Big Rocky Row

8/2
Started at Marble Spring
Ended at Big Rocky Row (tenting)
12.5 miles

No alarm clock today so we slept till 7:30. We still had to meet Ken (who had our drop boxes), but I told him 12:30 so we had plenty of time and the trail was downhill. Harvey was so tired yesterday he fell asleep before dinner was ready, so I thought the extra rest in the morning was needed.

The trail was a gradual downhill with very few rocky sections so we made good time. About an hour from the road we met two Southbound hikers who said Ken was going to read his book and wait, so we could take our time. Ken had shuttled them to the trailhead by the James River bridge.

We walked along Matt's Creek for a mile and the kids really wanted to swim. I had to say no so we wouldn't keep Ken waiting, but the creek looked so inviting! We met Ken at the bridge and he gave me my boxes, then he gave Kansas City and Seabiscit a ride to town. I paid him and unpacked while he took the guys to town, and he was back before I even had the second box empty. It was awesome to open the box and see a carton of soy milk and granola cereal. We ate that on the spot, and since Ken was taking our garbage I didn't worry about the trash.

Once we were packed two woman walked past and recommended a swim spot up the trail. See the picture of the boys. It was great and we swam a long time. Then it was a long, steady, uphill climb to our camp spot. The extra food made my pack feel really heavy. We got some great views along the way and could just see the foot bridge very small in the valley below.

Along the way we picked up a new friend we called S'mores. He had no collar but wasn't totally wild. He didn't approach, but kept close and hasn't barked the entire day. After dinner I saw him looking for scraps in the spot we ate.