Date: 2018-06-25
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Footbridge campsite
Miles today: 17.8

I stayed up last night catching up on my journal until 11:30. As I was getting ready for bed I stubbed my toe that had been regrowing a toenail. It was super painful and my nail started bleeding. I bandaged it up and tried to go to bed. It kept stinging all night. In the morning I got up around 7 am and ate my cold soaked oatmeal for breakfast. We will be hiking part of the roller coaster today. It's 13.5 miles of ups and downs with no break in between. The crew headed out at 9 am.The trail was still mud squish for most of the day. I made sure to keep my socks dry by stepping on logs, rocks, and grass to avoid the puddles. The weather was pretty fair. I came to a bench and had a snack on it. That's when Bo came flying by. I mentioned that I got some trail magic from his mom. He said he had to average 24 mile days to finish the trail in time before he goes back to school. I pushed onto the first shelter at 9 miles for a lunch break. I caught up with Rebel, Lit, and Scissors in a flat field. I wonder if this is the section that deemed Virginia was flat. I eventually arrived at the shelter for lunch. I felt pretty tired from not sleeping well from the night before. Rebel Yell and Lit said they got sad message from one of their friends. A hiker named Buckets who got off the trail because of hip problems died in a car crash. I never met her on the trail but I was saddened by the news. She was only 19 years old too. They didn't know how it happened but the news has been spreading up and down the trail. We're like one huge extended family out here.  From the shelter I saw the sign that said I was entering the roller coaster. It was then a straight up over rocky terrain to the top of the first mountain. Then down another rock mess to a valley. Then straight up again over rocks and stones that seemed to slip under my feet. It was exhausting. I felt that the trail was built on purpose this way. There were hardly any switchbacks. Virginia needed to go out with a bang. I started smelling BBQ in the forest. I thought maybe there was a glamping site nearby. A day hiker coming southbound said there was trail magic up ahead. I was excited for the prospect of free food. I came to an access road and the crew was hanging out in the grass. I then saw Wokman who I hadn't seen since Franklin, NC. He was doing trail magic in this section and offered me a little hug and burger. I gladly accepted the free grub. I remembered him telling me that he would start Virginia in the middle then flip flop if he thru hiked again. I was on the same thought on Virginia. His whole family was with him too. I stayed for a little bit then pushed on.About 2 miles in, I heard Rebel Yell screaming and making rebel yells. I knew that he crossed the 1000 mile marker. I was excited to see the marker and couldn't believe I hiked 1000 miles. Lit was playing "I'm going to be" by The Proclaimers. Theo was super excited as well since he could feel the energy of the ground. We poured out some wine for Buckets then headed on. It was another two rocky climbs until we got to our campsite. We all pitched our tents close together and built a fire. It took awhile to get the fire started from all the wet wood. I made one of my pasta dinners and shared one with Kazi. We hung out by the fire until 10 pm then decided to call it a night.Tonight I'm a little slanted but cozy.