Date: 2016-05-26
From: campsite

To: camp grounds
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 45- May 26, 2016Dregs here We woke up at what we thought was a campsite right before some power lines. After a few hundred feet of hiking in the morning our suspicions were confirmed. Only a few short hours into the day we came to a very old school house right next to a settlers museum. Storm Trooper was on the porch of the schoolhouse and he happily informed us that there was trail magic inside. Inside was basically everything a hiker could ever want from chips and soda to toiletries other supplies. It was awesome.As we sat and ate fresh fruit, Argonaut and Danger both arrived. Danger was a name we knew because our friend Red Dragon was trying to catch up to her and a group of people they started with. He apparently had caught them and would be along shortly. We sat for a bit and chatted before heading out. The big excitement for the day was the choice of 2 restaurants and a care package from one of my co workers. The restaurants were by the trail at a road crossing where we would then hitch hike into Atkins. As we emerged from the woods there were some train tracks to cross. Someone had taken loose railroad spikes to make the AT logo. The day got even better when we saw some deer in an open meadow. We came to the road and stuck out our thumbs. A nice family in a pick up truck picked us up and their young daughter sang us songs she learned in church. They dropped us off in the post office parking lot.At the counter after showing my ID I was handed a package from my coworker Jason. We sat on the curb and opened it up. The contents were so great, lots of Freeze dried meals and tons of candy. There was jerky and bug spray and all kinds of good stuff. It was such a boost to our mood that really carried on for several days as we ate good every night. It was really fantastic not to eat the same old things every night. Thanks Jason!We walked up the street to buy a few more resupply items from the dollar general and asked the clerk which restaurant option was better. She recommended The Barn. We headed across the street to hitch back and watched car after car pass us by. After 30min a pick up stopped and a grumpy guy said he would take us part of the way back. We got in and he said hold on and took us approximately 400 feet. We thanked him and continued walking and we came to a eclipse parked in a short driveway to nowhere. A shady looking young guy offered us a ride and then violently jammed our packs into his already packed trunk. After that was taken care of he told us stories of how him and his friends would hassle hikers back in the day. For good measure he had an ice pick tucked behind his ear. He was nice enough I suppose and he dropped us off at The Barn and wished us well. The Barn was great, we got burgers and charged our phones before making our way back into the woods with Argonaut. We went our separate ways and hiked a decent day. We came to a campsite at the top of a wooded mountain and decided to call it home for the night. After setting up we noticed some people paused at a sign just ahead. The sign indicated that we had hiked 1/4 of the entire AT. What a great day.After dinner 2 hikers came up the mountain. It was Rattlebee and Banana Pants. These 2 experienced hikers from Germany must have taken some time off in order for us to have gotten ahead. We offered to share the campsite and picked their brains for hiking tips. When they complete the AT they will both have completed the triple crown of long distance backpacking. Darkness fell and we all climbed into our tents.