A late finish

I'll attempt to keep this post short, as it was a long day. I didn't get much sleep last night, mostly because in the YMCA field I was able to leech off of someone's wifi. With an opportunity like that I have a hard time not downloading things to entertain myself while deep in the woods.
The sun was definitely a wake up call, not having the cool, dappled tree cover of the trail to dull its power. So, we got up, broke camp, and walked toward laundry and breakfast.
Weasie's breakfast was massive and spectacular. We were both so full by the end of our plates that we couldn't even eat dessert. This isn't the norm for a hiker appetite. Breakfast was finished around the same time as the laundry, so it was time to check out the gear shop.
It was a mile walk over to the store, but Mr. F needed new shoes, and I needed new trekking pole tips. He got what he wanted, changing from boots to stiff-bottom hiking shoes, but they didn't have tips for Black Diamond poles. I did however get a bottle of bug spray with Maxi Deet. Hopefully that'll keep the little gnats away, since nothing else has seemed to work so far. My steripen drowned in one of the rainstorms, so I've been using Aqua Mira to purify my water. That works, but I wanted something better, and thought I'd follow the recommendation given by a Mr. Charles Hoover. So I picked up a new squeeze filter, and we called for a ride to the movie theater.
DuBose came and picked us up 20 minutes later. He was a fun, surly, older gent who told us a secret. Yesterday, when Miss Lady was giving us her tour, she told us that the Y didn't actually give free showers, but that a secret individual was paying each year for all the thru-hiker showers. When we told this story to DuBose, he admitted to being the very same trail angel. We thanked him for his annual kindness, but mostly we were just excited to have discovered a mystery, and solved it, in just 2 days in Waynesboro. Go team!
DuBose dropped us at the theater, and even offered to hold onto our gear and pick us up after it was over. We happily accepted more of his kindness, and trotted in to see pure sci-fi thriller.
I found Prometheus to be a pretty big letdown overall, but I will say that the first half was spectacular in its design, and in Michael Fassbender. Still, it was worth the time and effort just to enjoy a flick.
DuBose met us, just as he said he would, and dumped us off at the post office. Mr. Fantastic had to ship a few things home. After that it was a brief lunch on the way to Krogers. I had a burger that may have been the juiciest I've ever eaten. It was like a hot beef peach, juices soaking into my flavor saver.
At Krogers we saw Tiny Dancer and Pinball Wizard, and decided to share a ride back to the trail from Miss Lady. We also bumped into Eva and Short Term, all doing their own resupply shopping. Hikers take a controlling share in any food market along the trail.
Miss Lady came 5 minutes after we called, and we all enjoyed her company again. This has definitely been one of the best towns on the trail. Back in the woods we had to fill out our registration forms, as we're now back in the National Park arena. I hope the Shenandoahs are nicer to hikers than the Smokies were.
The 7 mile hike took us to the first shelter well after dark. Not the best way for Mr. F to break in new shoes, especially on the rocky terrain. We did make it however, sore feet and all.
We have 2 long days ahead of us before a short day that'll end in a reunion with my parents. That'll be a lot of fun and we're both excited. I need to get some sleep now, or I'll wind up passing out sitting up. I hope tomorrow isn't quite as rocky so I can baby my mashed up feet.

Push it to the limit

It didn't rain for long last night, and I awoke to a dry tent. This is after I awoke to the sound of a bear nosing around our campsite. Stoves was shining his headlamp around our grounds as the bear ambled and snorted its way near the shelter and my tent. We just think of them as big dogs at this point, so I went back to sleep.
I was the first one up in the morning, and pulled my bear bag down for a delicious cold breakfast. Mr. Fantastic quickly followed suit. Tiny Dancer and Pinball Wizard walked in off a side trail, a brazen blue blazin' duo. This finally got Stoves out of his hammock and he joined us all for breakfast.
Mr. Fantastic and I then got a surprise, as Just Brian hiked in. We haven't seen him since way back at the Fontana Dam Hilton, before the Smokies. He arrived with a new trail name in tow; Olympus, named for the camera always displayed in prominence around his neck. We shared info on each others upcoming terrain, as is always quite handy. He also mentioned that Prometheus is playing at a theater in Waynesboro, which solidified our plans to make it into town today.
Back on the dusty trail I made good time to an overlook 6 miles out. There Mr. Fantastic rejoined me, and we hiked together for the rest of the trek.
Climbing atop a small mountain we stumbled across someone dozing in their hammock. We made to continue up the trail, when we heard a tired taunt from a lazy Dick Flap. Stunned to see him, we wandered over and sat down for a quick reunion and lunch. He had apparently yellow blazed up a few miles in an attempt to make it to Harper's Ferry by the 4th to meet his girlfriend. We shared trail gossip, as is always the best thing to do when bumping into old trail buddies. It's hard to describe the feeling one gets when wandering through a secluded forest, bumping into an old friend, and talking about other friends both ahead and behind. It's an experience unlike any other and truly solidifies the feeling of community out here. I know stories of people ahead of us, behind us, off the trail, and even of people I haven't yet met.
We had to keep our visit short, as Waynesboro beckoned, so kept on moving. The rest of our hike breezed by (this is in no way accurate) and we finally arrived at Rockfish Gap and the road into town. There was a flyer with a massive list of trail angel phone numbers to call for a ride into town, so we quickly dialed one up. 10 minutes later Miss Lady pulled up in a pristine truck, and we hopped in.
As we drove through Waynesboro Miss Lady gave us the royal tour, pointing out everything a hiker might need, before dropping us off at the Ming Garden Buffet. She truly was an angel, and made us feel as if we belonged here, asking us to give her a call tomorrow when we needed another lift.
The buffet was amazing, as all AYCE restaurants are to the hiking crowd. 5 plates of food and 10 dollars later we closed the place down.
We left at the same time as Tiny Dancer, Pinball Wizard, and Stoves to head over to the YMCA campsite. It was a pretty short walk, and tents were pitched just as the sun was setting. Tomorrow will hold a plethora of activities, before a short 7 mile hike to the next shelter. Showers, laundry, breakfast, gear shop, resupply, lunch, movie, hike. It's going to be pretty jam-packed, but completely glorious.

I'll take the Physical Challenge please

Too hot to sleep in my mummy bag, too buggy to sleep in the open. Another night of failed slumber. The bugs trick me by being absent when I first go to sleep, and then they swarm in for the kill!
I made it out of camp at my usual 9am today though, so all was not lost. Mr. Fantastic was just waking up, so I left him our communal TP and wandered up the trail.
I had 7 miles of relaxing ridge lining ahead of me, and took advantage by saving my strength for the nightmare to come. Once at the Priest shelter I enjoyed a quick and hearty lunch and refilled my water supply. I was joined towards the end of my snacking by Chewy, Tiny Dancer, and a couple of other guys whose names I didn't catch. They told me about a rumor that there was a hiker feed going on today at the bottom of The Priest. That was all I needed to hear to incite a little enthusiasm for the painful 4 miles that were to come next. I said thankee and continued on my trek, hot food on the brain.
The descent really was quite brutal, and brought about pain in my knees the likes of which they haven't seen since way back at Blood Mountain. All 4 of the guys I had lunch with passed me as I delicately shimmied my way down. Reaching the clearing at the bottom I was delighted to see them all standing there, because I knew what that meant. There was an amazing trail angel busy on the BBQ, cooking up his own pulled pork recipe that had me salivating before I could even drop my pack. He offered me a plate, which I gratefully accepted, and I sat down in a comfy camp chair. I also met Stoves at the feed, another thru-hiker whom I had heard of on a few occasions.
Once the pork and Gatorade had been downed, I decided it would be foolish to rest for too long and moseyed back onto the trail.
The ascent was divided into 2 portions, both 3 miles. The first leg would bring me to another shelter, where I could rest briefly, refill my water, and write Mr. F a note about what my plans were. I made it up to that shelter in record time, and let me feet enjoy an airy stint outside of my shoes. The next leg was nowhere near as easy though.
The climb turned from smooth switchbacks into almost bouldering up a jagged cliff face. If not for the fact that I found myself with an odd overabundance of energy I would have been quite frustrated. As it was I just kept pushing, and truly felt like a thru-hiker. While we're all thru-hikers in spirit, none of us have finished the trail before, so it still feels a bit presumptuous to name ourselves as such. There are rare moments, though, when you feel like everything just clicks; you hit your stride, and can push through any obstacle in good time. Today was one of those days, which was perfect since the terrain demanded absolute attention.
I made it to the summit, barely sweating, with an ear to ear grin. The breeze had kept me comfortably cool, and I was looking for a decent campsite up there to no avail. It was only another 3 miles to the shelter, and by the time I found a good place to camp, it was so close that I decided to keep moving and go all the way. This made today's hike just over 20 miles across the most challenging terrain we've yet faced. Still, I walked into camp with plenty of daylight, and a spring in my step. Of course once I stopped walking for just a few minutes I was able to feel exactly how sore my feet had become. I also got to read the sign declaring there to be a rattlesnake that has been living beside the shelter for the past month. Joy.
Pitching my tent and stuffing my face followed my arrival, as I want to avoid another night of muggy, buggy, heat (and our friendly neighborhood rattler).
Mr. Fantastic and Stoves hiked in while I was enjoying my dinner, and quickly joined the picnic. We all talked about how challenging, yet rewarding today's hike was, and made plans for tomorrow. We also talked about food, but that goes without saying.
Because of the extra miles we did today, we have two options for tomorrow. If tired, we can hike 15 miles to the next shelter and call it an early day. It's looks like truly easy terrain ahead of us, so we have no concerns there. If we find ourselves with excess energy, however, we can hike 20 miles and finish in Waynesboro. Doing that has the benefit of being able to stay at the local YMCA for free and make use of their showers. I'm hoping for the latter, if for no other reason than we would be able to enjoy all that Waynesboro has to offer.
Of course tonight the weather finally decides to be accurate and it does rain, so my tenting wasn't necessary, and is more of a pain than anything. It's hard to be too upset with the kind of endorphin high I'm on after today's hike though, and I think I'll sleep just fine regardless of how noisy the rain might get.

Mothra Attacks!

Having a Subway in the parking lot of the motel you're staying at is almost too handy. Breakfast was easy to get, and delicious to eat while relaxing on beds and watching tv. Breakfast in bed really is the way to go.
We packed up slowly, unwilling to meet out 11am checkout in a timely manner. While I was sitting out front waiting for Mr. Fantastic to finish collecting his gear, Suds wandered over to our almost vacated room. We all chatted for a while, and Mr. F made a few calls. Then it was over to the Burger King across the street to lunch up. Suds joined us as well. Thankfully the BK was also attached to the gas station Quick Stop, which we used as a resupply.
Weighted down by food and water, we walked to a corner to begin the hitching process. The sun was scorching, but we managed to shuffle in and out of the shade as we thumbed. After awhile (crocodile) we were picked up by a pickup, and rode our way back to the trail head in the standard open-air fashion.
We had a rough climb up to the ridge line, and Mr. Fantastic shot past me. It was thankfully a good deal cooler than the last few days, so once up top it was a nice hike. Not much happened on our 13 mile walk to the shelter today other than a steady 3mph pace for a good portion of it. We chatted and walked, agreeing that it was quite the interesting thing to know each day that you are in exactly the best shape of your life. That trend will hopefully continue for the next 3 months.
We had a very slow start today, so didn't make it into the shelter until a little before 9pm. We quickly ate our dinner and assembled sleeping pad/cot in the empty shelter. Like I said, it was a rather uneventful day.
That was all before a giant moth entered our shelter. The moth flew in and made such a racket that we were sure there was a bat in here. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it has green wings about 4 inches in length, trailing down into 2 long stabilizing tails. It seems like it's going to be a noisy night if this guy decides to flap around the ceiling all night, but neither of us are willing to confront it in the dark. Maybe in the morning we'll make it pay if it keeps us up all night.
Tomorrow we tackle The Priest; a section of trail I've been dreading since we entered Virginia and picked up the maps. After a nice ridge line we're going to descend straight down 3000 feet over 4 miles, and then climb directly back up the same distance over 6 miles. 10 solid miles of sheer hell. I can't wait! At least after that the trail levels out and cuts us some slack for the rest of Virginia. Ok, it's time to try and ignore the plethora of giant moths flapping all around us and get some sleep. We'll surely need it.