Day 116 - Dog Days of Autumn (25/10/2016)

Coldest morning to date. Temperatures dropped to 2 Celsius, which would have been colder at elevation. The wind didn't help. Between that and the start of an illness (a cold, of course), it was a slow start. And an odd one.

Around a half hour into my walk, I saw a motionless lump in the middle of the trail. Now, the trail here was narrow, and with a steep ascent on my left, and a steep drop on the right. I thought maybe someone had dropped a piece of gear. Until it lifted its head and i realized it was a dog! Clearly a family pet, since it had both a collar with a bell on it, and either a bark collar, or an invisible fence collar. In any case, I tried to get her to come to me but she was very wary and immediately started down the trail. She'd go up a but, stop and look back, then when I got too close she'd move on again. Eventually I lost her at a fork in the road where I think she took the side trail.

Too bad. I'd built up a little fantasy where her owners didn't want her back, so I had her join me all the way to Springer. In any case, I hope her family finds her soon.

The day ended in Glasgow, VA when I (and 3 other hikers) waited over two hours for a hitch into town. It turned out there was a nice town-provided shelter with power and a hot shower. That and the chance to have some wine and play gin rummy was enough to keep me in place.

Start: near Saltlog Gap

End: Glasgow VA

Distance: 8 miles