I woke up in a hotel bed this morning. So I slept pretty well. I showered and headed downstairs to take advantage of the free breakfast the hotel offered. There were a couple of hikers there we ran into at the Highlands Inn. We said our “good mornings” but did’t talk much. I think we were all still trying to wake up. So we focused on downing some coffee instead.

The regular coffee ran out so I told the lady at the front desk. She told me she put regular coffee in the decaf container so I could just get some from there? Well that helped me out but I thought about the people who didn’t want to be wired on caffeine so they went for the “decaf” coffee instead. Is it possible to have an allergic reaction or simply an adverse reaction to caffeine? If so, this probably wasn’t a good habit to get into, I thought. I kept my comments to myself though and enjoyed my morning cup of joe.

We got off the trail so I could catch up on some work and meet up with Mulligan’s trail buddies. So after breakfast I went back to the room and knocked out several work related items. Mulligan got up and caught the tail end of the free breakfast. He finished breakfast and I finished up my work, we packed up and headed to the front to call a shuttle to get back to the trail.

We asked the front desk if they recommended any local taxis. At first they handed us a paper with local taxis listed. We took a pic and handed it back to them, and went to call. The owner of the hotel was behind the desk and overhead our conversation. She said she’d take us back to the trail. Nice! Trail magic. We piled ourselves and our stuff into her SUV and were off. We were dropped off south of the Mount Rogers Center. Since that’s where we got off the trail. We offered the hotel owner money but she wouldn’t take it. We thanked her very much for her generosity.

The hike started off with a climb, as it often does. It wasn’t too bad though. I stopped to go to the bathroom, so Mulligan got a little ahead of me. I climbed a 4200 foot mountain. I stopped and admired the view of the surrounding area. There was no water after this upcoming shelter for 7 miles. So when I got to the shelter I stopped to refill and have a quick snack.

There were two section hikers at the shelter. I introduced myself and they both said “did you see that note for you?” I said, “what note?” They said there was a note from a Mulligan on the trail not too far back. Hmmm I didn’t see it at all. They said it was addressed to a Wolverine and to meet him at the barn restaurant. I thanked them the info, finished my snack, and continued on up the trail.

Prior to the shelter there was a nice flowing creek with little mini waterfalls. So I probably was taking photos and didn’t pay any attention to a note laying on the ground. Who communicates with notes these days anyway I thought? We have these things called cell phones and they do work for the most part out here 🙂

It was gorgeous day. The temperature ranged from 50-70. I don’t think I even broke a sweat. I crossed mountains, forests and farmland too. I saw cows, alpacas, and some rabbits. I met another hiker. Her name was Meemzie. She had a little teddy bear attached to her pack. I asked her about it. She said it was to scare off the bears. I smiled and asked her if it had a bear bell in it. She said it didn’t but that was a great idea. I was trying to catch up with Mulligan and moving pretty fast so we parted ways and I marched on.

I came to a sign that read “trail

magic ahead”. It was in a historic one room school house and was provided by a local church. I arrived and snapped some photos. It’s really cool seeing buildings this old. It had an old wood burning stove in the middle of the building to keep everyone warm. There were several large coolers in the corner of the room. It was amazing how much food and drinks and other hiking / camping items they had. All for free. I ate a piece a fruit and a bag of chips and had a coke too.

While I was there an older woman came up. She was the great granddaughter of the original owners of the school house. I said it was a amazing it was still here and in such great condition. I made a comment about it definitely being before my time. She laughed, and said “it was before my time too sweetie.” Two section hikers arrived while I was there as well. A daughter and father duo. We passed each other a few times over the past few days. They were really nice. I thought it was wonderful they were able to spend that time together doing something they both loved…hiking in nature.

We talked about some trail magic I got recently that was at the bottom of a cemetery. I thought it was strange. They told me it was because he was serving food, the city wouldn’t allow him to do it in town. But because the cemetery was private land, the owners allowed him to do it there. Who would have thought it would be so difficult to give people food on the street. I told them I enjoyed their company and conversation and that I was sure I’d see them up the trail.

I made my way to the barn restaurant. On the front porch were the young ladies we hiked we a few nights ago. Chickadee, Lavender, and Brooklyn. Mulligan was inside eating. Or finishing up eating I should say. The rest of the crew, the guys, were 2 miles ahead already setup at a camp site. So we gathered our stuff and headed that way.

We arrived. It was a nice spot. Plenty of tent sites with a rushing creek close by. They had a fire going too. Which was really nice. Though the temperature was nice during the day it dipped down in the low 50s at night. So it was nice having a fire to keep us warm.

Ollie, Riggs, Grizz, Sweat Cicles, Bullseye, Chickadee, Brooklyn, Lavender, Mulligan and I sat around the fire cooking and eating dinner. It was really nice. Because we just got out of town there was some alcohol there too. So several of us were drinking.

The fire was blazing and someone brought up the song by John Denver called “Country Road”. With technology these days in a few seconds one of the guys had it playing on their phone. Everyone was bobbing their heads and either humming or singing along… “Country roads, take me home, To the place I belong, West Virginia, mountain mama, Take me home, country roads…”

Here we all were, almost complete strangers, bonding over a meal, in the woods in the middle of nowhere. We were all from very different places. From far corners of the US including Georgia, Seattle, New York to even further corners of the world including Australia and the UK. Somehow John Denver’s song made its way around the world, and here we all were creating wonderful memories listening to it. I thought about my family from West Virginia and wondered what they’d think about this experience. I’m sure they’d be proud. We all finished our meals, said goodnight to one another, and climbed into our tents.

Though there was only a 10% chance of rain, the sky looked like it was about to open up and pour. It wasn’t long before it did just that. I thought about the next morning and having to pack up my wet tent and hiking with a heavier pack all day. I pushed those thoughts out of mind and just listened to the soft sounds of the rain tapping on my tent. It was soothing and relaxing. I closed my eyes, snuggled up in my tent, and fell fast asleep.

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