Date: 2020-07-15
From: Marble Spring campsite

To: US 501 James River Bridge
Miles today: 7.5

I woke to the predawn light and some crunching sounds in the brush. A deer was browsing several yards from my tent, oblivious or uncaring of my presence.Ate my last apple for breakfast - bringing fresh fruit is a psychological boost if nothing else - and set off early to reach the road for a 10 o'clock pickup by Charlie from the Glasgow hostel. The trail wound almost entirely downhill for seven miles, one of the easiest days I've ever hiked. I sketched out ideas as I walked for hiking with my kids when I reach Pennsylvania. I thought about my decision to stop short of town yesterday, which effectively separates me from Sunshine and Lone Wolf, probably for good. Practically speaking I couldn't have reached it at a reasonable hour. More importantly, I would have made myself miserable. And felt pressure to hike out the next morning, and to stretch again to reach Waynesboro, and so on. I knew the path that led to. I've been down it many times. Most of my section hikes went like that. I'd push myself to reach town late in the day, rush to do chores, and hike out early the next morning with another ambitious goal, the humidity, rain, or how I was feeling be damned. But then I was on a tight schedule, even if self-imposed. Now, as a thruhiker, the end is far enough off that there are no critical intermediate deadlines. As long as I average enough miles I will make it. And I can maintain that average without dashing to town. In fact, as much as I've been motivated by town stops, I find them less important if I listen to my body and drink, eat, and rest when needed. And take the time to enjoy the little and the large experiences along the way. So in that sense stopping at the falls yesterday and falling short of town was exactly the right approach for me.So back to the trail. At Matt's Creek Shelter, a couple miles from the James River, I met Shifty and Buffy, a German couple. The first foreigners I've met on trail this year. They started in March and took six weeks off staying in Franklin before continuing. Their visa expires soon so they have given up on thruhiking and are just doing what they please. Soon after, a train of dayhikers coming from the road passed me. Including 9 men with the Wednesday Club from Lynchburg out for their weekly hike. The James River is deserving of the name, broad and majestic, ensconced among green hills. And the iron girder footbridge is the longest on the AT by far. Signs tell you not to jump off the bridge. On popular days there's a line. Charlie from Stanimals Hostel in Glasgow pulled up minutes after I arrived at the road. Sunshine and Lone Wolf piled out, all aglow with town food. I wished them well, doubting I'll ever see them again. I made them promise to find me in Maine when they're done and do trail magic!When Charlie found out I was from the Valley Forge area I learned he was the same Charlie Rogers who led my local boy scout Council until a couple years ago. What a coincidence! He thruhiked last year as Pilgrim, thanks partly to his tag number 1620 and partly to his Massachusetts birthplace (he traces his family back to several of the Mayflower families). He took his time, starting in March and ending in November on Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts after a flip-flop. He took over the hostel for this season when another manager pulled out, having struck up a relationship with the owner, Adam Stanley, while recuperating for two weeks during his thruhike with shin splints and other foot pain. Showered and threw the laundry in after borrowing some loaner clothes. Typically these are either humongous or petite. Rarely any sizes that fit a typical thruhiker. So I grabbed a safety pin from my repair kit and cinched in a pair of shorts that six months ago may have been merely baggy on me but were now literally falling off my hips. Then I walked down the road towards town.Glasgow is the only town on the AT with a dinosaur. A fifteen foot high plaster monument of a brontosaurus graces the empty lot across from Scotto's, the only and very busy restaurant in town. Most of the buildings around it sit unused. But Scotto's is a treasure - not only does it have hearty Italian subs and dinners, it has milkshakes. Automatic five stars in my book.Several others at the hostel today. Flashlight is headed southbound. Brookie is a Nobo section hiker from McAfee Knob. Lucky Charms, a stringbean and very Irish-looking kid, came in late. Got his name from all the good luck he's had on trail. Finding things he needed, like shoes(!), but especially his uncanny ability to yogi food and gifts from strangers.