Prairie Dog was a bit hung over from yesterday’s wine bag, so we all slept in late. Started with a short 3 mile hike to the top of a mountain, which is when Cricket decided she wanted a shower and a bed tonight. We called and made reservations for a shuttle and motel room in Marion, Va.
To get there, we had to cover 21 miles in the next 8 hours. We got on the move and barely stopped for the rest of the day. Lunch was quick, and there wasn’t much new scenery but the leaves are starting to bud so we did have some shade.
A thunderstorm rolled through while we were on tip of a climb and we were hailed on. It was considerably warmer this time so we mostly laughed it off.
I’ve realized that total distance doesn’t hurt me as much as the pace does. By the time we made it to the shuttle pick up point my feet were killing me. We’d made it in time and got our ride to the Econo Lodge.
It wasn’t a classy place. The shower was clogged before we started so everyone soaked their feet in dirty water. We walked to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, where I had a delicious margarita, and then grocery shopping at Walmart.
Marg
It rained on us on the walk back to the Econo Lodge so now everybody’s dry sleeping clothes are soaked. Yay rain. Tomorrow will probably be a zero, we got here faster than expected and we have laundry to catch up on.
Day 50 Mileage: 22.5 mi [V.A. 603 Fairwood Road -> V.A. 16 Mount Rogers]
Total Mileage: 542.7 mi