We packed up in the dark as quietly as possible and were back hiking a little after sunrise. Our plan was to hike a tough 17 miles today, then push 15 miles into Daleville as fast as possible on Saturday to get to the outfitter (Outdoor Trails) before closing time. Those plans were quickly changed as soon as we got cell reception (our first good service in days!) on the climb up Cove Mountain…

We first met Dr. Billy Pearlman on our 2009 trip to the Mt. Everest Basecamp [which X documented in our www.trailjournals.com “My Other Journals – 2009” under her then trail name of Tato Pani]. Somewhere along the way, we mentioned a possible future AT thru hike, to which Billy responded when we got to the Roanoke, Virginia, area to “give him a call.” For several days, we had played the email equivalent of “telephone tag” as we dealt with cell phone dead zones and messages through receptionists getting handled with low priority. However, when the good doctor answered his home phone this morning, he would have none of our described plans. Describing the afternoon weather forecast as “crappy,” he said he’d drive to VA 311, hike south until he met us, and see if he could talk us off the trail. He said he’d get us to the outfitter today, wine and dine us tonight, and get us back to VA 311 tomorrow, when the prospects for a great view off McAfee Knob were much improved. And that’s just what he did.

After our call to Dr. Billy, we continued our hike towards Dragon’s Tooth in a swirling fog. But even with zero visibility, the rock formations made for an interesting hike. And pictures we’d seen of “the Tooth” don’t do the popular destination justice: it really is quite spectacular.

Even more spectacular was the AT’s climb down the other side. For the first time on the Trail we used metal rungs fixed into the rock to negotiate the trail. We were really glad the predicted morning rain had not yet materialized, as all that steep rock trail would be even more hairy when wet. We stopped to talk to a local woman making the climb with a friend from Indiana, and then for the third day in a row, we met a father who was supporting his daughter Flash with some slack packing as she tried to finish her thru hike before the start of podiatry school in August. Dragon’s Tooth is a section of the trail we will remember for a long time to come.

With our slow pace (and a lot of picture taking and scenery admiring thrown in!) we met Billy much later than he expected, but it was great to see him again, and we enjoyed the six-mile hike back to his car. Although he is very familiar with all of the local AT, mixing a lot of hiking in with his main activities of long distance bicycling and running, he had many questions about the thru hiker community and culture. Along the way, we were passed by all our shelter mates from last night (each of whom frightened us with their pictures on top of the Tooth [X Trovert standard comment to fellow hikers: “Don’t show those to your mother!]).

At the Newport Road (VA 624) we caught up again with Badger and Squishy sitting enjoying a bottle of Trail Magic beer. Billy was especially intrigued in this concept and we spent a good bit of time discussing examples of trail magic we’d had in the now 700 miles of our journey. Poncho was the final member of last night’s group to pass us, and was still at the parking lot when we got back to Billy’s car. Warming up to the idea of trail magic, Billy reached into his trunk to hand Poncho a cold bottle of beer from his cooler, then offered to take him the mile and a half down to the well-known AYCE Homeplace Restaurant. Poncho was last seen in the little gazebo out front as he enjoyed his beer waiting for the Homeplace to open for dinner…

Billy then drove us to the outfitter where we got our backpack hip belt issues resolved and a new pair of shorts for N (now down to a 32 from a 36). Now showered and well fed, we’re excited to go from VA 311 back to Daleville tomorrow.