Date: 2016-05-21
From: Pickle Branch Shelter 

To: Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 6.7

May 21, 2016 - It violently rained for the entire night as far as I could tell, which was sure to make for some muddy hiking as the trail had already been in bad shape. Still, only 6.7 miles until we reached the Four Pines Hostel. The Dragon's Tooth was on the way - a massive, jagged rock that protrudes from the top of a ridge. After a rugged climb to the ridge line, we scrambled up and down boulders for a couple miles until a short side trail brought us to the tooth. Fog obscured any view of our surroundings but the Dragon's Tooth was still a pretty cool sight. Steel actually scaled the seemingly unscalable monolith and posed for a picture at the top. See the picture above for a view of the Dragon's Tooth. The descent from Dragon's Tooth was challenging and enjoyable, but also kind of dangerous. The trail was almost entirely rocks for about a mile and it was so steep that the trail builders actually drove steel rings into the rocks at certain sections so hikers could ascend and descend safely. The fact that all surfaces were wet and muddy that morning didn't help. A mile down from the tooth the trail leveled out a bit and we crossed mile 700! Finch carved a '700' in the dirt and we reveled in our small accomplishment for a few seconds until we again realized the enormity of the distance still to go. Four Pines Hostel was a half mile east off trail - the owner, Joe Mitchell, was out front putting a fence around his garden when Survivor, Steel, Finch, and myself walked up the driveway. Joe and his wife had gotten married at Trail Days a week earlier at a Trail Magic feast hosted by Four Pines. It was very obvious this guy had his beautiful, sprawling property paid off and he opened a donation-based hostel simply so he could hang out with hikers all the time. He transformed his 3 car garage into a glorified man cave for hikers to stay in. It was complete with fridge, shower, bathroom, beds, cots, couches and chairs strewn across the room. The place was hiker clean, which would probably be considered filthy in the real world. Hikers could also tent outside or sleep in the barn up the hill. This place was surreal - the only rule was to treat the place like it was your own home. Everybody there pitched in to clean the place every morning and then just continued to hang out in hiker paradise. Chickens, guinea fowl, dogs, cats, and the largest turkey I've ever seen ran (well, the turkey was so fat he actually couldn't walk more than 5 feet) haywire around the property. The shuttle (the Dragon Wagon - just like the Scooby Doo van, but with dragons) driver, Eddie, soon brought us to the Homeplace Restaurant. There were seven of us: Puma, Survivor, Doc, Scooter, Husker, Laser and myself. When the hostess asked for our last name so he could call us, I just said "Goat". Before you know it, the table for "Goat - party of 7" was ready and we mentally prepared ourselves for southern goodness. Unlimited fried chicken, roast beef, Virginia ham, corn, slaw, mashed potatoes, baked beans, green beans, biscuits, ice cream and cobbler, and sweet tea did not disappoint. It was easily the best meal any of us had eaten on the trail so far. The rest of the evening was spent resting, showering, doing laundry, drinking beer, and playing chess and corn hole. I know, we hikers live a tough life out here.