Date: 2009-04-26
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

The mice didn't bother me last night except for a rather persistent one in the corner of the loft that was scratching at something all night. I kept trying to spot it with my headlamp but never did find the culprit of all that noise, it must have been behind one of the rafters.Tin Man, Stretch, Nicky, and I woke up around 7:45 and had a rather leisurely morning. Mudflap and One Stick left the shelter before I even woke up but I'll see them at the hostel this evening. Nicky, Tin Man, and Stretch cooked up some amazing breakfast burritos over the fire with eggs, mushrooms, onions, peppers, cheese, potatoes, and soy crumbles. I was drooling as I watched them eat the burritos and luckily they had lots of leftovers and offered it to the rest of us I didn't leave the shelter until almost 11am, almost 2 hours after Growler and Steamboat. Partnership Shelter is such a trap...the trail magic just keeps coming since it's so close to the road, making it very difficult to leave. The terrain today was harder than I thought it would be, but I think the heat had a lot to do with that. There were a bunch of ups and downs and the temps were close to 90 again with a lot of open areas with no shade. I caught up with Growler and Steamboat at Chatfield Shelter, and the 3 of us hiked together for the rest of the day.We stopped in at the Settlers Museum (living-history farm) which was pretty cool and just steps off the AT. We then walked through fields and farms...lots of green today, it was great! We got to Atkins around 4pm and picked up some ice cream and sodas at the Shell station which is basically on the AT. I picked up my maildrops (one with my food for the next several days and one from my mom - homemade brownies, YUM!) at the Relax Inn (also right on the AT) but I was so glad not to be staying there for the night. Instead, we are staying at the Happy Hiker Hollow hostel run by former thru-hikers Aqua and Rambunny. For the same price as the Relax Inn ($40), the hostel provides free shuttles to and from the trailhead and into town to resupply, laundry, internet, long distance calls, and all-you-can-eat dinner and breakfast. I think that's a great deal! They only have room for 6 hikers since the hostel is part of their house, so I called 3 days ago to make reservations. Those at the hostel tonight include me (duh), Steamboat, Growler, One Stick, and Mudflap. I have my own room with large bed, AND they have portable DVD players that you can bring to your room. I cannot wait to watch movies in bed tonight!For dinner, Rambunny made an absolute feast complete with enchiladas (vegetarian ones for me), green bean casserole, garlic bread, cornbread, corn pudding, salad, broccoli, and lots of desserts. No one left the table hungry! I can only imagine how amazing breakfast will be in the morning. This is the first year the hostel is up and running and it seems to be doing well so far. I definitely recommend this place - it's defnitely one of my favorite hostels.The packadivas are still a couple days behind but I decided to head out tomorrow since the weather looks great for the next few days. Hopefully they'll catch up soon!