Foote Bridge Over the James River
Starting mile 773.3
I woke up this morning not knowing what I was going to do today. The temperature was going to get close to 90 today and if I stick to my original plan, I’ll have a nine-mile water carry that I’ll have to camp in the middle of. I’ll just have to play it by ear.
I got moving about 7:15 this morning, I really should have gotten going sooner. Tonight I’ll have to set an alarm so that I get moving by 6 am. The first five miles is along the ridge and then down to Petite’s Gap. This isn’t too bad and I will make it there by 9 am. When I got there, I saw to big tents set up and a lot of people milling around. I walked into the Storming Thunder Ridge bike ride. This is a charity ride for the YMCA of Central Virginia. They happily let me sit in one of their chairs and enjoy the refreshments of the aid station. Everyone was excited to hear about my trip so far and I ended up staying much longer than I expected.
I left the Gap and started my one big climb in the morning. I had about 900 feet of gain over the next two miles. About halfway up the trees began to thin out and it really started to heat up. By the time I reached the top of the mountain it was already 80 degrees with little to no shade.
I pushed on and eventually made it to three-mile downhill to the next shelter and some more water. When I made it to the shelter I replenished my water, made a Liquid IV, and ate some food. I was hot, so I hung my hammock up and laid in it for a little while as I finished my liter of water. While I was laying there, I decided I was only going to push to the next shelter. This way I can do the nine-mile dry stretch while I’m fresh in the morning.
I put my hammock away and headed down the trail. My next stop is the James River. I make my way down to the river and then follow it for a mile. Then it is across the bridge, under the railroad tracks and back into the woods. Once I was back in the woods it was a other 1.5 miles up to the shelter. I slowly make my way up there. The first thing I did when I got there was to go get water and drink a liter of it. I’ll have to be careful the next few days to stay hydrated because I’ve got several days in the upper 80s coming up.
Today I ended up doing 16.5 miles with 2,400 feet of elevation gain. I’ll have to start moving earlier to take advantage of the cooler morning.
Ending mile 789.8
Comments
3 responses
YOUR A TROUPER
HEY CHRIS! Looks lie you are making great progress!! SOTR bike ride is a classic! Ive ridden it!! That shall be your next challenge!! Hot the next couple days but cooler days ahead! Best of luck!!
I need to proofread ^looks like^