I woke up this morning and got packed and ready to go over to Woodchuck Hostel to get dropped off 16 miles ahead so I can be back in Damascus tonight and get my packages that still haven't arrived. On our way over to woodchuck we stopped at Dollar General for some snacks during our slackpack. I got some Honey Grahams, Reeses Pieces, Peanut Butter Crackers, and M&M's. When I got to woodchuck the place looked absolutely wonderful. The first thing I noticed was a very authentic teepee in the backyard, well it turns out you can rent it for the night. We were already booked for three beds (Beds! not bunks!! So exciting) so we dropped off our things grabbed our sawyers, water bottles, and snacks and threw them in the small day packs that woodchuck provided and Jersey Girl, Tric, Sriracha, and I hopped into Chuck's van.
The road up to the trail crossing is extremely curvy. Me and Tric both ended up feeling a little motion sick by the end of it. So when we got to the crossing we sat down for a few minutes. I really felt like testing myself today by seeing how fast I could do these 16 miles. I also needed to get back to the outfitter in time to pick up my new pack. So I told Tric, J-Girl, and Sriracha that I would meet them at the taco place in town and took off down the trail.
The next 16 miles took me 4 hours. That's my personal record! 4 mph. It sounds slow if you compare it to normal road running but consider this: I'm going at much steeper grades than any road and walking on rocks and roots the whole way. I'm very happy with how well I did.
When I made it back to the hostel I took a shower and laid down and read my book. I'm currently reading The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. I found it in a hiker box at Kincora Hostel. Very good read so far! I then headed out to Hey Joe's where I saw J-Girl, Tric, and Sriracha at the end of my first burrito. After having a second burrito we headed out to Food City to get our resupply. By this point we were so tired we could barely think. So we went back to the hostel for some much needed rest.
The road up to the trail crossing is extremely curvy. Me and Tric both ended up feeling a little motion sick by the end of it. So when we got to the crossing we sat down for a few minutes. I really felt like testing myself today by seeing how fast I could do these 16 miles. I also needed to get back to the outfitter in time to pick up my new pack. So I told Tric, J-Girl, and Sriracha that I would meet them at the taco place in town and took off down the trail.
The next 16 miles took me 4 hours. That's my personal record! 4 mph. It sounds slow if you compare it to normal road running but consider this: I'm going at much steeper grades than any road and walking on rocks and roots the whole way. I'm very happy with how well I did.
When I made it back to the hostel I took a shower and laid down and read my book. I'm currently reading The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. I found it in a hiker box at Kincora Hostel. Very good read so far! I then headed out to Hey Joe's where I saw J-Girl, Tric, and Sriracha at the end of my first burrito. After having a second burrito we headed out to Food City to get our resupply. By this point we were so tired we could barely think. So we went back to the hostel for some much needed rest.
Love your posts!
ReplyDelete