Date: 2017-06-11
From: Dismal Falls

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: few clouds

From Fatboy:It was almost difficult to leave this camp because it was so nice.  The sound of the falls was wonderful and peaceful and this was my all-time favorite camp site.  We needed to move on to accomplish our goal of Woods Hole Hostel about 14 miles away.  We started hiking at 0830 in a beautiful hot summer day.  This is the AT experience I was hoping for.  The trail was marvelous.  This must be the flat Virginia we'd heard about.  There was one climb about 7 miles in that was big.  We gained about 1500 feet in elevation in less than 2 miles.  It was mostly straight up a rocky wash and never excessively difficult.  It was just the grind of putting one foot in front of the other and repeat several thousand times.  The last couple of miles before the road leading to Woods Hole were different.  This section was filled with rough rocky sections that always seem to conspire to bruise your feet and twist your ankles.  Why do we always hit these conditions near the end of our day when we're both exhausted and my knees are weak?  It is what it is.  There were a couple of exceptionally challenging passages that required big steps down on rocks or roots that slowed me to a complete stop.  We've heard from several friends recently about injuries that have forced them to either quit the trail or be laid up for extended periods of time and I don't want to end my adventure that way.  Ginger has a bigger challenge with these obstacles because she's so much shorter than me but she never complains and just figures out how to pass even if it requires sitting down and scooting to be safe.  She continues to amaze me with her sense of adventure and ability to maintain a positive outlook on life and keep smiling.  This is the hardest thing I've ever done, both physically and mentally, and she is always right up front, leading the way.  I'm blessed to have her in my life.We arrived at Woods Hole a little after 1700.  What a neat place!  We were given an orientation to the rules for staying and were both really impressed by the atmosphere.  We were shown to our room.  Tillie's Room was in the main house and was amazing.  The details made this more of a B&B instead of a hostel and actually the hostel bunkhouse was across the yard.  We asked about bread and smoothies and were surprised to each be given a loaf of freshly baked bread and a large chunk of cheese.  It was delicious and was quickly followed by strawberry smoothies in quart mason jars.  I didn't need or want anything else for dinner and still have enough bread and cheese to make another meal.  We sat on the front porch in vintage rockers and played with the dogs while we ate and talked with other hikers.  This is a wonderful relaxing oasis.From Ginger:Nathan's keeping me going these days, as I succumb to foot pain long--familiar to him. It's nothing as bad as plantar fasciitis, but I'm finding the days more challenging, sometimes mentally, sometimes physically. Nathan keeps me laughing much of the day, thankfully. And we're often engaged with talk of our surroundings and nature lessons. I'm grateful we can both walk in silence for stretches. It's those stretches that have been a bit more challenging of late, though. We're both glad to be here.Woods Hole is about a half-mile off the trail, which I didn't include in our mileage count today. I look at that as trail miles. And the Dismal Falls swimming hole was 0.3 miles off the trail, so we did a bit more than noted, and we're feeling that "bit."The hostel/B&B has a long history associated with the AT. Neville, the founders' granddaughter, compiled a notebook that outlines the hostel history and current services. Her grandmother was a knitter, too!