Shuttling

From Helen:

When we planned to meet Jay we had to find a safe place to leave our car for the weekend and a reliable shuttle to the trailhead at Hog Camp Gap. After gathering a lot of information and calling several leads, we settled on the Dutch Haus near Montebello, VA. See http://www.dutchhaus.com/  The owners, Lois and Earl Arnold, are a wealth of information and go out of their way to help AT hikers. We drove our car to the Dutch Haus, and they were able to shuttle us down to Hog Camp Gap. After the hike we called them from Spy Rock Road. They came to pick us up at the Fish Hatchery parking lot, about a mile downhill from Spy Rock Road.

Hog Camp Gap trailhead

Even though they were booked for Memorial Day weekend, they still allowed us to come in and look around their Bed and Breakfast. They have lunch for AT hikers every day during summer months, no charge, and it is one of those home-cooked lunches that backpackers drool over - lots of great protein, carbs, great taste, and out-of-this-world desserts. While we were there we met several thru-hikers and got to chat with them. Dutch Haus is beautiful and charming, and Lois and Earl are some of the best hosts we've seen.

Earl dropped us off at Hog Camp Gap and told us about a rope and plank swing in the field, just after you get on the trail. It was part of the adventure to go find the swing before we started our hike. Hog Camp Gap is a beautiful trailhead with lots of area for camping and a well-marked water source. Our timing couldn't have been better... We hiked up to the first view and ate a quick lunch. As we were packing up Jay wandered up the trail after his 6-mile morning hike. We were so glad to get to spend time with him on the trail! It may be our last direct contact with him until we see him after his journey.

Swing at Hog Camp Gap