Date: 2018-09-05
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0

So last night before bed, I presented Riddler with a proposition. But, before I explain the proposition, it needs some context. So about 2 weeks ago I stopped brushing my hair, like I¢m just done. I would usually only brush my hair right after I washed it, but lately I haven¢t even been doing that. I just stick it back up in a messy, untamed ponytail. And what has started to happen is my hair has begun to dread itself. Like rope-like dreads and knots are forming all over my head and it¢s a mess. I decided to roll with it though because having dreaded hair on trail would be a lot easier to deal with than constantly having to battle the knots and tangles. However, in order for your hair to dread in an ¢orderly manner¢, you have to separate the hair in small sections all over your head and give the knots a place to start, so that your whole head of hair doesn¢t become just one giant single knot. I don¢t know if any of this is making sense, but the point is that last night I offered to pay for Riddler¢s 2hr shuttle (that she was taking to skip that 100 miles of trail) in exchange for staying just a half-a-day more with me at the hostel and helping me section off my hair. She took me up on the offer and stayed today and helped me mangle with my hair for nearly 6 hours. Lol it¢s a tedious process and I couldn¢t have done it by myself, so I appreciated the help. She was also glad to have her shuttle paid for because she was running tight on funds. Today felt like the furtherest day from trail yet. Just two girls playing with hair all day and watching Shrek in the middle of the living room at the hostel. Lol It was great. Eventually though, Riddler left around 3pm. We said our goodbyes and stuff, which was kinda sad. She actually asked me to jump ahead with her, and as much as I wanted too, I couldn¢t. 100 miles of trail is a lot. That¢s like 7-8 days. As much as I want a friend to hike with, I personally wouldn¢t be able to live with myself. So, on she went. :(I spent the rest of the afternoon doing a lot of nothing. Ended up falling asleep for a couple of hours around 5pm, which messed up my whole sleep cycle for the day. Hung out with Acadicus a lot this evening, the guy who works here. He actually thruhiked the AT last year and has another trail-trip planned for early November. He¢s gonna go hike through The Ozarks for about a month and a half. In a weird turn of events, we started talking and I think I¢ve convinced him to take off 5 days in October and hike The Smokies with me. Lol It was apparently one of his favorite sections and all I¢ve been doing since I got to this hostel is complain that I have no one to hike with, so I think empathy was achieved and I might get a hiking buddy for a bit! HahaThere¢s still a lot of trail though between here and The Smokies, so I gotta get hiking again. If you stay 3 nights or more at this hostel you get a free patch that says ¢The Vortex¢ and the name of the hostel. Lol And guess what, I got the patch! Which means that tomorrow I am getting the hell out of here even if it kills me! I¢m sinking like quicksand these days. Every town gets harder and harder to leave. Lol