Town days are great and horrible at the same time. The bacon, eggs and biscuits & gravy in Troutdale this morning were awesome. My phone call to Heather is always wonderful! But 14 lbs of food added to my pack is an absolute misery! The effects of breakfast on my stomach were also absolute misery today! Trying to make miles on a town day is tough too. We got lucky on the hitch into town but I got stranded for an hour on the way back and didn’t get on the trail again ‘til about 1pm.

The hike was fairly uneventful today. Rolling mountains opened up to birch/beech forest. When on the ridges, there were usually farms on both sides of us. It’s always peaceful when you get away from the road and the noise. The terrain allowed me to really haul butt today. I hiked the 14+ miles in just over 5 hours. Feeling strong. Green One is still suffering from shin splints, so we’ll play miles over the next few days by ear.

Partnership Shelter where we’re staying at tonight is obscenely wonderful! It’s nicknamed the Taj Mahal for a reason! It’s 5 years old, built to last forever with 2 sleeping decks and has a solar shower. Shower? Hot water? It’s been 4 days since my last shower in Damascus and I thought I was going to have 9 days of salt and stink on me before the next one. Instead, I’m clean and feeling fine right now! Oh – did I mention that a tenth of a mile down the trail is the headquarters of the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area building? With a phone? And a pizza place that delivers?!? Ayuh. I’m writing my journal entry tonight while plowing through a large pizza and a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi, having just called and chatted with Heather again. Life is awesome!

Met up with Scuba, Good To Go and WillieGoat today. Good To Go’s grandfather just died, so it was a sobering evening and time for all of us to reflect and offer support.