Something went wrong on the initial attempt to post today’s blog as I have weak wifi. Please go to nobo23.com to read the correct version. Thanks.

After a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, two pancakes and coffee, I left the Weary Feet Hostel at 8:30 this morning. I have been really pleased with how quickly I have gotten my “trail legs” on this hike. On my first day out I hiked eight miles in six hours, taking my time to avoid injuries. Today, I hiked just over nine miles in the first three hours and I covered seventeen miles in total today in six and one half hours, and my legs still felt strong when I finished. 

For the first time on this hike I did not meet one single hiker on the trail. No one going southbound, no one going northbound. And, it was another stunningly beautiful day. I just don’t get it.

I felt as though I was the “Deer Whisperer” during the morning hike. About one hour after I started out I saw a young white tail deer cross the trail in front of me. I could tell that it did not see me and I pulled out my phone from my back pocket and just stood still. A few moments later the deer reappeared about forty yards right in front of me. I began to video the deer as it slowly started to approach me. It probably came as close as twenty yards from me before quickly scampering into the woods. When I looked at the video footage all that I had captured were my feet.  Some wildlife photographer I would be! About twenty minutes later I saw three adult deer but just as soon as they spotted me they ran away.  And shortly after that two more young deer came out of the woods right in front of of me. As I reached for my camera, one ran away but the other one just stood and stared at me long enough for me to get a shot of it. I was a little worried about the future for this young deer, though, as I could see its rib cage, which is probably not a good sign with winter not too far away. I stopped for a quick break at a nice shelter and there were a couple of pretty spots along the trail today.

Tomorrow will be my last hike on this trip as I make my way back to New Hampshire beginning Sunday… but let me give some context to this. When I came off the AT in 2023, after 500 miles, I was so disappointed in myself that I did not complete the thru-hike that I had set out to accomplish. I felt like I let my family down also as they had gone to such great lengths to support me. The day I came off the trail I was sure I would never step foot on it again and I really wasn’t interested in rehashing any of my experiences. After two plus years of giving a lot of thought to what went wrong I decided that, for my own peace of mind, I needed to go back on the trail to see if there was a different, more positive experience that I might be able to come to terms with. 

While thinking about why I failed in my first attempt, I came to realize that I was never “great” at a lot of things that I had tried, but greatly enjoyed. Football, baseball, sprinter, pole vaulter, marathon runner, ultra-marathon runner, hang glider, sky diver, golfer – all of these I had tried, and enjoyed, but never truly excelled at. So, why should I expect to be a great trail hiker? With that thought in mind I decided to come back on the trail and try to make it work under my terms. So, after two good solid weeks of hiking the AT, mostly alone, I can say that I have found the sweet spot for me, two weeks, and that is why I will wrap up my hike tomorrow. I have also come to realize that I am a very strong hiker. I do not say this in a bragging fashion but I know that I can out hike most people half my age. However, I also found out, the hard way, that to thru-hike the AT it is more important to have the right mental temperament than it is is to be physically strong. And I do not have this, or at least not to the extent necessary to complete the entire trail. I get too frustrated and aggravated by all of the down time and the monotony that goes along with a six month hike. I would say successful thru-hikers should be about 35% physically capable and the balance is all about having the right mental temperament. So, when I finish my hike tomorrow I will do so with a smile on my face, and the satisfaction of knowing the trail did not get the last laugh. 

Tonight I am staying at Woods Hole hostel which may be the most unusual hostel I have stayed at, ever, on the AT. Upon arrival it felt like I had followed Alice down the rabbit hole. It is just a bizarre place, but in a nice, friendly  kind of way. The original facility has been around since sometime in the 1800s. Everything had a very natural, earthy feel to it. The current owner is a guy named “Jaws” and you can see a picture of the two of us below. There are three or four other people here tonight and we are having a communal dinner at 6:00 pm, which will be preceded by everyone gathering in a circle, introducing themselves, and sharing one thing with the group that they are thankful for. A great idea, in my opinion, and I look forward to experiencing the dinner! Pics of the place are below. 

Before closing out today’s blog, I have a story from yesterday that is just too good to omit. After having dinner last night at the Weary Feet Hostel, Purple Haze, one of the owners, told the five of us staying there one of the most bizarre stories I have heard on the trail. She was working on a thru-hike in 2023. While coming back from the privy (outhouse) one evening she saw a bear nearby. Knowing that she should not run, she began to walk quickly back to the shelter. Sensing that the bear was near her, she turned around and it was literally right in her face and it was a huge black bear. By then, others at the shelter saw what was happening and were trying to shout and throw things at the bear. Just as Purple Haze tried to lunge into the shelter the bear bit her in the butt, and then turned and ran away. She had to go to the hospital and get a rabies shot, and had to give her pants to a Forest Service worker so that they could capture the bear’s DNA. The bear was later found and killed. And, just when I thought this story could get no better, Purple Haze proudly pulled out her phone to show us pictures of her bitten butt, and then she proceeded to pull down the back corner of her sweat pants and showed us a tattoo, on her butt, of a bear’s face with the teeth marks in the exact place she was bitten. I can’t imagine ever topping this story!!!

Today was a day filled with all things good. I expected to wake up with tired, sore legs this morning, after the last three days of hard hikes, but it was just the opposite. My legs felt strong and rested. 

Pam dropped me off at my starting point at 8:45 am. It was a beautiful fall day with soft breezes and lots of sunshine. My hike was only two-thirds the distance of yesterday’s hike, so I knew I could take my time and just enjoy the beauty of the day. The trail today was very easy, but again with no views to speak of. I met five southbound hikers and no one heading north. One man was from South Africa and I had a nice chat with him, as well as a young lady from Nevada who has already completed the Pacific Crest Trail, and, after completing the AT, intends to hike the Continental Divide Trail in 2027, giving her claim to having completed hiking’s Triple Crown. The most interesting person I met was a lady (Phoenix) from Arizona. Originally from Guatemala, she sold all of her possessions, including her house and car, and began hiking the AT in the spring. She said she just reached a point in her life where she hated the weather (heat) in Arizona and wanted to get a fresh start on life. Phoenix said she has no idea where she will go after completing her hike. I told her not to worry as she still has 600 miles to figure that out! Just as I was coming off the trail this afternoon a small snake crossed right in front of my feet. It was only about 18 inches long and was moving so fast that I could not identify what it was.    

The hostel I am staying at tonight is called Weary Feet, and it was only a half-mile walk from the trail. It Is one of the more interesting hostels that I have stayed at. Situated at the bottom of several hills, on a beautiful piece of property, it has a variety of buildings and rooms. There is a small hiker replenishment “store” as you walk in the front door. My room has two twin beds and a double bed, but I am the only guest in that room tonight. The shower facility is in a small barn-like structure with chickens clucking around as I took a shower in a wooden stall. On a table next to the shower stalls are a lot of snake skins and a small jar, which I believe, holds the rattlers from several rattle snakes. I have to admit that I did keep my eyes focused on the open shower floor as I bathed. The owner, Purple Haze, (yes, everyone who has anything to do with hiking on the AT has a trail name and that is literally how they introduce themselves) will prepare a home-cooked meal for the guests tonight who pay an extra $15 for this treat (I’m all in). 

Tomorrow will see a much longer hike than today with a couple of decent sized mountains to get up and over. 

About 7:15 last night a weary hiker opened the door to the hostel I was staying at. He had just completed the difficult climb I had completed two days prior. Turns out he was from Tennessee, probably early 50s, and he had arrived on Monday to complete a five day section hike, and yesterday was his second day on the trail. Before going to bed last night he made the decision to complete today’s hike and then drive back home as he said his body was too beat up to complete five days. I really did feel sorry for this poor guy as I could tell he had really hoped to complete his five days. And, I was surprised he had such a tough time as he has hiked other sections of the AT previously. 

Today (finally) turned out to be sunny and beautiful. As we were driving to my drop off point, I could see the bright blue sky, the rolling hills and a blanket of fog in the low lying valleys. 

I was a bit nervous about my hike today as I had to cover a distance of 16 miles, which I have not done up to this point. I had given my shuttle driver a pickup time of 4:30 pm when I had believed the hike was only 15 miles. However, before starting my hike I recalculated the distance and found it to be 16 miles. So, I tried to maintain a faster pace throughout the day and I was surprised with the end result. What would normally have taken me close to eight hours only took six hours and forty-five minutes. That was a pretty good pace for sixty-five year old legs carrying a thirty-five pound backpack. I will say, however, that conditions were much improved over prior days. Every now and then the trail will throw out a bone and I feel like I was the recipient today.  The weather was near perfect with blue skies and sunshine (finally). The trail had dried out, the leaves were crunchy and not slippery and their were significantly fewer rocks to have to navigate over today. There was even a short section where the trail emptied out onto a dirt road which then intersected a highway which allowed be to cross over I- 77. So, all of these factors really helped to shorten my hiking time today. Noteable about today’s hike was my completion of 100 trail miles on this trip and passing the 600 cumulative mile mark (northbound) on the AT. Those are some hard earned miles. 

Along the hike I passed four southbound hikers and, once again, saw no northbound hikers. I talked about 10 minutes to a Father/Daughter team who were completing a thru-hike. They were from Washington, DC and have been on the trail for six months, having first completed the Harper’s Ferry to Mt. Katahdin section and then flip-flopping from Harper’s Ferry to Springer Mountain.

My driver, Pam, a retired nurse, picked me up at 3:30 pm (I was able to text her about a half-hour ahead of my early arrival). Another very kind and helpful driver, she drove me to the Big Walker Motel, in the very small town of Bland. The motel must have been built in the 60s with most of the furniture from the same era.  But, it is a nice, clean room with a great shower, a bed and pillow. Much better than anything my tent has to offer and I am grateful to call this place home for tonight. Tomorrow has fewer miles on the agenda which my legs will appreciate after the last three hard days.

A new day, but still gray! I woke at 6:30 this morning and it was still dark outside. Hoping that the forecast for another cloudy day might be wrong I got dressed and prepared my backpack for the day. The hostel has a waffle making machine so I mixed up some batter and made a waffle for breakfast. While I was eating, the light began to filter in and I could begin to see that the forecast was not wrong as the mountain tops were covered in a thick layer of clouds. 

Bags (the trail name of the hostel owner), met me at his vehicle at 7:30 am and we made the one hour drive on gravel backroads to my drop off point. You may recall from yesterday’s posting that I hiked north to south today, ending at the hostel I will stay at again tonight. 

Bags is a really interesting young man as I found out from our long drive this morning. Originally from Florida, he and his Mom bought the hostel property several years ago. At the time, there was no hostel on site, so he and his Mom, along with some others, built it. He is an avid hiker having traversed the AT for more than 5,000 miles but he still has not completed the entire trail. In addition to managing the hostel he and his Mom have 140 apartment units that they manage in Orlando, FL. And, he also has a side business where he oversees security operations for large music venues and shows around the country.  I would say that Bags has done a great job diversifying his career interests!

I began my hike promptly at 8:30 am and finished right at 3:30 pm. Today was my longest hike and my legs are feeling it a bit, especially after the grueling uphill climb yesterday. There is really very little that I can share with you about today’s hike that is different from prior days on this journey. I only saw one person on the trail today and it turned out to be Taj Mahal! We talked for about 10 minutes and then headed off in opposite directions. The leaves now cover most of the trail making it neatly impossible to see rocks, sticks, etc. I probably trip over these objects at least 30-40 times a day, always managing to catch myself with my hiking poles and averting a hard fall so far. But…like the spider I finally ran into yesterday, I know one of these unseen hazards will eventually take me down. I did do one stupid thing today which was to walk straight into a tree that had fallen over the trail that was just at head height. I really do not know why I did not notice it and duck, but I didn’t and I nearly fell backwards as my head cracked against the tree trunk. Man, did that hurt and left me with a headache for the remainder of the hike. 

The hostel here has a small “store” where you can buy food items. Last night I baked a frozen veggie pizza (not so great) and tonight I’m heating up a frozen chicken pot pie. All guests are expected to was their own dishes, but the drying rack was full of all kinds of dishes, bowls and utensils when I arrived yesterday evening. So, after getting my shower this evening I put everything away as best I could. Now time to wash and dry my clothes before digging in to my scrumptious chicken pot pie (which seems to have nicely burnt edges!). 

Carrie and Bubbe picked me up at 8:00 am this morning and dropped me off at my starting point around 8:30 am. Carrie was such a great help to me the past few days, picking me up and dropping me off, that it was a bit sad to say our final farewells.

I began an upward climb at 8:45am on what would turn out to be my hardest day yet in terms of physical challenge. Not only was it challenging but there was only one view that stood out as being really beautiful. It was a day filled mostly with views of fallen trees and heavy vegation on both sides of the trail. I am not being critical, but I have been very underwhelmed with how very few beautiful sites I have seen on this section of the hike. Each day I start out thinking “maybe today”, but so far, just more of the same. 

I know I keep mentioning it, but I continue to be amazed at the vast sections of fallen trees. Today, I hit a section of downed trees that completely obscured the direction of the trail. I wandered around for about 10 minutes before finally seeing a small piece of red plastic tape hanging from a tree limb about 30 yards beyond the jumble of fallen trees. It took some effort to climb my way through the tree branches and over the large tree trucks, but eventually I got to the red tape and, sure enough, that is where the trail picked back up.

On the second half of my hike today, I had a very difficult climb up a mountain section that was 4.2 miles long with an elevation gain of 2,080 feet and a backpack that was fully resupplied and at maximum weight. There were long sections that had a grade of 12-15%. In these areas I had to stop about every 50 yards for a few seconds before moving on. It took me 2 hours and 20 minutes of leg burn to reach the summit. I was really exhausted when I made it to the top but, finally, there was a beautiful view of the valley below, though with lots of threatening clouds on the horizon.

I passed seven southbound hikers and no northbound hikers today. The trail continues to be practically void of hikers. And, it was bound to happen….I finally walked into a huge spider’s web and looked down to see a big one crawling up my chest. I instinctively grabbed my hat and swatted it off. Ugh! Something tells me this may not be the last time I have such an encounter.

After completing my hike, I had a fairly long walk to reach Burke’s Garden Hostel where I am staying tonight and tomorrow night. So far, I am the only person here. Empty trails, empty hostels, this really is turning into a lonely adventure!!! Tomorrow morning I will be driven to the northern point of my hike and will make my way back south to the hostel location. I’m doing that as it better fits my driver’s schedule for tomorrow. 

I did end up mailing about 2 pounds of items back home over the weekend, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but I was very glad to have done so when I was making my way up the mountains this afternoon. I decided to return the keyboard case that my iPad was in, but to hold on to my device.  Finally, just as I made it to the hostel this evening it began to rain. So, I believe,  it has now rained every day that I have been on the trail, and the forecast is more of the same tomorrow, though I believe the forecast calls for a return of nicer weather Wednesday through Friday.

There has been an update to the original post that came out this evening. Please go to the website below to read the updated post. Thank you.

Nobo23.com

I was up at 6:30 this morning so that I could eat breakfast before heading out for my hike. Eggs, bacon and 2 hot cakes. A little heavy to start out on a 6 hour hike but I needed the calories. There were some police officers, Fire and EMS professionals at the table next to me and I asked them if they had any inside information on the potential weather risks next week from Imelda. Unfortunately, they did not have any updates but they did warn me of thunderstorms this afternoon. 

I began my hike at 8:00 am and overall it was a decent hike today. Just as I was getting on the trail I saw the carcass of a deer that had clearly been dead for quite a while. I had two fairly steep climbs and four or five smaller ones. The trail today took me through three cow pastures which offered up some scenic views. Thankfully, there were significantly fewer cobwebs and spiders to deal with today than yesterday. Also, the forest was much more open, with fewer areas of dense vegetation then I have seen so far. I encountered 4 ladder-like structures, which I have not previously seen on the AT, that I had to climb up and over. These structures allow hikers to clear barbed-wire fences but are a little tricky to navigate with a backpack on, but I had no problem getting over them. I passed A RIP sign, posted on a tree, with the name of someone, whom I assume was a hiker that died on the trail. I googled his name and this is what I found: “The hiker with the trail name “Stronghold” who died on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia was Ronald S. Sanchez Jr., a 43-year-old Army veteran from Oklahoma. He was fatally stabbed in May 2019 by another hiker in a disturbing, unprovoked attack.” Very, very sad.

I met 7 hikers on the trail today – one northbound the others southbound. The northbound hiker I passed was Taj Mahal. He had just stopped atop a mountain, unfolded his hiking chair and was going to read a while. He really seems to enjoy his annual week and one-half retreat on the AT. 

I arrived at my destination, a community pavilion facility, one hour earlier than planned. Fortunately, I had a cell signal three miles before my pickup point and was able to text Carrie on my early arrival time. She arrived about twenty minutes after I did. Less than five minutes after she arrived the skies opened up and it was a downpour, and is still raining at 5:00 pm. So, it has now rained every day this week that I have been on the trail. Keeping my fingers crossed for a better weather pattern next week. 

Ever since the start of my hike I have had spotty coverage of my emergency GPS device. Last night I finally realized there was an activation step that I was omitting, which caused the device to go into sleep mode after being in service for one hour. This morning I completed the activation step and the device worked as it should. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day and trying to figure out what happens with my plans for next week due to the threat of Imelda. My cousin, Renee, sent me an encouraging text this afternoon that said it appears the system may not make landfall and, instead, will head back out over the ocean. That would be a great outcome and I am keeping my fingers crossed. 

Also, I am going to try and reduce the weight of my backpack by mailing some items back home which I think I can manage without. When you have so little to begin with, it is very challenging to give up even more of that. But the added weight is so much more of a burden on my body during these long hikes. One item that had been a luxury is my iPad as it is so much easier to type these blog postings on then my phone. But it, and the case it is in, are quite heavy. I am doing the post this evening on my iPhone as a test and I think I can manage with just that, though there may be more spelling or grammatical errors as they are a bit harder to catch on a smaller device. 

Lastly, I have not been posting my daily miles mainly as a benefit to me. The competitive spirit in me wants to always try to do as much as, or more, than the prior day, and that is not what I am out to accomplish this time around. As I said in my initial blog post, I am out on the trail this time for as long as I am enjoying the experience (and as long as Mother Nature doesn’t get to crazy).

Wishing you all a nice weekend.

Man, do I hate spiders! They were everywhere on the trail today and I nearly walked in to two that were BIG & NASTY looking! I think they could have taken me down if I had not seen them. I much prefer a nice non-poisonous snake to a spider. But…I digress.

It rained again last night but I was hunkered down in my bunk bed and did not have to pack up a wet, dirty tent this morning. Something I was really thankful for! I had three bunk mates last night – a lady, her daughter and their dog. The dog did not make a single sound during the night and they were fun people to talk to. They were on a four day hike and are trying to complete the AT a few days here and there. In the past 2 days I have met six people who are hiking the trail a few days, or couple of weeks here and there. I can totally relate to this strategy and I am glad to see that not everyone is cutout to be a thu-hiker!

After a quick coffee and some French Toast this morning, my driver, Carrie,  picked me up and dropped me back off where I departed the trail yesterday. Carrie travels with her sweet dog, Bubbe. She is the sweetest lady and has been very helpful to me. Carrie is retired and cares for her husband, Jim, 82, who has severe dementia. She routinely shuttles hikers to and from their destinations as a little side gig. I will use her tomorrow and again on Monday…more about that later.

Today’s hike was, by far, the most enjoyable of this trip. As I got out of the car at the drop off point I saw one of the hikers I had met on Wednesday evening at my camp site. I could tell by the look on his face that he was totally spent. He and his two friends had hiked 4 miles on Wednesday, and 10 miles yesterday. He had originally planned to stay through Tuesday but he was heading into town to catch a bus back to Asheville, NC. I was telling my wife about this and she said, “You know, there are probably a lot of people who start out on the AT with nothing but a romanticized perception of splendid scenery, talks around the campfire and getting away from the real world. And then, when they get out on the trail they see how hard, wet, dirty and challenging it really is.” A very perceptive and accurate assessment.

Because it rained again last night, the trail was again very slippery and there was heavy fog to start with. After about 2 hours the sun broke through, for a brief period, and the forest seemed to come alive, and I had one overlook view that was very pretty. 

I only saw one person on the trail today but what a character he turned out to be. His trail name is Daddy Longlegs and I am guessing he was in his early 70s. I passed him on one of the uphill climbs and stopped briefly to chat with him as he seemed willing to do so. Turns out that this his is FIFTH, that’s right, FIFTH thru-hike of the AT since 2010! I haven’t met anyone on the AT who comes remotely close to that kind of achievement. He plans to wrap this hike up by the end of October, at Springer Mountain, GA and then have a 50th wedding anniversary celebration with his wife. I told him that I hated to break the news to him, but with five AT thru-hikes he would have to deduct two and one-half years from his anniversary date due to all the time he had spent on trail. He chuckled at that and we said our goodbyes. Five AT thru-hikes, and I could not even manage one, WOW!

Today’s hike was again moderately challenging but I made really good time as my backpack was less than half it’s normal weight. I have had very little appetite since starting this hike, which is pretty normal as it seems to take 5-7 days for your appetite to catch up with what you are putting your body through. I share this because I did not have anything to eat on today’s hike, only stopping for water breaks. So this sped up my completion time quite a bit.

Beyond the frequent spider encounters, the only other creatures I saw were a few toads and a very colorful box turtle, who was positioned dead-center in the middle of the trail.

Like the hikes earlier this week, there was often very little to see today, except the trail ahead, due to very heavy vegetation on both sides of the trail. A short video clip below illustrates that. 

The most interesting, and surprising, part of my hike today was passing by a old one room school house that was perfectly preserved. And, it turned out that the door was unlocked and I was able to step inside. Originally built in 1894, it accommodated seven grades with one teacher. The school year was five months long, (October – March). When I opened the door, and stepped inside, it almost felt like I was walking into a hallowed space and that I was intruding on something that I should not be doing. So, I just stood there and stared for about five minutes trying to comprehend what this space must have been like when it was filled with children from a bygone era. I dropped a small donation in the collection box and quietly closed the door behind me.

Warning – going off script here. For the balance of my hike I thought just how different our educational systems and schools are today. My wife, a retired teacher, and many of her teacher friends, have so many head-scratching stories of what happens, or does not happen, in our schools today. I bet in that one-room school house there were no “time out” spaces, no distraction from electronic devices, no taking exams multiple times times until a student passed, no smart-ass comments or disrespectful actions toward the teacher or fellow students, no structuring of curriculum to be dumbed down to the lowest performing students. Students who did not want to learn were likely pushed aside and not allowed to hinder the learning of their classmates. It was most likely Darwinian education at its finest. And, we should all be grateful if it was that way because that is what it took to build this nation 150- 200 years ago. I know…we “understand” so much more about how to “properly”educate children today and my comments/perceptions make me sound ancient and out of touch – and I most likely am. But, what I do know is that these one room school houses produced some of our country’s greatest presidents, industrial and financial pioneers and trailblazing educators. So, as my Mom used to say “put that in your pipe and smoke it”! (I’m sure I will get an earful from my wife on these comments….but that’s OK. I will just politely suggest that she is free to start her own blog at any time! And I will be grateful that I am not within slapping distance!)

I finished my hike one and one-half hours earlier than the pickup time I had given Carrie, in front of a Sunoco station where I came off trail. I texted her to let her know and she arrived a half-hour later, dropping me back off at my hostel. The hostel is linked to an outfitters store and I stopped by there to see if I could get some help fine-tuning the different straps on my backpack to make the ride a little more comfortable when I am back up to full carrying weight. The young lady, Peebs, who assisted me was very helpful and knowledgeable.

To pick back up on my earlier comments, I am going to slack pack again tomorrow, come back in to Marion tomorrow evening and then take a rest day here on Sunday. I am mainly doing this due to the uncertainty of the tropical storms brewing in the Atlantic. There is some potential for this area to get a major rain event next week (one model has up to 8 inches of rain through next Friday) if one particular tropical storm becomes a hurricane, as it is expected to in the next 48 hours. Once I start out on Monday I have approximately 40 miles to hike before hitting the next town. So, I just want to be better informed of what may be taking place and by staying situated in Marion I at least have a few more options if a nasty weather event plays out. Still way to soon to know what may happen with any degree of confidence. (A shoutout to my cousin Renee, who lives in Asheville, NC, who is tracking everything and keeping me updated!). Also, a shout out to my friend Doug who called to check in on me as I was typing this blog.

A long post….thanks for sticking with me!

Another hard rain throughout most of last night and the sound of the rain on my tent cover woke me up many times. Once, during the night, I heard something walking near my tent, and after packing up this morning, one of the guys that had stayed at the same shelter site asked me if I heard something “sniffing around” during the night as he had apparently heard the same thing. Who knows what it may have been?

The trail this morning was again wet, damp and humid from the rain of the past few days. Not long after starting out, the trail opened up into a beautiful cow pasture. I had to unlock the gate upon entry and lock it back up when I passed through the other side. The cows could have cared less that I was in their midst. As I exited the pasture I spotted a large black walnut tree which reminded me of my Dad. Each fall he would find a large black walnut tree and harvest the nuts, which leave a deep black stain on your hands if they aren’t covered when you begin to crack them. After drying them out he would use the nuts in his annual fruitcakes that he made for friends and family for the Christmas holidays. He would have given a thumbs up to the tree I passed today!

There were several challenging climbs scattered throughout today’s hike and my legs are now feeling the wear just a bit from the past three days. Around 10:00 am I passed a pretty view of Rye Valley and took a photograph of myself there as well. Shortly thereafter I finally met the first person on the trail headed north, a man whose trail name is Taj Mahal. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that he started hiking the AT 5 years ago and that he does about 10 days on the trail each year, having now worked his way into southern Virginia. Sounded like a pretty good strategy to me.

The views today were definitely better than yesterday and the trail was not nearly as rocky and covered with roots as the prior two days. And,  I think I covered my trail distance today in better time than the past two days. I ended my hike at the Mount Rogers Visitor Center where I had arranged for a shuttle driver to pick me up and take me into the small town of Marion where I will stay at a hostel tonight and tomorrow night. The lady that picked me up, Carrie, was very friendly and I found out that she picks hikers up on a regular basis more out of kindness than for the money. She will pick me up tomorrow morning and drop me off at my starting destination so that I can “slack pack”, which simply means I will ditch most of the stuff in my back back, leaving it at the hostel. This will significantly reduce the load I have to carry tomorrow. Carrie will then bring me back to the hostel I am staying at tomorrow evening. I just had a shower, and am washing/drying my clothes as I write this blog. It really feels great to be clean again. And, I am looking forward to a hot meal for dinner tonight.

The hostel I am staying at, The Merry Hiker, seems to be well setup for hikers. There are two bunk rooms, each with four beds, shower and laundry facilities (no extra charge) and pretty of room to spread out. Only one other person is here so far though I understand at least one other guest, with a puppy, is scheduled to arrive this evening. The rate is definitely right at $35 per night, and I learned upon checking in that they have a special right now of “pay for one night get the second night free” Hard to beat that!!

By now you realize that I have posted all the blogs from the past three days this afternoon. There has been virtually no cell service since I began the hike and without it (or wifi) I have no way of posting anything. However, each evening I try to type up my memories from the day and save them so that when I do have cell service all I have to do is copy, paste and publish.