Miles Today - 19.6
Location - Saunders Shelter
Date - May 14
Towns are the best motivation. I somehow managed to wake up, pack out, and hike 10 miles in 3 and a half hours. I also crossed from Tennessee into Virginia, which is noteworthy because Tennessee is too cheap to install privies in shelters. Their inclusion is a marked improvement to the trail experience.
In town I hit the Dollar Store for a quick candy resupply, and got breakfast at the Blue Blaze Cafe with Rose and the Professor. Despite having already eaten breakfast, I attempted the all you can eat pancake challenge. Man were those pancakes large. Plate sized. I ate 7, a solid 12 short of the record. When I roll in for Trail Days I may do it on an empty stomach and try to regain my honor.
I hiked out first, belt buckle loose over my overladen stomach. 7 pancakes larger than my face on top of my normal hiker breakfast (two packs of Pop Tarts and a Cliff Builder bar) was not sitting well. And it had just gotten hot again. I hobbled and wheezed my way up the next 10 miles.
At the shelter I met Leah and Dustin, the cutest couple who were out camping for a week. They had been dating on an off since the 6th grade, and after an evening of lounging around with them have been rated in the top tier of Rose and my shelter companions. Sadly they were going SoBo, and sleep in, so we bid them farewell before going to bed.
I had set up my hammock for the first time in weeks because it was so nice out, and then a single cloud appeared and scared my inside. Good thing too, as the rain began to fall as the sun set. Blergh. Here's to not waking up to a damp, drizzling, cold morning.
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