Date: 2011-05-03
From: (43) Jenny Knob Shelter

To: (44) Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: broken clouds

After hearing many great things about it, Helm and I decided to do a short 20 mile day to Woods Hole Hostel, a ¢don¢t miss¢ on the trail. We woke up at 5:30 for an early start, so that we would have more free time when we got there. I was out of food, so I had to hike 7 miles on an empty stomach to a road crossing, and then down the road until I reached Trent¢s Market. I resupplied and ordered a hoagie. While I waited for my food, Green Hat arrived, and together we sat down and read ¢The Roanoke Times.¢ The newspaper had captured our attention because it was proudly sporting the title ¢Osama Bin Laden Dead!¢ And so, we learned the details of America¢s worst enemy in the back of a grocer hundreds of miles from home.Once back on the trail, I hiked until I caught up to Bud, and together we explored a blue blazed side trail to a creek with a waterfall. The rest of the afternoon I hiked alone, and at one point got so bored that I cinched down my pack and ran for a mile, using my poles to launch myself over obstacles as I went. I like hiking the AT, but sometimes it can be a little too easy to keep me occupied, especially in Virginia. It is no wonder that so many hikers get the ¢Virginia blues¢ and drop out; you are essentially hiking through a green tunnel for hours at a time, just the same thing over and over¢¦it¢s like watching NASCAR! (There are also the ¢Virginia mumbles¢ because you leave Virginia mumbling)I arrived at Woods Hole Hostel at 3pm. It was a beautiful place with a log cabin house and a barn-like bunkhouse where I stayed. There was a fridge full of delicious soda, a living room full of books, a large porch with chairs and a hammock, and more. Helm was there already, and we were joined by others throughout the day including Mofo, Chase, Bud, Glad Gal, Clutch, Turn Around, and many more.I had several sodas that evening and talked with the other hikers on the porch of the bunk house. Then I went upstairs to my sleep pad and read some of my book. It was very relaxing and I cherished the rest time. At 7pm we were all called into the main house for supper. There were 21 hikers who had paid for the meal, and together we filled the dining room to feast merrily on homemade bread, salad, rice with beef tips covered in sauce, and ice cream. I was stuffed, and that is not an easy feat! After supper I volunteered to help clean up (for fun), and got to go into the kitchen and do chores like drying and putting away dishes. It was nice to do something different.At 9pm the owner¢s announced that it was meditation time for anyone who wanted, and I told Helm we were going. ¢Sure Lemur, I¢m up for anything¢ he said.¢Well I don¢t care, you¢re going anyway!¢ I replied sarcastically.We went and sat with a few others on large pillows with our eyes closed for 20 minutes. I had to try not to giggle at first, sitting Indian style on a pillow in that quite room with my eyes closed and the dog snoring on the couch, but then I began to feel relaxed in my isolation and was soon daydreaming about all the things I had done up until the present. I suppose you could say that my meditation was a time of self-reflection.