Little Wolf Creek valley , across Interstate 77.

Tired from a less than decent nights sleep, the little 700 foot climb first thing in the morning was a bit of a grunt. Then, down into the valley the trail ran along and crossed Little Wolf Creek many times. I managed to get some nice pictures and keep my boots dry. After crossing VA 615, it was a long gentle uphill over a series of gentle switchbacks. Now that is the way to climb a mountain! I didn't have to slow down at all, they were so gentle. Halfway up the mountain some wonderful person took the effort to make a pretty little trailside garden of rocks and earth. Several different flowering plants made a pretty display.

One of many pretty crossings of Little Wolf Creek.

Once on the ridge, I descended a bit then traversed the side hills of several knobs with the valley of Bastian VA in sight much of the time. It was gentle hiking but somewhat tedious and repetitive. The high humidity and temperatures in the upper 70's did not help any. I was running low on water. The trail ran onto a ridge and a dirt road that the locals used for a dumping ground. It was sad and disgusting. The dirt road came out on top of the hill at a church on Rt. 52 where they let me have some water and use their phone to call home.

A short roadwalk across Interstate 77 and down the side hill took me to more garbage dumps (obviously SOME Virginians don't care about their environment) and Kimberling Creek. After a grunt of a climb up a hill, I reached Helvey's Mills Shelter, my home for the night. Water was a long, steep walk down into the valley. I bathed myself and washed some clothes. Later, I was joined by Sugar Bear. We were sound asleep at 11 PM when Zach and Dusty rattled into the shelter. They too were out of water, made the trek down the hill and then went to bed. Another night of not-the-greatest sleep.