trapped in its event horizon. But it was hot today! "94 in town"

One gives up trying to stay dry. I... we have adopted the strategy of trying to stay wet!

Here is a possible transcript of a visit to one of the many creeks and streams that cross the trail:
"Oooo, a stream, There. That looks deep enough. Thigh Deep? Fine! That means I can submerge. Lunch? What it is only 10:30? Oh, who cares, lets do lunch anyway... How long has it been? Two hours? Hey, my socks are dry!"

After a couple swims, one becomes accustomed to a cleansing soak in a murky stream. And Clear ones become that much more refreshing. We have been rating stream, giving points for depth, clarity, waterfalls, slabby rocks... There are no clear winners, and I can't even begin to remember all of the spots. Jennings Creek sticks out in my mind as a particularly refreshing stop. Streams can be found in many of the low gaps between high mountains.

And oh the wonders it does for thruhiker stench! There are several stages of body odor. The first is that sort of smell one gets after jogging for an hour. A little sweat, but it is fresh. It is just salt. There isn't much in the way of bacteria. Socks when dropped on the floor, don't crawl away under their own power. This is normal. In the next stages, one begins to smell like various foods. Onions and old refried beans are typical after a day or two. Then comes cheese. Swiss, Feta... The most alarming stage is that compost pile smell. At this point, possibly over a week, salt and dirt has soaked into the clothing repeatedly over the course of a week. When I encounter such a smell, I do my best to stand up wind. Now I am sure that I smell plenty bad, but I think a swim does wonders. If caught early, the progressing putrification can be reversed from cheese back to refried beans, and if one is lucky, the river smell, which is very socially acceptable, will drown out all other various and interesting smells.

The added bonus is the break from walking. We realized one day after doing nearly 100 miles in three days "Are we having fun?" In one way, yes. It is fun to push oneself. In another... No. I'd rather be swimming. I think I can make a five mile per day sacrifice for that. Maybe even 10.

Fried Chicken... Fried Chicken... Fried Chicken...

Mile 465 to 626
June 2
Pearisburg

I hear about a hiker who was trotting into town chanting "Fried chicken fried chicken fried chicken fried chicken..." I have adopted this mantra and repeated it as I descended from Angel's Rest to Pearisburg, an elevation drop of nearly 1500 feet.

We eat to live. Hikers eat twice as much to live. Some say that hikers need up to 6000 calories a day to maintain weight. I think that figure may be slightly inflated, but we definitely need a lot. And the more dense the better. Not many hikers can subsist on typical food. It is far too heavy! We need fat. Lots of it. Dehydrated stuff, no water weight.

Without enough calories, a hiker may just wither and fade. So here is a list of various calorie dense heavy things that I eat:
Nuts, salted, raw, roasted, flavored... Granola, dried fruit (not much), crackers, chips, pretzels, dehydrated rice, beans, couscous, lentils...

I try to keep the calorie density above 1600 calories per pound. Some very high calorie foods are shredded coconut, 3000 calories per pound, peanut butter, 2800 calories per pound, and corn chips, 2500 calories per pound. So when you are going out for a weekend or a summer, look at the packages and do the math. More density means less total food weight.

However! One must endeavor to eat high quality food. Dinners with their complex carbohydrates do a lot to give a hiker much needed energy. Foods high in protein will do much to repair muscle damage. Low quality stuff such as food high in sugar is fairly worthless. Sugar does not pack a sustained wallop. It will give bursts of energy, but not enough to keep oneself moving up a 4000 foot peak. In addition, it is low in density! There is a five percent difference in calories between natural peanut butter and sugar added peanut butter. Sugar added Peanut butter has less weight from fat (9 calories per gram) and more calories from sugar (4 calories per gram.)

Of course, Fresh stuff can do a lot for hikers' morale. I have packed out fresh fruit. I feel rejuvenated by the fresh enzymes and nutrients.

And in town... It is important to eat proper healing foods. Upon our entry into Pearisburg this morning, the hiker with whom I have been traveling and myself, split 32 ounces of plain yogurt, two pounds of berries, and a box of mostly natural granola. In the words of another hiker I met once, "That's power food right there."