Episode 12: Timing and Riff Raff!!

Greetings!!!!!

So, even though I may be off of the Appalachian Trail for the moment, it does NOT mean that we can’t still tell stories and continue our catch-up about the AT, right??

Which means we must do an extreme REWIND, back to early May! Continuing from my post, titled “Episode 10: 300 to 400+,” we will be picking up from mile 408.8. However, this particular post is extra-special! It’s a fun recount of how impeccable timing can be sometimes! And how that, in turn, plays such a dynamic role in shaping the progression of ‘what’s next.’ Along with the realization that things might have turned out SO DIFFERENTLY had that timing been any different. (In a sense like the butterfly effect theory….) Allow me to tell you the story of ‘Timing and Riff Raff!!

Picture this: Roan Mountain, TN, May 13th, 2019. (Sophia, anyone??? If you have no clue what I’m referencing, please disregard. But it’s totally from the Golden Girls! 😆) It was time to leave The Station at 19E – – – a hostel at which I stayed for 3 nights: after a nero day, a slack-packing adventure of almost 14 miles, and a zero day full of Game of Thrones binge-watching – – – and head back to the trail. The muddy, muddy trail!

The key to this story is that the day started off with my tramily in two groups. Group 1 was myself, Texas Pete, Ziggy, Camel, and PBG. We were ahead of Group 2, which had Mr. Green, Pandora, and Long Shadow.

Two Ton was ahead of both groups and staying at The Dividing Ridge Campground. But this was no ordinary campsite!! This was the location of a pre-Trail Days party scene with a crew known as Riff Raff: awesome thru-hiker alumni that wanted to give back to the hiking community. So, during the entire week leading up to Trail Days they recruit as many hikers as possible to come to their festivities and camp with them.

Two Ton had texted us about the fun with Riff Raff and how you set up camp right there and hang out with everyone, playing games, eating food, drinking beer – – which was all donations-based and provided by the Riff Raff crew. Our Group 1 was intrigued by this event!

We then started to hear more about the Riff Raff party by other hikers on the trail, who were planning on heading that way. It seemed like a pretty big deal and something fun to check out for ourselves. However, we had wanted our entire tramily to be there together.

Our Group 1 hiked about 11.1 miles to Dennis Cove Road, a crossroads of sorts. It leads to two hostels, it’s an intersection of road and trail, and it seemed like the perfect place to wait for our Group 2!

After waiting for over two hours, we decided to set a time of departure, in case Group 2 hadn’t arrived yet. They didn’t know that we were waiting for them, since cell reception was unavailable. It was about 5:30pm and the agreed upon ETD was 6pm. Fingers crossed that our tramily would arrive by then…

Well, clock struck 6pm so we started to pack up our things, not entirely sure if we were headed to a campsite nearby or to the Riff Raff festivities. We left a trail text for Group 2 – – – a hand-written note left on a wood post under a rock 😁! With our packs on, we were about to get back on trail when who do we see, rounding the corner? Why, it was Mr. Green, Pandora, and Long Shadow!!!!! Timing can be such a magical thing!!!! If it had been just a few minutes later, we would have been gone!

We told Group 2 about Riff Raff’s special Trail Magic and they were excited to check it out as well, of course! It now was a matter of actually getting to the location. It was another 8.6 miles on the AT to the next trailhead that would take you on a 1.1-mile trek down the road to the Dividing Ridge Campgrounds. With it being past 6pm, it was a bit late to hike another 9+ miles to a location we only kinda knew its whereabouts.

Well, Long Shadow happens to know just about everyone on the trail – – he has hiked many miles on the AT prior to this year plus he’s so personable that he gets along with everyone!! – – and he just happened to know a guy that was at Dennis Cove Road with a group of students…which meant that he had a huge van with him! And this kind man offered to give us a ride to that next trailhead, bypassing those 8.6 miles!!! We then walked the 1.1 miles down the road and arrived to the campgrounds. And what a scene it was already, even though the bulk of hikers hadn’t even arrived yet!

We ended up staying with Riff Raff for three nights! And it was true – – every day, the amount of hikers grew exponentially, along with all of the tents and hammocks. And the generosity of Riff Raff was unparalleled. They accepted donations for the accommodations, food, beer, etc; however, they went above and beyond for everyone that stayed at the campsite, which was their intent from the very beginning. Every morning they made pancakes, every evening they prepared a special dinner – – one night it was a stew or hamburgers, another it was a pig roast, another it was burritos….it was just incredible! They went to such lengths to have everyone be fed, well, and happy!!

Every night there would be an amazing fire, full and blazing, that we would all gather around.,.

There were games to play, like cornhole and Polish Horseshoes, with a frisbee and beer cans. (Shhhhh….Side Note: I need Frisbee Aim 101, by the way. AHEM! But I’ll just leave that thought to linger here for now. Until I get my lessons. And redeem myself. Whoa, watch out…. 😳🙄😶😜)

There was also this adorable puppy, Diesel, running around…so cute!!!!!!!

And though it seems like these three days were all fun and games….well, they kinda were 😛….BUT our tramily actually hiked almost 30 miles while staying with Riff Raff in addition to the fun and games!! Pretty great, right?!!!

Another phenomenal trait of the Riff Raff crew is that they make themselves available to help hikers, in any way that they can. So when we asked a member if we could somehow get a ride back to Dennis Cove Road and slack-pack those 8.6 miles that we skipped, they set up the vehicles and we were on our way!

Within 1.5 miles, we were at the gorgeous Laurel Falls!!! The most perfect spot to have lunch and relax next to the soothing sounds of this impressive waterfall!!

It was such a perfect day already, though we had only been out on the trail for an hour by this point! We took one fabulous group shot, courtesy of PBG and her phone set-up skills……

And then we carried on with our lovely slack-pack hike!

The last stop of our hike was at Boots Off, mile 428.5, right down the street from the trailhead that leads back to Riff Raff. Boots Off is a (rival) hostel to the Dividing Ridge Campgrounds, (there’s a bit of complicated history between the two), where I had a resupply package waiting.

Curious about what this quote says, in case it might be hard to read? It’s really good, though I’m putting my own POV into the ending, so I shall repeat MOST of it for you:

“So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends. Ramble out yonder and explore the forests. Climb mountains. Bag peaks. Enjoy yourselves. Keep the body active and alive. And I promise you this much…..(here is where I apply my POV) You will never regret the victory of living those experiences though there are many people that will never give themselves the chance to discover such victory for themselves.

Pretty awesome, right?!?!?! POINT BEING: Never limit your potential, get out there, seek new experiences, LIVE, and bask in all of your newfound strength, power, and glory!! 🙌🏼💫💪🏼

The following day, our tramily asked Riff Raff if it would be possible to do another slack-pack adventure, only this time we would be driven to the trailhead at mile 449 and slack-pack SOBO back to the trailhead….(then doing the 1.1 miles back to Riff Raff…AGAIN!!) It was a 20.5 mile hike on the trail, which would be my first 20+-miler day! I was so psyched to rock the trail, especially with my slack-pack!!

It turned out to be a mixture of success and the start of madness for me…but the first 9 miles of the hike were spectacular! Two Ton and I had teamed up at this point, I would follow his lead, and we were flying through the trail!

And then it happened. A moment of distraction, with section hikers coming towards us and behind us, I lost my focus and rolled my right ankle on some loose rocks. It was a good enough roll to make me pause, holding up the flow of traffic for a minute. At this very moment, I had the chance to make the smart choice or the foolish choice: stop to rest my ankle, put on an ankle wrap, and take some Aleve (smart!!) OR just walk it off and keep hiking because you can “handle it” and “it’ll be just fine during the last 11 miles of the hike” (foolish!!)…..Can you tell which option I chose?!?! Please be wiser than me, my friends, I totally chose the foolish option!!!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️ I totally deserve a slap for that decision because it unknowingly created a snowball effect of issues for me BUT seriously, I loved the last 11 miles of my slack-pack hike! And my ankle did feel better the more that I hiked, believe it or not…whether that feeling lasted or NOT… 😳

20.5 miles down!!!! SUCCESS!!!! And zero bear encounters! 😁 Time to enjoy more time with the Riff Raff and hiker crowd!

Upon waking up, on our last morning at Dividing Ridge, I realized that I had a situation created from my rolled ankle: a sharp pain at the front of my right ankle/shin with every step I took. Either tendinitis or the start of shin splints, I knew the hike that day was going to be a tricky one. But we got our things together and waited for our final ride from Riff Raff to mile 449, picking up where we left off and once again moving NOBO. Oh, and just to make sure everyone fit in the car, I rode in the trunk with the packs. It was actually quite comfy! 🤣

We arrive at mile 449, TN 91, and what do we find??? TRAIL MAGIC!!! What a way to start the day!! They were so incredibly sweet!!!

After such a fabulous Trail Magic surprise, our tramily took off on the trail.

A great moment when I got to witness a few cows walk the AT. 😆

When we arrived at Low Gap, mile 455.6, we were greeted with more Trail Magic! Seriously, two in one day!! And this last bit of magic showed that someone was looking out for me. By this point, I was starting to limp a little bit from the sharpness in my leg. We were about 15 miles to Damascus, VA, the location of Trail Days, so it was not what you would call “right around the corner.” And I was prepared to keep going…until the Trail Angels asked if anyone would like a ride to Damascus from Low Gap. They were headed there next and there was room in their truck. A sign, perhaps???? ABSOLUTELY! It took a second, because I am stubborn, but I gratefully accepted a ride, along with Two Ton, Mr. Green, and Pandora. So, we skipped the 15 miles (for now) and went straight to Damascus, VA!

Amazing how things work out, wouldn’t you agree???? Again, the timing was the true player in unfolding all of these events! I imagine that so many things would have shifted, had Group 1 left before Group 2 arrived at the Dennis Cove Road that day…at the very least, we would have camped on the AT that night as opposed to getting a ride and walking to Dividing Ridge!! Which would have changed our potential arrival to Dividing Ridge, our slack-packing adventures, the Trail Magic surprises, the full Riff Raff experience, maybe even altering our Trail Days ETA….and on and on!

In any case, here is the timeline to remember: We arrived in Damascus, VA on the afternoon of Thursday, May 16th. Trail Days officially began on Friday, May 17th and went through Sunday, May 19th.

And on that note, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE!!!!! 😃 My Damascus stories will be next. I promise, you won’t want to miss them!! They are pretty epic, if I do say so myself. 🤗

Like, why am I wearing a backwards hat and whose shirt is that?? Answers coming soon!!! (Cuz yes, I have reason for both! 😛)