Date: 2010-05-23
From: Near Angel's Rest

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 3.9
Weather: light rain

I was physically tired but I didn't sleep much that night, thinking about my final day of hiking. The morning rolled around all too soon. The rain held off all night and we awoke to a thick fog. We ate our last breakfast, mine consisting of little more than a pack of Grandma's Cookies and Starbucks VIA coffee, the last of my food. As I loaded my pack up outside a shoe suddenly came sailing out of the tent, along with a small scream. Beth had found a very large spider inside one of her shoes! And a second spider in the other. That was I think the first legitimate scream I'd ever heard from her, and I'd say more from surprise than the spider itself.Packed up, we started walking about 8:15. Pearisburg was only about 3 miles away, leaving plenty of time to make it to the Post Office. We had walked about a mile when the rain started. Rain gear on, we started the steep drop off the ridge from Angel's Rest and into town. Angel's Rest had a very cool rock formation. Dropping downhill the trail became incredibly slick from the rain and we each slipped and slid many times. An hour or so later I took my last few steps on the Appalachian Trail and stepped off onto a paved road. We stopped here to stow our rain gear when Timber and Krispy Kritter came out of the trees to join us.We all walked together into town, stopping to check into the Plaza Motel before continuing on to the Post Office. Here a package from my relatives was waiting, along with my street clothes, and all of Beth's summer weight gear and her solo tent. We packed it all up and walked across the street to Rite Aid to get some soap; we were in great need after so long without showers. The clerk inside just smiled at us and informed us the trial size products were in the back. She even offered to let us wheel the cart back to the motel with all our cleaning supplies!Back in the motel we gathered up our dirty clothes and turned them into the motel clerk, who washed them for us with a smile! I took the first shower and afterwards put on my jeans and shirt, which I hadn't worn since the start of the trip. I had to pull the belt in two holes and the shirt was incredibly baggy! Nothing fit! Combine that with the crazy hiker beard and long hair and I looked like a hobo.I watched TV and spaced out while Beth took a bath (with a beer no less!). Afterwards we walked to the Mexican restaurant across the street for a celebratory lunch and margaritas. Next we walked down to Goodwill where Beth exchanged her sandals for a different pair, donating the old ones to the store on the spot. Soon after we received a text message that Bear Blaze was on her way down from Angel's Rest! We packed up a soda and beer and walked up the road to greet her. Beth even gave her a slackpack back to the motel, carrying her pack down the road!By now our crew of hikers was taking over the Plaza Motel. Radar and Pig Pen had taken the last room, to the dismay of Hedgehog and Hollywood. They ended up taking the floor in that room, reducing the cost for all. Bear Blaze shared with us. We all sat out front in the plastic chairs and relaxed. I rigged up a make-shift cooler with a cardboard box and trash bag, adding some sodas too. We all chipped in and filled it with Yuengling beer. I was teased about leaving the trail. Krispy Kritter told me I cant go by "Opus" anymore since that's my hiking name, then denied me access to the hiker box.Later on we received a call from Funky Monkey that she and Gonzo were on their way down from Angel's Landing! Gonzo had joked way back in the Smokies that all he wanted one of these days was to reach his goal to find topless women handing out cheeseburgers. We decided to make at least part of that come true (ahem, the cheeseburger part!) and walked over to Dairy Queen, then up the trail to greet the two of them. He was beat but thought it hilarious, despite the lack of women.We all returned to the motel, then made another trip to the Mexican restaurant. Those three section hikers we met at Doc's Knob had opened the bar for one hour to celebrate the end of their section and invited all of us over. Thanks, guys! We enjoyed ourselves and the company and I said goodbye to many new friends. Beth and I walked back to the motel while the others headed to Dairy Queen for ice cream. They returned with cones for each of us. We stayed up late watching Star Wars on cable.