It was back to the trail today. At least, it felt that way even though we hadn’t really stepped away. The last two days felt like so much of a vacation that the idea of putting the packs on and going back out in the rain brought us back to reality. Yes, it was raining. Of course it was raining. How else should we start a six day section other than in the rain?
Our plan was to take the hotel shuttle back to the trail and let Atlas’ parents head out to the airport. We checked with the hotel last night and they said the shuttle could take us. The problem was, they didn’t realize where we wanted to go. It was a good 20-30 minute car ride to get back. There was a big thing and basically the shuttle driver decided he wasn’t taking us. After a bit of negotiation by Momma Atlas, the hotel agreed to provide a shuttle. They called up some random employee who brought a van to take us back. He was excited because he got to leave a project that he really didn’t want to do in the first place.
We were hitting the trail around 11a. Resigned to walking in the rain, we slowly put on our wet weather gear and pushed off strong. Except for an initial push up, the majority of the day would be downhill.
It actually was a good day to hike. There wasn’t a lot of rain accumulation. The terrain was “easy”. Also, there were so many flowers, it was often like we were walking next to gardens. There were red columbine flowers, purple spider wart, and lots of pink wild roses. It’s been fantastic hiking through the woods and seeing plants I have in my gardens at home and native wild plants. The blueberry bushes along the trail are starting to ripen. Plus, we’ve even come across a cherry tree, full with cherries. The forest is finally awake. When we began this hike in March, it was just starting to stir.
We hiked ten miles today. Our last few steps of the day were on a foot bridge that crossed the James River. The James River is broad and steady. We walked near it for a bit and it made me want to kayak it. Warthog said, “We can do that! We’ll just attach our Aistream (a dream of ours), put the kayaks on the Trailblazer, and come on down.” The man I married loves to dream. It’s something that I admire about him. Honestly, his tendency to think big is a major reason why we are on the trail. But that’s a story and a dream for another day. First, I want to finish the AT.
After the bridge, we arrived at a road crossing. Four miles down was a town called Glasgow, VA. Years ago a Boy Scout built a shelter right in town as his Eagle Scout project. It has electricity, a microwave, a laundry line, and hot showers. It’s amazing. A lot of hikers will hitch a ride into town, resupply, and stay at the shelter. Some stay several days. We needed to resupply and only plan on staying the one night. Tomorrow morning, we will hitch a ride back to the trail.
We ran into Cookie Monster, SOL, and Joy Hiker here. We all decided to grab dinner together.
There’s a restaurant called, Scotto’s that we’ve been hoping to hit. Since it was closed, we heard a Bosses was good too. It’s .8 miles away from the shelter. The group of us, eight in total, walked there. When we arrived they told us they had already closed the kitchen. Seeing the sadness on our faces, they called someone in to cook. I think it’s a family affair because someone’s sister ended up arriving. It took a bit, but it sure was worth it. Especially since they had to open their kitchen back up. I couldn’t believe their generosity, because there was no other place in town to grab dinner. No one really wanted more Knorr pasta sides, so we were incredibly relieved to be able get there, relax, and fill our bellies. Especially since we walked almost a mile to go.
It was after 9p when we left and headed back to the shelter. Our work wasn’t over yet. I still had journaling to catch up on and Warthog needed to process our food resupply, which meant pulling items out of boxes and breaking them down as much as possible. We’ve resupplied for five days after this. Our Ursack is full and we have our secondary food bag stuffed halfway. The options were limited, but considering what we had to work with, I’m actually okay with what we picked out. Tomorrow, for real, we head back into the woods. I agree with Lotus, we’ve been in luxury for so long now, we are getting a bit soft. I’m looking forward to hardening up a bit.
-ansel