Naked Hikers, Roller Coasters & Flies!

Yes, you read that right… naked hikers. June 21st marks the first day of summer and a “unofficial tradition” with thru-hikers, or those hikers who attempt to complete the entire Appalachian Trail in one season like Jeff & I. Its called “naked hiker day,” where most say you should bond with nature by hiking a mile naked. We ran into a few hikers who said they participated in this event, but saw no proof during our hike for the day. We took some “joke” type pictures to post on our blog, but never intended to actually participate. Then, as I’m walking peacefully through the forest, I come around a corner and all I see is Jeff’s rear end heading down the trail! Luckily no one caught him, but it was definitely hilarious and another memorable moment from our trip here.

  

Hiking today we came upon a sign that read: “Hiker Notice, WARNING! You are about to enter The Roller Coaster built and maintained by the “Trailboss” and his merry crew of volunteers. Have a great ride and we will see you at the Blackburn Trail Center (if you survive).
  

Uhhh… sounds like a great time! NOT! The “The Roller Coaster” is a 13.5 mile section of the trail in Virginia with tightly packed ups and downs over a whole bunch of mountains the trail seems to make no attempt to go around. Almost halfway through our roller coaster ride, I began to hear a woman screaming in the distance. I asked Jeff if he heard it to make sure I wasn’t going crazy, and after he confirmed I began to wonder why this lady was screaming. Was she hurt? Was a banjo-playing deliverance crazy chasing her? A few hundred yards more down the trail we found the source of the screams. It was two girls, Powerpack and Deetz, who we have been hiking with for months. They were cracking themselves up and enjoying their “roller coaster” ride by clicking their trekking poles together to mimic the roller coaster sound going uphill, and throwing their hands in the air and screaming on the way downhill. These chicks are awesome, because it seems like they have enjoyed every minute of their trip and crack us up every time we see them.

  

For our roller coaster experience, the trail very simply goes up and down over the top of all these mountains for THIRTEEN MILES. With the 96+ degree weather, it was a killer. Jeff said it best though as we took a break at Sam Moore Shelter. He said “its not the roller coaster that breaks you, it’s the horse flies dive bombing your face that does it.” Man, is he RIGHT! In this part of Virginia it has been all out war, with the deer and horse flies on one side, and all of mankind on the other. I feel like the flies are playing some kind of game with us. Its like they circle our heads, seeing how many times they can get us to smack ourselves, before they fly away for a few seconds only to return faster and more daring the next time. The last two days especially have been all out battle. If I was scoring points for how many I killed, and they were scoring points for how many times I’ve injured myself in battle, we would probably be tied. Yesterday as I was flailing my arms around trying to swat a persistent fly, I stabbed myself in the leg with my own trekking pole. Yes, I have a bruise now. Today I hit myself in the face with it.
  
3 miles shy of 1,000!!! Almost in West Virginia! You’ll hear from us next after we attempt the “Quad State Challenge,” where we try and go over 40 miles from the border of Virginia, through West Virginia, through Maryland and into Pennsylvania all in one day. Wish us luck!
  
~Styx & Bones