Date: 2011-06-08
From: Pearisburg

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: few clouds

Day 77 6/8: A strange, but delightful day.Today was a success all because of an adorable 9 week old border collie puppy named Karst and his owner Will Smith.This morning we decided that the four of us (Trudge, myself, Whisper, and Cool Runnings) should split up if we were going to find a hitch. I thought that this was my perfect chance to get rid of Trudge, but I was mistaken. Trudge and I got a hitch from a woman named Jen back into Pearisburg. She took us to the on-ramp of 460 at the other side of town, which she thought would be a better spot than where we were trying yesterday. Then we got a ride with an older gentlmen and his grandson who were going to Cascade Falls. The grandfather said he would take us farther, but he had promised his visiting grandson a trip to the Falls. He asked us to join them on their hike, but we politely declined. We had made loose arrangments to meet Whisper in Glasgow once we all had hitched north.So, we got dropped off in Pembroke right across from Tangent Outfitters (the outfitters that we skipped yesterday because we didn't have time!). While the outfitter didn't have much to speak of, it was the perfect place to get some food at the attached cafe.While we were waiting on our wraps, I decided that we should yogi a ride. Enough of this hitching stuff. So, I talked to a few people, but had no luck.Then along comes Karst, the border collie puppy, and his owner. Immediately, I was in love. Move over Trudge! Dogs are a man's best friend, right? I went over to see if I could pet the puppy and Trudge and I met his owner Will Smith (no not that one). I think Will Smith might be the nicest guy we have met yet. He tried to convince us to go hiking with him at Cascade Falls (must be some falls, huh?) but we once again declined. We said goodbye and then an employee of the outfitters came and offered us a ride to nearby Blacksburg. Will Smith spoke up and said "I"ll take you to Natural Bridge." Sweet! So, we ended up hiking to Cascade Falls after all. It was a beautiful 4 mile walk with an almost complete stranger and his puppy. We constantly had to help little Karst over rocks and coax him along when he smelled something yummy (well yummy for a dog!). Then we headed north on our 1 1/2 to 2 hr drive, but then shortly turned around to pick up Whisper. He had hitched to Christiansburg, caught a bus to Blacksburg, then got back off in Christiansburg so we could pick him up. He was going to take the bus to Roanoke, then possibily to Lynchburg, and hitch to Glasgow from there. I know that if you aren't familiar with this area of Virginia that this is meaningless to you. But all that is important is that Whisper is eternally thankful to Will, because Lynchburg is nowhere near the trail!In fact, we are all indebted to Will as he wasn't even going to Glasgow (or anywhere near it). Thank you!! Plus, I got to hold the puppy the entire ride up. We arrived in Glasgow and saw a giant dinosaur with a cave women riding it. Now, before you think I've lost my mind, I must inform you that this was a statue. Photo-op! I didn't know that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time.We offered to take Will to dinner, but Glasgow had limited to no options. So, we drove to the next town over (Buena Vista) and gorged on BBQ. I had a Mungan Taco, which is fried dough with beans and salad toppings. The platter was ginormous. We drove to the trailhead and started walking around 10 pm. As we were on our way to the shelter, Trudge and Whisper stopped to look at a plant next to the trail. My immediate request was "Can we not stop?" This isn't a phrase that I find myself saying too often, but the plethora of bugs swarming at my headlamp had taken over my brain and were controlling my every move.Besides the bugs, it was neat to walk at night. Different sights, sounds, and smells. Heard whippoorwills near the trail, which I proceeded to have strange dreams about tonight. We saw two wolf spiders, which we have not discovered during the day.