April 17th, 2019, Virginia
After looking over the camping and water options for the day, it was clear our options were limited: go long and hard. Or go too short and delay arrival to Pearisburg. The day was structured such that there was a 11 mile section late in the day with no water—until a final campsite and spring. We could carry water from the previous source, about 6 miles back, and select up camp after hiking 18 miles. Or we could get water at the final spring at 23 miles, then set up camp there, or continue to Rice Field Shelter. This particular shelter comes highly recommended. It is set atop a grassy bald with supposedly amazing views of the sunset and sunrise. This was almost too much to pass up. So we see our sights on Rice Field Shelter and started on our way around 6:30am.
There was an initial climb out of camp, then another long ridge with many smaller ups and downs. It was a beautiful day.
We hiked at a good pace, checking our progress as we went along. Around noon, before the final large climb, we came across a quiet road crossing with trail magic going on. This couldn’t have come at a better time. A hiking couple called SOL and Joy Hiker were there with there truck handing our snacks and drinks. They said they hiked the AT in 2017 and were back to help some friends they met in the trail, Johnny Walker and Muffet. Muffet had a stress fracture in her foot and she and her husband were back now to continue their attempt. It turns out Johnny Walker and Muffet were planning a stay at Rice Field Shelter tonight, so we said we would say hello. And Columbus was from a town in western NY State very close to where all of them were from. This was Columbus’ first experience with trail magic and he was surprised to find that relative neighbors from New York were here in Virginia providing it.
We said our goodbyes and continued on our way. The extra calories and good cheer helped us along. But the day was as long as we expected. We didn’t approach the camp until close to 6pm, after more than 11 hours of hiking.
As we approached it was clear Rice Field was a great spot, and we had good weather for the evening. Columbus set up his tent on the grassy area and I headed into the tree line to set up the hammock. After dinner, I headed back out to the grass to enjoy the sunset. Several more hikers had arrived and had set up in the grass. So close to town I had good phone signal and was able to make a video call home and share the moment with family. After an hour’s rest, full from dinner, and basking in the sunset, the day’s pain suddenly seemed like a distant memory. The sunset’s magic took center stage and nothing else mattered.
