Date: 2009-05-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 39.0

Dear readers,Hello from Waynesboro! Despite what people say about Damascus, Waynesboro has been by far the friendliest trail town yet! Damascus was completely overrated if you ask me. At the trailhead it's a 4.5 mile hitch into town. They have a list of trail angels the visitor center across the street will call if you need a ride. Alas, we had numerous people see us and ask if we wanted one. Then, at the post office everyone was chatting with us, offering us cookies, and commenting on how happy we looked. Yes, it felt like Christmas at the PO today. Wind-Ups birthday is soon so she had numerous packages full of delicious treats, and well, I have the greatest friends and family out there and was also surrounded by boxes of cookies, candy and chocolate. No, it wasn't like Christmas it was better than Christmas! We were all so excited when we woke up this morning knowing we only had 5 miles to hike before getting our packages! I think I even had trouble sleeping... Then, we stopped by the YMCA because we heard they offer free showers to thru-hikers. They provided us with little goodie bags made by members of a local church full of shampoo, condition, soap, lotion, razors, candy, toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, etc. It was AWESOME! We have felt so welcomed and wanted here - which is different than some of the other towns we've passed through. Oh! And the woman who gave us a ride the short mile to the YMCA (we weren't even thumbing, she just saw us out with our map and asked if we wanted a ride somewhere), Sonja, had never picked up hikers or hitchhikers before but I think we made it a positive experience for her. When we got out of the showers, the front desk at the Y said she had come back and left us her name and phone number in case we needed anything else while in town. Thanks Sonja! Yes, this town has been nothing but hiker friendly! Tonight we're staying in the basement of a local church, donations accepted.The weather has been BEAUTIFUL! Not a cloud in the sky and temps have been in the 60s. Luckily, it's warmed up a bit at night, although without cloud cover, it's still be pretty chilly. I hope this weather stays. Tomorrow we enter Shenendoah National Park! We are all very excited for it. The terrain is much easier than that of Central Virginia. It seems like lately we've had a 2,000 ft. climb almost every day. Also, we've heard amazing things about the food stands you encounter multiple times a day! Cheeseburgers and blackberry milkshakes to be specific... Supposedly, the Shendenoah Challenge is hiking the entire park without carrying any food. Also, we'll be entering the park over Memorial Day, so we're hoping for some trail magic from car campers who have too much food on their grills. All in all, life is grand. The crew is still together, although at the moment, it's only four of us, myself, Gangsta, Saint, and Wind-Up, but Hermes will be rejoining us tomorrow after two zero days with family. Tomorrow I'll have my first visitor, my cousin Andrew, who will be driving through town and stopping to have breakfast with me! I'm super excited to see someone from my pre-trail life. It's funny to think the people I've become so close to out here haven't known me for longer than 9 weeks.HUGE shoutout to trail angel, Clumsy for her second dose of trail magic! (the first being ta Newfound Gap in the Smokies) The second being a fantastic care package she sent to our Waynesboro maildrop. You are awesome and will have mail arriving in a few days... also my hair has never felt so clean and Double Stuffed Oreos have never been more appreciated!Time's about to expire, gotta go.Happy Trails,Wags