June 4, 2024 3 min to read

AT Blog: 50 and 51

Cracker Barrels and Short Hikes

Day 50:

Some people in camp hike back up to witness the sun rise at McAfee Knob. However I’m not one of those people who want to rise before the sun so I sleep in and head out when I’m ready.

I lead the pack today which is rare since people like Tigger usually leave pretty early. The last of the Virginia Triple Crown is today at Tinker Cliffs, another beautiful view of the forest. I get into a shouting match with a loud crow then keep moving.

The rest of the day goes slowly and I move slow as well. Eventually Huge and Tigger catch up with me right before entering Daleville. Pretty much everyone is planning on stopping there for the night, and some people will be zeroing tomorrow. We meet some section hikers who are willing to give us a hitch hike to the restaurant next to the Kroger we need.

We grab a quick lunch at the BBQ, grab supplies we need then head to our hotel on foot. It’s a pretty dangerous intersection of the highway so it’s slow going but we get there. Some people decide to share rooms but I get one on my own especially since I’m here just for one night.

We eventually all head to Cracker Barrel together, the gang of Taxi, Tigger, Lobster, Waywalker, Footprints, Huge and me of course.

Today is also Footprints final day on trail as this was her getting off point, which also meant she snuck the bill for the whole table and I hadn’t noticed. Everyone did leave a massive tip though because of that.

Day 51:

Wake up in my own room. I go ahead and run a load of laundry while I relax and start putting stuff away.

Once washed and dried I head over to breakfast, and see most of the others already up. I grab my meal and we discuss some plans. They are all zeroing while I head out to do 5 miles today. For me it just keeps my momentum up and I don’t exhaust myself.

Once I eat, I finish packing and grab an Uber to Kroger. The roads are dangerous here without a proper sidewalk so it’s best just to taxi around. I grab food for the next several days then head to the outfitters. My shoes didn’t last as long as I had hoped, so I needed a new pair. After some testing I ended up with the Topo’s Ultraventure 3.

From there I went to Wendy’s grabbed food and waited there a while working on the blog and studying the next few days. Finally I got an Uber, went to the trailhead and went off.

It was only 5 miles with a flat terrain and road crossings at the start. Eventually it turned to forests and climbing up to the shelter. Fullhardt is unique in the fact it has a rain collection cistern as it’s water source. Besides that only one other Throughhiker is at the shelter.

Beyond that the day is short and I head to bed early, ready for tomorrow.