Date: 2014-04-25
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Pearisburg...pronounced Parisburg. 
Miles today: 150.0
Weather: light rain

petrichorIn one of my classes in college there was this girl that was obsessed with the word petrichor. It was a short story writing class, and in every piece she turned in for workshop the word would inevitably be found at least once. Suffice to say I will never forget it.To save you a trip to the dictionary, it means the smell of the earth after the rain; an all-encompassing aroma of damp vegetation and fertile viability. I remember smelling that smell when I was little, growing up in Rockville, Virginia, with only trees for neighbors. I remember running with my father from our garden to the garage, making it just in time as fast bouts of summer rain began to pelt the caked earth. Rain does indeed have a smell and an anticipatory feel. But, for some reason the older I got the more outdoor time felt like chore time. Time on the swing set was replaced by lawn mowing or raking of leaves. Both are things that the teenage version of me would avoid at all costs. But the cost was a failure to participate, and therefore be familiar with, the courses and pleasures of nature. And what a gorgeous, gorgeous world have I been missing out on. In the space of two days the world transformed from a cold, grey being into something lush and green. When I walked into Woods Hole Hostel on the 24th I could barely see straight and the previous day's hiking held very little interest for me because I was so physically miserable. But hiking out on the 25th was a completely different experience. It was only a 10 mile ridge line walk to Pearisburg from the hostel, and my parents were waiting at the end of it. Things were already looking up. The weather was grey and rain was promised by the gusts of wind that pushed at my back. I turned a corner as I headed down the last three miles into town and, all of a sudden, there was Spring awash in beauty. I had gotten to a low enough elevation, and a warm enough temperature, that all the trees were leafed out and the ground was covered in the golden green of new grass and foliage. Red Bud and Dogwood trees bloomed in torrential glory. About that time the promised showers began and the last little bit of my walk was full of the smell of petrichor. In the last 500 foot drop I met and walked with two girls, Ice Party and Wees, who I'd seen off and on in passing since the beginning of my trip, but with whom I had really talked. We hit the road right when the sprinkling turned into an out and out thunderstorm and were able to thumb a ride into town almost immediately. I got dropped off at Hardee's where I had previously arranged to meet my parents. While I waited for them I at 2 chili dogs, an order of onion rings, 3 chicken tenders and a large Dr. Pepper. If they hadn't arrived at the end of the onion rings I'm pretty sure I would have just kept returning to the counter for more and more food. The chick behind the counter was already impressed by my capacity to inhale. But halfway through the rings my parents emerged, drenched, out of the rain and we had a very happy family reunion. We group hugged in the middle of the restaurant. We spent the remainder of the day running to the post office and Walmart and then dinner at a local pizzeria. Very satisfactory afternoon.