From Daleville, VA to Luray, VA

Welll, its been a while since an update, so I will do my best to remember the important things! After I'm done with the trail, I think I will go back and insert dates and details that I may not have written about. I've been keeping a journal and have written every day that we've been out here! We've had a few people tag along with us, but for the most part we've stuck with our little group. Its so nice to be doing this with people that we get along so well with. We have encountered ALL types of people out here, some good and some not so good. A lot of people talk about having the "Virginia Blues". This is a very long state (there's almost 500 miles of the trail in this one state), but we haven't really experienced it. We hiked along side the blue ridge parkway for almost 100 miles and then Skyline Dr up until now. The views have still been incredible, but being so close to the roads mean that the trail has been rather crowded with day hikers and section hikers. You'll feel like you're out in the middle of no where and then a motorcycle group will pass 100 feet away on a road you can't see but can hear. Its kind of bizare. I'm ready to be back in the middle of no where :)

There's been some great trail magic though! There is a bed and breakfast somewhere between Buena Vista and Waynesboro called the Dutch House which picked up hikers and fed us an amazing lunch! (I can see how people would get stuck there-- their hospitality was up there!) Then, we met a couple who were just out for the weekend and they gave us their number for when we got into Waynesboro in case we needed a ride. We called, and they actually came and picked us up! Not only that, but they then drove us all around (to the outfitter, the grocery store, they even ate chinese with us for lunch). They then offered us to stay at their house and do laundry and shower and what not. Alan and Janet were very kind to open their home to 5 stinky hikers :) It was actually one of the more relaxing stops for us because we weren't frantically running around trying to get all of our "town erronds" done.

Shenandoah National Park has been nice so far (minus being close to Skyline Rd). We've seen all kinds of wildlife-- a couple rattlesnakes, lots of deer (even a bnuck), and there's been lots of bear sitings, though none for us while we're hiking. We did however have our camp get circled by a big bear for a couple hours in the middle of the night. That was pretty nerve-racking. There's been a lot of campgrounds and stores the trail skirts, so we've been able to eat a couple of real meals lately! Now that we're in Luray, we start our canoe trip for the next 6 days! We're very excited and Hotsauce is even back!! (Though just for the canoe trip) We've really missed him so the group is back together and about to be on the water! I'm excited for the change of pace!! That's all for now but I'll update again in Harper's Ferry, WV and let everyone know how the aqua blazing went!