Ashby Gap

Letter 100.

Camp at Ashby's Gap, Virginia, July 21, 1863.

Came up to this place yesterday and may stay here two or three days, as it is quite an important position just at the present time.

On the one hand is the little village of Upperville, now devastated and dilapidated.

On the other hand is Ashby's Gap, passed through the Blue Ridge.

We are camped in fields on the slope of a mountain from which there is a broad view of the country far to the east.

The bleached skeletons of horses tell fierce cavalry fights at various times for the possession of the gap, and close to our camp are four fresh graves of men killed in Stahl's fight with Stuart.

I shall lay in fish lines and hooks among my prime necessities.

We went to Bear Chase Brewery for a few beers and a burger before getting back, and I did laundry and showered, and I did the last few bits of the podcast before getting back into my tent for a good night's sleep.

[upbeat music] Day number 172, which was last Thursday, Bears Den Hostel, which is mile 1006.3, to Ashby Gap, mile 992.9. A 13.4-mile day.

Another bonus [laughs] of the hiker special, actually it's for everybody who's staying there, they have a pancake breakfast at the hostel and basically make your own pancakes.

I was the first there, put on the coffee, and, uh, got stuck into making pancakes.

Excellent calor- calories to get s- get through the beginning of the day.

My plan for the next two days, um, was to, to do about 30, 32 miles, 33 miles maybe, um, 'cause I was, I was hoping to get a long slack pack the following day.

So on this particular day, I set my sights on Ashby Gap.

A solid 13-miler that, that held the majority of the roller coaster hills, about seven more of them.