We got a relatively early start today, age really trucked it out of the campsite, with feet feeling slightly better. We also had a bigger mile day planned, about 25 miles. The morning was really nice, sunny and warm. And the trail was so much nicer to hike today. Just not as many rocks and roots to stumble on, so we got into a nice rhythm. The biggest annoyance of the day were the hundreds of little caterpillars dangling from the trees covering us with their silk all day. Apparently it didn’t even matter if other hikers had gone through a section previously, more caterpillars were right there to smack you in the face.
We also ran into a few snakes today. A big black Rat Snake was chilling just off the trail, kind of behind a tree, but didn’t really seem to be bothered by us. He didn’t really move at all when we passed, and I was even able to get a few good pictures. Later in the day we came across a feisty little Garter Snake. At first we thought it was dead, so we used a hiking pole to try and brush it out of the trail, but then it just started striking the end of the hiking pole. We kind of just let it keep its attention on the hiking pole while we passed by.
The highlight of the day was undoubtedly our awesome lunchtime trip into Bland, VA. The hitching into town was super easy… like the first truck that saw us barely stick a thumb out stopped and brought us the 3 miles into town. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Subway, then off course grabbed a six- pack to hike back in with. The hitch back to the trail was a bit slower, but a guy actually going in the opposite direction turned around and picked us up, going back the way he came from, so he obviously went out of his way to help us out. Again… I’m still blown away by the kindness of people out here.
The six- pack was also a bit symbolic today, as we passed the 600 mile mark at the end of today. Another pretty awesome milestone, so we drank a beer for each 100 miles we’ve done so far. That sounds a bit better than just we wanted beer so we hiked it in, which is really what happened. We’re at Jenny Knob shelter tonight, tenting again, and hoping the rain will hold off. We’re hoping to make it to Woods Hole Hostel tomorrow, which is just under 22 miles.
Woooo! 600! And cooool snakes!