May 9

May 9 AT2024, Day 10: First Epic Campsite on Pearis Ledges

Roo Giordano

long distance hiking, roulette

Day 10, Tuesday, 5.9.2024

Start: M. 625.8, Woods Hole Hostel

End: M. 633.9, Stealth Site at Pearis Ledges

Miles Hiked: 8.1

Total Miles: 131.5

Elevation Gain: 1,700 feet

I love a Near-O

Low miles day today, just so I can near-o into Pearisburg tomorrow for real coffee, hot with cream, and breakfast. I love to near-o in for breakfast, especially now that I’m hiking without a stove and my morning coffee is not the joy-inciting activity it normally is. I mix a sleeve of Cafe Bustelo (after a good resupply) or Folger’s (after a sad resupply) into a packet of AG1 and gulp it down. Usually without holding my nose. But not always.

It gets the job done and gets it done quickly.

Had one more Kumbaya moment before breakfast at Woods Hole after a comfy night in a comfy bed in a dry room in good company. My gratitude this morning was, as always, for coffee.

And the Merlin Bird ID app I’ve been using to run my phone battery down learn bird songs while I hike.

I was dreading the hike out of Woods Hole on the 1/2 mile gravel road that offers nothing but uphill slog. But I hikes out with Drops, who I met at the Mt. Rogers Visitors Center. We chatted and the half-mile flew and if I were back at Wood’s Hole in the gratitude circle, I’d be grateful for Drops.

Soon enough, I rolled into Doc’s Knob Shelter which offered one third of a Hiker’s Holy Trinity*—a BACKREST, y’all! I nestled into it and listened to a bevy of Black-Throated Blue Warblers darting around in the treetops.

My day ended early up at Pearis Ledges where I scored a campsite overlooking the valley and Pearisburg below. I had time to hang out on the ledges, figure out my resupply for the next section, call Angel’s Rest Hostel and reserve a private room (because I’m bougie like that) and wait for the sun to set.

Last look over the edge before snuggling into my tent.

The Flock catches me

Before the sun went down, though, The Flock rolled in and sat with me for a while. They were just going another mile or so to the next water source and heading into Angel’s Rest, too. So we made a plan to meet up for dinner tomorrow night.

We are in sync again, but I’m glad to be hiking around these good people.

The Flock! From left…Luna, me, Stat, Frozone, Oz, Worldwide, Shepherd.

Let the Dopamine and Endorphins Flow

I’m so happy to be here.

As I was walking today, the joy of hiking flooded through me. I might have cried a little, and not just because of the backrest.

It happens every time I hike, usually during the first week. Maybe it’s just endorphins and dopamine flooding the system. But it feels like joy and it gets me every time.