Rendezvous Motel, Pearisburg, VA to Pine Swamp Branch, VA: Daily miles 19.2, Total miles 645.1
A late start but a pretty good day. Woke up at the motel at my usual 6:15 am. I don’t even try to fight it these days. I got up and went outside and talked to Hannah so I wouldn’t disturb the others while they slept. When they woke up we went to breakfast where I ordered the biggest thing on the menu, 2 eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy, grits, and then I ordered 3 pancakes. My appetite is astounding. Picked up my package, which was awesome. Hannah replaced a few things for me like my pack liner and windscreen. She also sent me a small ipod which is really exciting as I have had really limited access to music for the past month. We hit the trail at a bout 1 pm after resupplying at the grocery store. There is always a big climb out of town because the towns are in valleys and your pack is at its heaviest since you just resupplied. This made the first few miles pretty tough. Nice big views when we hit the top of the ridge and really pretty hiking for most of the day. Hiked a bit listening to the ipod which was so nice. I have songs stuck in my head all the time and it seemed like Hannah put all of them on the ipod even though I never told her. Sometimes she amazes me. Pulled into the shelter about 8 pm. This one had a tree fall on it last year and doesn’t have a roof. Nobody else is here but Mike, Hampton, and I, and it won’t rain, so the lack of roof isn’t a big deal. It was such a nice day, great weather, nice trail, and we escaped another town. Starting a big push tomorrow until my folks get here. I’m going to leave Mike and Hampton for a while. Big miles are coming.
