How do we ever get anywhere?

9-21-09 day 111
start: Matt's Creek Shelter, VA
end: Bryant Ridge Shelter, VA
daily mileage: 22.7
total mileage: 1427.9

We committed to waking with the sun, and unlike usual, actually did! We had our biggest / longest climb in a while up High Cock Knob (heh heh), and stopped for lunch shortly after. We've stopped doing Ramen for lunch and are on to more substantial meals, which has been a really good decision... we both look forward to lunch way more now. We stopped at an overlook 2 miles after lunch, then at the shelter a mile after that for a while... it really is incredible that we ever get anywhere!
 
We climbed Apple Orchard Mountain, which is the tallest point on the AT going north until Moosalauke in NH. There's an awesome looking radar station on top of it, which used to be operated by the Air Force. We stopped again for a break at the next shelter 5 miles down around 5:00, and just accepted that we'd be getting in late tonight. When we finally got in to Bryant Ridge Shelter however, it turned out to be totally worth the long day. It's one of the biggest on the trail, with 2 stories and a beautiful wrap-around porch. It's almost like a cabin, just not totally enclosed. We met up with Fiddler again, and Laid Back and his dad "Stem," who's visiting on the trail for a week or so.