Bubbles Spotts Farm (Saturday, October 8 - Monday, October 10)

Murder Worm, a friend we met on trail in New Jersey, invited us to stay at her family's farmhouse. It was a wonderful experience and one of my favorite zero days. It was rainy and dreary so it was a great relief to see Worm. She picked us up in town and we scooted off to the farm. We made a pit stop at the Wendy's and ate a meal together. On the way out I told everyone to grab a handful of salt and pepper packets. Worm was the only one to do it and she got so many! It was awesome. A fellow customer saw her and she quickly responded "for camping" I was laughing pretty hard.

After that we went to the store and got groceries for dinner. Murder Worm made her Momma's famous mac and cheese, Whiskers made chicken wrapped in bacon - stuffed with spinach and I made a salad. Dinner was fantastic. It was so good that everyone was super quiet. It was almost awkward for a bit because it was so quiet. We went to bed happy and with full bellies

The next morning we planned on getting back on trail but the weather was beautiful and we wanted to spend more time with Worm. Worm and Whiskers made breakfast. After breakfast we got ready for the day.

Worm took us on a tour of the farm and it was awesome. We saw the guest house, the pond, and the area where they have peacocks! We collected feathers and I was so so so excited. The best part of the day was four wheeling. We laughed so much. Worm took me down a really steep hill. I laughed all day and felt like a real farm girl. We had a dinner of leftovers and delicious meatloaf that Worms mom had made. When we all settled down for bed I was sad to be leaving. I had so much fun with Worm and I didn't want the weekend to be over. Worm and I have the same first name, Margaret. So clearly she is the bees knees!! ;)

 

Whiskers cookin'

Sprout Day 193 - Day 195 (Thursday, October 6 - Sunday, October 9, 2016)

We got up Thursday morning and hiked a few miles to the road that takes you to Trent’s Grocery. We weren't sure if we were going to go when we first started the day off but when we got to the road we figured, why not? Might as well go down and get some breakfast!

We were already wet and the rest of the day was calling for rain too. We went to Trent’s and got breakfast and some coffee. It felt good to get inside - out of the rain - and to get dry. As we were sitting there a few other hikers showed up and said they were getting off the trail for the day. The cold rain wasn't something they wanted to deal with all day. As we sat eating our breakfast and getting warm with coffee we decided that we didn't really want to hike in the rain either!

Sam, who works at Trent’s, offered to give us a ride to Bland, Virginia and drop us off at the hotel. We took him up on his offer and split a hotel room with Whiskers. Murder Worm was picking us up the next morning and taking us to her family farm house for the night. The weather was supposed to be bad the next few days so it turned out to work perfectly. We were getting off trail and letting the rain pass.

The hotel was nice and there was a gas station close and a Dollar General close. I picked up some microwaveable snacks and we laid around and stayed dry watching tv. It rained all day and night and was cold and windy.

The next day Worm picked us up at 11:00 and took us to her family farmhouse 40 minutes away. Right off the highway before we got there was a Walmart. We stopped and picked up food for dinner and breakfast for the next morning. It was so nice of her to come pick us up for a night off trail. She had her dog Taylor with her too. She was a great dog, I love meeting new dogs.

We had a great dinner that night, a fresh salad, homemade mac and cheese, and stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon. Everything was so good and we had brownies and ice cream for dessert. The bed was so comfortable and we slept so good that night. We woke up the next day and Worm told us we needed to check out the farm.

We eventually decided to stay another night. I'm really glad we did because we had so much fun and the property was a beautiful piece of land. We rode four wheelers and a Kubota around the property it was a lot of fun.

Day: 193-195
Miles hiked: 1.8
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1586.2
Baby Bear: 1
Bald Eagle: 1
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Grouse: 1
Horses: 15
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Moose: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Red Squirrel: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 3
Squirrels: 12
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1

Sprout Day 187 (Friday, September 30, 2016)

We woke up early to the sound of thunder and heavy rain. No one showed up to the shelter yesterday and since our tent was already up and dry under the porch we just slept in the tent.

This shelter is .3 off trail and it's a steep climb down. It doesn't look like too many people use it. There isn't anyone on the trail right now anyway. With the rain and thunder we just stayed in bed and decided to wait it out. The rain didn't stop and we eventually decided to stay here for the day. I'm glad we did because it rained off and on all day. It would've been a wet miserable day had we hiked on. The ledges are slippery around here so it's easy to fall. Walking over some of the rocks feels like walking on ice. We made the right decision.

It's funny we’re even at this shelter because normally we wouldn't come to a shelter this far off trail unless we needed water (that’s probably why it doesn’t seem as if a lot of people use this shelter). After we were here I realized this is the shelter I was looking up and reading about last winter. I wanted to come here and see what the old property looked like. I wish I could've seen the old house still standing but it's still cool to see it with the frame and chimneys still standing. All the rubble in the middle just adds to the character. I'd like to see some old pictures of what the property looked like back in its prime. Going down to the spring in front of the old house made me think a lot about how life must of been for the Sarver family. The house was built in the 1850’s and four generations of Sarvers lived in it.

Day: 187
Miles hiked: 0
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1515.5
Baby Bear: 1
Bald Eagle: 1
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Grouse: 1
Horses: 15
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Moose: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Red Squirrel: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 3
Squirrels: 12
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1

Sprout Day 174 (Saturday, September 17, 2016)

We got back on trail after taking an unplanned zero in Buena Vista. Bubbles shoes didn't show up at the post office so we had to figure out a plan B. She couldn't hike anymore in crocs as she just did the past 50 miles in them. The shoes that she got in Richmond did not fit her feet right and were giving her major blisters and hurting her feet in general.

We didn't know what we were going to do because the post office wasn't going to be open again until Monday and they told us they already got all the deliveries for the day. To make matters worse, New Balance wasn’t much help. They couldn't even give us a tracking number for the order!

Poppa Lip decided he was going to bring Bubbles the shoes she needed. He had an extra pair at the house for when the ones we were waiting on got too beat up and needed replaced. He drove six hours to meet us at the campground in Buena Vista! Thanks a lot Poppa Lip. We appreciate everything you do for us!

It was great seeing him and we were at a perfect spot for him to come meet us. He was able to drive his van right up to where we were camping. We got up early this morning and went to the Food Lion and grabbed breakfast at Denney’s.

By 11:00 a.m. we were on the trail and went 11.3 miles to the Punch Bowl Shelter. There are three other people here, two section hikers and I'm not sure about the other guy. I got here at the same time as Whiskers. We filled our water and set up camp on top of a hill behind the shelter. We are planning on 15 miles tomorrow now that Bubbles isn’t hindered by her Crocs!

Interesting Sculpture

Back on the trail

Brown Mountain Creek History

You can see some ruins through the leaves

Make it to Brown Mountain Shelter

Look at those new shoes!

More Brown Mountain Creek Community History

Taking a short break

Time to fill up the water

It's great to get some history of the area when we are on the trail

Dinner on the trail

Day: 174
Miles hiked: 11.3
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1399.7
Baby Bear: 1
Bald Eagle: 1
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Grouse: 1
Horses: 15
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Moose: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Red Squirrel: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 2
Squirrels: 12
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1

Sprout Day 173 (Friday, September 16, 2016)

Our unplanned zero day in Buena Vista, Virginia. 

View from the campsite

Poppa Lip sleeping in the hammock again!

Sprout Day 139-141 (Friday, August 13th - Monday, August 15, 2016)

We didn't know what expect when we called Tom and asked him if we would be able to stay at his place.  All we knew was Whiskers said he was an amazing guy, super nice, and was an amazing cook.  Sounded good to us and we needed to get out of the rain and hopefully get a good night rest in a warm bed.  We got all of that and much more.  Tom is one of the nicest people we've met on trail.  He came to pick us up, took us back to his house, and took great care of us.  

We got down to the trail head and waited on Tom to arrive. When the white Chrysler pulled up and stopped right next to us we knew this must be Tom.  He had is black rescued dog Max with him.  It felt good to be be greeted by a happy driver and a happy dog.  We got back to Tom's house and he had lunch waiting for us.  We had to take a shower and throw our clothes in the washer before we ate. Sounded like a good deal to us because we needed a shower and it is always nice to have clean clothes.

After we ate lunch and introduced ourselves Tom told us to make ourselves at home and wanted to know what our plans were for tomorrow.  He was more than happy to help us slack pack over the Bigelows which was awesome.  We wanted to get that section over with!  After the Bigelows the elevation doesn't look too bad and this is the last 4,000 footer before Katahdin.  The weather doesn't look too great for tomorrow but it looks even worse on Sunday.  We ended up watching TV and relaxing most of the day.  It was nice to be able to sit on a soft chair and watch some of the Olympics. There were chips and dips and all the drinks we could ask for.

After we hiked the Bigelows Tom picked us up and had dinner ready for us.  We had fresh Maine lobster!  We weren't the best at eating lobster so Tom gave us a little tutorial.  The lobster was the best.  He also had baked chicken and all kinds of sides to go with the lobster.  Everything was so good.  Tom also made us steak while we were there and some more cheeseburgers.  Basically he fed us amazing food until we couldn't eat anymore.

We had so much fun there and felt like we were at home. The last night we were there Tom got his four wheeler out and let me take it for a spin on the paths by his house. Tom is going to be a lifelong friend and I'm really happy we met him.

A foggy start to the day

Moss covered boulders

More moss covered boulders

More moss covered boulders

Forest

Can you spot the white blaze on the trail?

Bubbles on the trail

Bigelow Mountain South Horn

Boxed Spring

Sign pointing towards a spring

Three Amigos at Bigelow Mountain South Horn

Bubbles heading down the trail

Trail marked by low stone walls

Bigelow Mountain West Peak

Bubbles made it to the peak!

Boulder perching on another boulder

Not sure what this is

Smudgy under a fallen tree held up by a rock wall

Crack in this rock wall

Crazy looking rock overhang

Close up view of the rock overhang

Bubbles on the trial

Roots on boulders

Squirrel

Plants growing out of boulders

Tom and Max on the 4-wheeler

Smudgy Cheeks grabbing a ride

Sprout and Bubbles on the 4-wheeler

Bubbles taking a selfie while we were flying!

Pond

Pond

Day: 139-141
Miles hiked: 17.8
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1157.4
Bears: 0
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Grouse:  1
Horses: 15
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Red Squirrel:  1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1 Snake: 2
Squirrels: 12
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1