Miles Today: 12.7
Mile Marker: 1,015.3
This morning I could not get out of bed. I haven't slept well in a few days, and yesterday wore me out. I finally got going at 8:00 and hit the trail by 8:30. I hiked a short distance down to a hostel run by the Potomac Appalachian Trail club. They have an upstairs open from 5-9:00 P.M., but downstairs they have a hiker hostel accessible by a code. It asks you to enter the distance between two points, with the idea being only long distance hikers will have a guide with the information. Just as I was cracking the code Hop Along caught up. He'd already done over four miles, and I had done less than one. Inside is a nice bathroom with a shower, bunks, and a fridge with sodas. It's all on the honor system. I donated some cash for the shower and a couple of drinks. We hung out for a while and then decided to walk to a restaurant at the next road crossing. Once we got off the trail and started walking I realized the place was 0.80 miles away. I'm not about adding 1.6 miles for no reason. I called the restaurant and explained we are hikers and asked if anyone might be able to pick us up. The lady who answered said she'd be there in two minutes! We had an awesome breakfast/lunch, and then she took us back to the trail. I offered her cash for the ride and she refused to take it. I now realize I never got her name and feel terrible about it.
Later in the day we hit another milestone. The VA/WV border! It felt so good to finally be done with Virginia. At 554 miles, it's been more than half of the journey so far. Four down, ten more to go.