WOW we are glad to be in Waynesboro, VA.  We arrived here this afternoon after a rocky 4 days back on the trail.  We are staying at the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Hostel (which is free...donations accepted)...it is an awesome hostel with all the amenities we need including a stocked fridge!  Waynesboro has been a great town so far, very hiker friendly.  We got a free ride into town and a tour of town from a local trail angel.  We gorged at a Chinese buffet this evening...it always sounds like a good idea but usually doesn't have a good ending.  Got some AWESOME news today, which I will not yet disclose.  We will be hitting the trail again in the morning and  heading into Shenendoah National Park sometime tomorrow.

We have been on quite an emotional rollercoaster ride since leaving Lynchburg.  Our first day out it was rainy, foggy, pretty cool outside.  We got an early start and pushed ourselves really hard to make 25 miles that day.  Our bodies were in major pain after being off of the trail for a week and mentally we were not feeling well either.  We didn't make our goal of 25 miles, I believe we did about 23 that day and were completely exhausted-physically, mentally, and emotionally.  We were both feeling really bummed out, I was in tears (of course), and Moonshine even admitted to being bummed (rare).  The next day wasn't any better...it was raining again, foggy, I was in tears, Moonshine was still not feeling it.  We took it slower that day...about 14 miles...still completely exhausted.  

At this point on the trail, we feel that we can physically conquor anything that the trail hands us.  We are probably in the best shape of our lives and I can say for the first time ever that I can climb a mountain without being completely winded.  It is now the mental and emotional aspects of the trail that we must conquor.  To be in pain almost all day, every day is emotionally exhausting.  As is eating the same food for months.  As is missing all the little pleasures in life that so many people take for granted, such as a bed, running water, etc.  As is missing all that is familiar to you....friends, family, home.  Don't get me wrong, we are having the time of our lives...but just like in real life there are good days and bad days, or even bad weeks.  Just like you don't want to get out of bed and go to work every day, we don't want to get out of bed and hike everyday...and most of you probably get way more days off than we do!!  It is very easy to get down out here, and very difficult if not impossible to remain positive at all times. 

During this past week, we were forced to remember that we are on the Trail by CHOICE.  We don't have to be out here.  And we are doing this to enjoy ourselves, to have fun, to make (good) memories.  We are, at least for now, going to slow our pace a little and try to enjoy ourselves, and each other, and this journey to the fullest.  Our buddy Tup told me "it's not about the destination, it's about the journey"...hopefully we can strive to live life on the trail by this motto.  Since we decided to slow down a bit, the weather coincidentally cleared up and has been beautiful.  We did a couple of 15 mile days...took our time, stopped and smelled the roses.

We are heading into SNP feeling very positive.  We still have pain, there's still going to be rain and thunderstorms, and everything is not going to go our way.  Hopefully we can find the strength to overcome negativity.  We plan to take 7 days to do about 105 miles through the park, and will resupply again in Front Royal, VA.  Apparently the terrain flattens out quite a bit throughout the park, but we won't get our hopes up...that's not the first time we've heard stories like that...but the trail is NEVER easy!  We hear that we can get hamburgers and milkshakes every day in the park if we want (right on the trail!)...surely that will boost our spirits if we happen to be feeling down.  We're hanging in there and still truckin'....until next time, y'all take care!

Hey y'all. Sorry it's been so long. We've still been hiking, but unfortunately have not had any opportunities to have internet access in about three weeks. I guess a lot has happened since Damascus, so we will try to fill you in the best we can. I will also say that VA is not living up to its bad reputation as a long boring state. We have been enjoying ourselves thoroughly, and are happy to be visiting family here in Lynchburg.
Soon after leaving Damascus we hiked into Mt Rogers national forest. We were looking forward to seeing the famous "wild" ponies since we had never gotten to visit before. We passed a dayhiker who informed us that there was about six of them walking down the trail just up ahead, so we figured that we were sure to see them. We kept our eyes open, but no ponies. When we got to the shelter everyone was showing each other pictures of their pony encounters and we were the only ones left out! The next day we were hiking into Grayson Highlands which is also known to have a lot of ponies so we were hopefull. We found out later in the day that 10 minutes after we left the shelter that morning the ponies came right up to it. It was ok though because we got our chance and saw about fifteen of them at different times of the day. The scenery was also beautiful. It is very unique for the region. The terrain is very rocky, and there were wide open views all day. Those couple of days were definitely highlights of our trip so far. Towards the end of our jaunt to Atkins from Damascus we made it a point to stay at the famous partnership shelter where you could order pizza from a phone at the visitor center .1 mi away. We hiked 20 mi to get there that day, and were surprised to hear a lot of voices as we approached. It turned out to be about 15 thru hikers that informed us that we came to the right place because there was a party for some hikers getting off the trail that night. They had bought burgers, beer, sodas, and all kinds of other junk food. Fortunately the people that the party was for ended up showing up at about 8 and they had a good send off. We were excited to get out early the next day because we were meeting Sideways D's mom and brother Kathy and Freddy in Atkins. They were bringing us our warm weather gear, and we were getting rid of some extra clothing. They took us to a nice hotel in Wytheville and we relaxed and celebrated Sideways' birthday early at a nice restaurant. It was a quick stop, but also a good one.
The next section we hiked was to Pearisburg VA and we were excited to be on schedule to arrive on Sideways birthday. Unfortunately a couple of days into the run she was afflicted with some sort of stomach virus or bacterial infection. Being sick in the woods is a miserable experience. Luckily we crossed a road that had a little market on it our second day in when her symtoms were bad and we hung out there for the rest of the day. We had access to gatorade and a bathroom which made her a little more comfortable. I got to get a burger and fries so I didn't mind waiting. Eventually we left and hiked 2 mi to a waterfall where we planned to camp. The hike there wasn't bad and we rested for the rest of the evening. We got a beautiful spot on the bedrock at the top of the falls. Her physical symptoms subsided but her energy and appetite were still low. We got to Pearisburg the day after her birthday. I saw my first bear on the trail on the way to town that day. Unfortunately there weren't many choices of motels in town and the better option had no vacancies. We got a room at by far the worst motel I have ever stayed at. We were one of only two rooms in the whole place who were people that didn't live there. Everything was filthy and had burn holes in it. Shag Carpet.... Unfortunately the illness had not passed because sideways d was up all night and we knew we had to stay another day. Fortunately we were able to move over to the other motel which was newly remodeled and very comfortable. She was able to recover there for the most part, but continued to have discomfort for the next week. A lot of hikers had the mysterious illness and I don't know if there's any way to pinpoint where it came from. From Pearisburg we were on our way to Daleville for a quick bite and re-supply in town and then on to Glasgow to meet Sideways  family. On the run to Daleville we went over some beautiful and challenging terrain around the Dragon's Tooth and Tinker cliffs. We had heard through the grapevine that some of our hiker friends would be partying at a shelter and we hiked 22 mi to get there. We were exhausted but we saw some friends that we hadn't run into for a few hundred miles. The night was dubbed the 700 mi party since the shelter was the mile marker. We all had a good time and parted ways the next day. We took a short 10 mi day which allowed us to have a leisurely pace over McAfee Knob which is one of the most photographe spots on the entire AT. We made it to Daleville and had an excellent lunch and a kroger to shop at. We had 3 days to Glasgow where we were getting off. We met some new faces on the way, but were isolated for the most part. The night before we caught our friend Tup from Scotland that we started the trail with. We invited him home with us and he accepted. We had an excellent dinner and breakfast with family and Tup got to do his laundry and shower. We took him to Glasgow to get his picture taken at the city limits sign because that was his hometown in Scotland on the way back to the trail that day. We were being taken up the trail that day to do an 11 mi southbound slack pack back to the footbridge. We got a bunch of double cheesburgers from mcdonalds and put cokes on ice to hand out to hikers we passed going northbound on the trail. It's really fun to suprise someone like that. Unfortunately we got pinned down in a horrible lightning storm on the ridge that day. Expecting to do the hike quickly we didn't care about getting rained on but didn't plan on having to hunker down and bear the brunt of wind and driving rain. We were soaked and cold and felt like sitting ducks as lightning struck the mountain all around us. The high wind drove the storm out in less than an hour and we were extremely relieved. That is one situation that we never want to be in again. We made it back late to dinner last night, and were happy to see all of sideways d's family. We had planned on another slack pack today, but the weather is bad and we don't want  to get into another situation. We're gonna have a party on Friday, and then head to Damascus for Trail days on Saturday morning. If any of  y'all out there want to come out we will be there until sunday evening then back on the trail on monday. It will be a good break and we look forward to healing up and being ready to go after the weekend. So far we have hiked about 790 mi and are headed for Harpers Ferry where we will be half way. We love reading all of your coments and are sorry that we have not updated more frequently. I hope hope hope that all the pictures will be on the web before the weekend because we have lots. We miss all of you and hope you are doing well.