June 3 Mile 580

During the night last night while we tent camped we heard loud noises of a very large animal prowling around our campsite. Since we had our tent flys zipped up tight we couldn't see what it was. Was it a bear, or maybe a cow? Hard for a cow to get up on this ridge. Who knows? Anyway, up at dawn on on our way by 7:45. This part of the trail in VA they are taking us north to the W. Va. border. The mtns ranges here run parallel to each other with valleys in between. So they take us north a bit, climbing a range, then they take us east or northeast along the ridge awhile, then they take us north again, coming down the ridge across a valley. So, still lots if ups and downs, but the mtns aren't as big as NC and TN, but stil it's very tough. 120 miles of Va so far and it's still hard. We did 14-15 miles today, nothing particularly noteworthy, except trudging. Some of the trails seem etched in the side of the mtn. Meaning, it's very steep to your right and left, one slip and you are tumbling down the hill. Unfortunately, the views are obscured by the trees. Probably real pretty if you hike in winter. Lots of rocks to climb over and around today. Somtimes, like today, we will come to an area on a steep mtnside and there will be thousands of huge boulders strewn down the mtn. How did they get there? A big landslides millions of years ago? I have no clue, but they are stunning.
Ran across some hikers without packs yesterday. Thought they were local day hikers. Found out today they are thru hikers with a support van that carries all their tents and gear for them. They hike about 20 miles a day then are met by the van for their food and a trip to town. They plan to finish by Labor Day. Interesting way to do it. Set up each year by a guy named Warren Doyle from TN, a professor. I guess you can google him for more info. This afternoon had some nice "trail magic" as it is called. Some AT volunteers set out a cooler filled with Powerade type drinks in ice for us thru hikers. I have come to love that stuff. Also just as welcome, they had a trash can for us! Hooray! A place to dump our stuff. This afternoon we knew there would be no water where we wanted to camp, so we filled up our tank and bottles and carried our water til we found a camping spot. As this is a ridge hike this afternoon, we knew it would be hard to find a developed, level spot. And we were right. We decided to stop at 5:30, as we have found that's a good time for us to quit for the day. Cisco went over a ridge and found some level ground that we claimed. Pitched our tents in this undeveloped area. Turns out it was bug paradise. Ate dinner as fast as we could and got into our tents. Glad they are bug proof. Warmest evening yet. Sitting in my tent wishing for a cool breeze. Maybe later. Early evening for bed 8:30-already hear Cisco snoring in his tent. Hopefully that will scare away the bear. Time for me to turn in too, and it's barely sunset.