Date: 2009-06-24
From: Campsite on Buzzard Hill, VA

To: Bears Den Hostel, VA
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: clear sky

Last night was great! The skies were clear and cool without any sounds of Whipoorwills tuning up at 2am. Bark and I both got great sleep and were thankful for the campsite. We woke up a little before 7:00am and were on the trail by 7:30am, ready to ride the "Roller Coaster." We headed out with Otter and were pretty sure we could make it to Bear's Den Hostel by mid morning. It was a much more challenging section than what we had anticipated. The Roller Coaster has lived up to its name for sure! We ran into a section hiker who had was coming south from the well known hostel and we had a renewed motivation to keep on climbing. Turns out that at that point, we were only about three quarters of a mile from the end of our hike for the day.Since we have not taken a break since Waynesboro it was time for a real shower and a necessary laundry stop. The 3 of us pressed on over the next 700 feet of elevation. With sweat pouring, we all sighed with relief at the small sign pointing to Bear's Den Hostel. We walked the .1 miles to the beautiful stone wall that led us up to the almost castle-like building. The landscape and flowers were a beautiful sight with green grass (vs. rocks) all around.We walked around the back to get into the hiker area and quickly recognized a couple of packs right outside the door. Turns out we had finally caught up to Freebird, Hatchet, Holdout and Blu Ray. This hostel is by far the cleanest and best smelling hostel on the trail. We were glad to meet Redwing, who helps run the hostel. A little later we met his wife Hopeful whose hospitality and friendliness top the charts. We were able to shower and put on some clean clothes provided by the hostel. It is amazing how good cotton t-shirts and sweat pants feel...it really is "the fabric of our lives!" After our showers we had one thing on the mind- REST! We plopped down in the comfy chairs and sofa with a cold sprite in hand and got busy doing nothing except chat with the other hikers.After just a couple of hours Bark and I were left all alone as the other hikers had made the decision to head out to the trail. We knew it wouldn't be long before others strolled in and sure enough Jones walked through the door. It was really our first good chance to get to know her better. Slowly but surely a few more hikers came in and all of us were ready for the hiker special- a pizza, a drink, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream (pint sized). Hiker hunger can be a great benefit during times like this. As soon as five o'clock hit (the hostel check in time) it was as if the flood gates opened and the hikers were released. The kitchen was soon flooded with hands reaching for pizza pans, knives chopping salad fresh from the garden and spoons waving in the air ready to attack the pints of ice cream. Dinner time on the trail is often like feeding time at the zoo. Bark and I finished off our 2 pizzas and then took our pints to our room to dive in!Its getting later now and I think we are both looking forward to a good nights rest and then heading out in the morning to make the final stretch to our "halfway" point- the 1,000 mile mark! It will be a day to celebrate.