Date: 2023-05-25
From: US-52

To: VA-606/The Weary Feet Hostel
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: scattered clouds

So we had a few things happen this morning that delayed our start time. First, I really wanted some chocolate milk when I finished my hike, so I asked Robert, our shuttle driver, about it and he said he'd take us to the Dollar General in Vland, VA. So, that was about a 15 minute detour. The bigger problem happened after he dropped us off. We started hiking and about 10 minutes in I realized that I didn't have my phone. So, Steve had to call Julie at the hostel so she could call Robert. Fortunately my phone was in his car, but we had to wait about 20 minutes for him to drive back to where we were.So, by the time all that got resolved, it was about 9:30am before we actually started the hike. But, we were slackpacking and having finished, I understand why people like to do it so much. There is a world of difference between carrying 30+ lbs and carrying about 10 lbs. Today I was able to do 18 miles in about 7 hours. Part of that was definitely the terrain because there were a lot of flat sections, but because I didn't have so much weight, I was also able to go faster for longer periods of time.During the hike I think I may have spotted my first bear. We were walking when all of a sudden I hear a shuffling noise and see this shape go darting through the brush. I didn't get a good look at it, but it seemed too small for a deer, so I think it may have been a smaller younger bear. Though I did see several deer along the trail and they were all pretty close encounters. The only other thing worth mentioning is that I ended up running quite a bit of the last 3 miles and I looked absolutely ridiculous doing it. Because I've lost so much weight since I've started, my pants have gotten too big. Normally it's not too big of a deal because I use the waist belt on my backpack to keep my pants up. Well, I didn't use my pack today, instead I used a smaller loaner pack provided by the hostel and it doesn't have a waist belt, so my pants kept falling down the entire hike.Anyway, while I was running, to keep my pants in place, I had to grab them with my left hand which also held my hiking poles. So, here I am running down the trail grabbing my pants with trekking poles sticking behind me and I can just imagine how comical the whole thing must have looked. There were a few people that I went by who got to witness it, so I'm sure they had a good laugh about it.Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes from The Weary Feet Hostel. Lunch: A large packet of Starkist white chicken, a packet of Starkist BBQ chicken, and two oatmeal pies.Recovery Drink: A half gallon of chocolate milk. There was a bit of a mix up with the milk. When I bought it this morning, it was supposed to be waiting for me at the hostel. Instead it got delivered to Julie's house, so when I got back, she had to go get it which took about 20 minutes. Not a huge deal, but I normally like to drink soon after I get done.Dinner: Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes with gravy, and corn at The Weary Feet Hostel. The pork was a little dry, but everything else was solid.Dessert: A piece of red velvet cake at The Weary Feet Hostel. It was good, but the chocolate cake I had yesterday was better.