VA Route 311 1482.6 (0 miles, 1482.6 total miles)
My second night at BeeCh Hill Hostel was one of my worst on trail, due to my own lack of planning. It was another very cold night, down to about 50 degrees, and all I had put on my bed was a sheet and a very light blanket.
My quilt was buried in the bottom of my pack, and I was too afraid to wake someone up at 4AM by making noise digging it out. My leggings and socks were inadequate for the temperature, and my fleece wasn’t doing the job.
I was finally able to drift off after putting on Shrek’s spare puffy coat she’d let me use earlier in the evening, but it took a long time and I woke up feeling distinctly unrested, and like I’d had a wake up call about what I was in for until the end of the trail and whether or not I was prepared for it.
It was difficult to go to breakfast, and I was one of the last to sit down to eat. I wasn’t feeling particularly social or awake, but knew I needed to eat. Coffee helped, but I was worried about the cold to come and how to handle it.
After another round of breakfast casseroles and fruit salad that were just as delicious as the first, I took a very hot shower, changed into town clothes, and put my fleece into the wash because I hadn’t cleaned it since starting to use it almost a month ago.
In the meantime, Slice, Rudolph, Hippie Gandalf, and Pleiades all left in Beth’s car to get back to town, because they’d already hiked the mile from BeeCh Hill into Daleville before coming to the hostel the night before.
I worked on some writing, then tried to plan an itinerary for Iroh, Sydney, Q, and myself. I felt a little out of my element, because Syd and Q were still so new to backpacking and I wasn’t sure what they could hike. We also had a 74 mile food carry to the next town, plus the miles I was ahead of them that they were going to make up.
It felt like a lot, but Iroh helped me come up with a plan, which simply included resupplying for three days, and taking a shuttle from whatever road we reached to resupply again before the next town.
I put in Shrek’s laundry, and it was in the dryer by the time she’d showered as well and we were all ready to go into town. She drove us to the outfitter, where we saw the other hikers hadn’t made it too far; they were at a coffee shop next door.
We said hi to them, and happened to find Rudolph’s old air pad in the hiker box outside of the store. He’d patched it, but the company had already send him a new one. It was perfect, though, because Sydney needed a sleeping pad and it was a very nice one.
Inside the store, I was feeling a bit stressed, because I’d been in touch with Malia who said she couldn’t find my puffy coat and gloves anywhere. I’d carried the coat the whole first half and left it at home where I knew she could send it to me on trail when I needed it.
Not only did I now need it, but it was expensive and I very much didn’t want to buy a new one. After purchasing resupply food, I browsed the outfitter’s selection of gloves and leggings.
I found Outdoor Research gloves at 30% off for $20, and warmer leggings of a brand I wasn’t familiar with, also 30% off, for $50. It was the end of the season, so the pricing was good, and I trusted I’d like the leggings because they sold several other quality brands there.
Outside, I told Shrek and Sydney about the puffy coat being lost in my apartment, and Shrek asked if I wanted to borrow one of her two puffy jackets and send it back to her when I was done with it.
It was a very generous offer, and I wasn’t in a position to refuse that. Feeling better now that I had warm weather gear, we walked over to Kroger and finished resupplying while Shrek watched Q in the car.
Back at the hostel, I switched the laundry, and we all organized our food into our packs, before driving to the trailhead that Iroh, Sydney, and Q were picking up at, 10 miles from where I was on trail.
The plan was for them to hike to 311, where I’d left off, and get a ride to Four Pines, where we would all stay for the evening. After saying goodbye to them, Shrek and I returned to the hostel so I could finish packing and we could square up.
With the warm clothes added to my pack, it felt quite heavy, and I thought I might need to drop the books I was carrying. We said bye to Yeeha, who’d been very happy to have us again. They’d only been open since May, so we were most likely some of their first repeat customers.
Shrek drove us another half hour or so to Four Pines Hostel in Catawba, VA. I’d been to Four Pines quite a few times in 2015 and 2016, and it was a place Frankie had been to as well. It holds a very special place in my heart.
Donna Mitchell, one of the owners, was there when we arrived, with hostel caretaker Sprocket, who I hadn’t met before. Donna brought Joe out to say hi me after a bit as well. Joe was the other hostel owner, and had taught me how to play cornhole once upon a time.
Sadly, Joe had become in poor health over the last couple of years. It was great to see him, but also difficult to see him that way. He’d been such a lively, funny, and kind man, though I was still happy I’d gotten to reconnect with him.
After spending a little time with Joe, Shrek and I drove to the gas station in town for a few things. She’d been vacillating between deciding to start her drive to Utah to visit her sister today or tomorrow.
Fortunately for me, she’d decided to organize her car one more time this evening and hit the road in the morning. I was glad she’d be staying for the night, especially because Iroh had told me they weren’t going to be making it to the road that evening.
It made sense, because we hadn’t dropped them off till just before 2PM, and the first 3 miles of their day had been a challenging climb. Still, I was feeling very triggered because the last time I’d agreed to meet two hiking partners at a specific location, things had gone quite poorly.
I knew this situation was a lot different, but it took a phone call with Iroh to make sure that wasn’t happening again. I was still a bit traumatized from that experience, though I’d been doing my best to work through it, it still hurt, especially when I feared it would happen again.
It can be scary to get close to people, whether on trail or in life. People can always change their minds, or circumstances can change. That is a risk we all take in our lives, though knowing that doesn’t always make it easier. Rebuilding my own sense of trust has taken time, and many miles.
Feeling better, I hung out with Shrek, Sprocket, and Doc Holliday, an older hiker who’d showed up at the hostel that afternoon. He was a former AT thru hiker, and was coming out to do a section hike and trail magic.
He had brought hot dogs and chips for dinner, and started a nice fire for us. Feeling lucky we’d had two fires in the last two days, I cooked up a couple hot dogs with the others, and it made for a very good dinner.
Sprocket was a repeat offender of hiking both the AT and PCT multiple times, and had lots of stories to keep us entertained. We also knew a lot of the same people from my earlier hiking days, as did Doc, so we were able to reminisce together.
Rain came down for a bit, ushering us inside the hostel. I talked with Shrek for a while about her upcoming plans, her sister, and Moose, before she departed to bed. First, though, she lent me much warmer socks for nighttime that I could mail back to her after my hike, another kindness she’d done for me.
I found a bunk in the hostel, while Doc took one of the couches. The bunkhouse portion hadn’t been there back in 2015/16, and I found it to be a nice addition.
Shrek was going to wake me up early tomorrow to say goodbye to her and Moose. Overall, it has been a very great zero day. I was very lucky to get to see more old friends, and Shrek had really helped me with a lot while she was here. A new chapter for both of us would begin tomorrow.