Date: 2021-08-05
To: Troutville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Hello again, friends and neighbors!  I¢m currently sitting at the airport in Grand Rapids, Mi waiting for my flight to Philadelphia to board where I¢ll (hopefully) make a connection to a flight heading for Roanoke, Va from where I¢ll take a shuttle back to the trail. I¢ve been home for 10 nights and had the opportunity to see my family, surprise my parents, play some golf, go bike riding, help my daughter settle in to her new apartment, harass my wife¢s cats, make crab cakes, mow the lawn, switch out some gear, see friends at work, drink some adult beverages, eat ice cream, and generally enjoy some off time. Now I¢m looking forward to getting back on trail for the 731.8 miles SOBO to Georgia. In the interim, Quiksilver has hiked over 200 miles to erase the gap between our original starting points in Virginia and will be waiting in Daleville when I arrive. He¢ll actually be ahead of me by a mile and a half.  Once I arrive this evening I¢ll head back to my starting point just outside of town then hike back on the trail to the hotel for the night. Friday we¢ll be hiking out and I¢ll be back in to mountains and woods. I was able to plan out some food drops I¢m Virginia and look at places to stay every 90 miles or so.  Whether we do any slack packing remains an open question: one that we¢ll answer as we hike and see how we¢re feeling and how the trail treats us.  I¢m very curious to see how different the trail versus what I¢ve hiked the last 5 weeks in New Hampshire and Maine.  And also how much of the ¢green tunnel¢ I¢ll experience, as when I was last in Virginia there were still no leaves on the trees about 1500 feet.I shed some equipment and swapped out a few things for this next leg. Left at home are my hiking pants (added another pair of shorts), my insulated puffy jacket (I¢ll rely on my long sleeve shirt and rain jacket on chilly mornings), some clothing (spare shirt and socks), and my Ursack bear bag.  Iceberg loaned me his waterproof food bag that I¢ll be hanging PCT method from a tree versus tying my Ursack to a branch. I decided on the switch due to the heavier bear activity I¢ve been reading about in North Carolina and Tennessee - I¢d like to avoid a bag-mauling from an ursine friend. I practiced someone line-tossing at home and I¢m 75% sure this will be fine. My pack base weight (everything except water and food) now stands at 14 lbs. Not ultralight (that¢s 10 lbs or less), but a weight I¢m happy with, given that I¢ll likely need to carry more water between sources with it being summer and all. I washed and my gear including my backpack (twice) and it¢s mostly acceptable for polite company. I also added another battery charging brick as my iPhone battery performance has left me bummed out. It¢s a 11 ounce weight penalty I¢ll gladly accept for a little more peace of mind. Now my only worry is that my checked bag gets to Roanoke when I do. I¢ve got my back pack as a carry on, but can¢t take trekking poles or tent stakes onto the plane. So into a cheap, disposable duffel bag they went and then onto the bowels of the airport, surrendered to the whims of the American Airlines baggage handlers.  In my backpack are my hammock and quilts - things that would be very, very hard to replace on short notice. I¢ll likely have another post up tonight derailing then sure-to-be grueling mile and a half trek (3 miles if I don¢t catch a ride) from where I began my hike back on April 12th to the Super 8 in Daleville. Post to you soon!