Thursday, October 6th, 2016
Start: Hurricane Mountain shelter
End: Partnership shelter
Miles: 19.0 (+1.5 miles walking to and from the visitor center)
I was up by 6:45am and on trail by 7:30am. I passed by Dickey Gap, Bobby’s Trail, Trimpi shelter, VA 672, VA 670, and VA 601. Today’s miles went by pretty quickly. I was to the shelter by 2:45pm. I made the wise decision to just stay put and relax.
I had really nice conversations with sections hikers from Michigan – Kristine and Durham, who is Kristine’s aunt. They’re out for a month of hiking on the AT. Since you can order Italian from the visitor center, I got a butt ton of pasta with Alfredo sauce, garlic knots, and a side salad, while Kristine and Durham split a large pizza. I also got a calzone but couldn’t fit it in; thankfully a SOBO thru-hiker, Bionic from Plainville, CT, came to the shelter later and I gave it to him.
I’m bedded down in the loft and ready for bed a bit later than usual (8:30), since I was having a lovely time chatting with Bionic and Kristine. Tomorrow, I’m planning on a 21.5 mile day so I can end at the Appalachian Dreamer hostel, a hostel I saw posted here at the shelter. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon and Saturday. It’ll be nice to end my hike tomorrow at a warm hostel with laundry as an option.
Current plan: Appalachian Dreamer hostel tomorrow (Fri), fully enclosed shelter on Saturday, Zero Days hostel on Sunday, hostel shuttle to Angel’s Rest in Pearisburg on Monday, with a slackpack back to Pearisburg on Tuesday.
Transcending Mountains 