Now that I’m virtually 1/3 of the way toward completing this hike, it seems time to update the “Hiking by the Numbers” post.

I started hiking on 13 April. Today is only my second “zero day” (a day with no Trail miles hiked). That makes for 53 hiking days since I began.

I’ve hiked 727.8 miles on the Trail (plus who knows how many more miles on side trails to shelters, to water sources, to hostels, and in or around the towns I’ve been in). The total distance this year is 2189.2 miles, so my one third mark will come tomorrow two miles after I start hiking, when to get to 729.7. (By the way, the 2/3 mark comes at Bull’s Bridge, Connecticut, a 19th century covered bridge over the Housatonic River just outside the village of Bull’s Bridge.)

My biggest mileage day was just on Tuesday, 2 June, when I hiked 18.2 miles. My shortest day was on Monday, 4 May when I only hiked 3.4 miles to get into Hot Springs, North Carolina.

There are two well-known spots along the Trail in southwestern Virginia that are famous for their views of the countryside: Dragon’s Tooth, and McAfee Knob. I passed by them on successive days this past week.

Dragon’s Tooth is a tall monolith at the edge of a high point that reminded someone of a large tooth, I suppose. McAfee Knob is said to be the most photographed spot on the Trail; it features a large cantilevered rock that people stand out on to have their photos taken.

So this week I visited the Tooth and took a picture there. And the next day was up on the Knob where a hiker I’d met before took my picture as I was out on the rock. (As a side note, I said before I started the hike that my one fear was that I’d get to McAfee Knob and there wouldn’t be anyone to take my iconic photo for me. Turned out to be no issue at all.)

ANYWAY, here is the photo of Dragon’s Tooth:

And here I am at McAfee Knob:

It was rainy and foggy almost the entire week. I’m told there are great views. I’ll have to trust that there are. I figure I can use Photoshop or some other software to insert such a background into any of these pictures.