Date: 2010-05-04
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Oh, Woods Hole Hostel....what a wonderful place!This morning started off with six of the longest miles I've ever hiked, but then led to bliss. We'll start with the six long miles: last night, as I always do just before bed, I headed off in my Crocs to the privy. Just away from the shelter, I kicked a tiny, rock-hard stump wth my right foot. Consequently, I ruined my attemps at being quiet by yelling a few choice words. By the time I returned to the shelter, the toenail of the second toe of my right foot was black with the blood pooling beneath. The pain was so intense that I couldn't relax my muscles or go to sleep for over an hour. I eventually got some sleep, but hiking this morning was awful. It wasn't bad for the first couple of miles, but it got progressively worse, and by the time I was close to Woods Hole, I held back tears with every step. Earlier in the day, I thought I may need to zero at Woods Hole tomorrow, but I've changed my mind. I think if it were broken, it would be more swollen, and I don't think I can make anything else worse by hiking on it. I'll just take lots of ibuprofen and deal with the pain. In fact, just in the hours I've been here and stayed off it as much as possible, it already feels much better.So, on to the rest of the day. Woods Hole Hostel is wonderful! We dropped our stuff in the bunkhouse midmorning and then hung out on the porch with several other hikers for much of the late morning and early afternoon. I bought a fresh scooped pint of homemade cookies and cream ice cream; it was truly some of the best I've ever had! Braids did some work-for-stay while several others helped out in the garden, simply out of the goodness of their hearts. I felt really strange not helping, but decided that it was the smartest move to stay off my foot.Neville (one of the two owners) picked up mail on a run into Pearisburg. This was super helpful because it allowed me to do resupply today instead of going into town tomorrow. I had my package from home (thanks again to my awesome parents for taking case of all of this!), as well as yet another fantastic care package from Storm. She has now sent me two, and they are so amazing! This one was full of goodies like wetwipes (which I have now learned to actually incorporate into my routine, and am so much happier for it!), facial cleansing pads, and yummy snacks. The facial pads will allow me to actually wash my face before bed, even in the woods, which is beyond amazing! Many of you may know that I am in the 1% of people who do not like the original Goldfish crackers. Well, although Storm didn't know this, she somehow got it through telepathy and sent me a package of Goldfish S'mores Adventure, consisting of chocolate goldfish, graham goldfish, and little goldfish marshmallows. Holy yumminess, Batman! Thank you again, Storm, for your incredible thoughtfulness! After I got my resupply all squared away I met Michael (Neville's husband) back at the house for what turned out to be probably the best massage I've ever received. When Mom visited in Wytheville, she left me a fantastic gift - money for an hour massage at Woods Hole. Neville and Michael are both certified massage therapists, so they started offering this when they took over operation of the hostel last year. Michael was an incredible therapist and gave the perfect hiker massage. I'm still floating on air from it!Dinner was incredible! Almost everything was grown in their garden or acquired from local sources. All was homemade, including delicious bread made fresh that afternoon. What a perfect end to a perfect day!Postscript, May 5, 2011: That was, indeed, an amazing day. I <3 Woods Hole!