Day 10- Heaven- Woods Hole Hostel- 20.9 Miles

Woods Hole Hostel in all it's glory

These guys are all over the place

Mike in the bunkhouse

Catch the chicken Rocky 

Piglets are hungry

Grubbin in the bunkhouse

Day 10- Heaven- Woods Hole Hostel- 20.9 Miles

       After the interesting night at Jenny Knob, we set out on our biggest day yet, 20.9 Miles into the famous Woods Hole Hostel, right outside Pearisburg, VA. Ed and I woke up around 6:15a and left Jenny Knob around 6:50a wanting to get to Woods Hole around 5:00p at the latest. Another not so bad day hiking wise, the terrain didnt get to rough until around 18 miles in, when we had to kinda jump down rocks and over rocky terrain, which did take quite a while. You would think walking on big rocks would be kind of a luxury, but when they are all placed at unorthodox angles, it gets too your feet an ankles very quick. Again though, we made it , and when we made it this time we were really in for a treat. Woods Hole Hostel is a magnificent, almost fantasy world 0.5 miles east off the trail. They provide a wonderful "bunkhouse" for the hikers to stay as well as providing organic smoothies,breakfast, and other amenities your entire stay. It almost felt like we were in summer camp for a night, it was a real treat. The entire time your surrounding by various livestock such as pigs, chickens, turkeys, horses, etc. Ed of course had a pint of Ice Cream, and I down a very large Strawberry-Banana smoothie. It was the perfect place after a long hike.

Day 11- Pearisburg, VA- 10.9 Miles

Not a bad place to eat lunch

Thumbs up

Soak it in Mike, soak it in

don't fall

Sweet gloves Rocky

The whiz kid

Day 11- Pearisburg, VA- 10.9 Miles

       Waking up at Woods Hole is accompanied by roosters, and a breakfast bell from the wonderful Neville. As stated before we had a very filling organic breakfast. Preceding the breakfast we gave thanks by a unique ceremony where everyone had to tell their "trail name", where they were from, and what they were most thankful for at that moment. Ed and I had similar gratitude towards our friends, and mostly our families for being their for us through thick and thin. After breakfast, we actually had a specific chore to keep the bunk house clean. After our chores were done we packed up, but I had to get a massage from Neville... it was amazing... to say the least. Ed patiently waited, and around 12 we left the fantasy world of Woods Hole. Our hike was a primarily downhill, but we managed to keep each other company talking about how we could make millions. After all we made it Pearisburg, and don't worry there is a Dairy Queen for Ed.

Day 9-The Night at Jenny Knob-12.1 Miles

Rocky, Just Dan, Don't Know Don't Care, and Lost Cause

Not knowing a picture is coming, but just messing around...

Ed and Don't Know Don't Care's magnificent fire

Mike Soaking in the AT

     
Day 9-The Night at Jenny Knob-12.1 Miles

       After an interesting stay in Bland with Burrito & Mash, we set out to have a pretty laid back 12.1 mile day. It was a picture perfect day to hike, and we were loaded with good food from the hiker box at the Big Walker Motel in Bland, so we were feeling pretty good. Just a nice little short day, started at around 11:30a and got into Jenny Knob around 4:15p. The hike itself was not really adventurous, the terrain was mostly smooth, with not many views through the trees. Our eventful day started when we met a few outrageous characters at the shelter. They went by the names "Don't Know, Don't Care", " Lost Cause", and the lively " Just Dan". Ed and Don't Know, Don"t Care made an amazing fire and we literally just sat around for hours laughing, doing comical things that at the time were hilarious. A few times Ed and I found ourselves falling down laughing at some of the things Just Dan was doing. In a nutshell, Just Dan was very witty, and intelligent person that had a lot of confidence in himself. He wasn't afraid to tell people what he meant, or say things that may offend certain people ( cough, cough, "Talon"). Lets just put it this way, Just Dan was the perfect guy for that night. Meanwhile,Jenny Knob only held 6 people, but we stuffed at least 9 in, and 4 or 5 were sleeping outside the shelter. Ed was actually out of the shelter freezing his ass off in his hammock, which is why he woke up so early... haha. Overall very exciting night, probably the best so far.

Day 8- On the way to Bland-11.7 Miles

Trail Golden Doodles

BEAUUUUTIFUL

Finally got a picture together

Mike checkin out Burrito

Interesting place for this

Day 8 Bland, VA 11.7 Miles

Woke up this morning to very chilly weather, which caused us to lay snuggled up in our sleeping bag a little later than usual. Finally around 9:30 or so we hit the trail. We had 11.7 miles to hike until we would get into Bland, VA, where we had once again decided to stay in a motel for a night because of the weather. We heard from other hikers that it was supposed to get down to the mid 30s that night(which it did) and we were lucky enough to be close enough to a town so we took the sign and headed for the Walker Inn Motel. On our hike into town(not much of a town, if you're near Bland and don't stop you aren't missing anything, Bland VA is very bland), we met a middle aged hiker named "Burrito" who asked if he could split a room with us. A single room in the motel was $45.00 and a double was $55.00, so we bunked up in a room for the night. Burrito was an interesting character, who liked to talk, talk and then talk some more. It made for an interesting night that was overall pretty entertaining. Before we got into town though, we had to get there. The motel was roughly 3.5 miles away from the trail, which meant we were going to try hitching for the first time this summer. After walking about 1.5 miles with no luck, we were finally picked up by a couple we had actually seen hiking on the trail that day and the previous day(we would end up seeing them everyday for the next 3 days, they were doing a week long section hike). They gave us a ride into town where we found a Subway and the motel. Not much to the rest of the night, just did some laundry and listened to Burrito talk the night away.

Day 7- Jenkins Shelter- 19.1 Miles

Day 7 19.1 Miles Jenkins Shelter

Headed out of Knot Maul Shelter around 8:00 or so and it rained on us pretty good most of the morning until we stopped at Chestnut Knob Shelter for lunch. That is when the rain really came down, but luckily it let up for a little while until we were about 3.5 miles away from Jenkins Shelter. That last 3.5 miles the rain came down pretty hard, knowing we were almost at a shelter though kept us going strong. What else can we do besides keep on walking right. We finally made it into camp where it rained all night long, luckily we were covered up in the shelter though.

Day 6- Knot Maul- 13.9 Miles

Day 6 13.9 miles Knot Maul Shelter

We headed out of Atkins around 11:30 with 13.9 miles on the docket for the day. Overall it was pretty nice hiking conditions, just a little rain here and there with no downpours. We were lucky enough to have trail magic again today. Some generous folks left some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches along with some orange soda and little debbies, Catz's favorite. Also while heading out of Atkins today, we came across a note the Carney's had left for me on the side of the road. Thank you very much Carney's, the note was extremely nice and seeing my name on a note on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere almost caused me to fall over. When Mike and I saw it, we really didn't think it was real at first.

Couldn't believe my eyes, thanks again Carneys

Perfect hiking conditions

Mean mugging

PB&J's

Day 5- Into Atkins-11.5 Miles

Day 5 11.5 Miles Atkins

Woke up around 9:00 in Marion today. Breakfast at Sonic, nothing better. Then back to the motel to take a picture with good ole "Fossil Phoenix" before we hit the trail for our prettiest day yet. No rain and all sunshine. We knew we didn't have to rush too much today because our next destination as another motel 11.5 miles right off the trail. We decided to stay at another motel for a few reasons. Reason number one was that it was game 2 of the Grizzlies vs. Spurs playoffs, we were hoping to bring them some luck but that didn't happen. It was also supposed to be in the low 40s to high 30s that night so we were happy to have a roof over our head. The walk into was Atkins was extremely nice, and about 3 miles outside of town was an old school that was over 100 years old. It was a nice place to stop and take a load off. After we checked into the world famous Travel Inn lodge, we dined at a place called "The Barn." A great restaurant with large servings and a perfect place for any hiker to eat. Not much to the rest of the day, just hanging out with other hikers at the Inn, eating pizza and cheering on the grizzlies.

120 year old school

Mike studying

Day 4- Into Marion- 11.7 Miles

Mike chillen, actually pretty exhausted

The AT- Views & Views 

Rocky, Hey Jude, and Fossil Phoenix in Marion, Fossil is actually 6 feet tall, we've just grown a lot since we started

Heading out bright and early, Mike Wake Up!!

Day 4- Into Marion- 11.7 Miles

       After what was a grueling last 4 miles to Trimpi, we slept wonderfully thinking about the all you can eat Chinese buffet we were about to destroy in Marion. We set out very early because we had to catch a shuttle at 11:15 from Partnership Shelter to Marion. Fossil, Ed and I left around 6:45a from Trimpi on our hike, which what was a hilly terrain for the most part. Around 6 miles in Fossil didn't feel like he was going to make it to the 11:15 so he told us to go on, but we knew he was right behind us (Fossil is a very humble guy, but sometimes a little pessimistic on mileage/time ratio). My knees and Ed's Achilles were starting to become pretty sore, but when you have 6 miles till town, you can drudge through a lot more pain than you realize. After all, we made it to Partnership Shelter around 10:55 or so, and better yet someone had left a little trail magic (gummies...yum!!). Oh yea, Fossil made it on time, he was maybe 10 minutes behind us, we knew it. We took the shuttle into town and stayed a Travel Inn, and went to eat with Fossil at the Chinese buffet that we had been fantasizing over all day. Filled up a little much there, but we knew we needed it, overall another successful day on the trail.

Day 3- Rain or Shine- 20.0 Miles

Ed celebrating his 500 mile mark with Audrey & Kevin

Keep Believing, Ed Reppin Memphis at the Stream

Trail Magic from "Punkin"

The beloved " Punkin:"

Still Believing, also a great view with the Camper in the back

Mike after that 4 mile Down-pour hike into Trimpi

Day 3- Rain or Shine- 20.0 Miles

Day 3 was definitely a day to remember from the rain, to meeting one of our good buddies so far "Fossil Phoenix". We set out early in the morning to accomplish our first 20 mile day of our trip. For some reason anything in the 20 miles feels awesome. The terrain for the first 16 miles was relatively easy ( no stones to walk over for 5 miles like day 2), and the rain was only slight through the trees. On our minds all day was the Grizzlies, they started their series with the Spurs tonight, which gave us a little pep in our step. We made a little 2 man conscience that we would take "Believe" pictures today, to rally our team, somewhat superstitious but we felt it would give Memphis the edge they needed (which obviously didn't work..ha). Also anything to think about other than... how far have we'd gone. So back to the trail, after 16 miles, we had our first encounter with what is known as " Trail Magic", which is exactly what it sounds like. Trail Magic is just an assortment of food that is stationed at certain parts of the trail by either previous hikers or generous locals. This time it was a woman that went by " Punkin", whose husband, " Hamster", was thru-hiking, and I guess a few miles behind us. She provided cheese& crackers, pepperoni, and an assortment of fruits. This was a great break, but the rain was soon to come. Oh yea, I forgot to tell you about Fossil, we met a really cool 65 year old thru-hiker by the name of "Fossil Phoenix", who we got to know pretty well hiking with. Our last 4 miles was absolute hell ha, it down-poured the entire 2 hours, and was not an easy hike to Trimpi, but we did make it, and after all we were going into Marion tom, which was enough to ease the pain.

Day 2- Wise Shelter- 17.3 Miles

Ed in the depths of the Jungle

Entering Grayson Highlands State Park 

Mike with  Audrey & Kevin- Whenever I'm sad I look at this Photograph, Every time I do it makes me laugh

Ed with the Ponies, Almost ate his pack

This one is following Mike....

Day 2 5/18/13 17.3 Miles Wise Shelter

                 Our second day on the trail started around 7:00 in the morning. After packing up, we finally hit the ole dusty around 8:00 with a big day ahead of us. We were planning on hiking 17.3 miles today, which is a pretty big day after you've been hiking for a few weeks, so for our second day out it was huge. The elevation changed from as low as 3160 ft. to as high as 5500 ft. Along with the long miles and large elevation changes, we were lucky enough to be rained on off and on all day. The temperature was also pretty chilly, getting down to about 55F, which when you add rain and strong winds into the mix can leave you shivering while walking. Not the best conditions for our first full day, but we pushed on, its all part of the experience right. The day sounds worse than I'm making it seem though. We were greeted by the wild ponies of the Grayson Highlands State Park, which were not shy at all. The ponies are notorious for coming up to hikers and licking the salt off their packs and shirts, which happened to us. We had to barrel our way through a pack of about 10 of them to keep moving. Pretty neat thing to see. At the end of the day we finally made it to Wise Shelter where we stayed the night with a very nice couple Kevin and Audrey. They were doing a long weekend hike and had brought with them a feast for dinner that night which included rice, tortillas, beans, avocado, chicken sausage and a few other things that they generously shared with us. They even had chocolate for dessert, which just put our dinner to shame. Even though most of the day we were rained on, the miles down and great night with super people kept our spirits high.