Day 46

Day 46, 6/13/23

Sugar Run Mountain tent site to Rice Field shelter

21.2 miles, mile 644.2

Today might have been one of the best days on trail so far. After not sleeping that much last night because of how windy it was on top of the mountain, I was really hoping I could get a cup of coffee at Woods Hole hostel three miles up the trail. The hostel was a bit of a walk off trail, but when we got there, there was a giant container of coffee sitting on the table of the porch. I asked if I could have a cup even though I didn’t stay last night and they said if there was some left I could! Man was that an amazing cup of coffee and made the morning much better. This hostel is absolutely adorable and they have a garden where they use the produce to make dinners for the guests. We only stayed for about an hour and bought some snacks and fuel and charged out phones. Then we continued on the trail and saw a momma and baby deer and some pretty views of the valley. After a late lunch we descended into Pearisburg and I heard there was a dairy queen there, but it was a mile off trail. It was just our luck that a woman who thru-hiked in 2016 and her husband were putting a sign up at the beginning of the trail and we stopped to talk to them. I mentioned dairy queen and they said “get in” and they gave us a ride AND bought our ice cream for us! I couldn’t believe it, I was so happy I could have cried. I had been thinking about it all morning and my large vanilla chocolate swirl in a cup absolutely made my entire week. It’s a good thing I had it because it powered me the last six miles which was almost entirely uphill to get here. The sunset was absolutely beautiful, we are camping in a field by the shelter and had a great view of the sun going down. When we went to put our food in the bear box we saw three bunnies and a deer. Now I’m nice and warm in my tent and can hopefully get some sleep. Tomorrow is a quick 14.8 to meet dad around 1:00 and then I will be eating an enormous amount of baked goods that mom sent him down with. And I finally get a shower tomorrow! Much to look forward to.