Now That Was Fun

We woke up today super early to try to beat the bad storms that were scheduled to start in the morning. We had a 20 mile hike into Glasgow and wanted to get into town and find some shelter as quickly as possible. We left camp at 6 all wrapped up and ready for the rain.

We had two big climbs early in the day and the views from the summits were amazing. With all of the new growth on the trees the Blue Ridge has transformed itself into a bright green rolling carpet. It was so peaceful in the early morning light and reminded me of the hilly landscapes of the Virgin Islands.

My legs felt great today and the miles were flying by. The first time I looked at the map I had already clocked 10 miles and it was only 10 AM. Mallwalker and I got separated for a bit and I ended up meeting a new hiker called Gus. Gus was traveling with his father and I think he needed a break from two months of chatting with his dad. Before I knew it I had logged another 6 miles hearing about his fun job as a ski instructor in Whitefish, Montana. I’ve been to Glacier once and my friend Kim is trying to sell me on living in Missoula. After talking with Gus some more I can’t find a lot of good reasons not to!

The storms never materialized and Mallwalker caught up. We had a pleasant hike into town along the James river. We got in to Glasgow and scored rooms at the only B&B in town and the owner was amazing. He picked us up from the trailhead and drove us around for resupply errands and then to dinner. There isn’t much to this cute little town but we did get our picture with this awesome dinosaur statue downtown.

The B&B had this crazy futuristic massage chair that was way more intense than I had expected. It really gave my back and neck an intense working and it felt great. I’ve been dealing with this pretty sharp pain in my shoulder blade and I think it worked it out.

I’ve been wondering how much more weight I’ve lost since we last checked in at the Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. The scale said 151 lbs! Ouch. That was way more than I wanted to loose and is about 19 lbs from where I started. I’ve been hearing that the weight loss will level off soon but in the meantime I look runway ready. Minus the beard of course.

Sometimes the Trail is just fun. No snow, rain, falling or other miscellaneous drama. Just beautiful and light. The hiking feels effortless and the company is warm and friendly. I know so many are struggling out there but just be reminded that there are still peaceful and happy places out there and we will all get back there soon.