UPDATE: Pearisburg, VA

Hey again! It's time for another update on my fantastic journey along the Appalachian Trail. I've made it to Pearisburg, VA (mile 631) where today I'm taking my first true NEARO in 200 miles. Feels good, man.

The last stretch since Damascus (mile 467) has been pretty tough, but enjoyable.

I've been hiking for the last little bit with my buddies Nemo, Bullfrog, and Rogue the Hound. We've been having a pretty good time! We have some big days, and we have some small days (the latter usually involving beer). Overall, we're slowly making our way to Maine, which is the ultimate goal of this whole endeavor. Que sera sera, amigos. 

One of the highlights of my trip since the Grayson Highlands was a FANTASTIC bear encounter I had near Jenkins Shelter. It was nearing dusk, and I was walking along the trail with a head full of comparative analyses on morality in science fiction (don't judge: you start to think of weird things when you have 10+ hours per day with yourself). As I'm meandering along, contrasting Picard's defense of Data with Luke's treatment of 3P0, I hear an enormous crash in the woods to my right. Making the slow transition from inward to outward awareness, I realize that, sure enough, there's a 500 pound bear crashing through the woods not 20 yards away from me... talk about a wake up call!  Beneath the titanic crashing, I also hear a slight scratching and realize that a young cub is scooting up an old elm tree not 15 feet off the other side of the trail. Uh-oh!

Now, I certainly don't claim to be an expert on behavioral models for bears in the wild, but I'd like to think that I know enough about the creatures not to get ANYWHERE between a mother and her cub. In light of such basic knowledge, I stop dead in my tracks. My mind races as I desperately search the archives of my brain for things I've read on what to DO in these kind of situations. After careful consideration, the consensus was: TALK SOFTLY AND SLOWLY BACK THE HELL UP! So, that's what I did, and it worked out quite well (if I do say so myself). Boo-boo was watching me from the safety of his tree as mama bear angrily eyeballed me from the ridgeline to my right. As I round the corner and get out of the bear's line of sight, my heart is racing at about 200 bpm! 

But all's well that ends well, and I gave the bears about 15 minutes to regain their composure (or maybe the other way around?). After the break, I hitch up my pack and start to loudly "YO BEAR" into the woods. As I approach the scene of the incident, I anxiously check the trees to make sure Boo-boo has gotten down to safety. Seeing no signs of the cub up in the trees, I carefully proceed. I'm still "YO BEAR"-ing at this point, and I hear a rustle on that same ridge to my right. Looking over, I see mama bear in all of her glory: she's standing on her hind legs about 50 yards off the trail. I look at her, and she looks at me, and she's absolutely GORGEOUS! Realizing that I'm neither a threat to her nor her cub, she gives me one last once-over and crashes back into the trees on the far side of the ridge. It was an absolutely amazing experience. 

And that's about all I've got for today, but who knows what the next 100 miles will bring? 

Bonus Pic: Campsite on Lick Creek. I didn't stop to get a picture of the bear, because I'm not an idiot (sometimes).