Date: 2018-05-08
From: LambertÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Meadow Shelter

To: US 220 - Daleville
Miles today: 9.4

Before we even took a step in the state of Virginia, we were being told how easy it would be. ¢The last of the big mountains until New England.¢ You will be busting out big miles!¢ Blah, blah, blah. Easy? Well, the first 250 miles of Virginia were anything but easy. Yes, we left the 6K+ mountain tops behind in Tennessee and North Carolina. Yes, we have been hiking more miles per day. However, part of the bigger miles is due to simply having more daylight hours to hike. But the terrain has been very challenging at times and we have experienced plenty of steep ups and downs. In fact, the total ascents has been about 55,000¢ throughout the southern portion of Virginia. Of course, what goes up, must also come down (another 55,000¢). So, we kept waiting for easy, but never found it. That is until today!After a good, dry, mice-free, and snore-free sleep, we were out of the Lambert¢s Meadow Shelter and headed to Daleville at 7AM. It ended up raining pretty hard last night, so we were glad we decided to shelter instead of tent. It made for a quicker departure and meant that we would not have to dry the tent out when we got to town. The trail surface was nearly perfect for most of our 10 mile hike into town and the ups and downs were not too steep. There were a few obstacles (big rocks) to work our way around and over, but no long stretches of rock strewn trail. The best part, we were treated to really cool geological formations and some amazing views to the south (Roanoke/Blacksburg) and north (Troutville/Daleville). The miles were small and easy and the smiles were big and wide as we passed by/over ledges, monoliths and rock outcroppings. Simply put, it was a fun hike!Early in the hike we came up behind Plod Along and Grandma Shorty and hiked/chatted with them for a couple of miles before moving on. We reached the interstate town of Dalesville by noon and walked straight to the Super 8 where we will be lodging for a couple of nights. The rooms here are nice and clean and the staff are very hiker friendly. As luck would have it, a Mexican restaurant sitting right next door just opened last week. So, we dropped our packs in the room and started the calorie intake. The shower could wait. After getting cleaned up we headed out for a shopping center that had an outfitter, coffee shop, grocery store, and BBQ restaurant all in the same location. Although the shopping center was located just .7 miles from the hotel, the walk was along a very busy highway with no sidewalk. Plus, it started to rain just as we got ready to step outside. So, we decided to call a local Trail Angel named Homer to see if we could get a ride. The 80ish year old man was there to pick us up within 5 minutes. When I asked Homer what his connection to the AT was, he replied that he and his wife maintain 16 shelters in the area. WOW! Thank you Homer!Which Way and I both need new shoes, so we hit the outfitter first. She found what she was looking for, along with some new socks, but the small outfitter did not carry the shoes I wanted. My LaSportiva Trail Runners are getting pretty torn up from snagging them on jagged rocks and catching roots on the toe box. I sure hope I can get another 100 miles out of them before I pick up a new pair in Waynesboro. We ran into the usual group of hikers at the shopping complex. We also ran into a nice young couple named Espresso and Clover, who we hadn¢t seen since the Sassafras Shelter just north of the NOC. We finished our shopping and hit the Three Little Pigs for some yummy ribs before walking back to the hotel. It was a good day with lots of smiles!Peace & Blessings - Next StepElevation Data:               Weather:Ascent ~ 1,250                  Day ¢ 73 degrees / Partly CloudyDescent ~ 2,100                Night ¢ 52 degrees / ClearGrade ~ 6.9Over the Horizon: Shenandoah National Park