Date: 2017-07-13
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: VA 602
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

1. Date: Starsday, Afterlithe 21 (7-13)2. Day 793. Morning temp: 734. Weather: Clear, calm5. Time start: 07356. Time stop and miles: 1400/12.07. End point: VA 6028. Events: Wanna b and FlashbackLog:The group all wanted to get up early as today was going to be a Town Day for most of them. Some needed to get to the Post Office, some just wanted to resupply and head back to the trail for a HERO stop. We were still first out and no one passed us during the day, so I hope they all made their goals for the day. We had said our so-longs when we left the shelter. It would be cool to see these guys again up the trail. They were all pretty cool to hang out with. Your Vibe truly does attract your Tribe. Also, the fact that we were all walking about the same distance each day.The day started warm and proceeded to hot. As we descended in elevation, the humidity seemed to increase and the air felt heavier. Luckily our packs were as empty as they were going to be, with nothing but today's food left in our food bags. We stopped for lunch in one of the many parking lots along the Drive and after a nice forest road walk, we steeply descended into Tom Floyd Shelter. We decided to take our last break of the hike and saw two hikers hanging out in the shelter with their packs exploded. We met Wanna b and his son Flashback. They were just starting a southbound traverse of the Park and had realized on yesterday's hike that their packs had too much shit in them. They had decided to take a zero at the shelter and do a pack shakedown. LoGear gave them a bunch of pointers and we has some nice conversation. Telling them about the magical Waysides and all the good trail info that we now knew and they were headed for. As we got up to go, I offered to hump out his extra gear. From our conversation, I thought it was just extra food and some cooking utensils. Wanna b, enthusiastically agreed to let us take the bag, which was quite heavy (later weighed at 7 lbs). I asked several times if it was ok that he never see that stuff again. I planned to take the 1 lb of Starbucks coffee as payment for the haul and hiker box the other stuff somewhere. He was sure that it was a beneficial boon for the both of us. We took the bag, packed it away, said our goodbyes and headed out. On the way down the trail, LoGear said we should have gotten his address to send the stuff to, as we were sure we didn't need it and he may want it for camping down the road. I had been thinking the same thing and we discussed a few fanciful ideas on how we could still possibly get his info using the Trail Grapevine.We finished our hike and arrived back at the truck. I took my phone out of airplane mode and saw I had a messenger request from someone named Rob. I ok'ed it and saw that it was a photo of Wanna b's contact info. I was floored. It seems he had put a rented satellite hot spot in the bag and forgotten that it was in there until after we had left. I made contact with Wanna b ensuring him I could send him his stuff back and he messaged me his address. The Trail really works in the most perfect way.We headed to Front Royal, ate some Pizza Hut Express and drove the 2.5 hours back home. Phase II-a of Pamola's Quest is in the books. Push 14. 106.4 miles, eight days.Peace,EarthTone and LoGear