Hiking the AT has always been something I've wanted to do. I'm not sure exactly when I started thinking about wanting to hike it; I just know I wanted to hike it.  I'm not even sure why I wanted to hike it.  I suppose it was mainly a romantic idea of walking in the woods, being one with nature, and getting away from society; back to our roots in a way.  All these things still apply.  There are those days where everything lines up and you feel as if you're one with nature, you see amazing views or an animal that makes you stop and think about all the beautiful beings out here, you forget about everything on the "outside", the hike is so easy it's as if you're floating along experiencing nirvana and not lugging a heavy pack up and down mountains.  All these things can and will happen, but the reality is that you struggle for these days.  

Everyday it's a constant mental battle to be able to get up not knowing what's going to happen and not having a day that's so easy you feel as if you're not trying at all.  Most days you wake up tired, hungry, and not wanting to hike at all, knowing you're just going to have to do it again tomorrow, but you do it anyway.  Why do it day after day?  That's what I set out to find out on this hike. 

I've been racking my brain to figure out why I do it everyday.  What keeps me going when others have decided to go home and not put their bodies and minds through the stresses of the day to day life on the trail?  It's been 856.5 miles and I still can't say exactly why I'm still hiking.  Part of it might be that I decided to do this for school and feel the need to finish to get the credit, but I don't think that's it entirely.  Part of it could be that I told so many people that I feel I have to finish to prove to them I can do it, but that's not it as well.  One person I talked to said that they hate hiking, but they finished their thru-hike because they had to prove to themself that they could actually complete something they set out to do.  I can relate to that feeling, but I don't hate hiking enough to entirely feel that way.

The other day, as I was crossing the James River Bridge, someone asked me why I'm hiking the trail.  I couldn't think of anything eloquent to say and after a few "ums and ahhs" the best response I could come up with was, "I lived in a small town before this and it didn't take much to move to hiking in the woods alone all day."  I don't even know what that means.  I know I enjoy my solitude more than large crowds, but my response didn't really seem good enough even for me.  I had to laugh at my loss for words when asked the exact same question I plan on asking others.  I've asked myself countless times why I'm out here, especially during tough parts of a hike.  Why am I putting myself through this?  I chose to do this and I can choose not to.  Why wouldn't I just stop when it got hard?

I've found that I can do a whole lot more than I ever though possible.  One of the toughest days was my run into Damascus with Early Bird.  We did 37 miles in 10 hours and when we got to town I could barely move, but I kept picking up my legs, step after step, as much as they hurt, and when I thought I couldn't walk anymore I kept going.  Since then, when things get tough, I think back to that day, and I realize I haven't come close to hitting my physical and mental limit.  Maybe not having an answer to why I'm hiking isn't a bad thing.  The good thing about it is that I haven't found a reason to quit yet.  That, at this moment in time, is the best answer I can give.  As hard as things get, as miserable as I feel, as many things that can and have gone wrong, I still haven't found a reason to quit and for now that is what keeps me going.

Something else that has come up recently is the question of what defines a thru-hike.  Some, known as "purists", would say you're only a thru-hiker if you see every white blaze on the trail.  I've already become a long distance section hiker in the eyes of a purist.  On the other side of the argument are blue blazers. 

These are people that will stray off the trail on one of the hundreds of blue blazed trails.  These trails may lead to a view and then loop back to the AT, skipping part of the trail.  The blue blazes sometimes take you all the way to the top of a mountain when the AT only skirts the peak.  Sometimes the blue blazes are there for inclement weather when the AT might be dangerous, like during a lightning storm if the trail goes over a peak, for example.  Blue blazes are there for any number of reasons, sometimes they're worth the diversion from the white blazes, sometimes they're not.  You never know unless you take them. 

I started out the trail a purist.  I was determined to not miss a single white blaze, otherwise I felt I wouldn't have completed an actual thru-hike.  It wasn't long before I realized that I couldn't always be that rigid.  I began to think about one of the best pieces of advice I heard before starting the trail.  A former thru-hiker told 2-Step and I that its good to plan out everything and figure out an itinerary, but when you get to the trail head throw the itinerary away, because everyday brings something new that you can't plan for.  I thought I understood that, but I've found that it's hard for me to adjust plans I've made already when situations demand a change. 

I've had to learn how to adapt to changing situations on the trail more than any other time in my life.  2-Step is much better at thinking on her feet than I am and since she's leaving the trail in Harpers Ferry I look at the second half of my hike as an opportunity to fully learn how to adapt to changing situations on my own.  This also parallels how I've changed my definition of a thru-hike. 

I started out thinking I had to do this, or I had to do that, or it wouldn't count.  I felt guilty when I yellow blazed (getting a ride in car to skip a section of the trail) a section I've hiked before in order to be able to do the 37-mile run to Damascus with my buddy Early Bird.  Afterwards, I was so excited that I had taken that opportunity.  I didn't feel I had achieved anything less by yellow blazing that section, I had just done things a little differently than other hikers. 

It's been a few hundred miles since then and 2-Step and I have taken a few blue blazes and missed a few white blazes here and there.  We feel we haven't experienced anything less than a purist.  So when the opportunity to aquablaze (taking a canoe down the Shenandoah River, which parallels the AT for a few miles) came along, 2-Step and I were intrigued.  Granted, if 2-Step wasn't with me I might not have considered aquablazing as seriously.  We are in this together until Harpers Ferry and we figured this would be a fun way to end her section of the trail.  We'll be canoeing for a week and it will be the equivalent of about 160 trail miles.  Maybe this disqualifies me as a thru-hiker, maybe it doesn't. 

People come out here for different reasons, but one of the main reasons I've heard is for an outdoor adventure.  When it feels more like a job than an adventure, you might as well go home and work for money.  Since we've been dealing with the "Virginia Blues," 2-Step and I couldn't think of a better way to re-enliven our sense of adventure than to aquablaze.  Never having gone on an overnight canoe trip before, we don't know what to expect and that feeling couldn't be more exciting. 

I've definitely strayed from my original idea of what this hike would be.  I can't say I regret any of the choices so far.  2-Step and I have both learned so much about each other, about how to rely on each other in stressful situations, and about ourselves as well.  You can make the trail whatever you want it to be and with all the different people on the trail, there are a lot of different hikes happening all at once.  So get out there, have an adventure, have fun, and as people on the trail like to say, "hike your own hike!"
 
Day 56
6/15/12
Four Pines Hostel - Daleville, VA
25.5 miles

The owner of the hostel leaves for work at 5:45 AM, so it was an early morning for us.  We got Molly and 2-Step packed up and loaded up into the truck and I finished my coffee before hitting the trail.  The first 6 miles were fairly boring and went by pretty quickly.  Soon enough I was on top of McKaffee Knob, which is one of the quintessential photos you see on the trail.  I got my picture and enjoyed the view and leftover pizza.  Soon enough I was back on my feet and heading to the next break spot, the Tinker Cliffs.  There was a good view fromt eh cliffs of McKaffee Knob and I also caught up to a lot of the hikers who had started 6 miles ahead of me.  We spent some time hanging out enjoying the view and company.  After some more pizza, I was back on the trail for the last 10 miles.  The rest of the day wasn't as interesting and contained less views, so I didn't stop for much, except water.  The last few miles were very dry and since it was the hottest part of the day, I got really thirsty.  I was so happy when I got to the hotel and 2-Step had already checked into a room and had the A/C going.  We were splitting the room with our friend Golden and when I got there, we all went to Kroger's  and got the fixings for a delicious feast.  We walked back to the hotel and had a picnic by the pool.  After dinner we hung out with about 20 other hikers and had a few beers.  The dreariness of the last few days seemed to fade away with the last rays of sunshine.  I don't know what to expect from the next few days, but I know that if things get rough, I just have to give it some time and things will pick up again.

Day 55
6/14/12
Niday Shelter - Four Pines Hostel
16.8 miles

What can I say, except sometimes this hiking thing can be a drag.  This week has felt so long and it's been so hard to get up everyday to hike. We're not the only ones either.  We heard that a lot of people lose motivation in Virginia, because it takes so long to get through this state (there's about 544 miles of trail in VA).  There wasn't much to today's hike, except a lot of up and down and rocks.  At the end of the day though, we got to stay at one of the coolest hostels on the trail.  It's a hobby farm whose owner decided to open up his gates to hikers.  There's a 3-bay garage with cots, couches, microwaves, ovens and a bathroom and shower.  Since there wasn't room in the garage, the owner told us  that we could sleep in one of the barns/storage sheds nearby.  We found an empty shed with a hay loft and set our hammocks up.  It was pretty cool.  There were a lot of other hiker dogs there and Tess had lots of fun running around playing with the other dogs.  At one point, she and another dog were chasing ducks in a small pond non-stop for about 40 minutes.  We also ran into Cooper, who we met when living in Johnson City, about a year ago.  We met him hiking our local section of the AT and it was so surprising when we finally caught up to him, after seeing notes in the log books for me.  The last few days have been a drag, but things seemed to turn around, especially when we found out we could get Molly off the trail 2 days early.  The owner of the hostel works in the town we were going to in order to get her off the trail.  he had offered to shuttle everyone's packs to a hotel and then everyone could slackpack to town.  We took this opportunity to see if 2-Step could get a ride to town with Molly, while Tess and I slackpacked 26 miles.  It worked out and we began to feel so much better.  Things really seemed to be picking up.

Day 54
6/13/12
War Spur Shelter - Niday Shelter
18.2 miles

We got up on time and we were the first ones out of camp.  The early start was nice, because after a short descent, we had a 2.5 mile climb. It may have been a long time, but the cool morning air was refreshing and it helped us get to the top without "too much" sweat.  From the top of the climb we had less that a mile to a viewpoint where I had to me an important call.  We had to make a tough decision the night before and we decided to get Molly off the trail.  At the viewpoint, I called my dad and made arrangements for him to pick up Molly in Daleville, VA.  From the view, we began our descent down to a short section of pastures.  Since Pearisburg I've just felt drained of energy, and the open fields with the sun blasting down on me didn't help.  Fortunately, I got a little boost of energy from a patch of black raspberries.  The few that were ripe were so succulent and sweet.  It was a refreshing break from the sun, and helped give me the energy boost needed to keep going.  Not long after that, we found a good spot for lunch, right by a road crossing that was near a river.  The cooler air was nice, and a cup of cold coffee and some lunch helped me get ready for the rest of the afternoon.  We took a long lunch and let Molly get a good rest.  I've been massaging her leg a lot and she's been doing alright during the day, but it's her time and she doesn't need to be out here anymore.  I'm so grateful that my parents are able to help us with Molly, because without them, I'm not sure what we would have done.  Thank you so much Tom, Lisa and Case!  We've started noticing a lot more ticks lately, and during lunch it was an unpleasant experience to have to pick so many of them off of Molly and Tess.  The more it warms up, the more we're going to have to check the dogs.  Ticks are disgusting and it's so unnerving having them crawl on us and the dogs.  After lunch we had a short, but very steep climb up to a ridge line.  Once to the top, the terrain mellowed out and we made quick time to the shelter before our planned stop of the day.  From there we only had 6 miles, but little did we know, we would be hating the trail by the end of the day.  It was hot and dry, with no water source until the last shelter, and lots of rocky ups and downs.  We were very happy to get to the shelter.  This was one of those nights where set up, dinner and sleep happened in quick succession.  Again, sometimes this hiking thing can be a drag. 

Day 53
6/12/12
Pine Swamp Branch Shelter - War Spur Shelter
12.7 miles

Today was one of those days that just seemed to drag on.  Molly's leg is really stiff, mine still kind of hurts,and things just didn't seem right for hiking today.  We weren't the only ones feeling that way either.  Leif, Nomad and Golden, who stayed at the shelter last night, felt the same way too.  It just seems like we've been in a hiker funk since we left Pearisburg.  It took us six hours to hike eight miles because we kept stopping for this reason and that reason.  It wasn't hard to find reasons to take a break.  It's been nice hiking such short days, but something has to change.  After lunch, things picked up a little bit.  The trail wasn't as rocky and instead of hiking our longest day today, we decided to switch days and hike the shorter one today.  The shelter we stopped at was pretty nice and it had a good creek near it, that was deep enough to soak my leg in. We're going to try and get out of camp by 6AM tomorrow, to avoid some of the heat and humidity of the day.  Tomorrow is one of our longer days this week, and Molly usually warms up throughout the day, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.  If we can get most of the miles done before lunch, we can take a long break and then take our time in the afternoon.  Hopefully we feel a little more motivated tomorrow.  Sometimes this hiking thing can feel like a drag... 

Day 52
6/11/12
campsite - Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
10.9 miles

The day started out gray and just got grayer.  Fortunately, the rain didn't start until later in the day.  The terrain was mellow and kind of boring.  Our goal for the day was bout 23 miles from where we camped.  We felt pretty confident until our first real terrain change, when it started raining during the descent.  We had already planned to stop at a shelter at the bottom of the descent for lunch and were were so happy to see it after hiking for a mile in the rain.  It wasn't a cold rain, but the Smokies ruined any rain day for me.  When we stopped for lunch, it was pretty easy to make our packs explode and the shelter got comfortable fast.  It didn't take long for 2-Step to convince me to stay and the thought of a fire in the shelter (there was a fireplace inside this shelter) while it rained outdoors, sounded pretty good.  Besides the rain, my leg was sore and Molly has been getting very stiff in one of her legs.  Molly like our decision and made herself real comfortable on the floor of the shelter.  After lunch, with our bellies full, we went searching for wood and had a fire going in no time.  It's funny that we decided to stay, because a friend of ours from early on in the trail stopped at the shelter as well.  We hadn't seen him in several weeks, and we spent the afternoon catching up and drying out.  It's hard for me to not hike the miles we have been doing, but for Molly's sake and for mine, it's good we decided to take it easy.  These are the shortest days we've hiked since Georgia, but it's good to take some short days every once and a while.

Day 51
6/10/12
Pearisburg, VA - campsite
8.4 miles

We spent a relaxing morning packing up and running last minute errands.  Check out wasn't until 1PM, so we made sure to take our time.  We also gave Molly her second bath of the trip.  Her fur gets more stuff caught and tangled in it than Tess, so we bathe and comb out the knots that start to form.  Tess just sheds everything off, she might smell sometimes but so do I this summer.  After the bath and errands, we grabbed our bags and walked out of the door.  It was a hot day and we were sad to be leaving the pool, but happy to be getting back on the trail after such a long break.  Our hike started with a few miles of road walking and it was refreshing.  When we finally stepped into the trees, it was significantly cooler and much more peaceful than the highway we had just been walking next to.  Of course, whenever we leave town we always have to be prepared for a climb out of the valley and today we were not disappointed.  Our peace and tranquility was rudely interrupted by the steepest climb we've seen in a long time.  It didn't matter that we were in the trees at this point, we were hot and the climb wouldn't give up.  Then to top it all off, as I came around a bend in the trail, I ran into a very aggressive dog.  The owner had it off the leash and I didn't think anything of it at first.  It stopped when it saw us coming and I just kept walking since I didn't want to lose momentum.  When we got closer, it stepped around me to meet Tess, or that's what I thought.  When I felt a pull on the leash attached to my pack, I turned around to tell Tess to keep going and I saw the dog biting Tess' neck and jerking her around.  This all happened so fast, Tess didn't even have time to yelp before I grabbed the other dog by the neck, yelled, "hey!", and threw it on the ground.  It struggled once before I tightened my grip and put more of my weight on it to keep it pinned to the ground.  I couldn't believe it, and the owners hadn't even yelled or anything.  I was so shocked ti only took the time to check Tess for blood, and then got the hell away from there as fast as I could.  I finished the climb and didn't even notice the heat or steepness from all the adrenaline pumping through me.  The rest of our hike was much less eventful and when we got to camp, set up took not time at all.  We were able to collect some good firewood and had a roaring fire in no time.  While eating an appetizer of leftover pizza, we cooked our dinner and enjoyed the warmth and comfort the fire gave us.  It was good to be back in the woods and when it was time for bed, the sound of the wind through the trees put us into a deep sleep shortly after laying down.
 
Day 49-50
6/8/12 - 6/9/12
0 miles
Pearisburg, VA

Since we had decided to stay the day in town, we took our time running errands and I spent periods in between each one icing my leg.  My leg was pretty sore and the most painful it had been since I first began noticing the tightness in it several days before.  It was bad enough that I thought I would go and see if I could find a doctor to check it out.  It turned out that there was a physical therapist only a couple buildings down from the hotel that was a provider for my insurance.  After our errands for the day, we went over to the phyical therapist's office and they examined my leg.  They couldn't tell me much other than I needed to rest my leg and ice it, and they gave me some stretches to help loosen up the muscle.  My leg was feeling better and the icing had really helped the swelling go down.  That night, instead of going out to eat, we used a grill at the hotel to grill up some steaks with some other hikers.  Fuzzy and Sourpuss, Okie, Wiggy, 2-Step and I all enjoyed cooking our own food that didn't happen to be instant mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.  It was a good time and it made up for us having to take a zero day.  My leg was still sore and 2-Step and I thought that it would be best for us to take another day off just to give my leg as much rest as possible.  The next day, since we had taken care of almost everything the day before, we spent lounging around the hotel room and enjoying the pool.  The pool felt really good on my leg and with the swelling down and my ankle wrapped up for walking around town, it was the best it had felt in a couple days.  Our plan is to take it easy over the next few days and see how it goes, we may be taking more zero days than we planned for in Virginia, but I don't want this to end our hike to Maine so I would rather go slow for a while than end our hike.  After two days off though, we're both ready to get back on the trail tomorrow and I can't wait to see how my leg does.  It's hard being stuck in town and we've really gotten used to our schedule when we're on the trail.  We begin to feel lazy when we spend too much time in town, but one thing that my injury has shown me is that I have to enjoy my time where I'm at and not always look forward to Maine.

Day 48
6/7/12
16.6 miles
Wapiti Shelter - Pearisburg, VA

We got up at 5am and were on the trail by 6:15.  We started with a big climb and it felt good to get it out of the way early.  My leg was sore, but not too bad on the climb up.  After the climb, it was a few more miles to the next shelter and our coffee break for the morning.  While we were at the shelter making coffee we met another hiker named Butterfingers.  He earned his name because he keeps losing his stuff on the trail.  He had quite the list going and read it off to us while I was boiling water.  After our break we only had 8 more miles into town and we tried to hurry through it as quick as possible.  Right before we started our descent into town we stopped at a couple views and it was a pretty amazing sight.  We were standing above the clouds and it felt like we were flying in a plane.  Although the terrain was fairly flat before the descent, the trail was pretty rocky and it was starting to aggravate my leg a lot more, but it wasn't anything that I couldn't deal with.  When we started going downhill though, I began to realize there might be more of a problem than I thought.  It takes a lot to keep me from moving and I was feeling a pain so intense it made me stop several times on the way down.  I was moving pretty slow by the time we got to the road that I thought we weren't ever going to make it to the hotel.  We didn't think we were going to be taking a zero day in Pearisburg, but I was beginning to have doubts about that after the descent we had just made.  We walked into town and stopped for lunch before heading to the hotel.  We were surprised when we saw a swimming pool and besides the fact that my leg hurt, I think that may have been a factor in our decision to take a day off.  That night I made it over to the Mexican restaurant for Fuzzy's birthday celebration and had a margarita and some food which helped make my leg feel a little better.

Day 47
6/6/12
14.2
Jenny Knob Shelter - Wapiti Shelter

I woke up and my leg was still feeling tight, but was much better than the night before.  It was also really grey and we were hoping that it wouldn't rain.  We got off pretty early and not long after we started, it began to rain.  We picked up our pace and since we knew we would be stopping at a grocery store right off the trail we didn't worry too much about the rain.  As we got to the grocery store the rain was on its way out and we celebrated by ordering a bunch of food and picking up some tasty treats for our one day of resupply before we got to Pearisburg, VA.  It was so comfortable at Trent's Grocery Store that we stayed and hung out for a while with the other hikers.  When we finally stepped back outside the sun was starting to break through the clouds.  We had planned to do 16 more miles in the afternoon, but the time spent at Trent's made that seem a little difficult.  When we got to the shelter before our intended stop for the night we stopped to see who was there.  2-Steps's feet were already tender and my leg was really beginning to bother me, but it was so hard for me to give up on our original plan for the day.  It didn't take long though and 2-Step convinced me to stay the night.  It wasn't a bad decision and we had a good campfire with Wiggy, Slash, Dirty D, Spike, Spotlight and Machine.  My one condition for stopping though was that we get up extra early and try to leave by 6am so we could get to town earlier rather than later.  We weren't planning on taking a zero and since our 8 mile hike into town had turned into 16, I wanted to get a jump start on the day.

Day 46
6/5/12
23.8 miles
Jenkins Shelter - Jenny Knob Shelter

Early in our day, we arrived at a bridge that crossed a refreshing looking river and we stopped to fill up our water bottles.  While we were taking a break and rehydrating ourselves, a car pulled up and we met one of the friendliest people ever.  Trubrit, an implant from England, who also happned to be a hiker, had moved to the area about a year ago and had set up a hiker hostel to help out AT thru-hikers.  For $5 you could stay in his dojo and that small fee also included any shuttles around town and to and from the trail.  It was a really good deal and before we could say anything he was already trying to figure out how to fit us and our dogs into the car with him and his dog.  As tempting as he was, we had to decline his offer and continue on down the trail, but we told oursleves that if we made it to the next road crossing before 2pm, we would call him up and stay.  Our goal was to make it to the road crossing before the pizza place across the street from Trubrits dojo stopped their lunch buffet.  We were saddened to find that we hadn't hiked quick enough to get there, but at the same time we knew that we couldn't stop at too many places because then we wouldn't make any progress on the trail.  While stopping at the road for a quick break and a snack I was starting to notice that the shin on my left leg was beginning to bother me.  The rest was good for it, but the muscle on my leg felt pretty tight.  After the break we continued on our way and I tried to ignore the tightness.  We got to camp and were pretty tired, but excited as well because 2-Step had just hiked her biggest day!  She was so excited that at the end of the day she was outwalking me.  I was happy to see camp and get off my feet because my leg had really started to feel tender.  There was a good crew and we were excited to see that Fuzzy and Sourpuss had made it to the shelter as well.  The other hikers that were there were also pretty friendly; Slash, Dirty D, Wiggy, Tarzan and Jane, and Spotlight were all there and we all celebrated our big mile day.

Day 45
6/4/12
19.1 miles
Knot Maul Branch Shelter - Jenkins Shelter

We got a good start on the day and made it to the base of our first climb fairly early.  We ran into a couple of other hikers that we knew who were taking a quick break before the climb, and since we usually split up for climbs, 2-Step decided to hike with Chop Chop and Fedex.  I sped my way up the climb and was waiting for them at the pond about halfway up where the ascent started to mellow out and the views began to get good.  Once 2-Step got up to the pond and had taken a break we continued on to the next shelter where we planned to stop for lunch.  The views past the pond were amazing and the climb was almost unnoticeable.  On the way to the shelter we had a pretty good scare when 2-Step almost stepped on a rattlesnake.  We scurried past as far away from it as possible as we listened to it warning us with its rattle.  Upon arriving at our lunch spot, we saw one of the best shelters we've encountered on the whole trail thus far.  It was fully enclosed since it was on top of the mountain and had separate bunks for any hikers that stayed there with a sturdy picnic table set inside.  It was a popular shelter with all of the hikers that made their way up there while we enjoyed our lunch and the company.  After lunch we thought we had a mellow day since the profile in the guidebook appeared fairly flat.  We were wrong, we were very wrong.  It was flat only because the terrain was condensed to a few inches on a page and in reality it was 9 miles of constant up and down with a trail that was mostly sharp rock.  The climbs were never more than maybe 50 feet, but it was enough that constantly going from up to down over sharp rocks got tiring very fast.  We weren't the only hikers to feel this way and sitting around the fire that night there was a lot of commiserating going on between all of us.

Day 44
6/3/12
14.1 miles
Atkins, VA - Knot Maul Branch Shelter

I woke up early since we weren't surrounded by trees and was the first one up.  I watched the sun rise and  enjoyed the quiet walk back down to the stream to let the dogs get some water.  Unfortunately, the buffet that we thought we would be enjoying wasn't until 11am and 2-Step and I didn't want to sit around town that long.  When we had packed up camp and walked into town we stopped at a convenience store to resupply for the next few days.  After that we continued on underneath the highway underpass and hopped back on the trail.  It was a nice morning and we walked through several cow pastures that were a pleasant break from the monotony of the trees.  During the morning we were trying to mentally prepare ourselves for the climb that we knew was coming up later on in the day.  According to the guidebook it looked fairly steep on the profile and we weren't the only ones that were apprehensive.  It was the biggest climb we had seen in a while and so we felt the need to prepare.  Turns out the climb wasn't that bad and everyone laughed about how they had felt apprehensive about it.  It wasn't a long day, but we were ready to get to camp by the end of it.  Not long before the shelter we planned on staying at, we ran into a group of hikers who were sitting around drinking beers.  When I happened upon them they were sitting on some coolers that I thought had to be trail magic left by a friendly local, who knew what hikers wanted on a hot day.  Before I could even ask what was in them, one of the hikers said that I could help myself to the trail magic, but they had already eaten it all.  This really bothered me and I hiked out of there pretty fast.  My annoyance helped fuel me up the last several climbs of the day and I was happy to get to camp and away from the group of hikers I had just seen.  The group that was at the shelter was much better and after everyone had eaten we had a campfire going in no time.  There had to have been at least 10 or so hikers hanging out around the fire and it was the most we had seen at a fire since we started.  We met some new people we hadn't seen on the trail before and we finally met another couple that was around our age, Fuzzy and Sourpuss.  While introducing ourselves I found out that Sourpuss is from D.C. and that Fuzzy is from Detroit.  Upon hearing that I told them that my parents live in D.C. and I went to high school just outside of Detroit.  Fuzzy asked where I went to school and I told him Cranbrook.  He gave me a strange look and asked when I graduated so I told him the year and he laughed and said he knew someone from my class.  When he told me the name I couldn't believe that I was in the middle of the woods in Southern Virginia and I had just met someone that I had a connection to through a friend from high school.  It was a pretty strange coincidence and we became fast friends with Fuzzy and Sourpuss.

Day 43
6/2/12
11.3 miles
Marion, VA - Atkins, VA

In the morning, when we woke up, we were glad to know we were going to be back on the trail.  We had a couple things to do, like wash Molly and resupply, and we hurried through our errands as fast as we could.   After checking out of the hotel we headed to the Walmart and got food for the next couple of days.  While I was in the store 2-Step was watching the dogs.   While I was shopping a friendly lady came up to her and was asking 2-Step about the dogs.  2-Step, knowing that we still had to find a ride to get back to the trail head, asked the lady if we could get a ride from her.  The woman told 2-Step that she would have to check with her husband, but that she didn't think it would be a problem.  When she came back with her husband they told us to hop in and we followed them to their van.  They had just finished up checking out some of the garage sales around town and had purchased some furniture they were taking to their son for his new house.  We got to sit on his new couch for the ride back to the trail and it was very comfortable.  On the way to the trail, John, had to stop for lunch at one of his favorite barbecue places.  While ordering he asked if we would like to split a beef brisket dinner and we politely declined.  No was not the right answer and he bought us a dinner anyway.  After that little detour we finished up the ride to the trail while talking to the Jennings family about our experiences so far and what it was like hiking on the trail.  I have to thank John and Donna Jennings and their daughter Janie (the self procalimed Yankee Hillbillies) for the awesome ride and fantastic barbecue.  We appreciate everything and you certainly left us feeling better about our time in Marion.  Thank you and I hope that you have a wonderful summer!  After enjoying our delicious beef brisket, 2-Step and I threw our packs on our backs and stepped back onto the trail.  As nice as the ride from town had been i was still left with a weird feeling from our experience the day before in town and felt that I couldn't walk fast enough to shake it off.  It was not comfortable and I couldn't wait to see some other hikers, preferably some that we knew.  Fortunately, the hike to the shelter we planned on staying at wasn't long and when we arrived there was a group of hikers that we already knew.  They were in the middle of making dinner and when we started talking they told us they were hiking on a few miles to camp just out side of Atkins, VA to get to the Sunday buffet at a restaraunt right off the trail the next morning.  That sounded good to us, but I also had a surprise for any hikers we camped with and since we would be all alone at the shelter, 2-Step and I decided to hike on as well.  On the way to where we were going to camp for the night we passed by a museum that showed what an old farmstead would have looked like.  2-Step, since having a farm is one of her dreams, couldn't pass up this opportunity to go check it out.  I was less excited, but followed her anyway.  When we walked the few hundred yards off the trail to the old farm site, 2-Step couldn't have been more excited.  She was basically running from building to building thinking about what it would be like to live and work on this farm site.  I could tell that she was really enjoying checking out all the old buildings and was really happy to see her so excited.  From there we continued on down the trail to pass by a one room school house that excited 2-Step just as much as the old farmstead.  Not long after that we reached the camp site that our friend Tugboat had picked.  It was on top of a grassy hill and although there weren't really any trees for the hammocks, we made it work.  We were also able to enjoy a beautiful sunset and after watching the sun go behind the horizon, I told everyone that they got to share my birthday oreo pie.  The other hikers weren't the only ones surprised.  Since Tugboat had gotten there earlier than everyone else he had walked into town and came back with a few goodies.  One of those goodies was a six pack of beer that he had bought for me since he had known it was my birthday yesterday.  We all had a good evening hanging out and it helped shake off the weird feelings that I had felt after leaving Marion.

Day 42
6/1/12
0 miles
Marion, VA

We woke up excited to get into town to celebrate my birthday.  After packing up, we headed to the Visitor's Center, located 0.1 miles from the shelter, to find out if the 50 cent bus would allow the dogs to ride with us.  If they didn't allow dogs on the bus, then we would have to try to hitch a ride.  Fortunately, that was not the case, and we were able to get into town easily.  When we finally arrived in Marion it was not the town  that we expected.  There was no coffee shop to get on the internet, and there definitely wasn't a movie theater for us to go see movie.  The one thing I wanted to do was go see a movie, and eat the biggest bucket of popcorn that the theater had.  That didn't happen.  Marion itself was a starnge town and a lot of the people there didn't seem to know the difference between a thru-hiker and a bum.  When we were at the Walmart, where the bus dropped us off, I was even asked if I needed money.  I was so taken aback by this that I didn't even know how to respond.  Needless to say, we wanted to get into our hotel room and try to re-group and figure out what we would do for my birthday instead of all the plans we had dreamed up in our heads while hiking on the trail.  This definitely wasn't a trail town.  The one thing we were able to do was go eat at the Chinese Buffet in town.  It wasn't the best food, but I got my share and ate more than I had paid for.  By the end of our day in Marion we were more than ready to get back on the trail.

Day 41
5/31/12
10 miles
Trimpi Shelter - Partnership Shelter

I didn't realize it when I set my hammock up last night, but when I woke up, I was able to watch the sun rise without even getting out of my hammock.  Since we only had 10 miles to hike, we took our time getting packed and spent the morning hanging out with other hikers.  The hike to the Partnership Shelter was pretty easy and we got there in no time at all.  When we arrived at the shelter, we were surprised to see a large group of other hikers, already there.  This was the largest congregation of hikers we had encountered since starting the trail in Georgia.  One of the best things about the shelter was that it had a shower attached to it, and a sink in the back, with running water.  This is not usual, and we took full advantage of the shower and sink.  After setting up our hammocks away from the crowd, we started thinking about dinner.  Back at the shelter, we found some hikers we had met already that had started a fire and used it to cook dinner.  It was not long after dinner that we left the crowd for the peace and comfort of our hammocks and dreams of my birthday in town.

Day 40
5/30/12
20 miles
Wise Shelter - Trimpi Shelter

The morning started out really well.  We were excited about all the views we saw, this got us really excited for the rest of the day.  From there we descended to the next shelter.  We met a lot of new hikers and a had a nice mid morning break.  Although we were excited for the rest of the day, we didn't see anymore views and after 500 miles of mostly trees, we were not as enthusiastic when we once again entered into the woods.  The afternoon wasn't a bad hike, but it began to feel long by the end of the day.  Our plan was to end the day at a campsite that was marked in our guidebook.  When we got there, we were excited to be at camp. Unfortunately, the water that was supposed to be there (according to the guidebook) was dried up.  Since we were low on water, we had to hike 2.5 more miles to the Trimpi Shelter.  Although not excited, it only made the following day's hike even shorter.
 
Day 39
5/29/12
Lost Mountain Shelter - Wise Shelter
17.3 miles

Virginia is awesome!  I've been excited to hike through the Grayson Highlands Sate Park and hopefully see the wild ponies.  Not only did I see the ponies, but one of the foals came up to me when I was taking pictures, sniffed my shorts and then proceeded to lick the sweat off of my legs.  It was an amazing experience.  They are not scared of humans and it was so cool to see them finally after waiting so long to get here.  Shortly after that, 2-Step and I had to don our rain jackets becuse the clouds crept in around us and they unleashed the fury.  It was a cold rain, but the days hike was almost over and the walk helped keep us warm.  By the time we got to camp and set the hammocks up, the rain was on its way out, although the clouds stuck around.  The more it rains, the more I feel like we can handle it.  That's not to say we enjoy the rain, but it doesn't seem as bad as the first day of rain we had.  Someone at the last shelter said we could have rain most of the week, but we'll just see what tomorrow brings and start with that.  Another exciting thing about today was that we hit the 500 mile mark!! The shelter we stopped at for the day was right at the 500 mile mark and were were so excited to end our day there.  It's been a lot of long days and some not so fun times as well, but we've had an amazing experience so far and we look forward to the next 1,500 miles.

Day 38
5/28/12
Damascus, VA - Lost Mountain Shelter
16.7 miles

After a leisurley morning with my parents and a delicious breakfast of pancakes we finally had to get back on the trail.  Several people had told us that instead of following the white blazes (shhh...don't tell anyone!) we should take the Creeper trail out of town and hop back on the trail when they intersect.  Since the Crepper is the original route of the AT I didn't feel too bad.  And since I got a chili cheeseburger with coleslaw on it, I really didn't feel too bad.  Because we had eaten not long before we got to our campsite for the night all we had to do was set up our hammocks and we were ready for bed.  Besides the fact that we got to eat at the Creeper Trail Cafe on the way to camp we also got to walk by a river for 10 miles rather than climb two unnecessary mountains to look at more trees.  I started out thinking that I would follow every white blaze, but sometimes the side trails are a little more interesting and rewarding.  I think it was a first good day back on the trail and I'm excited to see what Virginia has to offer.

Day 35 - 37
5/25 - 5/27
0 miles

I was so happy to be doing nothing on Friday instead of hiking.  Early Bird and I spent a good part of the morning at a coffee shop enjoying the AC.  After we started feeling more normal we walked around town to check out the outfitters...  There wasn't much and we were pretty disappointed that there wasn't more to this trail town.  The Virginia Creeper trail was pretty cool Though...2-Step and I got to ride from the top of Whit Top Mountain to Dmamascus with my parents.  Tess came along too and she cruised by my bike for the 17 mile ride.  She was amazing and never got tired the entire way down.  It was really nice to see my parents.  Thank you so much for everything.  The country steak was amazing. 2-Step and I really appreciate everything and thanks for the early birthday gift!  I'm so glad I got to see you guys, hopefully it won't be the last time this summer.  2-Step and I also got a little taste of what the Grayson Highlands State Park is going to look like.  We took a hike with my parents and I'm looking forward to that section of trail.  As much fun as town is though I always get antsy to hop back on the trail.  I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.

Day 34
5/24/12
Wilbur Dam Rd. - Damascus, VA
37.3 miles

The next morning, after a more than satisfying dinner with Detroit and his girlfriend, Lisa, and our buddy Early Bird, I woke up and started getting ready for my 2 day hike to Damascus.  When I was in the store getting some food items to supplement what I already had, Early Bird talked me into skipping the 15 miles I'd hiked countless times before.  Instead, I was going to get dropped off with him where he had slackpacked to the previous day.  I got excited to be hiking with a buddy of ours and it made the next 2 days seem not quite as long as I thought they would be without 2-Step and the pups.  As I was packing my bag, Early Bird was telling me how he was planning on sending some of his heavier cold weather gear home and how he had been trying to figure out how to slack pack to Damascus.  At about the same time we both got the idea to leave most of our gear with 2-Step and just hike the 37.3 miles from Wilbur Dam Rd. to Damascus.  We called it "The Dam Challenge"  With our plans changing every few minutes we didn't even get to Wilbur Dam Rd. until right before 10am.  After a photo op with Detroit and his girlfriend, Early Bird and I stepped onto the trail at 10:02.  We started out with a quick pace and made it up the 4.7 mile climb to the first shelter in 1 hour and 30 minutes.  We signed into the log and set our sights on the next shelter 6.8 miles away.  It was good to break up our day into short 6-8 mile segments with the shelters as little goals to help keep the day from being too daunting.  By the time we got to the last shelter, it was 5:40 with 10 miles to go.  We were just about to the end of our ropes.  With just enought time to fill our water bottles and eat a quick snack we were back on the trail with our next goal being the TN-VA border 6.5 miles away.  Now I don't know where the time went, maybe we passed through a black hole or something, but I swear that 6.5 miles took us about 2-3 hours.  When we got to the border and checked the time we found we had done the miles in only 1 hour and 10 minutes.  We couldn't even believe it, but we had never been happier to reach one of our short goals for the day.  After a couple of pictures and a snack break we were back on our feet for the last 3.5 miles, which definitely took us just as long as the previous 6.5 miles.  In the end, our day took us about 10 hours including the breaks at each shelter that we took to refill water bottles and eat a quick snack.  When we finally made it to Damascus we were quite a sight.  I could barely lift my legs the last mile, but the thought of beer and food kept me going.  We didn't even know where we were going to spend the night, but our top priority was a cold drink and a big meal.  By the time dinner was over, I was ready to fall asleep in our booth, but we walked to a hostel called "The Place" and found some bunks to crash on.  We both got a shower and even though they didn't supply mattresses we tried to fall asleep on the wood shelves that were the bunks.  I guess the hostel figured everyone had camp pads, but we didn't and so our sleep was not comfortable, but I was still excited.  We had done 37.3 miles in 10 hours and when I woke up the next day feeling only a little tight I couldn't have been happier.

Day 33
5/23/12
Mountaineer Shelter - Dennis Cove Road
15.6 miles

We were both very tired this morning so we definitely did not rush out of camp.  We took our time and tried to figure out a way to get 2-Step to the hostel without having her hike 15.6 miles.  Fortunately there was named road only 1.5 miles from the shelter so we slowly made our way to the road hoping that one of our phones would have service.  I could tell 2-Step was in pain, but we made it to the road...and we had service!!  I called our friend Lisa from Johnson City and as soon as I told her 2-Step and I were on the trail she immediately asked us what we needed.  I told her the situation and with a little help from her friends she found out where Walnut Mountain Rd. was and was heading our way.  While waiting at the road crossing with 2-Step, I started emptying my pack of all unnecessary items so I could hike the 14 miles from Walnut Mountain Rd. to Dennis Cove as quickly as possible.  Soon enough, Lisa pulled up and 2-Step and the pups were on their way to the hostel.  Lisa, there is no way we can thank you enough for all the help you provided for us.  We appreciate everything and you really helped lift our spirits more than you could know!  After Lisa and 2-Step pulled away I put my game face on and set a goal of 3.5 hours for the 14 miles I had to hike to the hostel.  It was a very gradual elevation gain with little ups and downs, but I was crusing my way down the trail.  I definitely ran just as much as I walked and I got an extra boost when I got to the section of trail that led to this whole crazy idea of thru-hiking the AT (a section I have hiked many times while living briefly in TN).  When I recognized that section I knew I was close to the road and I started running down the trail.  When I made it to Dennis Cove Rd. and asked someone the time I found that I had done the 14 miles in 3 hours and 20 minutes.  I beat my goal...and the rain (kind of).  When it started raining on the .5 mile road walk to the hostel I could've cared less.  I was so pumped about my hiking time and I knew that I was heading to a hot shower and dry clothes.  2-Step was still feeling under the weather when I got there, but she was feeling hungry again so that was a step in the right direction.  Detroit was also at the hostel and when he saw me he handed me a cold beer and the microwave burgers I was eating seemed that much better.  Since 2-Step could stay in Hampton, TN, I started making plans to get to Damascus a day earlier than we had planned.

Day 32
5/22/12
Overmountain Shelter - Mountaineer Shelter
18 miles

This was another long day with rain falling for most of it.  There were highlights though.  We had a long road walk on an old dirt road that was enclosed on both sides by wild rose and with rain the smell wafting from the roses was intoxicating.  The smell alone helped make the rain more enjoyable.  Then we got to an open ridge that had the coolest tree right next to the trail.  There were so many branches and they extended out from the trunk in all directions and provided the best rain protection around.  Although the end of the day felt long, the sun came out and the shelter we stayed at was cool.  It had three levels and was perfect for seting up our hammocks.  We camped with Detroit and I'll Try (whose unofficial name is "This Sucks So Far").  Things were going good and then 2-Step got the hiker flu.  It was not a restful night.  We had heard there was a stomach flu travelling up and down the trail and our buddy Mercury had gotten it a few days prior.  Now 2-Step was in the middle of finding out how uncomfortable this flu could be.  Everytime she woke up that night I woke up too so we didn't sleep much.

Day 31
5/21/12
Apple Orchard Campsite - Overmountain Shelter
19.4 miles

Because we had stopped short again we had to go for the long haul today.  The Overmountain Shelter was a renovated barn and came highly recommended.  The hike North from Roan Mountain to 19E (a road crossing) was also highly recommended and the end of our day was a climb up Roan Mt. and the beginning of one of the best sections of the trail we've hiked so far.  On the way up Roan Mt., we encountered a group of volunteer trail workers building new sections of trail.  I thanked them for their hard work, especially since some of them were other thru-hikers who volunteered some time from their own hike to help build new sections of trail.  When I stopped to thank them they also took the opportunity to take a break and meet the dogs, exclaiming that they were some of the cleanest dogs on the trail that they'd seen (I was a proud owner at that moment).  While talking they found out my trail name and one of them had a joke about a "No Name" brand of toilet paper.  The joke ends with a man renaming the "No Name" brand to John Wayne, because its "rough and tough and don't take no s*** off of nobody!"  Well I figured since I was rough and tough and don't take no s*** off of nobody they could just call me John Wayne too.  So my name has evolved slightly and people accept it much quicker.  After that conversation and a new name we still had a few miles to hike so we kept heading on down the trail.  When we finally got to the Overmountain Shelter at the end of a long day we didn't even set up our hammocks before dinner.  We were excited to realize that we could set up our hammocks on the second story of the barn.  There was a chance of rain and if we didn't have to pack up wet tarps in the moring we would be happy campers.  Sleeping in the old barn was awesome and the dogs kept the mice on the other side of the shelter.  Unfortunately, for the couple that was sleeping on the other side, the mice happened upon a Snickers bar and had a good feast that night anyway.

Day 30
5/20/12
Curley Maple Gap Shelter - Apple Orchard Campsite
17.2 miles

We had planned to hike further out of Erwin than the first shelter, but we took a leisurely day instead.  It was worth it.  Our plan was to make up the lost miles over the next few days so that we could keep on schedule to meet my parent in Damascus, VA.  We tried to hike the 22 miles that would put us back on track, but our packs were heavy and our feet were slow.  We stopped short again, and I'm so grateful for that.  We had an amazing evening with just the dogs and a bonfire in a clearing that used to be an old apple orchard.  We strung our hammocks on some of the apple trees and enjoyed the light show that the fireflies put on for us.  It was a good way to end the day.

Day 29
5/19/12
Erwin, TN - Curley Maple Gap Shelter
4.7 miles

We caught the morning shuttle to town and bought food for our next few days.  We also got a surprise for any hikers that were at the shelter with us.  As we dined on Krispy Kreme doughnuts, we sorted our food and organized our packs to head out of town.  The climb away from Uncle Johnny's was steeper than we anticipated and we were cursing our food choices.  Our bags felt like they were a couple of elephants riding on our shoulders.  The climb didn't last long though and soon enough our 4.7 mile day was over.  Then came the exciting part...dinner and dessert!  For ourselves, we made a cheesy tuna pasta with some dehydrated red peppers and other green-looking flakes.  The pièce de résistance was the dessert though.  For everyone to share at the shelter, we brought the ingredients for a no-bake cheesecake, complete with graham cracker crust.  It was a hit with everyone and "Ghost of a Flea," Detroit, Mercury, Quiksilver, 2-Step and I went to bed happy, after indulging in one of the most satisfying dishes prepared on the trail.

Day 28
5/18/12
Low Gap - Erwin, TN
20.4 miles

2-Step's first 20 mile day ever!  So pumped for her!  I don't think she was quite as excited at the end of the day as I was, but when she saw Uncle Johnny's, the pain of the day melted away like a slice of butter on a big ol' pile of flapjacks.  We'd visited Uncle Johnny's before, and this was one of the stops we'd been waiting for.  We were so excited to order a pizza after we were all cleaned up.  Two large pizzas and a salad all found their way into our stomachs.  We were bottomless pits and we loved every bite.  There was a good crew of hikers hanging out that night.  Shout-outs to Detroit, Screaming Eagle, Philly, Early Bird and Sherpa & Lakota (hiker/dog duo). We didn't last long after dinner and our heads hit our pillows pretty quickly after eating.