Burning Daylight Outdoors: Daleville, VA to Waynesboro, VA; 6/6/17-6/17/17 (Mile 728-862)

Tuesday 6/6; Daleville, VA to Wilson Creek Shelter (mile 728-739)

So we would up staying in Daleville a day longer than anticipated. Yesterday when I ran up to the office to post our blog right before we left town, I went back to our room and laid down for a few minutes until our checkout time. It was raining outside and the motivation to get moving was sparse. Morning Glory and Sweet Tea decided to stay another night and went and got a room, and to my absolute shock, Bean suggested we stay another night in order to hike out with our friends the next day. I was concerned that we were taking another day and that we'd eventually regret it, but he didn't seem to want to walk in the rain any more than I did, and we stayed. We fit 6 people in that room at the Howard Johnson and we all slept very well. But only after all 6 of us, plus U-Turn and Colonel, played Frogger across the off ramp of the highway on our way to Country Cookin' for supper. Oh my gosh did we eat! The food was decent and came with a giant bar full of salad and home style everything you can think of. Hence why we slept so well.

Fast forward to today, we had breakfast and got started. We had a nice day. No real views, but we're back with our tramily which is so exciting! And...I feel tonight. Hard. I've got bruises on my right shoulder and knee, and two goose eggs on the right top of my head. So frustrating when my feet are finally on the mend and I was ready to push on an extra 5 miles today. Oh well, I guess it is what it is. We opted to stop at the shelter to rest and recover.

Tomorrow's a new day. Here's to No more falls, lots of miles and audio books!

Wednesday 6/7; Wilson Creek Shelter to Jennings Creek Campsite (mile 739-756)

A largely uneventful day, though with some pretty views. We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway a few times which always affords great views. And we managed to give 17 miles with little in the way of water sources. But we accomplished our goal. U-Turn and The Colonel are calling a mile away at a campground which offers burgers and apparently breakfast, too. We hope to catch them in the morning. We're looking at possibly two more 15 mile days tomorrow and Friday. If I'm being honest, that's a bit overwhelming. I know we need to put in some big miles, but I'm worried we'll break down our bodies and our will power. We'll see how it goes.

Thursday 6/8; Jennings Creek Campsite to FAA Weather Tower Campsite (mile 756-769)

We are writing as we watch the sunset at the FAA Weather Tower where we're currently camped. The view is beautiful and the company so fun. U-Turn and Patch, Bean and I all just hanging out. It's chilly and I'm about ready to climb in the tent after a day of up, up and more up. It was long and tiring, but overall it was good. Can't wait to share photos with you all!

Friday 6/9; FAA Weather Tower Campsite to Glasgow, VA (mile 769-785)

That beautiful view we shared with you from yesterday... Was completely sit this morning when we woke to dense, wet fog which clung to our rain fly and soaked everything! But, it passed relatively quickly and the chill burned off leading to a pretty nice day. Far less climbing today than yesterday, thank goodness! And we opted to push into town tonight instead of in the morning. This means that currently it's 1035 PM (WAYYYY past hiker midnight which is 9PM) we have resupplied at the Dollar General and sorted food, so all we have to do tomorrow is shower, eat lunch, and head out of town. This little town, though, has been pretty fabulous! There's a pavilion in the center of town that is built like a shelter and where we can stay free of charge. There are hot showers (which we'll check out in the morning) and toilets. And the people have been so very friendly! Tomorrow will be a light day and we're excited about it and the knowledge that our abilities are growing. I will also look into finalizing my plane ticket for later this month.

Procrastinator...Remember? Loving our time with friends, old and new, and looking forward to the rest of the journey.

Saturday 6/10; Glasgow, VA to Punchbowl Shelter (mile 785-795)

The town of Glasgow has built a shelter in the middle of the tiny little town, which is in perfect proximity to the Dollar General, a local restaurant serving burgers, pizza (which was surprisingly good), shakes, etc, the post office, and a small grocery. The people were so very friendly--even more so than in "Trail Town USA" (aka Damascus)! Today's hike proved to be quite challenging. It was a nice day full of sun and friends, but holy climbing, Batman! We went up and up some more. We are looking at climbs all week which is a little daunting for me. Patch, a guy who's been hiking with us for a few days and who we met a while back, seems to be fast and strong and doesn't mind the climbing. For me, it's very hard and can be quite discouraging. But, we're looking at one day at a time and are enjoying the sun despite the heat it beings with it. Tonight's campsite is very full with at least 15 tents and a full shelter. We're glad to be here and looking forward to resting.

Sunday 6/11; Punchbowl Shelter to Brown Mountain Creek (mile 795-804)

What a day today has been! We started a bit later than we'd have liked and I was pretty concerned with making it up and over a pretty giant climb we anticipate. The terrain for the first half of the day was decent and we made good time. We hit 800 miles (800--think about that, we've walked 800 miles), but I thought we were very late to meet U-Turn, Colonel, and Patch for lunch. We planned to meet at the shelter (the same which we're now camped near) to eat, so imagine our surprise when we happened upon them hanging out and eating near a bridge in the middle of the trail. The stream below is listed in AWOL as a "swimming hole," and it was quickly decided that we'd go only as far as the next shelter (1 Mile away). We thoroughly enjoyed hanging out in or near the water and eating a leisurely lunch. Bean submerged and cooled off from the heat of the day, and I soaked my feet for a good long time. They feel pretty great tonight. So that leaves this terribly, horrible, no good, very bad climb for first thing tomorrow morning. Not looking forward to it at all, but I think we're all glad to get it under way early and be finished with it before the heat of the day sets in.

In other random news, I am losing a toe nail. I don't believe I've injured it, but it seems as though it's coming off. Many of us have lost at least one, so I'm in good company.

Another side note, I think I forgot to mention the third bear sighting. It was the other day on our way into Daleville. I saw it, but Bean missed it because he was ahead of me. The bear was romping and playing down the hill from the trail. I heard it and it sounded big. I stopped when I saw it, entirely mesmerized, and was trying to reach for my camera. As I did I simply said, "Hi, Bear," and it ran off down the hill. Very cool!!

Monday 6/12; Brown Mountain Creek to Rock Spring Campsite (mile 804.9-821.8)

And the terribly, horribly, no good, very bad climb... Was all that and more. However, we were out of camp at 7am and finished with the big climb of the day before noon. We took all day to walk or 17 miles, but it was nice talking breaks and bring with tramily. Dinner tonight was enjoyable and we laughed a lot. It was a good day. We met a new (to us) hiker called Illegal. Of course we asked "why 'Illegal'?" And were told that this man (from Sweden) made it into the country and remains here without getting a stamp in his passport. Somehow he made it through border patrol without being questioned. It made me a little concerned....

We nailed down plans for the coming days and will be in town on Thursday. Bean will see a doctor while we're there for an ingrown toenail. He says it's not too uncomfortable now. Hopefully it'll stay that way until Thursday.

Tuesday 6/13; Rock Spring Campsite to Harper's Creek Shelter (mile 821.8-834.9)

What does the snail say when he rides on the turtle's back? "Woohoo!" I learned that from Stick in the Woods tonight and thought it was pretty darn cute.

We had a pretty good day today with some moderate climbing. We passed a group of young Meninites hiking SOBO which was an interesting sight. It's not every day you see people in "plain clothes" hiking up a mountain. They were friendly, though not talkative.

U-Turn and I got a chance to have girl talk for a while which was super nice. She has been spending time with a nice hiker out here which is great for her, but changes the dynamic for us a little. I'm happy that she's enjoying herself and we've talked about the change. All is good, it's just a little different and takes some getting used to.

We came to a river 2.5 miles before the end of our day. It's been hot day, and one full of flies, so we opted to take a minute to cool off in the water. And then the sky opened up. We were expecting it, but it still sucks to hike in the rain. The upside? I hiked as fast as I've hiked yet, making the 2.5 miles in 1 hour and 10 minutes. I don't like the thunder at all. It was a little motivating. We're trying to decide if we'll hit this brewery tomorrow and grab a burger and beer for lunch.

Wednesday 6/14; Harper's Creek Shelter to Blue Ridge Parkway Campsite/Dripping Rock (mile 834.9-847.6)

"Three Ridges is hard! It is no fun" says Erik. When I asked him what he wanted to include in today's post, this was his response. And he's right. Today was pretty hard. Lots of rocks lead to pretty sore feet. In fact, my whole body is worn out. We did come across a group of bike riders. They are called Cycle Adventures, or something of the like, and we met one of their support crew who generously offered us treats. I finally got a Diet Coke after craving it for weeks. Lots of Pepsi out here, folks. Anyhow, we did not hit the brewery today for fear of coming weather. Thus far we've largely avoided it, but it's ok. Patch went into town today to deal with his foot. He's had an ingrown toenail and he was having a lot of pain last night, so he went to take care of it. We'll be in town tomorrow and catch up to him, and eat at a Chinese buffet for dinner. We hear it's the best on the trail. We're excited!

Thursday 6/15; Dripping Rock Campsite to Waynesboro, VA (847.6-861.9)

None of us wanted to walk 14 miles into town. Typically we prefer shorter days into town so that we have plenty of time to work on chores, eat, and settle so that we can rest on our zero day. Unfortunately, that isn't always possible as in this day. We were up super early to make the miles early, and the walking wasn't too challenging after multiple days of climbing, though the rocks are chewing up our feet. We did have an interesting meeting while stopping at a shelter for lunch. It was a very nice shelter and we met a guy whom we've dubbed "Rambo Star Child." Please let us tell you why: Imagine a grown man wearing cheap camo clothing. A camouflage shirt cut off at the waist and without sleeves, as they've been cut also. Camo shorts with a drawstring waist. Camo boots without laces. Shoulder length hair with bangs, and a small pony tail to one side just behind the bangs. Feather tattoos down each side of the face from about the temple, and a moon and sun tattooed one on each cheek. The start of a mask tattooed above the nose, with a full "sunset mask" to follow at some point in the future...Needless to say, this guy was a character. Bean later named him in the privacy of our group and we all agreed it was fitting. All that said, he was very nice and very likely quite harmless.

We made it into town, ate, and rested. This made for a busy zero resupplying and communicating with the "aqua blaze" company. Long story short, we planned to leave today to canoe down the Shenandoah River for 3 days, but storms and the rise in the river made us cancel our reservation for today and shift it to tomorrow. Which means....another zero! So we're updating you all and going to rest promptly afterwards. Waynesbboro is a beautiful little town with kind people and all the amenities we need! Erik's new shoes arrived (thank goodness--no tread on a trail runner is bad out here!). U-Turn and I found a yoga class at Birdseed Yoga, we wanted to catch a movie (Top Gun) last night at the theater but we opted for rest instead. We made it to Rockfish Outfitter to buy insoles for my new shoes, and had our first turn ever in an actual laundromat, which is just up the street from our hotel.

Much love to you all! Thank you, as always, for your love and support! We miss you and can't wait to discuss our adventures with you all!!