Date: 2019-05-26
From: Dripping Rock

To: US250/BRP Waynesboro 
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: few clouds

Glenn cooked breakfast for those of us at the hostel - portobello egg frittata, sausage links, and blackberry pancakes for $6.  Susan stayed at the hostel in bed to recuperate while I got shuttled back to Dripping Rock to hike into town.I started with a gradual 3 mile climb up Humpback Mountain from 2964 elevation to 3600.  I took a break and enjoyed the views on a beautiful clear day.  There was a small group doing trail maintenance along the way and I made sure to thank them for their efforts at keeping the trail in such good condition.Since it was Sunday and I was hiking alone, I spent some time talking to God and praising Him out loud.  Later I started with A and sang all the hymns or choruses I could think of that started with A.  Then I moved to B and eventually went through the whole alphabet. It was fun.I probably crossed paths with 30+ dayhikers all heading up to Humpback Mountain and the views there while I was gradually heading down into a gap and the Paul Wolfe Shelter.  It¢s easy to distinguish a dayhiker or someone who just stayed in town the previous night from a thruhiker who has been on the trail multiple days.  The ¢clean¢ smell of soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. is almost overwhelming; sometimes it feels like I get a whole mouthful of it.  That makes me wonder if my smell is also so obvious to them.Mill Creek in front of Paul Wolfe Shelter provided my water and would have been a tempting spot to bathe if I had not been at the hostel last night and going to be there again for another night.  It cooled things off at the shelter and provided me with background ¢music¢ during lunch.Just as I was finishing two thruhukers stopped in for water and lunch.  i figured they would probably breeze past me on the way into town.It finally happened.  I hadn¢t seen anyone else for a half hour or more.  I was about 10-12 feet off the trail, finishing using my pstyle and a male dayhiker calls out, excuse me, can you tell me if I¢m on the right trail to humpback rocks?  I had my back to him and didn¢t answer immediately, so he kept walking nearer while talking, while I was frantically trying to zip my pants and put away my bright pink female urinary device.  It was not as embarrassing as it would¢ve been getting caught squatting with my pants all the way down!  #onlyontheAT#traillife Along the trail today, I passed a really long section of low stone wall and found it amazing that there were still so many stones in the trail even after that wall was built!  I also stopped to see the old Lowe family cemetery and the old W J Mayo homeplace with a chimney still standing.About a mile out of town some sobo hikers said they had seen a mama bear with three cubs  between me and town.  I was on alert but only saw one cub scurrying down the trail away from me.  It is unnerving to know there must be a mama nearby and yet not know where she is.  I was glad when I finally came out of the woods at the road crossing so I could stop looking for bears.I was also pleasantly surprised that the two male thruhikers with their trail legs from hiking all the way from Springer Mtn this year that I had left at the shelter did not overtake me on the trail.  Maybe they just took a really long lunch break or naps!I crossed the busy Blue Ridge Parkway and ambled over to the picnic tables by the popcorn stand, called Stanimal¢s for a ride about 4:00, and sat down to wait.  Adam Stanley arrived in his Suburban in just a few minutes, but he had just picked up some new mattresses for the hostel.  The middle and back seats were folded down with mattresses crammed inside and others tied on top.  We managed to get my pack and poles in the back and I got to sit on the console between the front seats for the 3.5 mile ride into town. Again,  #onlyontheAT#traillifeSusan had been up some during the day and had gone to a store and had a special treat waiting for me in the fridge - a Naked Mighty Mango Juice, my favorite!After showering and getting laundry done, I got to watch NCIS and see what happened with Ziva!  I also caught up on the Amazing Race and was very disappointed that it was not an elimination round because I was so read for that team of Reilly sisters to be gone.  They are so annoying!  We walked downtown and ate dinner at the trail famous Ming Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet and I picked up a subway sandwich for tomorrow¢s slackpack.