Date: 2004-04-25
From: doc's knob shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

i had my ear plugs in last night so i did not hear the late arrivals come in. every now and then i'll wake to the pre-dawn morning and see more sleeping bags than when i went to bed. looking around quickly, i notice the gear of slim and bisquit -- but there's one hiker i don't recognize right away. oh yeah, fitz shaved his head the other day... now i've got it.i collected my gear and had a hostess blueberry pie for breakfast. Mmmm, sweet calories. i bid goodbye to my hiking companions and made my way towards pearisburg (pronounced paris-burg). it was a foggy morning that reminded me of my second week on the trail in georgia. the cloud i was walking through was thick, giving only 50 feet of visibility. the cool breeze made up for the damp humid air. as i went below 2500 feet the visibility improved greatly and many changes could be seen in the plant life. like, there was plant life. everything up top was just budding. where i was now the leaves were already coming out on the trees and green plants lined the trail. wow, spring is coming. no more shades of brown and grey -- this will be an exciting change to witness as i hike in virginia.as i get closer to town there is even more green all around me. the forest now has a scent besides pine and duff. are those wildflowers i smell? it is also noisier as i move toward town -- dogs barking, the sounds of cars, and train whistles replace the wind moving through the trees and movement of animals in the woods. (animals like white tailed deer, squirrels, birds, and snakes)as i enter town i failed to get a hitch up the hill. it seems, though, that was by design. if i got a ride i would have not run into southbound hikers pi and priest (hope i got the names right). they had a message for a guy in a kilt named 'dharma'. it was from my buddy wildcat saying hi and giving me his last location and short term plans. it is so cool how information flows around the trail simply by word of mouth or shelter registers.my next stop on this sunday morning was the plaza motel. the pearisburg PO nicely forwarded all my packages there when i called a few days before from trent's grocery. (being sunday, the PO is closed today) i highly recommend this place to other hikers. linda at the front desk helped me carry my packages to my room and offered use of the motel's washer, dryer, laundry soap, and internet at no charge. sweeet!the thru hikers were grouped together on the second floor: the mad german, boxtop, packrat, wings, and feather.from talking to them, hikers were here, next door at the holiday motel, and a few miles down the road at the church hostel.i did the usual town things: shower, bounce box, get food, plan the next section out, switch maps, etc. but today i get to lighten my load. my parents sent my summer bag here, so i'll send home all my winter gear and that will save a few pounds. on my zero day tomorrow, i will go through my gear and eliminate anything that isn't essential. i'd love to get down to 30 lbs with food and water.tonight wings and i hitched to the church hostel in the back of pickup trucks. we have to watch out for those teenagers who like to drive fast... moving in cars seems real fast anyway, but we got another adrenaline laced thrill-ride. who needs drugs?most everyone was at walmart when we got to the hostel. we hung out with slim, biscuit, and the new zealanders for an hour and decided to hitch back. while walking back to the main road we ran into hippie, fitz, slips, and poptart. timing is everything out here. we chatted and joked for a little bit then got a ride back to the motel. i stayed up 'til 1am watching the men's lacrosse championships. that's a game i loved to watch/photograph in college and i felt my desire to add it to my list of things to do after the trail.