Date: 2018-06-04
From: Va Rte 612

To: Va Rte 623
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at 2:30 this morning in horrible pain.  My hips, my back, and my knees were letting me know that I should not jog in the mountains ever again. I took 600mg of Ibuprofen and laid back down.  It took forever to kick in.  Then around 3:30 this morning I remembered that I had not yet taken out my contacts.  I got back up to take care of that... only to find I had already taken them out. Ugh!! I finally fell into a good sleep just as the alarm went off.  There¢s no whining in hiking. Hahaha!!! I whined all morning, but I got up and got moving.  Mack made pancakes for breakfast.  They were yummy!  He¢s so good to us, we don¢t want to ever leave.  He drove us to Bland where we began hiking southbound back to where we had started yesterday. This will be our last slack pack flip-flop for a couple of days.  Tomorrow we will begin in Bland and head north with our full packs. I took Ibuprofen again just as we started hiking. It had been 6 hours since my last dose.  This aching is no joke, but it turned out to be my lucky day!  Because the terrain was wonderful.   Hiking the first 13 miles today felt effortless.  The terrain was so soft and even.  I was mostly ridge hiking and the miles flew by in no time.  I continued to enjoy all of the beautiful Mountain Laurel. It smells so good!Soon I came to a wooden bridge that crosses Laurel Creek. There was a soft gentle rush of water flowing under the bridge.  Mountain creeks are so clear.  I could easily see the rocks below.  I expected I would see fish too, but there were none today.  I left my tramily at the bridge and moved on ahead.  The truth is, I was looking for a place to potty.  There would be no privy for 10 miles. This can oftentimes be a difficult task for a girl.  These are the only times I wish I were a boy. I was on a ridge, and to my left were rhododendrons.  The right side was not even an option.  One step and straight down.  So I¢m trying to convince myself to just step into the rhododendron bushes real quick, but I have this thought that under those bushes would be a great place for snakes to hide. Just as I¢m thinking about the snakes something long and thin kind of copper colored(orange-ish) moved right in front of me on the trail!  Thinking I¢ve just encountered my first copperhead I jumped  way back.  My heart was pounding until I realized it was a rolled up leaf being moved by the wind. My imagination is working overtime!  Big Kahuna later said that butterflies sometimes lay their eggs on leaves and roll the leaf up to protect them.  That could have been a butterfly leaf.  We see many butterflies every day.  With about 3 miles to go the trail that I know and love showed up. There was a big climb to over 4000 feet elevation. That was followed by a very rocky down.  The rock formations were huge.  Somehow I managed to stay on my feet the whole way down.  My favorite hostel host was waiting at the bottom.  He was passing out magic.  All 3 of us took a soda before climbing into the truck.  It was about 45 minutes back to the hostel. We all showered while Mack prepared dinner.  Homemade vegetable soup with fried bologna sandwiches!  The soup was just like my mom¢s vegetable soup. Of course we had more cake and ice cream for dessert too. Every minute here has been so nostalgic for me. I¢m sad to be leaving tomorrow.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?