Due to service, days 55 and 56 will both come out today

It was freezing last night. The temperatures were in the high 30s and the wind was gusting. I had set up my rain fly poorly so all night, I listened as it flapped in the wind. But I knew that I was not alone in sleeping poorly because, even over the howl of the wind, I could hear both woodsman and baby talk tossing and turning on their sleeping pads in their tents. 

We were all up early as we gave up trying to fight the cold. “I’m not wasting time on breakfast,” I announced. “I’m getting moving. I’ll eat it when I’m warm.” They both said they’d do the same and then packed up and left camp before me. Leaving me in my usual position of last out of camp. 

The walk was downhill out of camp. Wearing all my layers, I stared at the ground, putting one foot in front of the other. Hoping that my joints would unfreeze soon and that my walking would normalize. And after a while it did. I was sweating by the time I caught up to the other two sitting down for breakfast by a spring.

Woodsman, as per usual, was the first there and the first out. But before leaving, he looked back at us. “I feel good again. Am I rocket again?” We told him not to rush into anything but we’d support him no matter what name he went with. 

Baby talk and I then walked off together, chatting in the way you chat in the woods. We discussed gear, previous trips, life back home and so on. And pretty soon, the miles had flown by. We were almost at the road which would lead us to town before we even knew it. Today we were headed to Glasgow Virginia, a town best know for something. I’m sure. 

We got to the parking lot and found woodsman waiting. “No luck with the hitch yet,” he said. We all spread out down the road and within 10 minutes a pair of hikers were packing us in the back of their car. They’ve been section hiking the trail, they said, doing a few hundred miles each year. When they asked us our trail names, woodsman waffled. Then he asked them,”which do you like better?” And suddenly woodsman was rocket again. 

The husband then told us his trail name was Bolt and that he had just retired from the army as an Orthopedic surgeon. My ears lit up. “So what do you know about knees,” I asked him. I told him everything that was going on. Where the pain was, how frequent, how severe, etc. he told me that he wasn’t giving medical advice, just talking hiker  to hiker. But he confirmed what my other doctor (ChatGPT) had said. It’s runners knee and if it’s not getting worse or clicking, just keep going. “Yes sir.”

We ate the local restaurant which had a really mean owner and really great penne vodka. I shoveled it all into my mouth hole in record time. I washed it down with a doctor pepper to make sure I got all the vitamins and minerals I needed. As we ate, we left our packs outside because, as the owner said, “it’s Glasgow, no one’s gonna steal your stuff here.

We then resupplied at the dollar general (boo!!) next door. As we checked out the cashier said, “I’m surprised you left your packs outside. It’s Glasgow. Nothings sits on the sidewalk too long round here.” We just looked at each other. Unsure of what was going on. 

We repacked our bags (which we not stolen!) and were soon offered a ride back to the trail. We gladly accepted and hopped in the back of yet another pick up. It was hot when we got back. “Maybe a quick swim?” Asked baby talk. 

I didn’t have to be convinced. I quickly stripped down to my shorts and hopped into the cold water. The bottom was fairly quicksand-y but it felt so good. Rocket said he wasn’t coming in. And baby talk was about to hop in when a snake slithered over a rock. She jumped back and I immediately swam to another exit point. Swim time was over. 

It was still 5 miles to camp and straight up hill. So we slogged our way there and set up camp on top of a cliff. Off in the distance we could just barely see the mountain top we had camped on yesterday. It looked so far away. 

Key stats:

Miles: 20

Elevation gained: 3800 ft

Mile marker: 791

Feelings on snakes: Still don’t like them