asheville, camping, and the hike from hell

brittany and i had discussed a few ideas of things to see in and around southwest virginia while we were here and one of our priorities was asheville, north carolina. asheville, being only a 2 hour drive from big stone and a haven for locally grown food, hiking, hippies, and all around small-town-in-the-mountains fun, had obvious appeal. plus brittany had never been there. we decided to camp, not only because we enjoy it, but because its just plain cheap. after the clinic closed on Friday at noon, we packed up our already prepped meals, camping and hiking gear and set off south through tennessee to north carolina.
the camping experience was, in my opinion, much more successful than our last adventure in Shenandoah over labor day weekend. that weekend, we struggled with the set up of our borrowed and very odd-shaped tent, underestimated the melting of ice in the cooler which then turned pre-made fajitas into soggy tortilla mush...which we THEN burned in attempts to dry them out over the fire which we only started after borrowing lighter fluid from a neighboring camper... novices indeed. this time we were more prepared. we brought my small propane gas grill. beat that nature. we kept all bread type ingredients far from the cooler. we did a dry run of tent set up before we left virginia. we were not going to look like idiots this time. and indeed, things went well. we got a space in our first choice campsite, we set up the tent in 20 minutes and turned the knob on the grill to get the fire going. we hit one snag when brittany mistook the bug spray for cooking spray and doused half of our pre-cut veggies in deet. she managed to salvage most, and our dinner, minus the one mushroom i had to spit out, was much more satisfying than the burnt mush fajitas to which i previously alluded. we even managed to make s'mores and then pack up fast as a thunderstorm rolled in. what comes after novice? competent? although i do admit that as the rain poured down that night, i was saying a silent prayer that our tent would not collapse as we slept.
the next task for the weekend was to hike Mount Mitchell, which happens to be the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River. now, you can just drive to the top and walk up to the tower built to look out over the expanse of the North Carolina mountains. but then what can you say? I drove Mount Mitchell? No no. Online we found the details of the summit hike which began at a remote campground 5.7 miles and 3600 feet from the top. With printed copy in hand and camelbak stocked with water and snacks, we set out on our immediately climbing, tree-covered path. And it just kept climbing. No ascents and descents, no passes, no flat ground, just up hill...for three hours straight. additionally, this hike had none of the views that made mount rogers so spectacular. we were deep in forest for the entire climb, which gave us no sense of how far we had to go and no ability to visualize our target. but luckily, my print out gave detailed descriptions of the path: the types of trees we would meet a long the way, boulders to look forward to, signs of nearing the summit. After an hour of climbing in silence, I pulled out this little paper and began to read aloud about the type of forest we were in and how the trees were changing as we increased in elevation. The paper also revealed that we had already made it nearly half way. Then, silence. and more climbing. possibly some moans behind me. after another 45 minutes, i whipped out the paper again. more trees, a virgin forest to be exact. find that and we'd be at another milestone. we were starting to get tired of trees. another 45 minutes, no virgins, just endless climbing. please, next milestone, PLEASE. we finally made it to an area where "a horse trail will combine with the path." we were nearing the last 1,000 foot climb. we had missed the virgin forest. "as the trail flattens and puncheon is laid down to keep your feet out of the mud, you will know you're near the summit." puncheon? what's puncheon? after another steep 30 minute climb, EVERYTHING was puncheon. is this keeping our feet out of the mud? oh no, here it is. this is puncheon. no, THIS is definitely puncheon. we were also instructed to look out for a boulder on the right and a cave on the left. that rock looks big enough to be a boulder. where's the cave. no cave. ok. keep climbing. didn't she say this would flatten out? hey, that could be a boulder. still no cave. this is definitely puncheon. finally, after another 30 minutes and angry grumbling, we passed exactly what we were hoping for. people. especially one woman who said, you're almost there. the trail began too look more used and had some signs about the flora around us. and at last, we emerged from the trees to find...another steep, yet paved, hill to climb to the tower overlook. ughhh. we trudged up, salt from dried sweat caked on our faces, dirt on our legs, we passed the loafer and izod clad, complaining of the burn they felt climbing that paved walkway. if they only knew. we refueled on peanut butter sandwiches and fruit and begrudgingly began the descent. This took an entire hour less than our climb up because at many points we were nearly running down the mountain, due to the slope as well as the desire to be the hell done with this hike. when we made it back to the car, we agreed, the first stop would be for ice cream.
as this entry is already too long, i will be brief about our time in the actual town of asheville. we stopped by the town each day, sometimes just to walk around, others to eat. it's not how i remembered it. its bigger, with a more concentrated downtown that i had imagined. but its just one of those ideal places. you could have the city, night life and great food if you wanted that. or you could be at peace in the mountains, walk around the campus of the nearby university, tap drums with the folks in the park. if i could find a salsa club and some people to speak spanish with, i think i'd be set. our last morning after a stop at a farmer's market, we went to brunch at a restaurant i had spied online. Tupelo's Honey Cafe = Incredible. They use locally grown and organic ingredients and put a fresh spin on southern cooking. You'd think i'd pulled that from their website. We had fried green tomatoes and goat cheese grits, followed by sweet potato pancakes served with peach butter and maple syrup. As if that wasn't good enough, they serve complimentary warm biscuits with blackberry jam. In my book, it was a great ending to an fun weekend in Asheville, NC.

mount rogers, highest in Virginia

Most people warned me that there is not a lot to do around Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Even when calling in search of housing, one realtor told me that "I better bring some fun, because there ain't none here." But when you love the outdoors as much as I do, there are plenty of things to do. This was evidenced in conversations with my CI, who also likes to be outside, that went something like this: there's this great hike...and this state park...and this camping site....and its an easy drive to Asheville...and..... Now it seems like there is almost TOO much to do, and there aren't enough weekends to do it.
This saturday though, we hit one site that I really wanted to conquer: Mount Rogers. Not only is it the tallest peak in Virginia, but its along the Appalachian Trail and is high enough that the temperature is 10 degrees less than the Gap. This was a blessing as the high on Saturday looked to be 91 degrees. To get there, we drove east towards Abingdon, which is known to be a cute little town, almost metropolitan in these parts. We then crossed under 81 and made our way through Damascus, which is known to be the friendliest town on the AT, and it looked the part. Restaurants, bike shops, outfitters, campgrounds, everything that a trekker could want. It also is a starting off point for the Virginia Creeper Trail, 35 miles of bike trail that goes from White Top Mountain through Damascus to Abingdon. Save that for another weekend. Past Damascus, we drove up switchback after switchback until, nearly nauseated, we made it to Mount Rogers.
The hike began with an open meadow, filled with dozens of butterflies, and a cool breeze that blended perfectly with the warm sun. We couldn't have asked for better weather. After about a half mile, we hit the AT, which was much more challenging than I imagined, not a smooth path, but instead lots of rocks to clamber over. The majority of the trail is above the tree line, with open meadows, bright green grassy hills, dotted with charcoal gray boulders. Aside from the pine trees in the backdrop, I could have been in Ireland. We climbed up one of the boulders to get a panoramic view and eat our lunch. As we sat and enjoyed the breeze and the view, we saw a group on horseback, cowboy hats and all. As I caught sight of the dog running amidst the horses and their riders, I then thought I might have been in Wyoming. Both Brittany and I remarked that this was a unique Virginia hike as it was not tree covered and you could actually see the expanse of the Blue Ridge all around you. This Western girl was in heaven. The path led us past many AT trekkers, some walking, some napping in the shade. We finally made it to the spur trail that led to the summit. This became immediately covered in trees, unfortunate for a summit trail. Actually most about the summit trail was unfortunate, namely it ended with no demarcation that you had just reached the highest altitude in the state. Instead, a tree stump with one last blue blaze was the indication we had reached 5,700 feet. A little disenchanted, we turned around to head back, but were quickly reminded of the amazing beauty of 90% of the hike. I feel like I cannot do justice to the beauty of this hike. Hopefully the photos help.

the best friend festival

apparently every year, the city of Norton, VA puts on a Best Friends Festival. from the Wise County chamber of commerce website, i could not ascertain what exactly the festival commemorates or celebrates, except well, best friends. this year's theme was "There's no place like home" obviously taken from the classic Wizard of Oz and confirmed by the cardboard cut outs of Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion that were up on a hill advertising the festival. There were events daily starting off with one called Paint a Trash Can on Monday and ending with a pancake breakfast Saturday morning. We did not attend either of these, but we did check out the Tuesday evening farmer's market, which really should be called a gardener's market, and the Emerald City Celebration on Friday evening. This was actually no joke. There were several trailers of fair food, at least 3 moon bounces, a couple of rock climbing walls and a stage set up for music. We took a lap up and back the closed-down main avenue of Norton and decided we had enough time enjoying best friends and returned to the Gap.

the baby blue palace

When we found out that we could potentially live in a trailer during our stay in rural southwest virginia, i knew it would make the experience complete. and as soon as we confirmed that it was not located in a park and would have wireless internet installed before our arrival, we were set. as we drove along the road, looking out for our home for 2 months, we passed a mixture of large mobile homes, run-down trailers complete with car parked in front yard, and beautiful homes of the foundationed sort. i realized when i arrived that i would be spoiled with this double-wide beaut. i know it doesn't look like much from the outside, with its flat facade and porch in dire need of a paint job. but its clean, inside and out, houses a washer and dryer, and has two rooms sizable enough for a full bed, a dresser and a desk. and aside from the cat-laden floor mats and throws, it is virtually knick knack free (minus one life-sized ceramic cat that sits behind the tv stand).

what it does NOT have is a dishwasher nor the water pressure in the kitchen sink to wash one single crumb off a plate. only slightly more awkward are the accordion-type doors which separate the bathroom from my room and give Brittany "privacy" in her bedroom. the other door to the bathroom is typical, except that it doesn't stay open except with the help of a cat-shaped door stopper. and every time you open this typical door to exit the bathroom, the accordion doors flap from the displacement of air. but B and i knew we would be living in close quarters, and are laughing at these inconveniences instead of fretting over them.
to end on a positive note, the trailer is very comfortable to come home to, especially the central air on a humid day.

my first day

after much anticipation, i finally started my clinical. i arrived at 8 am and received a tour of the larger than expected outpatient physical therapy clinic. they have pretty much everything you could need, modalities units, high low tables, even paraffin. my clinical instructor (CI) is originally from this area, however graduated from VCU, and is now the only PT for this hospital. due to that, this outpatient rotation will also include acute care coverage on the floors of the hospital. today was not necessarily very exciting. my CI seems quiet and laid back, which means i mostly observed. there are other people on staff including PT assistants and technicians. i am very aware of my accentless speech and my lack of a desire to talk someones ear off. sure i'm friendly, but boy to these people talk.
we spent much more time than expected over in the ICU and on the floor, although my CI says this should be only about 20% of the clinical. i don't mind doing work in the hospital. our program only allows one acute care affiliation, so i feel like this is bonus experience. after a year, things definitely needed to be refreshed, but i think its coming back fast and i will feel really comfortable with acute care after this affiliation. but today definitely had some interesting moments on the floor, from the inmate with several stage 4 ulcers to the patient s/p ORIF that only wanted to walk to go have a smoke, i feel like i'm not that far from Richmond and MCV.
will hopefully have more to report about outpatient by the end of this week.

the drive

this morning i left Roanoke and hit 81 south for the 2 hour drive to Abingdon where i would meet Brittany to caravan to Big Stone. I was making excellent time, 15 miles from the exit for Abingdon, when i came over a hill and was suddenly aware of the ominous dark gray sky ahead of me. here it comes. I was reminded of my recent trip to the river with my friend Genevieve as we sat out on a rock under the threat of rain. After an hour or so of only clouds, I looked up river and said, here it comes. Gen said, What? The rain? Can you see it?? Just then big pellets started to drop and we jumped up to take cover. Again today, i felt like i could see the rain before it hit, and boy did it hit. I made it to exit 19, but could barely see the sign pointing towards Abingdon. I drove 5 minutes towards town when Brittany said she had made it and stopped almost immediately off the highway at the Dunk 'n Deli. i turned around to meet her and upon walking in greeted her with, Are they deep frying the entire building?? We compared notes on the routes to Big Stone: 11, 19, 58, 23, 610, looked more like my next lottery pick.

We set off through the small town of Abingdon, which appeared cute and historic but it was all a little blurred by the heavy rain. We traversed along curvy roads, around mountains, down through narrow valleys. After about an hour, we passed by Norton, "the next town over" from Big Stone Gap, and according to Brittany, the smallest city in Virginia. From the highway, it appeared like it could have a cute "downtown" with brick buildings lining the main drag. After Norton, we climbed another pass that was shrouded in dense fog. I could see the guard rail to my left but nothing of what I was sure was a beautiful scene below. In fact, the above photo was taken from a scenic view point that I had no idea existed because I could not see it through the fog. Finally, we turned off the highway and found East Stone Gap. I'm not exactly sure why this locale deserves its own name and sign because aside from a church, there is nothing there. After heading the wrong direction out into the country for several minutes, we turned around much to our dismay, leaving behind cute homes in a beautiful valley. We drove back in the direction of town and in the passing of each run down mobile home, prayed that that one was not ours. Finally, we arrived at our blue double-wide destination. To be honest, its not much to look at from the outside. But it is clean and plenty big on the inside. But more on the abode later.

As i mentioned last post, i was on a mission to watch the US/England World Cup game. I had called ahead to a Mexican restaurant in Norton to ask if they had TVs and if they were showing the World Cup. The man answered, Diga. Sounds promising. After not understanding my question in English, he handed the phone off. Of course they had TVs, and of course they were showing the world cup. We arrived at Mi Finca to find that it not only had TVs but a patio and a recently acquired liquor license. We sat down in front of one of the HD TVs airing the already in-play game in Spanish. At the table next door, sat four Mexican men, all hoping for an English victory. After the game, I struck up a conversation with one of them and he inquired about why we were here and where we learned Spanish. Not the first afternoon in Wise County that I was expecting. More to come...

from the 'Noke

i made it to Roanoke with only one casualty. as i was packing....no, STUFFing my car full, the largest glass lid for one of my pans hopped out to make a break for it. however, it shattered upon landing. no big deal. didn't really use that lid anyway. and i wonder how many other items i decided to keep and haul on my back that i could say the same thing about. my sister, Betsy, suggested that as a part of this blog when I decide to ditch an item that i previously cherished but have now come to my senses that I really just don't need that hair straightener with four attachments that i haven't used since crimping my hair for an 80s party 7 years ago... that i should write about it, and maybe include a photo for the big decisions. well so far, the straightener, a pair of half working computer speakers, and one pillow have taken their place in circular storage, i.e. the garbage bin.

i stopped in Roanoke as a surprise for my uncle. some of you may know that my uncle was hospitalized for several months at the beginning of this year. he is home and on a gradual path to recovery under the attentive care of my aunt. my arrival fortunately coincided with his first outpatient physical therapy appointment. i was impressed with the ability of the PT to examine the entire body in an efficient manner and also with what my uncle could already do. i helped him with a few exercises at home, in exchange he taught me how to play backgammon.

tomorrow morning i set off for the gap, the big stone gap. i think i might start calling it that, although many people might start to think i'm living in a preppy store that makes medium quality clothing. i also have come down with a serious case of world cup fever, and after watching this mornings South Africa/Mexico match up, i know it cannot be cured. tomorrow the US plays England, which which looks to be a big match-up. whether it makes you recall that other important America vs. England contest in 1776 or that episode of Simpson's where the family goes to England and Homer rear ends the Queen, i think we can all grasp the significance of this game. so tomorrow, aside from the goals of finding this small town in the mountains, locating the trailer and the woman that owns it, Brittany and I will be on a quest to find an establishment that is airing the game. I've already google mapped sports bars in the area of Wise county. Closest one: Kingsport, Tennessee. It's going to be an interesting two months.

time to hit the road

becoming sentimental

i have been so busy with packing and getting my life in order, that i sort of forgot that i'm leaving. on my way to my friend's house to return her baking dish, i walked past the gardens overflowing with their summer bounty and through the small park behind my house. the cool evening air was a surprising break from the normal june heat, and the lightning bugs marked my path across the park with their intermittent glow. i walked up the road, stopping in at my favorite italian take out spot and then into the market on strawberry street. while paying at the register, i noticed the basket of infamous chocolate chip cookies, which i have often grabbed as a reward for finishing a test or as solace after a bad day. i realized that although i will be returning to Richmond, i will be leaving this blissful life in the Fan, where i can walk to meet friends, sit in the park and talk to neighbors, and enjoy a face-sized cookie just steps from my apartment. other than this small neighborhood of quaint row homes and beautiful gardens, there is not much else that makes me feel sad to leave this city.
and leaving it i am. tomorrow morning, my car will be packed and i will be on my way to living a nomad's life. first stop, the 'Noke.

i hate packing

at first, sorting through 28 years of belongings was fun. i reminisced, i organized, i threw away. it was therapeutic. now it just won't end. i thought i would have one box of items from the kitchen to take to Big Stone Gap. now i'm 3 boxes and a couple bags deep. and its hard for me to part with things from the kitchen. i even bought new multi-colored spatulas and baked friendship bread and chocolate chip cookies in the last two days. but i had to get rid of my butter and eggs, right? riiiiight.
i miss the days of my life fitting into the back of my car. now only half of my life fits in the rear of my SUV (with the seats down), while the other half resides with my friends in Richmond. so maybe i don't hate packing. i hate stuff.