Day 6: Up...and I don't mean the movie

On my first day, in Ashville, I was looking for an IHOP for breakfast.  I settled for a Waffle House because it was so close to my folks' hotel and spitting distance from the Parkway.  Today, however, I got my wish.  a scant 5 minute walk from the hotel was an IHOP, open 24 hours.  Breakfast this morning was at 6:30, as I wanted to be on the road before 8:00 again.  I had looked at the elevation profile for the day and knew I had a lot of climbing to do today, so I planned on a big breakfast.  I had no idea what I was in for.  I ordered a "Colorado Omelette" with a side of sausage links.  HOLY SMOKES!  The omelette was a big as my arm!  I needed the calories, but it was tough going.  I waddled out of the restaurant.

Today I had some mountains ahead of me.  I started out at the Roanoke River...you know river BASIN, to tell you how low I started.  I had to climb Apple Orchard Mountain which truly SUCKED EGGS! and in between those two climbs, 2 more big hills.  Despite my big breakfast, I was going to need a serious refuel mid-day.  I thought I had struck out again when I reached Peaks of Otter.  The first thing I came upon was the picnic area and gift shop.  I couldn't even score pork rinds there.  I sat down and had some of my road chow when the woman running the shop came out to talk.  There's a a WHAT 1/4 of a mile up the road?  A real RESTAURANT!  Peaks of Otter has a lodge (Which I knew) and an excellent restaurant.  For under $10 I had a meal to get me over the mountain!!!

Did I mention that Apple Orchard mountain sucked?  Really, it did.  That sucker was just plain IN MY WAY.  6+ miles of just pokie, poke,poke.  Oh sure, sounds real nice;  Apple Orchard.  Probably going to have a pleasant view of fruit trees all the way up, maybe a snack bar serving pies, apple butter and the like at the top.  NO!  Just mile after mile of hills.  the only saving grace was the fact that I was climbing the mountain the 'easy way."  The other side was less steep, but was 13 miles long.

On the way down, I passed my second pair of tourists.  Mike and Jim had started 2 days earlier at mile 0 of the Parkway and were on their way to Peaks of Otter for the night.  They had climbed 7 miles up Apple Orchard mountain and still had 6 more miles to go.  They looked glad for a break to talk.  Again, it was great to talk shop with them and swap stories.  They were also surprised at how few people they had seen and how vacant the campgrounds were.

I reached my lowest point today....twice.  First was the base of Apple Orchard mountain.  The James River was the lowest elevation on the parkway, at 650 feet.  Three lousy digits..6..5..0.  That only means one thing, I gotta climb back up out of there again tomorrow.  My campsite was just past the James River at Otter Creek campsite and Restaurant.  Charlie and Elizabeth were wrong again.  The restaurant closed 2 years ago....(sigh).  When I checked in, I asked for a weather forecast and was told there was a slight chance of rain.  She also said that such a forcast usually meant a sprinkle and it was only when they said rain that you took cover.  I set up my tent without the rainfly.  Then I heard the thunder in the distance.  I put on the rainfly, hoping the humidity would go away...which it didn't.

Around 11:00 at night...KABOOOM!!!!  Thunder, rain, winds, locust, frogs, the creek turned to blood.  My second low point of the day.  Somehow I had displeased God and he was letting me know.  The rain was so hard, it bounced off the ground under my rainfly.  I lay quivering in my tent wishing the ride was over and I could be in my nice warm DRY bed next to my wife.  I think I got 4 hours of sleep that night.

The Roanoke River.  It's uphill from here.

A couple of thousand feet higher, I passed this cliff face, next to the road.  That's sedimentary rock.  I'm looking at the seabed from millions of years ago, turned on it's side.

Just north of Roanoke, I passed the Applachian Trail for the first time.  It'll be criss-crossing the Parkway and Skyline Drive for the rest of this trip.  I don't expect to see any thru-hikers this late.  Most of them start in Georgia in March.  If you haven't passed here by now, in August, you won't make it to Maine before the snow.

Punch-Buggy Red.  The lady running the gift shop at Peaks of Otter drives this and is a transplant from the DC area.  She retired here because it's beautiful and cheaper to live here.

Peaks of Otter restaurant, right next to the Parkway.  Excellent vittles.

The lodge.  Would have been a great place to stay the night, but would have made the next day an 80 mile ride.  

Near the top of Apple Orchard Mountain.  I think it's an alien spacecraft.

Well if you're going to call it that, the least you could do is plant a few @$%&*! apple trees!

Mike (left) and Tim (right).  Sort of like Penn and Teller without the magic.  Mike did all of the talking while Tim did a lot of nodding.  Check out all of the gear.  Makes me look like a wuss.

Just a pinch under 63 miles for the day, and a pinch under 10MPH average.

335 miles down.

I took my hub apart to look for the percussion section that has been along for the ride.  It's not supposed to come apart this easily without a mallet.  The sealed cartridge bearings on one side got catty-wumpus on me somehow and wore a groove in the hub shell.  I cleaned out some aluminum shavings and hoped for the best.  It probably will make it the rest of the way, just with a little noise.

It looks so peacful...for now.