5.16.12 - Sometimes You Just Have to Create Your Own Trail Magic

Woke up to a dry, slightly cool morning at 6am. Slept pretty well last night but should have gone to bed earlier. Definitely felt two late nights in a row catching up. Had intentions of leaving around 7, but got out around 8 instead. Had to do 2,000 vertical feet of climbing over the Three Ridges area. Felt strong for a lot of it, but the lack of sleep slowed me down a little later on. Following the big morning climb, we had some rolling up and down, but it was full of rocks to walk over and around. Really slows you down and makes my feet sore by the end of the day. Hiked with Caveman, Coffee To Go, and LOL and Swayze (LOL's dog) for most of the day. After a while of hiking and taking some breaks, it seemed we were all getting really worn out and not really making good enough time to hit the shelter that we were originally aiming for. When we realized our initial plan wasn't really going to work, we decided to plan for a campsite 12 miles out of Waynesboro. Knowing we only had about 4 miles to get there from where we currently were, we took some time and enjoyed some lookouts and good views. Soaked up some sun, and had some fun relaxing and enjoying the day. We ended up going only a couple miles further and came to a crossing on the Blue Ridge Parkway. At that point we once again lost motivation to get further in good time, so we took a break again. At first we joked about ordering a pizza for delivery. Then we were on the fence. Then Mammaw B caught up to us and pushed us over the fence so we ordered pizza from a place called Giovanni's Pizza. The delivered a large cheese pizza and a large sausage and green pepper pizza, and 2 cold liters of Coke to us on the side of the road, on the AT! We were all smiles as we destroyed the pizza and soda! Sometimes you just have to create your own trail magic to make it a better day. We hadn't felt like we had accomplished much as far as mileage goes, but at the end of the day, it wasn't so much about that, but what happened because of it, and the people it was spent with.

All in all, I felt like we hadn't accomplished much for the day compared to what we had our sites set on, but we still did 14 miles on fairly tough terrain 2 of which was 800 feet of uphill after eating all the pizza), had a lot of fun with the people, enjoyed a pizza party at Dripping Creek Parking Lot, and got to watch a beautiful sunset nearby where we set up camp for the night. Also enjoyed learning the PCT method of hanging bear bags from Coffee To Go, and will probably use that as my method of choice from here on out.

Oh, and Coffee To Go (from Germany) speaks English really well, but some of the things he says come out in the funniest ways. The thing is, what he says isn't necessarily wrong, but it's just that he puts things ways that most people wouldn't, which makes it hilarious. Hopefully I can remember some of these and include them in posts. As for now, I'm tired and satisfied with how the day went. Bedtime, and a trail Friday tomorrow.