It rained all night, but I still got up and moving at 7am. I regretted my decision to sleep in my tent, as rain has a way of bringing me down out here. I started out for a 4.5 mile hike to the road, but even with full rain gear on my socks got wet.
The trail dropped me off directly at a Shell gas station, so I used their outlet and my weak Edge network signal.
Shenanigans caught up with me at around the same time as Nick and Mr. Fantastic, so we all walked over to The Barn to get fed.
We were told upon sitting that it was 20 minutes until lunch if we wanted to wait, so we all ordered breakfast, ate, and then ordered lunch. The food was good and very cheap, plus the waitress offered up the bathroom for anyone to wash up in. Very hiker friendly.
During breakfast/lunch I was deciding if I wanted to get a room and get clean and dry, or stick to the plan and hike another 14 miles to the next shelter.
We didn't have time to hitch into Atkins, so we resupplied at the Shell station. Thankfully it only has to last 2 days to get to Bland, VA. Where we can eat at the Bland Restaurant, and resupply at the Bland grocery. After finishing up in the gas station the sun had started to come out, so I decided to stick to the plan.
The following 14 miles were dry, but much harder than we had anticipated. Mr. Fantastic and I passed the time talking philosophy, and eventually we made it to Knot Maul shelter. When still 3 miles away I was coming to a big climb I was dreading, but another dose of Jesus magic found me one PB&J and Mountain Dew richer. It gave me the energy I needed to easily finish that last push.
Thankfully there was still room at the shelter, because I'm not taking any more chances with the rain today. A lot of people have showed up to stay here, which is nice since there are bear warning posted. Strength in numbers is always a positive at a shelter. As is a fire to dry my soggy shoes by. Supposedly it's going to get sunny for a few days, long enough to get us to a planned zero at a hostel on Sunday. Here's hoping.
