Date: 2022-04-28
From: Stealth campsite at Harrison Spring 

To: Stanimals - Glasgow 
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

It was cold, cold this morning. I asked Cool Whip where he got his water and he said to go back on AT and look for a flat spot and then go down to the water. I couldn¢t find it so I came back to camp and tried to find a different path but couldn¢t. Then I saw Smooth getting water and I asked him  how he got to the stream. So I followed Smooth¢s directions and finally found water. Cool Whip laughed at me and said ¢You¢ve already put in 2 miles today!¢ I was able to get 2 liters for breakfast and to start the day. We can water up at the stream in 3.3 miles. Talking of Cool Whip. We were in our tent the other night and they were all out around the firepit cooking dinner and I heard Cool Whip say ¢Aren¢t the kids going to come out for dinner?¢  We are older than all of them, but we are ¢the kids¢. :) I yelled out that we were waiting for DoorDash to deliver our dinner. The water source, 3.3 miles later, was a beautiful grassy area with room for a number of tents. Wish we had known about this place last might when we stopped.We had a 3000¢ climb before going down to the James River and Glasgow. The hike down was pretty steep at times and then finally leveled off. It seemed to take forever to get down to the river though. Four miles out, up the mountain where we still had service, I texted Stanimals and asked for a shuttle to pick up ¢5 well-behaved hikers¢. I then threatened Cool Whip to behave and we all laughed.Now let me tell you a story. Back when we first started the trail in 2019, we stopped at a hostel called Top of Georgia. There we met Braveheart and a bunch of her tramily. We have kept in close contact with Braveheart and consider her a very dear friend. At Top of Georgia, Braveheart met, and has stayed in close touch, with a hiker named Pilgrim. After his hike, Pilgrim took over running the Stanimals hostel in Glasgow. Now back to today: So Braveheart had been visiting a friend in VA and had texted Pilgrim several times about coming to see him. She had just turned onto the highway to head home to CT when Pilgrim texted her to come down and visit. He could use some help. So she turned around and drove to Glasgow. Minutes after she arrived he got our text and told her that he needed to go pick up some hikers named Happy Feet, Coffeebean, Cool Whip, Smooth, and Tin Man. Braveheart yelled ¢Wait! Happy Feet and Coffeebean? I know them!¢Meanwhile the guys and us hurried down to river level because we knew the shuttle would be there at 4pm. We took pictures of each other crossing the James River Foot Bridge. A group of kids were jumping off  the bridge, even though there is a sign saying it¢s illegal and you will be fined. We crossed the bridge and there stood Pilgrim (Charlie) waiting for us. He told the guys to put their packs in his car. He told us to put ours in the car down a ways in the parking lot. Then he said ¢Do you know her?¢ Out from behind the car comes Braveheart!  Coffeebean had spotted her first and thought ¢Why do I think I know her?¢ She ran up to him and hugged him. I knew her instantly! I screamed and ran to her and we were screaming and jumping up and down. It was the best surprise!! And for the timing of everything to have just fallen in place so perfectly!We drove back to the hostel chattering all the way. As we hit Glasgow she pointed out all the hot spots: grocery/gas station, Dollar Store, and Scotto¢s Italian restaurant. That¢s it. We got to the hostel and we took off our boots (no boots in the house, only camp shoes). Charlie gave us the spiel on using the washer, who sleeps where, showers,  shuttles to trailhead in  the morning, and evening dessert.  We took showers and Braveheart put our clothes in the washer for us. She is doing a  work-for-stay so she sleeps in the upstairs bedroom that has a double and a king bed. She told us to sleep in the king and she would take the double. Then she drove Tin Man, Rock Steady, and us over to Scottos to eat dinner. (This is not related to the Scottos in Waynesboro. I asked.) Coffeebean and I had calzones. I also had a vanilla milkshake and CoffeeBean had a salad. The food was good and filling. Then we hit the Dollar Store and grocery for resupply. Back to the hostel to settle accounts, arrange shuttle times, and have dessert. Hot apple cobbler with ice cream and whipped cream!Later when we were up in our room Braveheart said she wanted to give us some trail magic. She wanted to slackpack us tomorrow through the Punchbowl (killer ups!) She invited the guys too and they were so excited. Tin Man wants to carry his pack so the rest of us will slackpack. We will leave tomorrow at 8am from the trailhead and then she will bring our packs and meet us at the Punchbowl Overlook. Braveheart is our hero!!We hiked 11.3 miles today.