Date: 2003-06-20
From: Niday Shelter

To: The Road!
Miles today: 1.3

Date: June 20. 03Starting Location: Niday ShelterDestination: The Road!Mileage: 1.3   Well, when the morning rolled around, it was pouring! This is just WRONG! So, I burrowed into my (wet) sleeping bag and did what any self respecting person would do....refused to come out! :) I woke up two hours later to find that Bumpkin had let me sleep til 9:00! She brought hot tea to the door of my tent, cause she is wonderful,:) and I looked out to see a sun, and blue skies!!!    After all my falls yesterday, I felt like I had been beat with a stick, so it took me a while to get moving. We sat on the edge of the shelter, had a lesiurely breakfast and decided to head into town. I really needed it! I was just wrung out by yesterday and needed a little TLC. It was only a mile and a half to the road, so we took our sweet time packing up.   As we were getting ready to leave, two men came walking up to the shelter. It turns out that one of them is a photographer that has hiked all three of the big trails....the AT, The PCT, and the Continental Divide Trail! He was quiet and unassuming, and just as nice as he could be! The other guy is a comedian from Lynn, Mass., and it turns out that he knows my favorite folk singer, Don White! Well, that made us best of friends, and I wanted to stay and talk to both of them all day! But, town calls!   We hiked down the trail to find some trail magic that two of last years thru hikers had left. Two coolers full of cold drinks! You cannot imagine how amazing a cold soda tastes after you have been in the woods for 5 days! Those drinks were much appreciated!   Once we hit the road, we started walking through beautiful, rolling Virginia countryside. We came up on a tiny, old family cemetary and walked through it reading the ancient hand-carved stones. The day had turned absolutely gorgeous, and after about 30 minutes, and retired Navy vet stopped and gave us a ride into town and to the Bed and Breakfast. He regaled us with stories of serving in the Korean War and of growing up right there in Virginia. He even showed us the one-room school house that he went to!   It was a great ride, and before we knew it we had arrived at the B&B. After much needed showers, we headed down to The Home Place, a famous AYCE country style restaurant. Man...it was GOOD!!!! My big news of the day is that I ate half a piece of roast beef!!! I told the waitress that I had not touched meat in ten years and that their roast beef looked so good, I had to have some! I think they should use me in their promotional material! I don't know if I am going back to eating meat or not, but the other day when I was hiking uphill, I started to crave Slim Jims! Now, that can't be good!Oh well, only time will tell! :)   We spent the rest of the afternooon doing our laundry and drying out our gear. I actually feel ready to face the trail again! My brother is joining us tomorrow to hike for a week, and I can't wait! The weather is supposed to be beautiful and my attitude is back on track! I do love this life! Love, Anna aka Mud Butt------------------------------Local access to PocketMail mobilee-mail now available in Europe, NorthAmerica & Australia http://www.pocketmail.com