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Wilson
Latitude:39.18772
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GPS location Date/Time:06/30/2012 18:49:24 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:39.04787
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Wilson
Latitude:38.89006
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GPS location Date/Time:06/28/2012 21:00:39 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:38.91125
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GPS location Date/Time:06/27/2012 19:01:55 EDT

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Adam & Gary heading down the AT

On Sunday, June 24,2012 , Gary and Adam hiked 10 miles while I explored Skyline Drive. My big excitement of the day was encountering a bear at Big Meadows. I was definitely more nervous than he was!

  

Tunnel through the Shenandoah's

View from Skyland,Va.

After their hike we headed into Luray. VA and explored the caverns.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

We set up at Milepost 65 on Skyline Drive to provide a little "Trail Magic" as our way of giving back for all the hospitality Adam has received so far. Everyone who came by enjoyed Aunt Ev's homemade cookies, some fruit and a cold drink!

                                                                   Saturday enjoys a treat

                                                           Adam celebrates 900 miles

Back track, SmokeHawk & 410 to Maine relaxing

                                         

UPack and Gary 

Well, Gary and I finally finished school and headed down to Virginia on June 22, 2012 to see Adam. Our plan is to visit, see some sights and provide a little "Trail Magic". We meet Adam at Simmons Gap on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park

We all got an unexpected visit at the hotel in Harrisonburg from Adam's aunt and her children on their return from Georgia.

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Wilson
Latitude:38.81652
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GPS location Date/Time:06/26/2012 20:56:57 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:38.67663
Longitude:-78.31891
GPS location Date/Time:06/25/2012 19:22:39 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:38.21449
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GPS location Date/Time:06/21/2012 20:01:18 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:38.08581
Longitude:-78.78555
GPS location Date/Time:06/20/2012 17:53:25 EDT

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My life is almost complete.

So that movie came out called "Night at the Museum" and then the museums started letting kids camp overnight. This is my version, let's call it "Night at the Brewery".

 Word on the Trail was that Devil's Backbone Brewery was hiker friendly and let thru-hikers camp on their property. So we headed in and grabbed dinner and some beer. After trying a sampler flight of all the beers on tap, I am drinking the milk stout. Stouts will always win in my book.

 Because rain was coming in the manager said we could camp in the beer garden, the outdoor covered patio. The garden had outdoor heaters that we used to dry out gear. This night just kept getting better.

We asked the manager if we could by some growlers (Half Gallons) so we could keep drinking, and just put a deposit on the bottles (normally $8 each just for the bottle, not the beer inside.) since we didn't want to keep them. His response: "Oh, I'll just buy you guys a couple of them. Don't worry about it." Free Beer!! Best Night EVER!!!

Some amazing views

These have been some of the greatest views I've seen so far on the trail.

 This is a panorama of the rock formation the dragons tooth, A massive stone outcropping.

Being a rock climber in my heart I had an easy climb to the top where I took this picture.

This is the classic hiker photo from McAfee's Knob. You'll see the same style photo on my friends pages.
Above is the close-up, I'm trying to smile for the photo despite being terrified. Also I did not know that the rock was an overhang, if I did I would have been about 10 yards back. I know, Rock Climber scared of heights? I'm just weird like that.

Here are some of my favorite things.

I was walking through the woods and I came upon the largest tree I have ever seen in my life. The photo is myself dwarfed by a 18 ft circumference oak tree. The tree is called the Keffer Oak and is apparently the largest tree on the southern AT. This trees lower limbs were the size of normal oak trees.

 I picked my first berries of the season on June 8th. Sweet wild lowbush blueberries. They made the perfect trailside snack. I spent about 15 minutes scouring the hillside when I saw the fist ripe one. This handful was my reward. Did I savor the taste of each berry, enjoying the slight nuance of these rare wild fruit? No; because I'm a ravenous thru-hiker, I ate them all at once. Thru-hikers don't waste time enjoying food. We just eat it.

 Spent the night at 4 pines hostel. A 3 car garage with a shower and some couches. The owner Joe runs it for donations and the occasional chance to use his sheers on us "Dirty Longhairs" as he put it.

From left to right: Kabudokon, Tantrum, and Slingblade

While crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway. A woman pulled up and asked is we were thru-hikers. Then offered us a pie. As we hiked into the shelter after dark, this apple pie was the best dinner I've had on the trail :)

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Wilson
Latitude:38.06021
Longitude:-78.89124
GPS location Date/Time:06/19/2012 20:41:50 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.87107
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GPS location Date/Time:06/19/2012 00:23:09 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.81845
Longitude:-79.07056
GPS location Date/Time:06/17/2012 20:37:02 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.70948
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GPS location Date/Time:06/16/2012 17:08:53 EDT

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Spoke with Adam who is in GLasgow,Virginia. His current crew had to make an emergency stop since " tantrum" twisted his ankle and needed medical treatment. They'll be heading out tomorrow for another 5 days. Then they plan on aquablazing (follow the AT on the SHennandoah RIver) for a while to make up some miles. Gary and I plan on meeting him along SKkline Drive the end of next week. Can't wait!

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Wilson
Latitude:37.62956
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GPS location Date/Time:06/15/2012 16:33:09 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.59957
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GPS location Date/Time:06/14/2012 20:15:16 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.49399
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GPS location Date/Time:06/13/2012 21:10:36 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.41948
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GPS location Date/Time:06/12/2012 19:05:33 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.36591
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GPS location Date/Time:06/08/2012 21:50:07 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.38753
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GPS location Date/Time:06/07/2012 19:01:45 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.3976
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GPS location Date/Time:06/06/2012 17:19:11 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.42205
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Wilson
Latitude:37.27029
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GPS location Date/Time:06/03/2012 20:47:07 EDT

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Wilson
Latitude:37.18631
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GPS location Date/Time:06/02/2012 20:27:09 EDT

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The Zero Vortex

I've been trapped in my first Zero mile Vortex. After spending the night in a motel in Bland,VA (yes, it was) with Bueller and Pesky I acted in a very disciplined manner. First I resupplied my food at the Dollar General. Then I got my beard trimmed at the local barber. I then headed to the public library. After several hours of uploading pictures, blogging and checking email I began heading out for the trail. A fellow hiker informed me that he was getting a ride to a "stay for free". Since it was 4pm I decided to turn my productive town day into a zero mile day.

 The "stay for free" is a martial arts dojo owned by a cool guy name TruBrit, the next town over in Bastion, VA. He lets hikers stay for free in the dojo which has a shower and wide screen projector with surround sound. It's also next door to a pizza place that has an all you can eat lunch buffet. Hiker paradise!!

The next morning I just didn't feel like hiking out. The beauty of my life at the moment is that I don't have to. So I stayed another day. Hanging with hikers, watching movies, and eating more pizza. The group of hikers here at the moment are a lot of fun. I had a weird moment of DejaVu that made me realize they were so much like my fraternity in college. I immediately called my ABE friend Peaches, got the chance to catch up with several old friends that she happend to be with.

This morning I woke up and there was Lightning and Thunderstorms in the area. In addition there was tornado warnings in the area. No one hiked out of the dojo tonight. After three zero mile days i'm am ready to hike. While rested and well fed, I will be hiking tommorrow.