Day 59, Bobblets Gap Shelter to Jennings Creek Road

Before leaving the shelter, Stick and I talked to Cheesesteak, who said he was also headed to Middle Creek Campground.

Once we left, we had just under a mile to go before arriving at the first view of the day, a Blue Ridge Parkway overlook. From there, we could see Peaks of Otter, a line of three mountain peaks about 6.5 miles away.

No one knows for sure how Peaks of Otter got its name. The most plausible explanation I’ve seen is that “ottari” was the word Cherokee used for high places.

A World War II B-25 bomber crashed on one of those mountains during a training exercise in 1943. Five airmen died in the crash.

This was an easy-hiking day. The trail continued to follow alongside the parkway for a couple more miles before crossing a road at Bearwallow Gap. From there the trail turned away from the parkway and we would not see it again today.

Soon after leaving the road crossing, we met a group of day-hikers who were members of a local hiking club. They were on their weekly outing.

One woman stopped to greet us and asked if we had noticed the privy at Bobblets Gap Shelter. Yes, that may seem like an odd question to ask, but she had a reason for it. She said her husband had designed and built several of the privies along this section of the trail.

She told us about the construction, which included railings made from hand-cut cedar. We asked her to pass along to her husband our thanks for his work and promised we would check out the next one we saw.

The trail made a gradual climb, and along the way, it became more overgrown with thick vegetation.

It had rained overnight, and though that was several hours ago, everything remained damp. Leaves were still wet, and our shoes and pant legs got wet as we brushed against them.

Near the junction with Little Cove Mountain Trail, there was just enough of a break in the trees to get one more view. In the valley below, we could see the town of Buchanan, Va.

From there the trail began to descend, reaching Cove Mountain Shelter after a mile and a half. We stopped there for a snack.

With only an hour more of walking, we reached Jennings Creek and a road with the same name. This was the road that led to Middle Creek Campground.

After crossing a bridge over the creek, we called the campground, and within ten minutes a young man arrived in a pickup truck to haul us the short distance there.

It was early in the season for the campground, but though there weren’t many guests, it was fully operational. That was good for us, as we were ready to commence with what we came here to do.

We immediately put in orders for bacon cheeseburgers and fries, then sat outside to enjoy them. They were as good as we hoped.

As we ate our bacon cheeseburgers and followed them up with two scoops of ice cream, we met a thru-hiker named RedEye. She was staying at the campground while trying to work out a problem with receiving a new cellphone.

We had the whole afternoon to set up our tents, so we took our time before walking over to the tenting area.

Being a commercial campground, electrical outlets and water faucets were available near where we pitched our tents, an uncommon luxury for thru-hikers.

I strung my bear bag rope as a clothesline, then hung my sleeping bag and quilt to air out. They weren’t wet, but they had gotten a little damp from the humidity. Unfortunately, the sun never came out completely, so hanging them didn’t help much.

As we were setting up camp, RedEye dashed by. She said she found someone to drive her to the next town over, where her phone was waiting at the post office.