“Keep going or keep going, they both keep going”
Hello again! How are you? I am well thank you very much for asking. I am finally out of the godforsaken state that is Virginia. 2 things to keep in mind: Virginia is not flat and the Virginia Blues are REAL. My inner New Yorker is coming out and I can’t wait to be north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Here’s a list of highlights from the last few weeks:
- Realizing that I can’t hike more than one day in the rain. We had 4 straight days of rain leading to Devil’s Backbone (a brewery you can camp at!). Day 1, I did 14 miles in under 5 hours. Day 2, I was so cold that I did the crossword and watched The Sopranos at a shelter until 3 pm. And then got soaked. Day 3 was maybe the worst day of my life. Everything was wet and cold. Thankfully, we were picked up by a member of our tramily’s mom and zero-d around Charlottesville.
- The Shenandoah Waysides are great! Good burgers, better milkshakes. It’s funny going to a National Park where the best parts are all man-made, but the accessibility is cool.
- Aquablazing from Luray to Front Royal was so fun!
- The Rollercoaster section sucks. It’s 14 miles of steep and pointless up and downs to “kick you out of Virginia”. The worst thing about it is that it was created just for fun by a maniac named Trail Boss. So the whole time you’re suffering, you think about how it didn’t have to be that way. Plus, it’s crazy hot out right now. I was going 1 mph.
- I was reunited with some old friends who were off trail for a few weeks + had a lovely time in Front Royal at my friend’s parents AirBnB!
- Visiting the ATC headquarters in Harper’s Ferry is not to be missed. Looking through old hiker pictures is so cool. Hack: you can pay $2 to get a copy of your photo to send home!
I also decided to start interviewing members of my tramily, something they thoroughly enjoyed, I’m sure.
Interview with Dead Mouse
1. If you were the little old woman who lived in a shoe, what type of shoe would you prefer to live in and why?
Definitely not a hiker shoe because it would be too stinky. I want a shoe that won’t be worn very often like a fancy shoe.
2. What’s your favorite fake curse word?
Good gravy
3. What do you think happens after we die?
I don’t want to answer that one
Interview with ToeShow
1. What’s your favorite constellation?
I don’t know any really, so Orions Belt
2. Tell me your favorite historical fact
In the city of Erwin Tennessee sometime in the 1800s jk early 1900s there was a circus where one of the circus elephants stepped on its handler. Its name was Mary. The stepping killed the man.
Me: This is the worst way of telling this story.
You put me on the spot. I don’t want to do this anymore. Anyway they publicly hung the elephant.
3. Describe yourself in 3 words
Tall hairy seeker
Interview with Dead Dad
There’s already a lot of Dead Dad content on this platform (catch him on Backpacker Radio) but he was one of the 3 people I was hanging out with at the time so here is some more.
1. List as many digits of pi as you can
3.1415925
2. How do you want to be remembered?
I want my skull on my children’s mantle with my ashes pressed into rubies of dazzling shades of red and placed into my eye sockets
3. What’s your favorite soundtrack?
Interstellar
That’s all for this edition! See you soon!
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Comments 2
Unusual post but very nice.
Thx and good luck.
Fabulous! Great questions