Date: 2014-04-24
From: Atkins

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Trent's Grocery and Woods Hole Val and I got up early Monday morning and ate breakfast together at the local restaurant (the only place to eat in Atkins), The Barn. Don't let the name scare you off. They made fine food, though the service was pretty surly. I ate a truly heaven-inspired dish called the 2x4. 2 eggs, 2 pieces of thick bacon, 2 sausages, and 2 pancakes served with a sizable mound of hash browns and a homemade biscuit. I plowed dutifully through it all until the pancakes. I just could fit them in no matter how much I wished to. So I went in search of our waiter, who was difficult to find in a small, unpopulated restaurant, and requested a ziplock bag. I poured about a pint of syrup in on top and placed the whole mess at the top of my pack where it would stay warm in the sun. I was lucky the bag didn't leak. Great lunch for later!!!After our feast we worked to hitch a ride for the three miles over to the post office and Dollar General. In case you are unaware Dollar Generals are the creme de la creme of hiker resupply outlets. Cheap and calorie laden food is our bread and butter and where better to find it than a place that is two steps down from a Walmart? And so off we decided to go. Now, not to boast, but I'm a girl. This is an observation that most passing motorists notice and, generally I get a ride about a half hour quicker than dudes. In fact, I've rarely had to wait for a ride for more than 5 minutes. Perhaps I was getting spoiled by this ease of transport and it was time for some humble pie, but Val and I had a heck of a time getting a ride in! No one wanted to be bothered. We tried thumbing it for 45 minutes and were just about to bag the whole idea as a bad job when a fellow finally pulled over. He was a prince of a fellow. He used to own The Barn and was used to through hikers. He dropped us off at the post office and I walked in to be greeted with the news that I had beat my box into town. I'd have to wait for a day if I wanted it. Ha! No! I forwarded the thing on he Pearisburg and did an entire resupply at the Dollar General- pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. Getting back to the trail took much less time and we were off by noon. 18 mile day and I got in late. My ankle was swollen, but I was able to walk on it with little added discomfort. I wrapped it for compression and elevated it (which took some yoga-like movements to figure out how to do in my very tiny tent). I was sung to sleep by whippoorwills. Spring was coming! I was up by 5:30 the next morning. I felt dreadful. A head cold was setting in and I had the body ache that accompanies illness, not physical exertion. I hiked 7 miles to the next road where, my guidebook said, there was a hiker haven called Trent's Grocery. It had warm food and that was all I could wrap my brain around. I was there by 9, but after eating I felt worse. I sat outside the store for almost an hour trying to will myself to put my pack back on and hike the remaining 14 miles to the Woods Hole hostel. I just couldn't do it. Every time I reached over to grab a strap I felt the urge to throw up. After a bit I went and found the owner and did the unthinkable... I yellow blazed (got a ride and skipped a section of the trail). He drove me over the mountain and deposited me at the door of the hostel. I barely even checked in, but moved blearily to the bunkhouse, dropped my pack, dug for my sleeping bag and threw myself onto a pallet for a four and a half hour nap. When I woke up it was as though the world had changed and I could suddenly see color. Woods Hole is one of the coolest places I have stayed in here. It is a self sustaining farm run by a couple of trail angels. Neville, the lady of the house, is a warm and welcoming presence and her cooking could make a hardened criminal cry. I ate, talked with a few friends (Thin Mint was there! I hadn't seen him since my injury in Erwin) and then went back to bed for a long night's sleep. I was deeply contented.