Trail Log: Day Two - Lost Mountain and Saunders Shelter
July 5, 2020
I woke up at 8 a.m. and checked my phone to see if I had cell service. I did, so I sent a quick check-in to a couple of people to let them know where we were. We weren’t in a rush this morning, so I lay in my sleeping bag for a bit longer. I didn’t have enough signal to check the weather, but Messenger was working, so I asked my dad to look it up for me. It was a 40% chance of rain between 1–3 p.m. Great—hopefully, we can beat it.
A little before 9, I unzipped my tent to see the sun peeking through the trees. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day for hiking! I was the only one awake, and craving coffee, so I walked a short way from camp to retrieve our food bags. We’d hung them the night before, high enough off the ground and far enough from the tree trunks to keep the bears and other animals away.
By the time I got back with the bags, my mom was up. I got out the JetBoil and started heating water for coffee and breakfast. There’s something about the ritual of boiling water on the trail that feels so satisfying. I sipped my coffee slowly, letting it warm me up while I boiled more water for my Malt-O-Meal (think grits—except I’m not a fan of grits).
After breakfast, we took our time breaking down camp. We hit the trail by 11:30 a.m., and immediately, we hiked through a forest that felt like something out of a fairytale.
We emerged from the lush woods and into a wide meadow, framed by forest on both sides. In the center stood Buzzard Rock, a giant outcrop of rock with a 360-degree view. I climbed to the top, and the view left me speechless. Virginia is stunning, and I’m falling in love with this state.
As we said goodbye to Buzzard Rock and headed toward another section of forest, the rumbling of thunder echoed in the distance. We kept hiking, but as the storm grew closer, the sky darkened, and the thunder grew louder. We stopped for a quick water break and decided to cover our packs to keep our bedding dry. (Best decision of the trip!)
Minutes later, at exactly 12:55 p.m., it started to rain. At first, it was just a light drizzle, but then it really started to pour. The dense canopy of rhododendrons along the Appalachian Trail sheltered us from most of it, but after a few miles, we were soaked through.
We didn’t want to keep hiking through an open field with thunder and lightning nearby, so we took refuge at a campsite near the main road, waiting for the storm to pass. After 20 minutes of standing around soaking wet, I started to feel chilled, and we knew it was time to get moving again. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, and the sky was starting to clear, so we pressed on.
We crossed the main road, walked through a grassy field, and re-entered the forest of rhododendrons. Just two short miles later, we reached Lost Mountain Shelter at 2:30 p.m. We were still soaked, hungry, and had just hiked six miles—some of it in the rain—since breakfast. Not bad for a few hours of hiking!
We decided to stop for lunch at the shelter. I needed to collect water and use the privy (a real luxury out here, let me tell you). It was also the perfect opportunity to dry our feet and clothes in the sun, now that it had come out.
The water source was a short walk away, but the pipe wasn’t exactly gushing. Still, it didn’t take too long to fill up our bags, which was good, because I was starving. Aaron had mac 'n' cheese, while I went for ramen—hoping the hot broth would warm me up. I sat in the sun, drying out and munching on some peanut butter roll-ups that were getting too heavy to carry.
An hour and a half later, our bellies were full, our clothes were drying, and our shoes were still soaking wet. But what can you do? Hike on!
Before leaving, we checked the map and made a game plan. We didn’t want to push ourselves too hard, so we decided to aim for another six miles to the next shelter—our last one before Damascus.
By 4 p.m., we were back on the trail, heading toward Saunders Shelter. Our pace was steady, averaging 22 minutes per mile, and before long, we reached the junction with the Virginia Creeper Trail. We saw a family riding their bikes along the trail, and we made a spontaneous decision: since we were getting off the AT a day early due to covering so many miles so quickly, why not bike the Virginia Creeper Trail the next day? After all, biking 17 miles the day after a 30-mile section hike sounded like a good idea, right?
We stopped for a water break by the river before the trails split again. The Appalachian Trail suddenly turned into a rocky climb up the mountain, and the heat made the going slower. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about hiking up switchbacks, but I pushed through. By the time we had just one mile to go, I was ready to call it quits. “Just one more mile,” I kept telling myself, but the last few hundred yards felt like forever.
Finally, I spotted a wooden trail sign at the top of the hill—there it was! I’d made it! I waited for my mom and brother, who had taken more breaks than I did. I wanted to take breaks but was afraid I wouldn’t make it if I stopped, so I just kept pushing forward.
Once they caught up, we followed the blue blazes to Saunders Shelter, which turned out to be a beautiful spot. The campsites were close by, and the ground was much flatter than the previous night. After setting up our tents, I made a beeline for the water source. According to the app, it was only 100 yards away—but, of course, it felt much farther after a long day of hiking. The pipe was trickling, so it took longer than expected to fill up our water bags. At this point, I was getting impatient, eager for food and the warmth of a fire to dry my shoes.
Finally, I followed the short side trail back to camp, where my mom had set up her tent and Aaron was busy starting a fire. By the time we finished with the tents, the fire was roaring, and we could finally relax. I made chicken Alfredo for dinner, but I didn’t eat much. I’m learning that I don’t eat as much on the trail as I do at home.
As I ate, I read through the shelter log, which was filled with notes from hikers who had passed through from 2019 to the present. When I reached the entries from March 2020, I felt a lump in my throat reading about the worries of hikers about Covid—whether they’d have to leave the trail or resupply during the pandemic. I really felt for them. When I was done reading, I added my own note and placed the book back for future hikers to find.
By the fire, I sipped my coffee, watching the flames flicker between red and orange. It was the perfect moment of peace. The warmth from the fire helped dry our shoes, and though our clothes were still damp, it was nice to know we’d have dry shoes in the morning.
At 10:15 p.m., we called it a night. Thunder rumbled in the distance, so we retreated to our tents. I closed my eyes, drifting off to the sound of owls in the trees.
Tomorrow would be our last day on the Appalachian Trail.
Daily AT miles: 12.1
Total AT miles: 20.8
Gear I Packed (live links):
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