Date: 2017-05-30
From: Massie Gap

To: Old Orchard shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: light rain

From Fatboy:Our night at Grayson Highlands General Store and Inn was very enjoyable.  We slept well and I woke Ginger at 0730 with coffee.  She's really easy to please generally but coffee in bed is a sure way to get a beautiful sleepy smile.  We completed our food inventory last night so we had a list of items we needed to feed us for 4 days on the trail.  We ordered our breakfasts at the kitchen of the general store and finished our resupply shopping.  Dennis included a variety of hot sauces for my egg sandwich and a serving of Indian mango pickle.  I also had an order of French toast with apple butter and syrup.  My legs may hurt all of the time but there's absolutely nothing wrong with my appetite!  We packed up and were shuttled back to Massie Gap to begin hiking at 1000.  We saw the stone sign which announced our passage of 500 miles on this adventure and commemorated the event with photos.  I think we're both a little amazed by the idea of walking 500 miles.  That's a damn long way over mountains through snow and rain but we've done it together.  That feels pretty good.The trail passed over some meadows where ponies and cattle pasture and through a lot of scrubby brush areas and returned to the forest.  The amazing thing to us is the number of rocky areas.  Virginia was supposed to be flat and easy!  Again, the only easy hikes are in the past.  My feet and legs take a beating while walking on rocks and I tire after only a few miles.  We finished our day at Old Orchard Shelter after a little more than 8 miles.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we decided we both could enjoy stopping before we were in agony from trashing our feet.  We set up our tent in a shaded spot and completed our usual evening routine of getting water, making coffee, and having dinner.  Spam and garlic mashed potatoes was a good choice and really tasted good.  We were treated to a brief thunderstorm with a little rain but decided to stay with our plan of tenting instead of moving into the shelter.  I hope it isn't raining in the morning when we pack up but the positive is this section of Virginia has the nicest privies we've seen yet.  That's always a huge plus for me.  I hung our bear bag and we retired to our tent at 1830 to read and write.  It was a great day.From Ginger:We stopped for lunch at Wise Shelter, where there were TWO privies! Nathan and I could each use one! You're spoiling us, AT! We also checked out the shelter log. Happy Feet left us a note when he came through. That'll pick up your spirits to see! Made me smile but also made me miss him and Tequila Sunshine. We joined Kiote and Runaway for tenting this evening.As we prepped for dinner, we met a physical therapy grad student (flash cards in hand) named Danielle, who is studying for her licensure exam and planning to thru-hike next year. She does lots of sections for fun and in prep for the big journey. This week, she's out with her dad, Flash. He regaled us with stories of his hike in 2001. He's 76 now, and going strong. Younger men should envy his legs! He finished the first week of September that year. Around the 4th. I asked, knowing what we all experienced only a week later in 2001.