Since I still wasn’t 100% recovered from norovirus when I left Damascus I took it pretty slow. Initially I was planning on taking the Virginia Creeper Trail since it is flat and along a pretty river, but I just couldn’t get myself to “blue blaze,” which means getting off the true Appalachian Trail where the white blazes take you, I will have to come back another time and hike this trail! It would have saved me a couple miles and a lot of elevation but I am a purest at heart and didn’t want to veer off.
The hike towards Grayson Highlands over the next two days was the wettest and stormiest yet! I definitely got drenched as I hiked through a thunderstorm with it crashing down around me. I took it slow since the rocks and roots tend to get very slippery.
It continued to rain off and on as I camped in the Grayson Highlands among “wild” ponies. I solo camped right at the 500 mile mark among the ponies.
I slowly made my way out of Grayson Highlands where I saw a few more ponies and was greeted by some trail magic out of a VW van on Cinco de Mayo, they had Mexican beer and tequila shots before noon! I had one beer and moved on as I was still getting over the noro. 🍻
The next evening we decided to stay at partnership shelter, one of the biggest shelters on the trail! It is two stories and actually has a shower, which was out of commission due to coronavirus. Since I didn’t have my appetite back yet I opted out of pizza delivery, but it is one of the few shelters on the trail where you can order food and have it delivered right to the trail! It was definitely a busy place as it was close to a main road. We were also reunited with John, who previously had to go home for 5 days for a wedding. Oh yeah, I got new boots too! I will probably be getting two more pairs before the end of the trail as they need to be replaced about once every 500 miles.
We had a fun few days making our way from partnership shelter to our next supporter, which was at the Bear Garden hiker hostel, in the heart of Virginia! I wouldn’t say the trail has gotten flat, but it is not quite as crazy as it was to start, especially since we now have Trail legs! We explored an old school house which is a must stop along the trail. I also took a ton of flower pictures to send my mom for Mother’s Day 💐 Oh yeah, and I thought I was seeing a bunch of black bears in the woods but it turns out it was a different kind of animal, moo! 🤣🐄
For those hikers staying at the Bear Garden hiker hostel they offer several different slack pack options. You can do 17, 26.7, or 34 miles in one stretch. For anyone that does one of the two longer slack packs they are treated to homemade cake at the end of the day, I decided to go for it! It took me 9 hours and 15 minutes to hike 26.7 miles, I am definitely not a runner but I did a slow jog for several miles that day, it was challenging and I definitely felt sore for a few days after! It was worth the chocolate cake though 🙂 I also had my first official water crossing on this part of the trail, had to take my shoes off to cross Licks Creek! Signing off for now…. Feather Blue 🪶💙
Hiking Through with Feather Blue 
Way to go… 25% done!
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Thank you!
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