Carol Baker, owner of the Huffman House B&B located a short half mile from where the AT crosses VA 42, kindly allowed us to send a re-supply box to her wonderful home, so we were up and on the trail at 6:15 a.m. to make sure we could get in and out of Newport, and back on the trail as quickly as possible. What we had not figured on was a FedEx delay because of the Monday holiday, and the possibility our package might not be delivered until 4:30 in the afternoon! So, after Carol took us to Newport’s grocery (where we loaded up on calories and things not in the expected FedEx box) and to a really fine hamburger place, we squandered several hours of the prettiest hiking weather we’ve had the whole trip waiting and waiting… But if we had to wait you couldn’t have asked for a better place than a rocking chair in the cool breeze on the Huffman House front porch. The Bakers discovered this area on their AT thru hike back in 2004, and have done an amazing job of rehabilitating the house and establishing a working farm. It was tempting to add an unplanned zero day to our itinerary, but after watching the FedEx Ground truck drive by twice, the FedEx Express truck finally pulled in at 4:10, and we were ready to get back on the AT. We will have to find some excuse to come back here in the future, as the Huffman House is a real gem.

During the morning, we stopped at Kelly Knob where the clouds had not quite cleared enough to give us great views, but where we were able to get cell phone reception for the first time in two days. In addition to getting our Trail Journals updates sent, X was able to contact the outfitter in Dalesville about a smaller belt for her backpack, which with her weight loss and weight redistribution is becoming more essential every day (we’ll have to plan our Roanoke area schedule around their Sunday closure). We also made a brief stop at Laurel Creek Shelter, which we were still glad we had not pushed to reach last night. Just before VA 42, the AT breaks out of the woods and through pasture. The views made it easy to see why the Bakers fell in love with the Newport area.

After the climb back up to the morning’s elevation, with nice breezes negating the warm afternoon temps as we walked along the ridge, it was time to look for a spot for the night The Sarver Hollow Shelter is .4 mile down a side trail from the AT, but is the only water source for eight miles. We decided to stealth camp on the closest piece of flat ground to that turnoff intersection, and then send N down to get water while X got the tent in order. With a decent water source another tenth of a mile beyond the shelter, that turned into a fifty minute round trip, but we are really happy with our little camp on the ridge, and not having to haul our packs back up that steep climb in the morning.

A highlight of our afternoon hike from VA 42 was a chance to pass the Keffer Oak, over 300 years old and 18′ around, the largest oak we’ll see on the AT until we get to the slightly larger Dover Oak in New York state. Something you don’t see every day. X, of course, was in her element!