Date: 2017-08-28
From: Stanimal's 328 Hostel, Waynesboro, VA

To: Maupin Field Shelter, VA
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: broken clouds

8/28/17, Maupin Field Shelter, VAMiles hiked: 1883.2, Miles to go: 297.1I ended up being the only guest at Stanimal's 328 Hostel last night. I wrote my blog, watched a movie called The Way, and went to bed. This morning I just hung out until the businesses in town opened up. I had identified a tailor who could probably sew the pack strap for me; but, Adam, the proprietor of Stanimal's suggested we go to Rockfish Gap Outfitters first. RGO is an authorized Osprey Packs dealer. Adam thought they might be able to talk to Osprey and see if anything could be done (my pack is an Osprey Exos 58). Osprey offers a pretty amazing guarantee. Jack from RGO got on the phone with Osprey and 15 minutes later I was walking out the front door with a brand new replacement pack. Woo hoo! They, of course, earned my customer loyalty with that one. Adam dropped me back off at Rockfish Gap, where I packed my new pack and hit the trail by 11:00 AM. I was back on the trail much earlier than I had expected; however, it was a pretty late start for the 20.8 mile day I had planned to make up for the lost miles yesterday. Fortunately, the trail was like the AT Superhighway! It was smooth, dry, rockless, and rootless. And - oh my God - the switchbacks! The switchbacks were fat and juicy and wound their way back and forth up the mountain. So much so, in fact, that at a couple of points I pointed out to the Trail that if it didn't wind quite so much, we could be at the top of the mountain much faster. It just chuckled good-naturedly and kept winding its way up the mountain. I saw several day hikers out on the trail and a Freshman Orientation group from Washington & Lee University; but, not many thru hikers. I think I may be slightly ahead of most SOBOs and slightly behind most Flip Floppers. I continued to see day hikers until I summited Humpback Mt. Then, I pretty much had the trail to myself. Unfortunately, with the summit of Humpback Mt, my gentle re-introduction to the AT ended. All of a sudden, I was back on rocky trail. And it was those loose rocks that derive a perverse pleasure out of twisting under your feet. As a result, by late afternoon, my feet, ankles, and knees were really feeling it. Due to my late start, I did not arrive at the shelter until about 8:15 PM. It was getting pretty dark up under the trees by then; however, I've learned over the years that if you don't turn on a flashlight, your eyes adjust to the slowly fading light quite well and you can see well enough to hike almost until it is pitch dark. When I arrived at the shelter, I think I startled a couple of the people when a kilted figure silently materialized out of the dark. There were five other people already here when I arrived. It turns out that I had actually met two of the hikers - Intrepid (SOBO) and GI Joe (Flipper) in July in NH - and we actually remembered one another! That was pretty cool!It is now almost 10:00 PM. A front is moving in, so it is pretty blustery. We are expecting rain overnight, so I chose to sleep in the shelter tonight to keep my equipment dry. I hope it's not a rainy day tomorrow...