Date: 2021-04-22
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Around and about Waynesboro 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So today was chore day. I needed to call Zpacks regarding my pack. Had to get laundry done. Wanted to do a shakedown on gear I had brought and decide what to send home. Needed to go downtown to Stanimal¢s Waynesboro Hostel to pick up a box that they sent up from Glasgow. Then needed to go to the post office to send whatevs back to hearth and home. Oh, and get a beer. I called Zpacks soon after 8 am to tell them about the issues I¢ve been having with my Arc Air Robic 50l pack (full names always sound way cooler. Oh wait, I¢m going by ¢Sev¢ and not my full name. Oh well, I¢ve never been accused of possessing excess cool). Carolyn at Zpacks was very, very helpful and apologetic about the apparent defect. I assured her that I wasn¢t that upset about it, things happen, it isn¢t personal, it isn¢t life threatening, I just wanted to know if I was doing something wrong. She said it was likely due to a production issue with the frame pockets not being sewn correctly (I guessed right!). She told me she would get with the production team to expedite the construction of a replacement pack - they are a cottage business and don¢t have 50 sitting on a shelf. Then she would contact me once it was ready to be shipped and we¢d figure out where to send it. What more can you ask for? And to skip ahead, Carolyn called me in the afternoon to say the pack would be ready to ship tomorrow!  So I¢m having sent 100 miles up the trail to Front Royal, Va where I will hopefully be in the middle of next week. Thanks, Zpacks!Next order of business: Laundry. I called an Uber (first for me) and headed downtown to the laundromat. So, to set  the scene: I need to do ALL my laundry - you really don¢t pack excess clothes on a hike. What to do?  Well, I bought a pair of shorts at Walmart last night for $8.44 (washed them in my sink and hung them to dry overnight. I¢m not deranged enough to wear something right off the rack from that glorious institution of American commerce), then I put on my rain jacket. That¢s it. Shoes, no socks. Shorts. Rain jacket. No shirt.  It¢s 44 degrees. I, am a bum.  Interesting thing at the laundromat. I saw two women folding and sorting clothes in to about a dozen garbage bags. When they were getting ready to leave I asked if they needed help (from a bum) loading their car. They said sure. Turns out they do laundry for people who live near them but can¢t get out to do their own. People always surprise, for good and ill. The good always feels so much better. Laundry done, I slipped my pants over my shorts while hiding behind an industrial dryer, donned some socks and packed everything up into the Outback Steakhouse bag I found under the sink in my hotel room. This is fine. Back to the streets for a two block walk to the hostel. Got my package and started walking to the post office. Waynesboro is NOT pedestrian friendly. I dodged traffic while walking on lawns and business frontage for 10 minutes (no sidewalks), then realized I was walking the wrong direction. So, back track dodging traffic to where I had started at the hostel and then do my 15 walk to the post office. This is fine. Bonus time! 5 minutes shy of the post office I saw a sign for a Bridal Shop/FedEx shipping store!  So I walked in, packed up things to go home (still too much food) and tried on a delightful Princess dress with a drop-back and understated train (still too much beading for my tastes, the search continues). And then the true destination: The River burger bar. Had a Waynesboro burger and two local IPA¢s and...bliss. Back to the hotel - Lyft this time, two transportation firsts!  Going back to my room I passed a sign I hadn¢t noticed before that said ¢Guest Laundry¢ with an arrow pointing to an area about 75 feet from my room  .........This. Is. Fine. Shuttle is arraigned for the morning to head back to the trail at 7:45. The Shenandoah National Park awaits as does my life long dream to fight a bear. Fingers crossed!