I'm dreaming of a white Easter!

4/1/07 And we're back on the trail after a very nice rest in Damascus and much needed day off. Also decided to switch to trail running shoes after spending an hour talking to Dave at Mount Rogers Outfitters about my feet. I started hiking with a size 7 boot and I just purchased an size 8 wide trail runner. Go figure. Let's just say, I am beginning to feel my toes and feet again. That has to be a good sign. Bridgette dropped me and Guthook off at the trail in misting rain and a bit breezy. Hiked 15.4 miles to Old Orchard Shelter. I will finally say goodbye to Guthook for real today as he speeds up to finish his quest. I am posting a link to his blog along with a few other of my trail friends out here if you want to check out their pages. Made good time today even over the rocks of Grayson Highlands. What a beautiful area. There were even feral ponies. Check out the picture. Met tons of section hikers today, must be the weekend and spring break. Cough Drop decided he wanted to meet me at the shelter with my favorite tasty beverage - yeah pennsylvania lager. Give a little shout out to tanya on that one! We had a great night listening to the pouring rain.

4/2/07 14. 4 miles to Trimpi Shelter. Got into the shelter really early today. I was thinking of heading to the next shelter but Cough Drop said he would bring some more tasty beverages to the trail. How do you pass that up? Ran into sectionhikers again today that I saw near Damascus - Hannah the wonder dog accompanied them. They were heading on because it was such a nice day out. I was also Tau/Jennifer and Mouse Trap would catch up and hike with us for awhile. They both caught up and were excited about snacks and beverages provided by our favorite trail angel Cough Drop. Me and Jen decided to hike 22 miles to get to Atkins in one day instead of 2. Should be an awesome walk!

4/3/07 22.2 miles to Atkins, VA. Got up early and hiked out because it was supposed to be really hot and it was. 85 degrees out there, it's crazy. Sweating all day but what beautiful country we traveled. Me and Jen made great time and made it to Atkins by 2:15 where Cough Drop was waiting to take us to Martie's hostel - my new favorite place on the trail. Got my maildrop at Relax Inn and was ready for a fabulous dinner of grilled salmon and summer squash with fresh bruschetta as an appetizer and warm chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I even got to get my grill on as grill master for the evening. Really enjoyed spending time with Martie, Cough Drop and Tau.

4/4/07 2.5 miles to Davis Path Shelter. My old Atlanta roomie Joseph and his son Aaron made the trip to come hike with me for a few days. And they brought some cold weather. Ran into Mouse Trap at the trail where he was waiting for a maildrop that never came - that can be so frustrating! Me and Joseph and Aaron got on the trail around 5 and enjoyed Aaron's first backpacking experience. Ran into the section hikers again with Hannah and camped with them for the night. So happy Joseph brough marshmallows!

4/5/07 11.5 miles to Knot Maul Branch Shelter. Hiked another day with Joseph and Aaron. I am so proud of Aaron for walking over all those mountains to make it to the shelter. I don't know many 7 year olds that could do that - way to go slugger (his new trail name!). We crossed some grassy virginia fields but man did it get chilly out there. It wouldn't have been bad but the wind was whipping all around. We were happy to get into camp and in our sleeping bags! Tau and Cough Drop took a day off yesterday so they could hike in and join me tonight. Was happy to see they made it. Got down to 25 degrees that night - brr!

4/6/07 19 miles to Jenkins Shelter. Said goodbye to Joseph and Aaron as they were heading back to Atkins and we are all headed to Pearisburg. Man it was hard getting moving out of the bag but knew I would be warmer while hiking. Made good time up to Chesnut Knob (near 4400 feet) It was wicked chilly up there for lunch. Didn't stay long. Ran into Tau up there and she also wanted to keep moving. We have had flurries the past few mornings and it was looking a bit cloudy. Got into camp around 4 and the flurries starting coming down. Got about six inches that night. Cough Drop got in just as it was getting dark. If i thought it was cold last night, this one was chillier. It was beautiful outside!

4/7/07 Decided to sleep in a bit today and let it warm up a bit. Sun was coming out a little but the trail was covered in snow. Me and Tau decided to hike together today due to the snow. Made the mistake of following the section hikers tracks out of the shelter and winded up at this fishing lodge/retreat place. But thanks to Tau, made out with some hot cocoa and free lunch and lots of free food to take on the trail. Thanks so much to those folks - they were really looking out for us! After getting warmed up, we got back on the trail. It turned out that we may have been on the wrong trail for awhile but we still walked plenty of miles for the day and wound up where we needed to be on the AT. We were walking in knee deep snow drifts - it was amazing outside! Made it to the road near Bland, VA and man our feet were starting to get chilly as we both sent home our waterproof boots and have switched to the trail running shoes. They got a bit damp with the melting snow. Took us an hour to find a ride and we had almost given up and were just going to head to the next shelter as planned. Got a ride and we were so thankful to warm-up in Bland. My feet needed to thaw and dry out a bit. Called Cough Drop to let him know we stopped off for awhile to regroup. He actually answered the phone and said he was catching a ride and was going off the trail. We decided to go back to Martie's place, regroup and head out first thing tomorrow morning. Yeah warm bed, hot shower, and dry shoes!

4/8/07 Zero day! So me and Tau got up this morning, raring to go, or rather we were both contemplating how cold it was still outside and how the snow would be melting, our shoes would be soaked after 26 miles and how it was supposed to get down to 20 degrees again tonight. Oh yeah and it is Easter sunday and we both wanted to go to church. So at 6 am, we decided to take a day off so Tau could get over her cold and we could let some of this really cold weather pass. It is good for me to just go with the flow. We all know I struggle with changing plans but after going to church this morning, having a big breakfast and now relaxing on this day of renewal, I feel I made the right decision. My body is thanking me. And it is really windy out there today. Onward to Pearisburg tomorrow! Happy Easter everyone!

Here are the towns I will be at in the next month or so in case you want to check out on the map where I am at:

Pearisburg, VA 4/10

Daleville, VA 4/14 or 4/15

Waynesboro, VA 4/21 or 4/22

Harpers Ferry, WV 4/30 or 5/1

Also, here are my friends blog links:

http://www.trailjournals.com/guthook

http://www.trailjournals.com/jennilev

http://travelincoughdrop.blogspot.com

Love,

Kentucky Blue