Wednesday, June 29th

Cornelius Creek Shelter (767.2 mi) to Glasgow, VA, (787.3 mi)

Hiking Miles: 20.1

Total Ascent: 3,635.8 ft

Total Descent: 6,060.4 ft

Total Grade: 481.4 ft/mi

Steps: 49,539

Once again I woke up early to get a jump start on the day. Hilarious thing was while I was prepping my things in front of the shelter (in the dark), DT got up (I think he was sleep walking) and hopped out of the shelter next to me (with his back turned to me facing away to the side of the shelter) and peed. What happened to the 100 foot rule? Obviously it doesn’t apply if you are sleepwalking. He then proceeded to go back into the shelter and into his sleeping bag. Again – Hilarious!

My first order of business was to climb Apple Orchard Mountain. I stopped to eat breakfast at the top where I enjoyed a beautiful view of the mountains. Our goal for the day was to reach Stanimal’s Hostel in Glasgow, VA for an evening stay.

The terrain for most of the day was flat and sandy in spots and I was literally cruising along. I stopped to eat lunch at Matt’s Creek Shelter hoping that Stevie would eventually catch up with me while I was there. Green had left early that morning from Thunder Hill and hiked alone all day. He wanted to be the first one to the hostel so he could have dibs on requesting a “work for stay” opportunity. He did just that and his sole job was to shuttle hikers to and from the hostel and hand out popsicles to passengers. The ironic thing about that was the only driving he ended up doing the entire stay was taking DT, Marty and Kai (Stevie and I rode with Charlie the hostel owner) from the trailhead to the hostel. DT subsequently ended up doing any and all driving when we needed it.

Stevie caught up with me shortly after I departed Matt’s Creek Shelter (just 2 miles before reaching the trailhead) located right after the James River Foot Bridge that crossed a nice lake. The story was many people jump off this bridge into the water (a very high jump) for amusement. We rested there until everyone in our tramily arrived before heading to the hostel.

We ate at Scotto’s (an Italian restaurant) in Glasgow and I ordered an $8 pizza special (Extra Cheese) and a vanilla shake, and Stevie ordered a large calzone. Scotto’s was indeed a very hiker friendly place and it was a welcoming treat. Marty once again paid the whole bill for dinner despite Stevie’s and my offer to help for the tab. Marty was insistent and likewise appreciative for what the tramily did to help Smiles. And we kept saying that it was Smiles who was helping all of us!

After dinner, we drove to a mart for a small resupply. We all felt Glasgow seemed to be a little shady town where the people who lived here could get away with almost anything without recourse. For example, we found it odd that Charlie would let anyone drive his car (remember – Green was a random hiker and his job magically became shuttle driver). And DT did all the in-town driving, although that was a good thing because he was a very safe driver.

At the mart, Double Trouble bought me a 12 bottle pack of Yeunglings and two huge bottles of Fruit Punch Gatorade to show his gratitude. Then we went back to Stanimal’s in time for a brownie and ice cream dessert, and we watched Deadpool on the big screen tv. The dessert’s purpose was to intentionally corral folks at one time for Charlie to articulate his rules for the morning, including the shuttle schedule. But is also tasted so good!

Double Trouble sat at the dining room table and painted his fingernails blue and pink with nail polish that he found at the hostel, and I inquired about a half-day slack pack option that Charlie offered for the next day. We also did laundry since the our hiker trash methods (tub washing) from two days before did not clean them sufficiently.

I video chatted with Teresa from the backyard of the hostel and we discussed pick-up options for that weekend in Rockfish Gap. She had just returned home from her trip to Minnesota and wedding dress shopping for Christina. Christina found the perfect dress during her first appointment, in fact it was the first one she tried on. Also, Chris texted me today saying that he was offered a job at the University of Delaware, and that Amanda was being induced in just two days on July 1st.