Elkton, VA 1284.5 (0 miles, 1284.5 total miles)
I slept well on the couch at Small Axe Farms, though my allergies were again bothering me in the morning. I found out later from Wayne that it is ragweed season in the area, which I definitely have an allergy to even back home.
The day began cloudy but cleared up after not too long, the sun coming out with bright white clouds dotting the sky. I laid my shoes and insoles out to dry, as well as my quilt to air out in a sunny place outside the barn.
Breakfast was around 10AM, because Kelly had to brought the kittens to be fixed first thing. I had a very relaxed morning, working my way through the Jennifer Pharr Davis book I’d started the evening before.
Called Again was highly entertaining, moving, and a detailed account of her two FKT (Fastest Known Time) records on the Appalachian Trail in 2008 and 2011. In 2011, she beat the overall supported record by finishing all 2,181 miles in just under 47 days.
I’d thought quite a bit about FKTs over the years, because when I first hiked in 2015, Scott Jurek broke the record, and there was another attempt this year as well.
I’d always wondered what motivated someone to do that, what they got out of it, and how difficult it was. I learned a lot reading through the book, getting an inside perspective and better idea of the concept.
Breakfast was a delicious scramble of chicken and duck eggs, sausage, fruit, and toast. I finished my meal plus the rest of Angel Hair’s. I relaxed in a comfy chair and kept reading till noon.
I knew Iroh would be arriving in town sometime in the afternoon, and as my first order of business decided I to take a look at an itinerary for us to get to Waynesboro, our next town located at the northern end of the Shenandoah National Park.
I had a friend, Sweets, a prior AT thru hiker, in Waynesboro who I knew from years back on the trail. She’d grown up not far from me in Massachusetts, but had relocated to Virginia and was working at the outfitter in town.
She’d offered to host me, cook for me, let me hang at her house for a few days, and soak in the hot tub. I was immensely excited to see her, and of course to be treated to some amazing trail magic.
Sweets told me Iroh was welcome to join, and I saw we were only 45 miles away from her. I figured we could hike that in two days then take a zero there.
As tempting as a few days sounded, I was already taking a zero today, and wanted to stay focused. A double or triple zero was definitely fun from time to time, but too many and I’d get distracted from enjoying the hiking. Plus, I’d just taken five days off after Katahdin.
I called Ashley at Barrington Outfitters to ask her if I should be replacing my insoles after 800 miles. As usual she was incredibly sweet, and told me to wait a little longer, not trying to sell me anything I didn’t need.
She said she’d text me later with a price to ship a new pair to Hot Springs, North Carolina. Ashley ended up quoting me $59 for the pair and shipping, which I thought was more than fair.
I spent the morning also hanging out with the others, before Angel Hair and Beans left with Wayne to continue their section hike.
Woah Frog and Big Day, having just learned what a zero was, decided to take a day off as well for some much needed rest and recovery.
They were lots of fun to hang out with, and we had a few in depth conversations about work culture, self-employment, hiking, and fulfillment in life.
I could tell that the short amount of time they’d been hiking through Shenandoah on their first backpacking trip had already begun to change them in positive ways.
Not only that, I was able to help them the same way I did with Tessa, and get some weight out of their packs. Wayne picked us up a little after 1:00 to hit town, needing to resupply and get lunch.
We started at the outfitter, where I was able to help them get a few items and walk them through a couple purchases that might make sense to get before their next section hike.
We had lunch at Old 33, a burger joint in Elkton, where I got a hard seltzer and mac n cheese. I didn’t have much of an appetite for some reason, so brought most of the food with me to pack out for lunch tomorrow.
Our next stop was the brewery in town, and I spent most of the time talking with my friend Ashley on the phone, catching up and discussing a few things. After that I chatted with Woah Frog and Big Day a bit more, while waiting for Wayne.
Iroh was in town waiting for us at the Food Lion, and when we arrived I was happy to see him for the first time in a few days. He’d hiked hard to catch up to me, which I appreciated.
I grabbed enough food to get to Waynesboro, and maybe a bit extra than that. I also hit Walgreens next door and bought some Claritin which I could take during the day, unlike Bendaryl.
Back at the farm, Iroh and the others were getting along famously, and I split my time between hanging out with them, organizing my food and gear, and continuing my book.
I was over 200 pages into the 300 page memoir, and I joked I was going to FKT the book on FKTs. Dinner was around 7, and included chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes, and crispy kale.
It was delicious, and we all ate on the deck with Kelly and Alec, plus their precocious and outgoing children, Lucas and Anna.
Dessert was ice cream with berries, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. I watched gorgeous clouds over the mountains turn pink and orange, reflecting light from the setting sun, while the moon rose over the barn.
The kittens were back from their sojourn to the vet, and seemed none the worse for wear, trying to crawl onto our laps and sneak food from our plates.
We retired back to the barn to hang out, and I finished the book while hanging out with the other hikers. We read quotes and poetry to each other, took a couple pictures together, and there were a lot of jokes and laughter.
I’d looked closer at the map and saw that the only real place to camp tomorrow would be 25 miles out of town. We’d been planning on leaving at 9-9:30, but that put us tracking to get to camp by 7PM.
I didn’t love rolling into camp 45 minutes before sunset, so Iroh suggested we take the early shuttle at 5AM with Woah Frog and Big Day.
It was 10:00 by then, and I wasn’t even packed yet, but decided that was the best course of action. We’d get little sleep, but would get into camp much earlier.
The next day we’d only have 20 miles to hike to town, could get there in the afternoon, and have a relaxing evening and next day with Sweets and her partner.
The farm we’d stayed at had a wonderful, peaceful vibe. I’d felt a lot of contentment there, with other hikers, enjoying a book about the trail, and being in the hiker friendly area of Elkton.
Waynesboro is another town like that, and I was looking forward to being in a place I’d visited quite a few times before again. I was also loving that I’d now helped three section hikers shed a total of 33 pounds from their packs since I’d been in Virginia.
There was a lot to enjoy lately, and I was doing my best to stay present and fully enjoy the moments and experience. Tomorrow would be a long day, but it would also be worth it.