Date: 2018-06-16
From: Waynesboro

To: Bears Den Mountain Stealth Site
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

We all woke up around 8:30 and got out of bed to gorge on breakfast. The lobby was really crowded with non thru hikers. It seemed that everyone was in a mad dash for food. Alicia sent me a message saying she would be at the inn around 11 am. I finished packing my bag and noticed my trekking poles were missing. I looked all over the room, checked with everyone, and checked the front desk about a lost and found. They had completely disappeared. Alicia showed up I was excited to see her. She helped me check the other building for the poles but they were lost to the hiking gods. Everyone else headed for the trail around noon. I would be headed there around 6 or 7 tonight.  Alicia first took me to the outfitter so I could buy new trekking poles and socks. I wasn't too excited to have to buy new ones but I did need some for the the trek. Alicia then took me to downtown Waynesboro. She had wheels which made it much easier to get around. We checked out an art gallery downtown that allowed us to view artist working spaces. It was interesting to see how each artist setup their space. We then went to basic city brewing and tried a flight of beers. They were also roasting a whole pig out back but I couldn't put down that much food. I caught up with Alicia about life in Richmond. We ate perogies and buffalo cauliflower. It was so good. The beer was excellent too. We learned about the brewery passport where you can get a stamp at 6 breweries in the area and earn a t-shirt. We were sold on it. We headed to Staunton to check out Shenandoah valley brewing and Queen City brewing. Both had decent beers to try from. Alicia's friends showed up at Queen City. They had a pitbull that was saved from the streets in Mexico. Her name was Dulce because she was so sweet. She was really interested in the brewing equipment at Queen City. Alicia and I headed over to Chicano Boy for tacos. I was happy that she could drive me around. The tacos were pretty tasty but not as good as the ones in Austin. I've been spoiled too much by tex mex tacos.Alicia then took me to Walmart to grab food for my resupply. I grabbed a good amount of junk food. Alicia wanted to see what I'd be packing for the next few days. She helped me break down my food and pack it. I really appreciated that. We then drove back to Rockfish Gap where she dropped me off to get back on the trail. I thanked her for all the rides and she headed back to Richmond. I walked back into the woods then came to a sign that allowed me to self register for the Shenandoahs. Luckily they don't charge hikers for the back country permit. I hiked for about 2 hours then came to a radio tower. There were two girls who day hiked to the top. They offered me wine and I gladly accepted it. They were interested in what the daily life of a thru hiker is like. I gave them the run down. One of the girls mentioned she studied abroad in Japan and we talked about their customs. Night eventually fell and we left the towers for the woods. They showed me a stealth spot right after the towers. I thanked them for the wine and company then they were on their way. I setup my tent and bear hang in the dark then called it a night.Tonight I'm sleeping in the middle of the woods with no one around. Hopefully I don't hear a bear tonight.