Day 9: Hopeful Wanderers

Roanoke, VA to Blacksburg, VA – 40.5 mi, 3,294 ft (~48.5 mi, ~4,794 ft counting our hiking adventure)

Today marks the first day that anyone on the team has cooked! 

The winner of this title is Nate Mustafa, who valiantly prepared an entire carton of fresh chicken eggs (courtesy of Dirk and Krissie) in Steve and Debbie’s kitchen to accompany our delicious breakfast. Simultaneously, our team engaged in a serious discussion. Should we use the extra time on our 40-mile day to hike the McAfee Knob?

At first, the team was leaning towards no, but as soon as Steve informed us that it was the most-photographed spot on the Appalachian Trail, we quickly buckled down and decided it was necessary.

Today also marks the first day a host has ridden the bikes with us. Steve has been a cyclist for a large portion of his life, and said that he would ride the 20 miles with us to the beginning of the McAfee Knob trail. Steve is the goat, and his awesomeness is immediately clear by his cycling jersey, which says that “a cycling grandpa never gets old.”

I like to envision what life is like as I bike through the towns we pass. On our way to the trail, Aarushi and I imagined living in Roanoke and fanatically supporting our home team, the Hokies. We asked Steve to tell us about his grandchildren and his biggest life advice (to stay fit as you age!) so that we could better paint the picture of a Virginian.

Once at the McAfee Knob trail, we quickly said goodbye to Steve and switched our mode of transportation, now transforming into a goofily dressed hiking squadron. After 4 miles, some deep yapping with Caroline, and a comical game of addressing people on the trail with silly phrases beginning with the letters A-Z (ie. Drew’s hit of “Some sticks fell on my head up there!” for the letter S), we finally reached the top and got to enjoy the gorgeous views and cool hanging overlook.

Immediately, our team started chatting with the other hikers, meeting a Russian-speaking woman who approached me because of the last name on my jersey, a group of high-school graduates on their senior trip, and a big group of backpackers making their way along the Appalachian Trail.

After our interlude, we hiked the 4 miles back to the car, and the team was overcome by an extreme wave of hunger. We tore into our sandwiches on the gravel parking lot next to the trail, noting the comical nature of our group laying out our picnic blanket on the floor surrounded by cars and our 7 identical bicycles.

As I biked the remaining 20 miles to our final destination of Blacksburg, I felt really reflective regarding the people we had met. This trip gives our team the great privilege of being surrounded by immensely high concentrations of wanderers. People from across the world who have spent years of their lives biking across countries, hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, motorcycling across states, and generally taking on immense traverses and adventures with the main stated goal of crossing a distance. 

We hear many of their individual stories, from our host Steve beginning a life long cycling journey with his college friend which grew into a cross country trip for both him and his son, to the two motorcyclist best friends that Aarushi and I met in a coffee shop who try and take regular bike trips, to “Coach” a middle-aged man who described the immense twists and turns that life threw at him, encouraging him to finally accomplish his dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail where he met his new hiking buddy, “Detail”.

Though I originally thought I knew my reasons for taking on this adventure, I feel that my motivation and desires are adapting and solidifying as we get deeper into the trip. I have found myself urged to bike slower, to stop when I see things I have never seen before, like a groundhog running through a field or a prayer box on the side of a Virginian road. I want to truly spend these three months as a wanderer, experiencing the minutiae of the country we bike through and engaging with the people and nature that shape its land.

My experiences have sparked two questions in my head in the last few days. First, what exactly is the difference between a hopeless and a hopeful wanderer? And second, why are all of these thousands of people doing it? 

In addressing these questions, antithetical to the song Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons, which has been playing as I write this blog, I think that I would like to lean towards claiming that all wanderers are hopeful. Everyone I have met so far is on their journey to learn, to see, to experience, to do, and to accomplish. Though some of the wanderers are suffering immense hardships, I believe that people take on their journeys because of the faith that there is something worth hoping for. That the journey will provide solace or inspiration, or simply a reminder that there is beauty and kindness in the world.

Unfortunately, the beauty and kindness of the world aren’t always enough to push through the hardest parts of our trip, especially for me, the final 750 ft climb in 3 miles to get to our host Ann’s house. What did, instead, get me through was envisioning everyone else currently biking across the country as little dots on the US map all battling their own climbs, and a healthy combination of gummy worms every 0.5 mile and a repeated “just keep swimming” courtesy of Dory from Finding Nemo.

Eventually, I made it to Ann’s home with a proud heart, a couple of sore muscles, and only a bug or two in my chamois (rewind to me almost stripping on the side of the road when I had felt something moving earlier in the day). Nunu’s bike was only a little worse for wear, since the chain had fallen off twice and Nate had to go rescue her to help her fix it. The team was excited to gather around the table with Ann at dinner, learn about her own trip across Illinois at 14 years old, and engage in our new favorite treat, mini fruit jelly cups 🙂 Some of us enjoyed the treat more than others…

The rest of our evening followed the pattern that is becoming our routine: chores, showers, route planning, and finally bedtime, with hearts prepared to wander the next morning again!

With endless love,

Tatiana ❤