Glasgow, VA 1407 (0 miles, 1407 total miles)
It was sprinkling and foggy when we woke up around 8 at the Glasgow Shelter in town. Iroh and I took our time getting up and moving, while Back to Back and Lost and Found did as well.
Truman stopped by with Charlie, the kindly caretaker at Stanimal’s Hostel to see if anyone else needed a ride to trail. B2B and LAF weren’t quite ready yet, but I was able to speak with Charlie about Iroh and I staying for the evening. He told us to make ourselves at home, and he’d be out shuttling till around 2:00.
At the grocery store across the street, Iroh and I bought breakfast food and snacks for the day. After a surprisingly good microwaved breakfast burrito, I was ready to grab our packed up stuff at the shelter and walk the .4 to the hostel down the road.
The day was still overcast, but warming up, and I said hi to all the cats we saw outside small houses on the side streets we were walking. Glasgow was a more modest and less affluent community than some on the trail, and the people all seemed very genuine and welcoming.
The hostel was set up in a two story house, and we lost no time getting showered and into town clothes, starting laundry while we were at it. Washing my hair was a real treat, and the day began to clear up and get sunny around lunchtime.
I got some reading done, sorted out my food, made an itinerary, and talked to my best friend Malia on the phone for a while. There was no one else at the hostel until a middle aged man going SOBO with a bushy beard named Captain Hook arrived.
Captain Hook was a fast hiker who did big miles and knew Truman and Blast quite well. He’d started June 24th and was already 1,400 miles in, which is quite impressive, though I thought I preferred the pace I’d been going personally.
Charlie joined us in the afternoon, made himself a couple sandwiches, and got to know us better. He’d thru hiked the AT in 2019, and it was now his third season working at the hostel after he’d gotten to know the owner very well on his hike during a time he’d had to get off trail due to a leg infection.
Later on, Iroh and I headed back to Scotto’s, where Elijah gave us a very warm greeting and new menu recommendations for us to try. I got the cheesesteak salad that Iroh had eaten the day before, and he got a cheesesteak sub with nacho cheese and bacon added per Elijah.
We stopped next at the grocery store once more, where I supplemented my food with a few items and a new canister of cooking fuel. Charlie intercepted us on our walk back, and gave us a ride in the hostel Subaru the rest of the way.
We squared up with Charlie, who had a pan of homemade brownies out for us and vanilla ice cream in the freezer, which I used later to make a little sundae for myself.
Iroh and I spent the rest of the evening hanging out, enjoying our time together, as I’d be hiking out by myself tomorrow, and he’d be waiting in town for his wife and dog to arrive from Texas.
The plan was for me to meet up with them sometime next week, so in the meantime I’d be on a short solo journey. However, I’d been speaking with Shrek, and she was stopping by to visit and possibly hike with me for a bit within the next couple days, which I couldn’t be more excited for.
It had been great to spend time in Glasgow again, a very hiker friendly community, and to check out a hostel and restaurant I hadn’t tried before. Everyone had been so kind and accommodating, and it reminded me why I keep coming back to this trail.