Date: 2008-04-14
From: Plaza Motel, Pearisburg

To: Plaza Motel, Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0

Wow, we've hiked 113.4 miles from Troutdle! No wonder we had a good night's sleep. Today we dressed in our rainsuits and bundled up our dirty clothes for washing up by Linda, who offered to launder them. Thanks, Linda! Linda also provided clean towels for today's showers, let me sit at her office computer for journals posting, too. It's sleeting outside now. Just as I finished posting journal entries, into the hotel office walked Chatter and Sandalwood. They made it down the mountain thru the sleet and ready to relax and clean up. They, too, encountered the black steer up on that one peak. They got a hitch from the trailhead into here at the Plaza Motel with a woman who turns out to be the daughter of the steer's owner. She's gonna inform him of his steer's whereabouts. Just Rick and Take It Easy came out of their rooms as Chatter and Sandalwood were unlocking their respective rooms and I left the office...a hikers rreunion! This afternoon we'll be resupplying for the trek to Catawba, which is about 7 days of hiking ahead. This'll be one of the last long stretches of carrying a wks worth of food cause towns will become more frequent north of Catawba. Our feet and shoulders will rejoice then Thanks to Cahterine, my anatomy and physiology instructor at massage school, I now know the names, origins, and insertions of the various muscles that "talk" to us as we hike. Fortunately each day we hear their "voices and cries" less and less. We're taking care of ourselves today: breakfast biscuits at Hardee's, Food Lion fried chicken and subs for lunch(both smack dab practically next to the hotel). Found Clif Bars at Walmart, too for our hike. Ate bananas and got some for tomorrow's pre-hike stoke up, too. Patricia, you'll be glad to hear that on the trail I've been doing yoga daily either in the shelter or our tent. Good thing, too, or I'd stiffen right up and the cold would really get to me. We're really enjoying our room here at the Plaza Motel. Manager Linda has been quite hospitable; even brought her grandson to let me meet him.   Back to our WalMart hike: it sleeted and snowed the entire way: oh, no we're gonna get our first soaking wet shoes not on the trail, but on the hike to and fro from WalMart! Tried to hitch a ride back from the WalMart entryway, but no one took us up on our offer to ride with them-guess we looked like bedraggles=d homeless folk. Hiked halfway back when a kind, former Marine rolled down his window and gave us a lift right to the hotel. Great trail magic! Jennie And Snidely Whiplash made it down from the trail late this afternoon--ran into them at my pre-dinner Food Lion run. From our hotel pkg lot you can see the snow covered ground on the mountains under the leafless trees. Dined tonight at Dairy Queen. Take It Easy and I both got chicken sandwiches, but no ice cream--it's been too chilly a day with all that wet walking to be interested in ice cream. Hope tomorrow's weather is sunny and warmer, with no worrisome wind chill. We'll be heading back to the trail around 10 a.m. with 8 miles or so to hike before we settle in for the night at either Rice Field Shelter or tent at the campsite a few miles past that.