Mile 624

Today is May 21st & we just got into the town of Pearisburg, VA. I know, I know...it's been awhile since I have checked in with friends & family...but I have had very limited cell phone service & while trying to search for service my battery was drained! :( So here I am relaxing at a coffee shop in Pearisburg. The past week has been quite crazy-first of all while, we were in Damascus, there were tornado warnings-so we spent a few extra days waiting out the storm. We hiked for several days, picked up a mail drop in Sugar Grove, VA...and then had a crazy day of hiking 24 miles. Yea...the 24 mile day wasn't exactly planned-rather we (James, Equinox, & I) had hiked 17 miles to a nice creek & campsite & met a fellow hiker at the site. We all three didn't have a very good feeling about the guy so we said our code "Should we wait for Betsy" (which is code for either "lets not stay here or let's not take this ride") & we all replied "Yes". By this time it was already 7:20 p.m. so we hiked out...but we weren't coming across any water or campsites. So we ended up hiking until 10:15 p.m. with our headlamps, through many miles, seven to be exact, of cow fields. Mind you there were cows everywhere & we were literally dodging cow patties in the dark. It was crazy! We finally found a spot & ended up in bed by 11:30 p.m. The next few days we hiked light, but the weather was miserable. We were a bit grouchy until we came on some unexpected "Trail Magic". A Methodist Church in Bastian, VA makes breakfast for hikers every Monday morning. So we had a fantastic breakfast & got a free ride into town for our mail drop. It really made our day! :) The past few days we hiked 23 & 21 miles...so we are taking a zero tomorrow...where we will relax & catch up on everything that's going on in the world. I think that's a brief version of what's going on...and I will do my best to update this as soon as possible. Until then...peace-Share

Mile 461

Yes that's right we have hiked 461 miles as of May 10th. We hiked into Damascus, Virginia this morning...waking up at 5:30 a.m. to hike 10 miles in 3 hours. The day before we hiked a record 22.7 miles in one day! Quite a day...but it felt like a real accomplishment! Hiking & being out in the woods has been amazing, but James & I both feel like we could do with a little less people contact. Although you wouldn't think that would be a problem...there are actually a lot of people out on the trail. So we are doing our best to stay out of towns & camping away from large groups. Another small detail of the trail is I cut off all of my hair...that's right. It's what some might consider a "pixie cut". I was tired of all my hair getting so hot & greasy on the trail...so I went into a hair salon in Hot Springs, NC & told the lady to chop it all off...and she did! :) It's practical & am told that's its cute...but I'm still getting used to looking at myself in the mirror. Well my time at the internet cafe is running out...so I guess that's it...until next time!
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