Date: 2014-04-17
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Braemer Castle Hostel via US 321
Miles today: 14.9

Another spectacular day of sunshine! Not a cloud in the sky and perfect hiking weather - we are getting spoiled with some nice weather after the rough day on the balds!We woke up in the morning to very chilly weather (temps near freezing). I woke up first to my alarm and did not want to get out of the hammock, so I lay for an extra 25 minutes until we had to get up to start hiking by 9. I quickly changed in the warmth of the top quilt of the hammock and bundled up in the warmest coat I had. We packed up quickly and then cooked breakfast in the shelter to get out of the wind.We began the hike over three little hills and then a large down to Dennis Cove Road. Along the way we called Braemer Castle Hostel as soon as we had service to book a room in the hostel. We were originally going to stay in the Black Bear Resort, but I had misread the book and thought it was actually in Hampton. Stopping at the resort would have put us well short of the mileage we needed today and we also did not want to pay $18 to shuttle us one way from US 321. We arrived at Dennis Cove Road and Big Dawg walked to Black Bear Resort to retrieve our resupply box. I waited at the road crossing with Chocolate and Cheese until they moved on and briefly with Mission and Youngster before they moved on. Youngster's foot was slightly inflamed, so they were heading into Damascus to get it checked out. We will see them on the trail up ahead!Big Dawg returned from the resort with the box - he said the resort was very nice with a hostel and several small private cabins to stay in. Probably will have to make our way back down here again some time and stay! For the sake of time, I carried the bounce box until we stopped for lunch at Laurel Falls - a little tiring for the arms, but I made it without dropping the box!Laurel Falls is a beautiful waterfall right on the trail and a great place to stop for lunch! It is a pretty big falls with multiple paths for falling water. After a great lunch, we split the items in the resupply box between both of us and loaded our packs up again.As we were leaving the falls, the couple from Germany passed us again and we chatted with them before heading on our way - they were shooting for Damascus for a couple of days, and we are looking forward to sharing a beer with them since we did not camp with them last night (they had two beers - we missed out!). We refilled our water before we started the big climb from the Laurel River to Pond Mountain. The climb up was a bit taxing but it had a lot of switchbacks along the way to make it more bearable. We reached the first flat spot and had to rest for some time since Big Dawg's hamstring was bothering him. The rest of the climb was uneventful and without issue and we started the big down to US 321. We had a great view of Watagua Lake from near the top of the mountain and we also saw the dam that we will cross over tomorrow. The lake and sunny weather reminded me of boating in the summer on our lake in Indiana - it will be nice to come home and see everyone after the trip!We reached US 321 and called the hostel for a pickup. Sutton (owner of the grocery store and the hostel) picked us up in his truck and dropped us off at the hostel. What a unique hostel it is! The building is constructed entirely out of stone and had several two floors, a hostel area, private rooms, and a kitchen and living area on both floors. We were left in the care of Alex who thru-hiked the trail in 2010 and helps out around the hostel during peak hiker season. He helped us get settled in and took us to get some supplies from the gas station.We took our laundry over to the nearby Hikers Haven and enjoyed a good burger plate while our laundry was drying. The owners of the hostel/laundromat/computer store (Jeff and Clara Craft) were very friendly and helpful - and made some good food to top it off! Jeff also sounds exactly like Jeff Foxworthy - it's great!Big Dawg and I got some work done on the computer in the store (free for hikers) and then went back to the hostel to enjoy the evening. It was a tough day but it is has been nice to get off the trail and rest when we need it!