Early risers in the Keffer oak

Friday, May 29, 2026

A shaky start portends an unfortunate slip. I have luck with cold drinks throughout the day, but is that enough to keep me on schedule?

A prophetic bridge

myThe first birds woke me from my slumber shortly after 6:00 am With another 30 mile day ahead of me, I felt it was best to get going quickly. At seven fifteen I had already packed everything and was heading towards the trail. The plan for today was to get to the Sarver Hollow shelter and turn around. I expected to travel 45 kilometers and end up at the tent site that I had pointed out yesterday as a possible camping spot. That would leave me about 28 miles to get back to Pearisburg tomorrow. The sore on my back seemed to have healed itself and my feet felt ready for anything.
Immediately after the shelter there was a wobbly bridge crossing the stream. He felt like he was ready to fall into the creek at any moment.

Do not dry more

After leaving the War Spur shelter, I crossed John’s Creek and began a long climb to Kelly Knob. I was tempted to take the short straight trail to the overlook, but thought I’d save it for the return leg. I followed the trail to the Laurel Creek shelter, where Stretch and PigPen, two hikers I had met the night before at the shelter, were filtering water. I joined the water filtering group a few meters from the stream. I hung my backpack on a tree and grabbed my water bladder. I put it in the stream and it filled up in a few moments. I set the filter to gravity feed into my water bottle and headed back to the stream to rinse my hands.
I must have placed my foot a millimeter too close to the stream because it slipped off a rock and fell straight into the stream. He had landed in the deepest part and was completely submerged for a moment or two while I regained my balance and pulled my leg out of the water. I lamented at the prospect of walking in a wet shoe and sock. Walking with wet feet for 3 days straight earlier in the week came back into my mind. I took off my shoe, wrung out both the sock and the insole, and put them back on. They were surprisingly bearable. With no time to delay, I finished filtering the water and resumed my journey.

Left shoe dry, right foot soaked.

The offensive rock and the torrent of water.

Cold drinks along the way

Not long after leaving Laurel Creek, the trail emerges into a grassy field. This is one of southern Virginia’s many fertile valleys between mountain ridges. The AT traverses valleys frequently, jumping from one ridge to another. After crossing Route 42, the trail climbs through a field and descends to Route 630, where a small trailhead is located. PigPen and I arrived together and were called to a truck.
A man named Longhorn offered us cold refreshments. Naturally, he’s originally from Texas, but now lives nearby in Virginia. He hiked the AT in the 1980s and now enjoys spending time with hikers a few days a week. He knows a lot about the trail in the area and was fascinated with my quest to hike the AT twice in one go. I planned to be at the trailhead for a few hours. I took the opportunity to get back on the trail and see if I could hike the 3.2 miles to the Sarver Hollow Shelter and back before he left for the day.

Grasslands near Route 42.

Grasslands near Route 42.

Grasslands near Route 42.

The Keffer Oak

A short distance from the trailhead was a huge oak tree. A nearby sign announced that it was the Keffer Oak, a 300-year-old tree of notable size. Stretch was looking for water nearby and I had a solemn duty to inform him that he was in a bit of a hurry to get a free drink just down the road.
I remained determined to get more soft drinks to fuel my hike. It was a tough climb up Bruiser’s Knob, but I found the scene interesting. A viewpoint overlooking the valley confirmed that he had indeed made a major climb. Huge stone cairns lined the ridge up to the shelter. Longhorn told me the materials had been transported by air. That made sense given the shelter’s location a few hundred feet from the ridge. He also noted that the shelter had a covered porch. It looked like a great shelter, but certainly one that many hikers would overlook due to the need to take a side trail to reach it.

The Keffer Oak.

View from Bruiser’s Knob.

A stone cairn next to the Appalachian Trail at Bruiser’s Knob.

another round

I returned to Longhorn, who was still there, a dedicated trail angel if I ever saw one. It had been a slow day, I suspected several hikers had taken the opportunity to head into town across Route 42. I drank two more sodas, delighting in the variety of flavors and savoring the sugary calories. Another hiker and his pup joined us and we all chatted about the trail and the joy of a cold soda on a hot day.
I returned to the trail and crossed the pastures on what was now a hot, sunny afternoon. I quickly began to feel a low blood sugar coming on. I did my best to put it off as I passed the Laurel Creek shelter and climbed the hill to Kelly Knob. A section of the trail is invaded by mud. It was a chore to tiptoe, but these things are a feature, not a bug, of the Appalachian Trail. I took the spur trail towards Kelly Knob and was a little disappointed. There was an outcropping of rocks, but most of the view below was blocked by trees. However, there was an amazing campsite just before the rocks.

I can’t go around it or under it, I have to go through it.

falling flat

A long descent back to the War Spur shelter lay ahead. But I was losing speed and motivation. Maybe it was the three sodas that took a toll on my system, or maybe the previous day’s 32 miles had left my tank lower than I thought to start the day. I thought about stopping again at the War Spur shelter. That would leave me another 32.7 mile hike for tomorrow if I still wanted to get back to the van at the end of the day Saturday. That was starting to look like an optimistic goal. Then I had an idea. Since I was doing 4 days of hiking in 3 days, I should probably eat 4 days of food over the 3 days. I could return to the shelter, eat a double dinner, then a double breakfast in the morning and make a big dent in my carrying weight. That would make the walk back to the van easier. My hiker hunger couldn’t approve this idea fast enough.

I ran into hikers Y2K and Toby on the trail, who told me there might be magic on the trail ahead, although the trail angel was packing up. I felt like I had already received my share of trace magic, but a little more couldn’t do any harm. I proceeded cautiously optimistic. Sure enough, a truck pulled away just as the trailhead came into view. Two hikers had grabbed some last minute items and one of them kindly offered me a Dr. Pepper. The trail provides.

Return To War Spur/Gear Talk – Shoes

I entered the War Spur shelter with nothing but fumes in my system. I thought about eating a helping of cold-soaked potatoes and then seeing if I felt like doing another 4 miles uphill, but part of me knew I was done for the day. Diver, 2 Bears, Stag and TBD were all at the shelter along with many other hikers. I had a great time chatting with the group and hearing their perspective on walking shoes. They convinced me to try Altras. My Topo Ultraventures had proven to be durable, but the lack of tread to grip the trail and protect my feet indicated that they were no longer doing their job well. The diver really liked the cushioning of the Altra Experience Wild 3. My research indicated that the Altra Olympus 6 has even more grip, durability, and cushioning. The most popular Altra is the Lone Peak 9. I decided I needed to visit a supplier soon to try them all on.

A search for nearby outfitters found some in Roanoke, but also Outdoor Trails just down the trail in Daleville. They’re not open on Sundays, so after a quick thought I decided it would be best to do a day hike on Sunday, assuming I get back to my truck tomorrow. I had only planned Sundays as my day off because of the Formula One calendar. Since there was no race this week, I didn’t plan a day off, so I don’t need my Sunday off. I would need to revise my hiking itinerary, but this would work much better. I started to really want to try the other popular brand of walking shoes. I’m planning more long distance hikes, so determining which shoe I prefer earlier will be an advantage for me.

700 miles young.

What’s left of the lugs on my Ultraventures after 700 miles.

-See you tomorrow

Total: 24.8 miles, 59,082 steps

• Hike type: Backpacking
• Camp: Tent, War Spur Shelter

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