Sunday, April 3rd, 2016
Start: VA 624/Newport Rd
End: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles: 22.8 (+0.3 from hostel, +0.4 for shelter side trail)
I had an abominable night of sleep at the hostel; the lights weren’t turned off until 11pm and then a hiker was up until 1:30am with his white light headlamp pointed directly at my face. The rooster started crowing at 5:30am. It was a hell of a long night and I hit the trail sleep deprived and rather aggravated.
I climbed up Cove Mountain (3020′) which included the Dragons Tooth, past Pickle Branch Shelter (1951′), over Trout Creek (1548′), past the Audie Murphy monument (3100′), over Craig Creek Rd (1547′), past Niday Shelter (1988′), crossing over the Eastern Continental Divide (3368′), and finally ended at Sarver Hollow Shelter. The side trail to the shelter made me sad; it’s 0.4 straight down the mountainside so I’ll have to climb up it tomorrow morning.
Today took way longer than anticipated; I felt a lot more tired than usual. I’ve started considering doing less total miles than originally planned but we’ll see how I feel over the next few days. My left kneecap is still giving me trouble; it started as primary a problem when going downhill but it’s started hurting most of the time now. The brace doesn’t seem to help much.
Transcending Mountains 