Tuesday, June 30 10:02 pm 0.0 mi
AT 864.3 Waynesboro/Stanimal’s
Weather: Beautiful, sunny day
Hostel: Stanimal’s
Shops: Walmart Neighborhood Market, Rockfish Outfitters
Food: 2 mega slices of pizza, Cookout dinner, milkshake
My Condition: Feeling great – mentally buoyed by meetings with great friends, really enjoyed getting to know fellow thru hikers and trail angel legend Fresh Grounds!
Met up with my friend Margaret from my old job. We got pizza from Benny’s, some of the BIGGEST slices of pizza I have ever seen. A true 2 plate slice. I ate 2, Margaret ate most of her one slice but still had a sizable bit left. We talked camp, D&D, and the trail – she asked some great questions about the experience. She listens to 2 podcasts by the Crawfords, “The Family” who did the AT. I got a ride to Walmart for some supplies and then we grabbed milkshakes. Met trail legend Fresh Ground, an overwhelming tidal wave of kindness and generosity. He gave us a ride to the local outfitter and back, drove a handful of hikers about 40 minutes each way to the outfitter in Charlottesville for specific shoes they needed, force fed us watermelon, made plans to feed us tomorrow, and wouldn’t accept a dime from any of us. Constant motion, constant kindness. Puddles showed up today, and I also met Wanderer, Demona, and No Name Nate. Gumby got in late – his wife Pokey got off trail, but he’s pushing on and carrying her spirit along for the ride. Feeling rejuvenated and ready for the Shenandoahs.
Post Trail Analysis
This was one of my favorite zero days of the whole trail. I was walking to the outfitter when all of a sudden a white van, plastered with hiking bumper stickers, slows down and rolls down the window. “Get in!” shouted Fresh Grounds. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer! My mom always taught me not to get into a van with strangers, but this white van said Leapfrog Cafe and I recognized him from so many of the videos I had seen in preparing for the trail, so of course I got in! After our earlier conversations, I had convinced Blue to give Hokas a try after they had done so well for me on this recent stretch. Unfortunately, the local outfitter didn’t have them, so later on Fresh Ground would end up driving her a bit further in order to find a store that had them. After a hearty pizza lunch and milkshake with Marge, I knocked out my grocery shopping. After working on unboxing and consolidating some of the goods, I wandered out to the back patio where Fresh Ground was cutting up a watermelon. He’d slice off a thick slab and hand it to you, regardless of whether you wanted it or not. Hands covered in watermelon juice, we sat around on the back patio and all got to know one another. Wanderer has a military background, and ended up completing the PCT in 2021 after he knocked out the AT in 2020. This was our last time seeing him until the Whites, where he appeared out of seemingly nowhere at a shelter. Never say goodbye on the trail! Blue, Cage, Running Bear, and Demona were getting ready to blue blaze the Shenandoahs, opting to kayak the Shenandoah River instead of hiking that section of trail. Gumby was catching the super early shuttle to the trailhead, Toy Story and I were planning on catching the not quite as early shuttle, and Puddles was planning on catching a shuttle back to the trail later on in the day. Not satisfied with a mere one milkshake today, I walked through the drive-thru of nearby Cookout with Puddles and Toy Story, where I was truly overwhelmed by opportunity looking at the vast menu. It was my first time eating at Cookout, and it was pretty delicious! This was, without a doubt, the worst night of sleep I ever got at a hostel. I’ve met some loud snorers before, but No Name Nate takes the crown for the loudest I’ve ever been around, and not by a close margin. I could hear Toy Story restlessly tossing and turning in the middle of the night, and occassionally growling in displeasure, as the snoring, barely less audible than a freight train hauling angry grizzly bears wielding chainsaws, kept going and going. Every once in awhile, No Name Nate would go completely quiet, to the point where neither Toy Story nor I knew whether or not he was still alive and breathing. Just as we were agonizing over whether to check on him, or to roll back over and fall asleep in the newly acquired peace and quiet, the snoring would begin anew with fresh vigor.
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