Nashville/Virginny

Welcome to another exciting installment of “THE TRANSCREDIBLE EXPLOITS OF TEAM KEPOW!” This week’s episode: “Enter the Taco Bagel!”

After a fun-filled evening in East Nashville involving an amazing Vegan Restaurant and drinks/trivia/full-bar Bohemian Rhapsody sing-a-long at a local drinkery our heroes awoke (both of us now fully sick with a cold courtesy of Dylbo) to begin the venture to Virginia. Plowing through the rain undeterred bags were crammed, the Honda Accordion was likewise crammed and off we went with Justin (me) driving shirtless through Tennessee so as to not rouse suspicions that we were not local.

Meanwhile the hairier 2/3 of the mythical Rybex (Ryan/Rebekah/Rockie) was en route to dropping off the fairer 1/3 in an entirely non-mythical place known only as Yogaville, VA with plans to find us after.

Our two parties were set to meet up in Grayson Highland State Park in preparation to scale Virginia’s highest mountain the dread Mount Rogers. Ry Bagel and Rocko the Taco Pig arrived just in time to dive into the tent narrowly avoiding the rains. The rest of the evening was a feast of Whiskey, glump, and falafel. And so our dynamic duo had become a fearsome foursome and we set out to put most, if not all, of Virginia underfoot. The weather remained decidedly wet, and despite the trail leading to the top of Mt Rogers boasting of some of the best vistas in the state, we were neither able to see more than a few dozen yards in front of us, nor use any sort of camera that was not waterproof for fear of a fatal dampening. Before the rains and hike began in earnest we were treated to some of Virginia’s famed wild ponies. Myk managed to sneak her phone/camera out of its plastic bag long enough to take a couple quick photos. As you can see in our pictures one of them tried to pick my pocket. Another was convinced that the plastic bag that Myk had in her hand contained some sort of snack and for a minute or two refused to allow her passage along the trail until we removed the temptation of the bag. Make no mistake that the smile on her face is laced with a fear that she was about to fall victim to the most adorable mauling of all time.

We decided to make camp just before the final ½ mile spur trail that would lead to the summit. It had clearly been raining for several days up in these misty mountains so the process of starting a fire took all three of the humans (thanks for nothing, Taco Pig) and several hours. As the rain rolled back in after we had finished our dinner we again grouped into the larger of the two tents to play Rummikub and snack upon whiskey, falafel, and tabbouleh.

While the original plan had been to spend the second day doing a quick hike to the summit of Mt Rogers followed by some other exploratory hikes around the area, we instead found ourselves yet again under a persistently rainy sky. We managed to find a window in which to steal away and get to the top of the mountain. Mt. Rogers is an oddball when it comes to mountains. Normally there are forests leading up the mountain but the summit is usually bald. Rogers has fairly clear rocky sides and a nice dense spruce forest at the top. The forest gave us some cover from the wet and we were able to get a few pictures. Once we returned to camp we started to assemble the line style process necessary to turn water-saturated wood into a fire. Just as we were about to light the fire, in came the rains, thus returning us to the tent for more snacking, gaming, and making Rocko wear funny things on her head to amuse us.

Though we were somewhat relegated to tent sitting, a good time was has by all despite some minor stir-crazery involving songs using the phrase buttsack instead of loveshack and reducing most conversation to timely uses of the word Hodor. Our trek home was the rainiest day by far and many of the trails we took down the mountain were less like trails and more like not-so-shallow creeks. While the fearsome foursome had managed the elements admirably up to this point, the descent from Mt. Rogers was a bit more trying and what had been a 4 mile hike up a mountain somehow turned into a 6-8 mile disjointed jaunt down. After a few wrong turns, soaked through clothes and boots, sore muscles, and blistery feet we were FINALLY able to find our way to the bottom, and we snuck back into the less primitive campsite from the first night to treat ourselves to well-deserved hot showers.

Our legs worn down tired but our spirits raised high we prepared our little caravan and began heading south for the wonders of North Carolina.

Will Justin stay awake for the entire drive? Can Myk find a cheeseburger in time? Will Ryan be able to find his lady love in the wilds of Raleigh? Will Rockie ever fucking wake up?

These answers and more next time in, “THE TRANSCREDIBLE EXPLOITS OF TEAM KEPOW!” Next episode: Rally in Raleigh?

"What a weird dang ol tree Bird." "Hodor."

At this point Justin still thinks this is how the whole hike will look.