Date: 2014-05-25
From: Elk Garden

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

I heard from the Slay boys on Sunday so I thought I'd type up a quick update! Of course, it's a lot less fun this way and clearly I won't have any great quotes from my father in law, but at least you'll know what the boys are up to!I left them at the road crossing on 58 outside of Damascus and they hiked another few miles up to the top of White Top Mountain. Jon said that night was pretty somber. I guess they missed their Optimist Prime. It threatened rain so Jon actually hammocked for the third time this trip! But it never rained, which was nice.The next day was fairly exciting! They got to walk through Grayson Highlands State Park with wild ponies! Sadly they didn't use a phone to take any pictures so I don't have any to post (therefore you get a picture of my buddies and I laying on the couch while I ice my legs). But I can imagine that it was pretty freaking awesome! That is the same day that they passed Thomas Knob Shelter where hikers can actually order pizza delivery! They didn't, or at least didn't tell me if they did. It's pretty cool to know that you can though! And they also passed the offical mile 500 mark! The trail also took them up to about 5400 feet where there were tons of unbloomed Rhodedendrons (which is weird seeing as down lower they have mostly bloomed). They also went through the Fat Man Squeeze where they had to do some boulder climbing over very rocky terrain. Jon seemed excited about that, probably because he knows that is one of my favorite parts about hiking. That night they camped at Old Orchard Shelter. The shelter was empty so Jon slept in it alone, while Kent tented in a nice grassy area nearby. There was supposed to be an awesome meteor shower that night, so Jon got up twice to watch it, but never saw anything.   Saturday they had a great day! They got to see a waterfall and got trail magic! They saw a sign advertising trail magic five miles up, so they took their lunch break there. Apparently it was a pretty big hiker feed with hot dogs, hamburgers, cokes, and snacks. They crossed over lots of horse trails and finally camped at a spot that was supposed to have good water, but turned out to have a bad water source. I guess the guidebook mixed up two spots with water. But they survived.Sunday they did 18 miles into Atkins. They had trail magic again at one of the shelters with a shower (Partnershiop Shelter) where they also got showers! Jon was super stoked that someone was so impressed with his light pack. I guess the guy even asked if he could lift it up to see how light it was. You know Jon loved this because he tries so hard to have the lightest pack on the trail (he's routinely gotten rid of things every chance he gets)! As they got closer to town they came upon more trail magic! But all that was left was bottled water. They grabbed a couple and were taking their break when a car drove up and told them not to leave, as they were back with more food! Jon said it was really cool because the people doing trail magic were the decendants of the people who used to live or teach or something at the schoolhouse they were at! He said they were very nice and had a great time. They even had coconut cake!!! Jon said he had a piece in my honor. How sweet of him! I'm sure they had to twist his arm! NOT!They were staying at the Relax Inn while in Atkins and planning on leaving on Monday. They will probably do an average of 15 mile days for a bit. Kents heel is bothering him again. They got some arch supports for his shoes, but I guess they aren't helping a whole lot. I received a text today saying they were going to go into the next town to a walk in clinic to get him checked out. Crossing my fingers that it's nothing serious.I went to the doctor today (Tuesday) and found out that I do not have a broken foot! It's just sprained or strained. So no cast! Thank goodness. My leg is another story. The doctor said I have a typical injury of an NFL kicker. It happens when the leg is moving forwards and stops immediately (ie: when I tripped and caught myself weeks back). He said often times there's less damage from actually falling (I think I said that!). So anyways, he put me on a steroid and told me to keep icing, heating, resting, and elevating. If it doesn't improve while I'm on the meds, I have to follow up with an orthopeadic dr to get an ultrasound to see if I partially tore the tendon. Please cross your fingers for me that it gets better!Thanks again for everyones support and encouragement! You guys rock!