Today was an eventful day. I was on the trail by the first light and began meandering along the ridges and knobs of east Virginia. It looked like the perfect day, and for the majority of the day it was. The views were amazing with clear sights of evergreen tree laden rolling mountains on all sides with the occasional farm placed in the valleys. I’m sure the sights would have been similar 200 years ago as well. The day was going so well and the miles were flying by so I decided to walk the extra mile off the trail to a grocery store where I would get a cold drink. The temperature was at least in the mid 60s and it felt like on the first day of March summer had arrived. At least momentarily. Cold drink in hand, I took the long arduous climb from the valley floor back to the ridge. At the top I was once again rewarded with views galore. I passed a series of cell phone antennae, radio towers and a fire lookout and felt the first rain drops. I quickly pulled out my rain jacket and put my pack cover on to try to mitigate the risk of having everything sopping wet. I half hoped the weather would pass quickly, but being from the Pacific Northwest, I know the difference between an ongoing rain and a quick shower. This would be sticking around all night. I made it to docs knob shelter and was greeted with trail magic in the way of a couple beers floating in the spring. I had dehydrated spaghetti and a cold Miller high life for dinner as I continued to watch the rain come down. I hung my damp items around the shelter and they should be good for the morning, but with the forecast not looking good, snow is definitely a possibility over the next couple days. I may travel to Pearlsburg for a quick coffee and a charge up of my phone so I can keep these posts coming. It all depends on if I wake up to a white wonderland or just a wet ground.
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