Days 59-61

16 May, Day 59, 18.6 miles, Trent Groceries Campsite at AT mm 605.5. What a great day! We were dry, the sun was out, the terrain was great, we passed the 600 mile mark and finished it up with a burger. :) the hotel we stayed at was great...clean, comfortable and very friendly. The husband of the lady working at the hotel provides a shuttle back to the trail head which was really great. So we had a laid back morning and got a ride back around 1030. The plan was to go 14ish and stop at a campsite. That site wasn't in my guide but it was around the 600 mile point. So off went 6 of us. It may not come as a big surprise, but I am one of the slower hikers in our group. I'm twice the age as most and my pack weighs twice as much...not complaining, just saying. Add in the stops for water and all the things with Mojo and Skye and that takes time. So A few were ahead of me and I just kept plugging along expecting I'd see them and stop for lunch. After a very quick 8 miles I didn't see them so I had a leisurely 45 min lunch and hit the trail. After another fairly quick, feeling good 6 miles I saw a campsite that might have been where we were to stay but did not see anyone so thought maybe it's across the road so off I went. Well, There was no campsite and as I started up the hill I realized I was in front and because the terrain was so favorable, no one caught me. You never want to backtrack on the AT so I just kept going. ;) I figured I'd go a couple miles and solo camp on top of the Mountain which was about 3 miles up. I arrived at the top and found a perfect campsite...but as lick would have it, 30pack, trucker, Hobo Joe and Ragweed were sitting there taking a break. They were not with us in Bland so i actually caught someone. They suggested we head to this store only 2 miles down the trail at a road crossing for a burger and i thought that was a great idea...so off I went. That is how my 14 mile day became 18.6. I felt great so less I have to do tomorrow. I will assume the 5 members of the Wolf Pack I left behind realize I went ahead and don't go back looking for me in some ditch. :)  17 May, Day 60, 13.9 miles, Woodshole Hostel at AT mm 619.4. Woke to a great morning. The sun was out and the campsite was next to a horse pasture so it was very peaceful. I walked The 100 yards to Trent's and got a coffee and some donuts and had a relaxing morning. Hit the trail at 1030. Some of the guys we have been hiking with and around had decided to do a "24 Challenge"...meaning hiking 24 miles to Pearisburg while drinking 24 beers in a 24 hour period. They started last night and drank a bunch...the tactic being less to carry today. It was fun watching the "challenge" unfold as we leap frogged each other a few times. I had lunch with three of them and they did not look happy. I had four miles to go and they had 16. I headed up the hill and said "see you when you pass me"...they never passed me. :) I made it to Woodshole Hostel which was amazing. It's a few cabins that were built in the 1880's that have been turned into this awesome hiker hostel. All the cabins were full but I tented and enjoyed an excellent dinner on the front porch in a rocking chair. There were 40 of us there so great company and a great night. Mojo and Skye had a great  night as well running around the yard and playing with the owners dog. We crawled in the tent around 9:30pm and then a huge thunderstorm hit...so our timing was excellent. :) by the way, two of the 24 challenge guys came walking in just before dinner so that was what we call a "trail fail".   18 May, Day 61, 10.4 miles, Holiday Lodge, Pearisburg VA at AT mm 629.8. Woke to another great morning and frankly, it was hard to leave Woodshole. The plan is to do a zero day in Pearisburg tomorrow but Woodshole is so relaxing I could have easily stayed and just sat in the rocking chair on the porch all day. But it's 30 Packs 25th birthday and I wanted to spend it with him so off I went. It was a shortish 11 miles into town. Some beautiful views and a nice walk all around. For my european friends, i passed the 1000 Kilometers today so that is a good milestone. Walk-n-Eats passed me on the trail so he, 30 Pack, Trucker, Ragweed an Hobo Joe were in the Mexican Restaurant when I got into town at 4pm. It was right across from my hotel which was convenient so after a quick shower, call to Vicki and settling the boys in the room I headed across the street for some birthday cervesa's with everyone. It was a fun evening. Around 8pm walk-n-eats and I headed to the Chinese buffet next door for dinner. Will not bore you with the amount we ate but suffice it to say, they did Not make any money off us. :). That pretty much ended the night as the food commas set in. So today is the end of month number 2 so here is the update. In the last month we have walked 355.9 miles giving us an average for the last 31 days of 11.86 mIles per day. That's much better than our 8.8 avg for the first month. Overall we are at 629.8 miles so our average for the trip is 10.33 miles per day. This at least gets us to Katahdin before the 15 Oct deadline. :). Our mileage and average will most likely pick up this month to give us a little breathing room with that date. The boys are still having a great time, all the equipment is still working really well, and the body is holding up great. All and all an excellent month. Having a zero tomorrow so will recharge the batteries and get back on the trail on Sunday.