Day 11 of AT in VA NOBO

Hog Camp Gap (815.7) to The Priest Shelter (830.0)
Total miles: 14.3

Woke up to temps in the upper 20’s and frost all over the ground. Thankfully I had my water filter, battery charger and phone in my sleeping bag. Most of the day was spent rolling 500 ft up and down on a section known as the VA roller coaster. It began yesterday late afternoon and would continue/end today. Late in the day I would climb 1,000ft in 1 mile to end at The Priest Shelter (at 4,000ft). A beautiful place with a natural spring 10 yards away and a new privy built 3 years ago. Probably the nicest I’ve seen this far. I thought I would be by myself at this spot for the evening, but in rolled “Burn” from NH as I was finishing my dinner at the picnic table. Approx 30 yrs old, Burn (he had burned some ramen in his stove last year and it caught on fire in the shelter, thus the other hikers gave him the trail name) started his section a couple of weeks ago and intends to continue on to Maine. He had hoped to thru hike last year but sprained his knee severely. He’s doing @ 25 mile days and his pack is an incredibly low 14lbs with food. Mine is @ 30lbs with food. I must like to carry a few more creature comforts in my pack than the youngsters do!! 😃Read more