Date: 2018-03-24
From: AngelÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Rest Hiker Haven Hostel

To: AngelÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Rest Hiker Haven Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Today started out overcast when I got up, but it wasn¢t snowing/raining. However by noon the snow started coming down at a pretty heavy rate; I¢m certain that high up on the ridge/mountains that the snow started earlier and came down heavier. At first when I didn¢t see any snow in the AM I was second guessing my decision to take a Zero, but as the day went on and the heavy snow started I think I made the right call. Nobody likes taking a Zero on top of a Nero, but sometimes we just have to relent and let Mother Nature have her way. Besides myself there are 8 other thru hikers holed up in Pearisburg riding out this storm:  Capt. Blackbeard, The Ghost, Sour Patch, T5000, Mainer, La Copa, Bolt & Tuna. We¢re going to see what it looks like in the AM, but there¢s a distinct possibility that some/all of us could be holed up here another day depending on what the weather does. We keep telling ourselves that sooner or later it has got to get better!This AM I walked through the town, there wasn¢t a whole lot to see/do. I had lunch at a local family restaurant, stopped at both Walmart and the local grocery store and picked up a few goodies that I brought back to the hostel for the guys. For dinner I  cooked up some freeze dried with tuna , as I had extra that just won¢t fit in my food bag for the next leg. Peach pie from the grocery store is our dessert. This sitting around doing nothing is killing all of us thru hikers, and we may have a repeat tomorrow. It is what it is. Glad I have a phone, internet, books on my kindle, etc. I am currently reading ¢Fire and Fury¢ by Michael Wolf, an expose of the early days in the Trump White House. It¢s an Ok read. I did get to Facetime with Eric, Amy and the grandkids today. Gosh I miss them!  Next weekend I will be rendezvousing with my brother John in Roanoke and spending some time with him. Looking forward to it immensely. Hopefully this snow will let up so that I can pound out some miles and get closer to Roanoke this week. John will pick me up wherever I am, but regardless I need to get closer just for my own schedule (and sanity). This sitting around is really getting old. I am avoiding the TV room as much as possible as the other hikers that are here are playing one movie after another, none of which I¢ve ever heard of nor do I have any interest in watching.  Thank God for the smartphone. I did go online today and order two items for the trail that I¢m having sent to John. One was a pair of waterproof socks. It seems that the waterproofing (GTX) in my Vasque boots is no longer working. In the snow/rain the boots wet out very quickly, and then of course they take forever to dry. Lately I¢ve been using plastic bags over my feet/socks and that works OK, but folks that are using the waterproof socks like them so I am going to give them a try. The second item I ordered was a selfie stick for my phone to help with the picture taking. I am safe, warm and dry in the hostel tonite. Hoping for the best tomorrow AM in terms of the weather, but have pretty much resolved myself to the fact that I will be taking another Zero. Goodnite.