Week 11 of Our Appalachian Trail Hike: Heat, New Shoes & Virginia Miles

Considering an Appalachian Trail thru-hike? Or perhaps intrigued by trail life? You’re in the right place! This post continues our journey, giving insight into what life on the trail is like week by week.

Hi! I’m Cindy. In 2022, my husband, Barrett, and I completed an Appalachian Trail thru-hike! 🥳

I journaled daily on the trail; these entries make up a monthly AT series for anyone interested in our thru-hike tale!

🔗 Want to start at the beginning with week one? 👉 click here.

🔗 Browse all the weekly trail journals 👉here.

If you plan to attempt an AT thru-hike, be ready for an incredible adventure!

Also, if you know us as flip-floppers, we didn’t know at the time we’d become flip-flop thru-hikers (more on that soon). We started NOBO in Georgia in April, after months of research.

In hindsight, starting as Flip Floppers or in March would have fit us better. But that’s for a later post.

Just know, when picking a route for the Appalachian Trail, you can always change it up anytime!
👉 Click here for tips on where and when to start an Appalachian Trail Thru Hike. 👈
👉 And click here for advice on thru-hiking backpacking gear. 👈

Alrighty! Welcome back to my Appalachian Trail thru-hike journal series! Let’s pick up where we left off and dive into the details of week eleven.

Week eleven on the Appalachian Trail brought some of the most intense heat we’d faced so far, a miserable tent night we’ll never forget, gear changes, and a much-needed mental reset. From slackpacking in Virginia to movie nights in town, private hostel rooms, and testing new trail shoes, this week was all about continuing to chug along, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

If you’re new here, you can start with week one of our Appalachian Trail thru-hike journals here or catch up on past weeks here.

Otherwise, if you’ve ever wondered what daily life on a thru-hike really looks like, the highs, lows, town stops, and all, here’s an honest look at week eleven of our Appalachian Trail adventure.

Day 71

June 14, 2022

On this day, we woke up to a rainy morning. At 8:45 am, we are brewing up some liquid motivation (aka coffee) and hoping to be moving soon.

Early on in the hike, we saw this box turtle:

We also had this bridge crossing:

And saw a bunch of adorable newts in this pond:

The day had some gorgeous overlooks:

And we ended the day’s hike at a wonderful stealth spot with a view, complete with a beautiful sunset! 😻

✔️ Length: 11 AT trail miles
✔️ Total Ascent: 2345′
✔️ Total Descent: 664′
✔️ Total Grade: 274’/mi

Day 72

June 15, 2022

We had a very foggy sunrise this morning.

Also, our tent has a problem with the zipper area that closes up the fly near the side where Barrett was sleeping last night. (I will be fixing that soon.)

Well, I’m pretty sure we accidentally set up our tent in a turkey path, because there was a train of turkeys going around our tent in the morning.

The tent opening, created by the problem area, gave me a hilarious moment in the morning. I woke up to a turkey looking into the tent, doing its best turkey scream right into Barrett’s face. Somehow, he slept through the entire thing. 😹

Early on in the day, we saw deer:

Came across a shelter, complete with a porch!

Followed a turkey hiking the trail.

Lastly, it was a very hot day!!

At 4:53 pm, we ended the day’s hike and got a ride into town. During the next two days, we will be taking our first-ever double zero!

This is partly because I NEED to find better shoes. And partly because we want a mental break and to enjoy some movies that are out this summer.

Also, here’s a look at how my shoulders look at the end of a sweaty hike day:

For dinner, Mexican food (this time at La Barranca) remains our official thru-hike recovery cuisine.

This was likely our hottest hiking day of the whole thru-hike. I found this on my phone from this day:

It was also likely the hottest night we ever spent in the tent. We set up among the masses in a giant field at Angels Rest Hiker’s Haven for the night, and slept with no covers, and I’m pretty sure just in our undies.

I somehow slept! But Barrett spent much of the night lying there, sweating and wondering how much more of the summer would be like this.

✔️ Length: 13.1 AT trail miles
✔️ Total Ascent: 1584′
✔️ Total Descent: 3597′
✔️ Total Grade: 397’/mi

Day 73

June 16, 2022

Today we woke up and got shuttled to Enterprise.

We picked up the vehicle we booked from our tent back during week ten, at 8:15 am.

The goal with this rental is to travel to nearby Blacksburg, Virginia, which is a bit larger than Pearisburg. There, we will buy me new shoes to help my feet (the Altra Olympus trail runners I got in week 6 don’t seem to be cutting it) and have a mental reset, including enjoying a night in a hotel and seeing a couple of summer movies.

By this point, my feet are wearing on me mentally. I’m starting to worry that if I don’t find a fix for my foot pain soon, it will severely impact the rest of our hike.

We were upgraded to a truck, then immediately drove across town to get me a massage. 😻😻😻

Then we got Blizzards.

Then we were Blacksburg-bound. We first stopped at Dick’s to obtain some new summer hiking apparel.

Then we went to Walkabout Outfitter (gear store) to get some new shoes. I nervously settled on a pair of Merrells (which I’ve never hiked in before) after being convinced their greater support is what my feet need.

We also got sushi next door, checked into our fantastic Home2 Suites hotel room, had drinks with the hotel’s bartender, and saw Jurassic World: Dominion, all of which were within a few blocks of each other.

We walked out of the movie into a pretty intense storm and were immediately glad we weren’t in our tent.

We went to Kroger for some food, then returned to our hotel room for the night.

✔️ Length: 0 AT trail miles

Day 74

June 17, 2022

We started this day off with a fantastic (included) breakfast at the hotel!

Then we checked out and went to see Doctor Strange.

After the movie, we headed back to Pearisburg, shipped a box of swapped-out gear to my mom, and returned the car at 4:45 pm.

From there, we checked into a private room at Angels Rest Hiker’s Haven for the next two nights and set up a slackpack with the hostel for tomorrow to help us get back on track!

✔️ Length: 0 AT trail miles

Day 75

June 18, 2022

We were back at it early this morning after our double zero.

We’ve decided to give our knees and feet a bit of an easier go and do some slackpacking! We were dropped off to start our slackpack at 8:30 am.

Today we’re hiking southbound (SOBO) instead of northbound. That means we’ve been dropped off 20ish miles up the trail, and we’ll spend today walking back to the hostel in Pearisburg with only the necessities in our packs.

This is also my first day testing out my new Merrells, which I hope will be an improvement over my old Altra Olympus shoes.

On the day’s hike, we came across lots of berries, chestnuts, and honeysuckle. Also, this lizard:

Here are our splits from the day:

The last 10 miles were excruciating for me. Perhaps the new shoes? It was also just a long day. At this point, I’m not sure yet.

I soaked my feet in Epsom salt back at the hostel afterward, and Barrett gave me a foot massage.

Also, it has still been hot! I found this meme on my phone from today:

Having an air-conditioned room to stay in at the end of the night these past three nights has been a real treat, feeling wildly luxurious!

✔️ Length: 20.9 AT trail miles
✔️ Total Ascent: 4126′
✔️ Total Descent: 4496′
✔️ Total Grade: 412’/mi

Day 76

June 19, 2022

The hostel offered another, farther-out slackpack option if we could convince someone else to join, so we signed up for one more day of slackpacking with thru-hiker Archive.

While Virginia has had some nice flat stretches, these past few days have also been filled with plenty of rocky trail. Honestly, it has been more than we were expecting.

Once we completed the day’s hike, we had dinner at La Barranca again this evening, with Archive, to celebrate. Then we ended the evening with one more Dairy Queen visit. (When in Rome. 🤤)

I also ended the day once again dreaming of a Disney trip. My friend shared this on this day, not knowing I had spent the entire day’s hike listening to Disney hits.

This was our last private room night, and I spent as much of it as possible resting up in the air conditioning.

✔️ Length: 15.2 AT trail miles
✔️ Total Ascent: 3750′
✔️ Total Descent: 2837′
✔️ Total Grade: 431’/mi

Day 77

June 20, 2022

This morning, we left Angels Rest Hiker’s Haven. They helped us a lot over the past few days, and we were very grateful!

This was our first day back after it, on our own, after two days of slackpacking. After the drive to our reconnect spot, we started hiking around 10:00 am.

We came across the AT’s Keffer Oak on today’s hike, which is one of the largest white oaks on the trail.

It was a shorter day, but I felt physically good by the end. 

Barrett, though, felt it was tough to get back into it after the slackpacking and break. He had a rougher day, which is rare (lately it’s been me). I actually wanted to go a bit further today, but he was done, and I understood and accepted that.

It felt like a role reversal. I’ve been the worn-out one lately, so it was odd (and a little empowering) to be the one who still had gas in the tank!

Also, lately we’ve been having problems with ourPlatypus gravity water filter. Today, we found out that back-flushing of it, which we did at the hotel, didn’t resolve the issue; it gave us problems all day, took forever, and was a big part of what ultimately did Barrett in.

We ended the day’s hike around 7:00 pm. We found another great little stealth spot on another ridgeline, which is quickly becoming one of our favorite camping options.

Here is a shot of my dinner for the evening:

There was a dark orange, golden sunset tonight. The short, bushy trees all around us made us feel as if we were on safari. Then a ton of deer ran by our camp spot, and it really felt that way!

It’s truly incredible when the trail gives you a magical evening such as this one.

✔️ Length: 10.4 AT trail miles
✔️ Total Ascent: 2633′
✔️ Total Descent: 2561′
✔️ Total Grade: 501’/mi

Conclusion: Week Eleven of our Appalachian Trail Hike

Week eleven challenged us in new ways, from extreme heat and sore feet to gear changes, recovery days, and returning to the trail after a much-needed break. It reminded us that thru-hiking isn’t just about miles; it’s about listening to your body, adjusting plans, and finding balance between pushing forward and resting when you need it.

Virginia continued to surprise us with its rocky trails, wildlife sightings, and unforgettable sunsets — and we were grateful for both the challenges and the comforts this week brought.

Onward to week twelve, where more trail lessons, miles, and adventures await… (and perhaps even a podiatrist visit that’s been a long time coming.) 🥾😅 Stay tuned!