THE ROLLER COASTER

AT Day 062:  Thursday June 8,  2023

Mile 995.5 + 21.5  miles / 34.6 km

Total Distance Hiked:1017 miles/ 1636 km

Rod Hollow Shelter – Roller Coaster – South End  – Piney Ridge – Buzzard Hill – Bears Den Rocks – VA Route 7/ Snickers Gap- WV/VA border – Ravens Rocks – Roller Coaster North End – Wilson Gap -David Lesser Memorial Shelter 

A: 5510 ft / 1680 m  D: 4980 ft /1519 m

Overnight we got to hear what a bear foraging sounds like. I was awakened probably around midnight to the sound of heavy cracking of branches and rocks being overturned. I nudged Hammer “I think it’s a bear”.  “No” he said, half awake “go back to sleep, it’s a deer”.  He then lay awake for a while listening and said “maybe it is a bear”.  so we were awake for probably an hour listening to the sound hoping that it doesn’t get any closer. It didn’t get closer and eventually it went away. We went back to sleep. 

Today is our last day in Virginia and just to prove that Virginia is not flat we started the day with a section of trail called The Roller Coaster. A series of  17 small hills rolling up and down in line for over 14 miles. We broke camp and were on our way  just after 6am keen to get the roller coaster knocked off. 

The morning was lovely and cool,  perfect hiking temperature but the smoke from the Canadian fires has made it under the tree canopy giving both of us a bit of a tickly throat.  Smoky haze was visible through the gaps in the tree canopy. Coming off the first climb of the roller coaster we could see the sun like a red ball  projecting through the gaps in the  tree canopy. 

The climbs and descents did not seem that bad, we were still fresh. The trail was rocky underfoot which made for slow going.  The ground was covered in a thick layer of leaf litter and very little understory growth, making it feel like autumn has arrived.   It would be a very barren landscape to see in autumn. 

Around 8am we reached the 1000 mile mark – only 1184 miles to go. Hammer and I were a bit sanguine, it’s another milestone even though there is still so far to go. 

The roller coaster ups and downs were really not that bad.  It was the rockiness that made for really slow progress. 

All morning we were up and down until we started to approach Virginia Route 7 at Snickers Gap where we though we would be descending.   The sound of roaring traffic could be heard for some time. We started getting close to the road and then the trail deviates and takes a really sharp uphill turn towards Bears Den Rocks. This climb seem to go on forever. It was a bit disappointing to get to the top of the rocky outcrop which is the Den and find the views were obscured by the smoky haze. 

From Bears Den Rocks we descended to the road, waited for a break in traffic to cross. Snickers Gap where we crossed is  a site of historic significance being  associated with civil war events. Today it is a busy 4 lane highway. 

After crossing the highway we walked a short while and then stopped for lunch by a creek.  Hammer filtered water and I made lunch. It was just nice to take a break although we still haven’t finished with the roller coaster. By the time we started back on trail after lunch a lovely breeze had sprung up. The air felt a bit cleaner. 

It was nearly 3pm by the time we finished the roller coaster  and somehow it felt anticlimactic because the trail just continues on its rocky way, just not so rolly polly. There was no ending really.  The rest of the afternoon dragged on with all the noted view points being obscured by vegetation or poor visibility including the very popular Ravens Rock Vista.  A classic on our map was Wilson Gap with a note on the map stating that there is nothing to see here. That gave us a giggle at least.  We missed the West Virginia/Virginia border which didn’t really matter as we followed the boundary between that states for the rest of the afternoon and will leave finally Virginia  tomorrow. 

We made it to the lovely David Lesser Memorial Shelter just after 6. Such a shame we couldn’t get here earlier. The shelter has a really nice balcony which would have been great to sit on and socialise with the other hikers.  There are only four other people staying here.  We were feeling exhausted, it has been a really tough day of hiking with really not much to see. We set up the tent and couldn’t wait to get horizontal.