Date: 2014-05-29
From: James River, US 501

To: BRP crossing, mile 791.7
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: scattered clouds

My sister Faith and her friend Laurel are coming to meet us today! Linda arranged to meet them where the AT crosses the BRP 10.9 miles further up the AT from the James River, where they'll do trail magic while Sarah and I hike the AT.We got to chat with Twist some this morning until Oma and Marcia called us to a wonderful breakfast. Twist had been picked up by Oma at Rt 60 yesterday and Oma was taking her back there this morning to slack pack the 6 miles to Hog Camp Gap, where Oma or Marcia would meet her with her pack. Three Springs Hostel is right on the edge of the national forest down the road from Hog Camp Gap. Oma just bought the property last year and has turned it into a very nice hostel. We're sure many hikers will enjoy it in the years to come! :-)After breakfast Linda drove Sarah and me back to the James River trail head and headed off to meet Faith and Laurel who were driving from Durham. Sarah and I started hiking up the mountain - it's nearly always uphill at the start! Pretty soon a young man named Canon caught up with us. We hiked and talked with him for a while, even staying with him on the long uphill climb until we needed a break and he pressed on. Later on, we leapfrogged a couple of times with two older women who are thru hiking, one named I Believe. I don't remember the other woman's name.When Sarah and I finally arrived at the BRP, Linda, Faith and Laurel had quite a set up going! They had an awning set up with folding chairs and a folding table under it. On the table were homemade chocolate chip cookies, brownies and pumpkin muffins. Also available were fresh apples and pears, peanut M&M's and other cookies and muffins. Sodas in the cooler and water was available, too. Canon was there along with three German hikers. Bear Juice had been through earlier and had stayed quite a while to chat - Linda really liked meeting him. The husband of one of the two women Sarah and I had leapfrogged with was also there, and pretty soon they both hiked in. They were going to a motel in Buena Vista that night and I think were planning on staying at Three Springs Hostel the following night. Pretty soon Jay also hiked in, so all my support team got to meet him, too.Then we packed up and headed back to Three Springs Hostel for another of Oma's great dinners. On the way back we checked out a gravel/dirt road to a road crossing we were thinking of using tomorrow for the shorter mileage hikers. But it is going to rain tonight and we're concerned it may be too muddy tomorrow.At dinner, we made our plans for tomorrow. I plan to hike the 10.9 trail miles to get to Rt 60. There are two road crossings in the middle, but both by gravel/dirt roads, the second one being the one we checked out earlier. Since Oma said the road to the first one is better, we decided to use that one. All five of us will drive to where we left off yesterday and start hiking north to the first crossing at Reservoir Rd, 4.1 miles up the trail. Laurel has had some leg issues lately, and although much better, won't try to go any further than that. Oma will meet us there and pick up Laurel and whomever else doesn't want to hike the additional 5.8 miles to Rt 60. Laurel and whoever gets off trail with her will pick up the rest of us there and we'll all head to our home.The five of us had the hostel to ourselves tonight. 'Twas so good to be together today!