Date: 2009-05-03
From: US 11/ VA 638 Relax Inn, VA 

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter, VA
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: moderate rain

Cell noneOG noteWe had an okay night at the Relax Inn, the old saying "You get what you paid for" really is true. The place is inexpensive but it is very basic. However we did have heat, hot showers, and laundry. We packed up and went to breakfast at The Red Barn Restaurant. We both had an excellent large breakfast to fuel us for the day.We started our hike by walking under Interstate 81 heading west. This is the first crossing of this highway. We'll cross it heading east here in Virginia and we'll cross it both going west then east in Pennsylvania. We cross many interstate highways but this is the only one we cross 4 times. We are now in the bottom western tip of the state. We even come close to West Virginia but don't cross into it. There are quite a few unique things to see down here so I assume that is why the trail goes here. We'll try to describe them as we experience them.We believe we were the first hikers to leave this morning. We only saw day hikers most of the day. About a mile from the shelter our friend Red Leg had caught up to us. We knew he was behind us and figured he'd catch up. We're glad to be back with him as we really enjoy his company, he's a great guy. We have many friends out here and we're always glad to be hiking to the same shelters. Hopefully Braid will catch up to us, we also enjoy his company. My memory of this part of the trail is so clear to me. It's only one day of hiking and I remembered it so well. I didn't remember the sequence of where I crossed what but I did remember it all. One thing that stuck out in my mind was the signs telling us to not go off the trail. You see the AT easement is for a very narrow walkway through some private farms. We're allowed to cross the property but must only go where allowed. In fact we did cross fields with cows in them. C6 and I were treated to some very fresh cow droppings. Another hiker, Nancy, encountered cows on the trail. In 2006 I, too, saw them where I needed to walk. Cows and all we had a decent hike today. Tomorrow will come early and we'll have to do it all over again. It's past hiker midnight. It's 8:45pm and I need to go to sleep so goodnight.   C6 notes The Relax Inn is a low budget motel, and lives up to that reputation. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone other than smelly hikers. It was nice to sleep in a bed in a warm room with our own TV. We liked being able to take showers and wash our clothes, but the motel leaves a lot to be desired. The bathroom floor was wet the whole time and the toilet in our room didn't flush very well. (We think the floor wetness may have been condensation, but we're not sure. It was very wet and pretty frustrating.)We started our day today with a wonderful big breakfast with "Papa Doc" before we started out this morning. I hope your trip home was safe and swift, Doc. We so enjoyed meeting you and having the time with you last evening and this morning. We wish you all the best going forward.Today's hike was okay. We talked about trying to coordinate getting to my mother's house for Memorial Day weekend for a family gathering. (Near Culpeper, VA.) We hope we'll have some good weather so we can try to hike some big miles to get as far North in VA to make it easier for family to get us from the AT. This family gathering was planned to celebrate my mother's 90th birthday (which was in Feb, but we're celebrating it together Memorial Day weekend). We're looking forward to the family gathering. When OG hiked the AT in 2006, Memorial Day weekend was a week later and he was at my mother's house that weekend. Memorial Day weekend is much earlier this year, so we'll be farther South.Adin (Red Leg) caught up with us again today. We love his company, so we're thrilled to be with him again! So far (at 6:15pm) he and we are the only people at the shelter. People usually trickle in throughout the evening. We're surprised to not see anyone else yet, but they could come in much later. We also wonder if the rain we had all day may have convinced people to go to The Relax Inn or a hostel that's not far from there.By the way, we did get wet today, but this is the first wet evening I'm comfortable without adding layers to stay warm (or climbing into my sleeping bag to get warm). It's 60 degrees right now...and at home I'd be extremely cold. Out here this is cool, but comfortable. What a swtch!Nancy just arrived at the shelter. She's a neat lady we met a few days ago. She loves to hike, and is hiking for 4 weeks right now. We've had a few evenings with her. I love her attitude, and I'm fascinated by how well she knows the parts of the AT she has hiked. (She has hiked a lot of the AT and many other trails.)One man who was at the Partnership Shelter with us said he is surprised by how social hiking the AT is. He's done a lot of hiking, but didn't hike at the peak thru-hiker season before, so he hadn't experienced the thru-hiker social evenings before. It's a very special part of thru-hiking the AT. Old Goat & Check Six