July 25, 2024 4 min to read

AT Blog: 80 and 81

Leave It to Beavers

Day 80:

Start the day before Shady and Fugitive are up, I pack up quietly and head out. After walking 0.3 to the creek and road crossing I see there’s quite a few people camping there. I do keep moving as the campsite is across a bridge off the AT.

This section of the AT has these big black furry caterpillars, that get everywhere. Every time I stop today they seem to start crawling on my equipment, at one point I flip out as one managed to get to my neck and freaked me out.

Ran into Special agent past the yellow creek trail register, we chat for a minute and move on.

Besides that the warm day has a few highlights, rocks getting worse with boulder fields, a few nice spots and an abandoned coal mining village of Rausch Gap with a few gravestones.

Shortly after the graveside I notice my notes says there is a bridge creek crossing. Which is usually great to hear, except when I get close to the creek (I hear the running water) I see all the trees near it are dead. It kinda looked like a forest fire had killed that one section but as I get close I realized what had happened.

Beavers built a dam.

So beavers had dammed the creek downstream of the trail, which meant all those trees died due to rotting roots. It also means the bridge is gone and the trail is a bog for 200 yards. I try to cross without getting wet but douse one of my feet, do that’s wet for most of the day.

After climbing down the mountain, I make it to the road crossing outside of Lickdale, I manage to get some McDonalds for a late lunch, then head back to trail to keep moving. I take a few picks of the Waterville Iron Bridge for Dukes (we send interesting bridges back and forth now ever since he overhead me shouting bridge over and over again when I thought I was alone)

I hike about 5 more miles getting on the ridge of the mountains again, I find a somewhat flattened field and make camp. Breeze and Footloose pass by later and they set up camp somewhere up the trail.

Day 81:

Start the day a few miles passed the 81 intersection around mile 1188. The first few miles are slow, but eventually I make it to the William Pen Shelter, where I see Breeze getting Water.

We chat for a minute and he shows me a picture of a rattlesnake at the water source, where I’m about to go.

Wearily I get water, the rattlesnake is not where he showed it so I’m complaining paranoid some snake is going to poison me while refilling. No liquid snake appears so I head on out.

The trail is slow going, usually I walk over 2 mph unless it’s a steep hill. Today’s hike is mostly boulders with lots of nooks and crannies. Having to watch every step slows the pace significantly. I pass by a few markers and pretty sights but it seems like the day is never ending. I see Footloose again as I refill water.

I see a historical marker for a fort used in the French and Indian War, but the forts been long gone.

Later after hiking slow, I realize my goal to make it to Eagles Nest Shelter was not attainable. Since I’m no longer taking a break with my family, I decided to book a hotel room in Bethel, to clean off for the night.

I manage to get a Lyft into town, grab some pizza and garlic knots and relax in my room. The hotel is right next to J&S Pizza and it was great to just place an order online walk 5 minutes and pick it up (plus accompanied by a diet coke helps). The quality inn had large tubs so I soaked for a bit. I lastly spent some time calling my family and went to bed.

Today’s hike was hard and mentally exhausting. I think getting real food helped out though, plus knowing the Lord and my family is helping me out, both near and far.