Date: 2016-04-16
From: Wood's Hole Hostel 

To: Rice Field Shelter 
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I had trouble sleeping last night and then I realized that it was because I was too warm. I threw off the blanket I had on my bag, and took off my down jacket and my rain pants and found myself much more comfortable. I was up at about 7:30 getting my things together, but as always, it's impossible to leave a hostel quickly. There was fresh-baked bread and homemade apple butter and earl grey tea (which I've decided I do miss quite a lot) to be had. I sat at the breakfast table with Quixote and Audubon and Slug. Frito was up soon, too. I packed up all my food bag and got my pack mostly ready. Grandma came down for a little bit. He's feeling much better but is waiting for Bill Nye to come along, which he hopefully will later today. He's not sure what he's going to do about the 13 miles of trail he missed. We encouraged him to do what made him happiest. I settled up with Jess and was finally out by 9:30, just after the couple. Everyone was joking that we needed to find excuses to stay extra days here. It's a truly amazing place. Probably my favorite hostel so far. I hiked with Audubon and Quixote for the whole morning. They're both Bowdoin grads and are moving to Palo Alto because Quixote is going to grad school in a few months. Audubon is from New Rochelle and Quixote from Brooklyn and then Weston, CT! We talked about liberal arts and fantasy books and hiking, and eight miles passed very quickly to a lovely set of ledges where we ate an early lunch. I pushed on to fill up some water and we leapfrogged down the steep descent into Pearisburg. I noticed that in some of the ravines, the leaves on the trees are starting to pop out! It's turning into summer here. The final stretch before the road was covered in purplish white wildflowers and was a gorgeous carpet of natural color. The day was perfectly clear again, and the sun was hot. I was very happy not to have to go into Pearisburg this morning. It didn't seem like an easy hitch and the trail has recently been rerouted farther away from town. After a little jump over a hill, I crossed a river on an interstate bridge and began ascending the last 6 miles of the day. The sun was beating down on the trail and I had made good time in the morning, so I took a couple of pretty long breaks. I talked to Ali and also sorted through some housing things for next fall with the help of the parental units. I ran into Northstar, who Sobo'd a 20 mile section from the Captain's, and is taking a few days off to meet up with his wife and have a little vacation. The final miles were pretty consistent climbing up gravel. It's going to be very hot the next few days and I need to figure out some way to stay cool down here. I ran into Phat Sister and Beans, renamed from Statler and Waldorf, whom I hitched with into Franklin more than a month ago. We leapfrogged a bit. I filled up water a couple times before finally hitting the shelter. It's a nice log cabin lean-to, but the real highlight is that just over a stile is a huge field with an incredible view down into the valleys of West Virginia, a state I have never laid eyes on before. A sign nearby proclaims, "West Virginia, By God!" The trail follows the border for the next couple of miles. I sat out in the late afternoon sun and sang me some Country Roads before heading back to the shelter. The Hecklers (as Magic and I used to call them) moved on a few miles, as they only started in Pearisburg. Audubon and Quixote rolled up a few minutes later, as did a number of southbound hikers out for a weekend. They're tented nearby, but the couple decided that they would stay in a shelter for only the third time their trip. We all cooked dinner. Lightning rolled up soon and I went down to face time with Ali in the lovely field. We all came out and watched the bright orange sunset over the ridges to the west. Tomorrow will probably be a longer day, but a similar style of ridge walking with just one big drop and climb in the middle. Looking to do about 20 miles, to make it to Four Pines Hostel in three more days. Maybe. All subject to change.