We have raised $8,508.30 for MANNA FoodBank and only have $263.70 or 66.1 “miles” left to meet our original goal and for the Donors to complete the Fund-Racer to Katahdin! Keep it going – you all are Amazing!

You all, as donors, are way ahead of us as we are just now coming up on the one quarter mark of the trail with 534.3 miles hiked!

Day 40 (Thursday, March 25th, 2021)
AT Miles Hiked: 0
Layover in Abingdon, VA

Our bodies let us sleep in ‘til 7:30am, but that was it even though we had stayed up way past hiker midnight the night before. So, Hero and I got ourselves out of bed and started trying to catch up on some of our journal entries. Not long after, Breece and Magnolia got up. Noli had slept in until 8am which was not usually the case, so Breece was grateful for the additional rest today.

Once Magnolia was awake, Hero and I had no chance to work on our blog or anything else for that matter (not that we were at all upset about this). Every couple of minutes, Noli would come up to one of us and say something like “Come here, wook! Come over here!” And just like that, we would be pulled away to check out one of her toys or to color or paint with her. We were such push overs and we didn’t hate it. We really enjoyed playing and hanging out with this adorable little human.

While we played, Breece made us waffles complete with fresh strawberries and vegan whipped cream! They were so good and it was nice to sit and enjoy breakfast with Breece while Magnolia watched Daniel Tiger and ate her waffle. The rest of the morning we were at Noli’s behest, going from the play room to the living room looking at toys and playing with dolls or stuffed animals. All the while, Breece is in the background saying “you can tell her no thank you if you just want to sit and relax.” But we were enjoying being led around the house by this sweet, spirited toddler.

We were ready for a break, however, when it was time for Magnolia’s nap. While Noli slept, Breece treated us to an in home Spa Day. First, we had a foot soak with eucalyptus bath salts complete with a pumice stone to rub the dead skin off of our calloused feet. We then washed our faces, spritzed rose water on our cheeks, and put on red clay facemasks. While we let the facemasks dry, Breece made us delicious matcha lattes. We were feeling so pampered and refreshed! We finished our lattes and rinsed our faces then Breece set out a wonderful veggie and nut platter for lunch, which we devoured.

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Then nap time was over for Noli and we were back at it, ushered around the house by a 2 and a half year old. She is so dang cute we just couldn’t say no, and we enjoyed playing and just being goofy with her. 

Ben got home from work and we grilled vegan Beyond Brats and Burgers. Noli went to bed, and we watched Adventureland while we all ate, Hero and I both crushing a pint of ice cream each for dessert. The hiker hunger is something fierce right now, and we’re taking every opportunity during our zeroes to eat as much as our bodies can stand.

Feeling sleepy and full of yummy food, we bade Breece and Ben goodnight and very quickly fell asleep.

-BAM!

Day 41 (Friday, March 26th, 2021)
AT Miles Hiked: 14.9
Damascus > Lost Mountain Shelter
486.7 Miles Down, 1706.4 To Go

It was really hard to say goodbye to Breece and Ben and Magnolia today. I could feel myself dragging this morning, and I know that had a lot to do with the inevitability of parting ways. I know BAM! was feeling that way, too, and I think if we weren’t in a rush to get out the door so that Ben could get to work on time (he was kind enough to drop us back off at the trail on his way to work- thank you, Ben!), we might have taken Breece up on staying another day. “I can stop deflating this air mattress right now if you want!” she said a bit hopefully. We were mighty tempted, but we both got in our heads about “needing” to get back on trail. So, after a gut wrenching goodbye with Breece and Magnolia (who does not like goodbyes, not the least bit), we jumped in the car with Ben and were off.

We had a nice drive back into town with Ben. He took the backroads, winding through valleys and farmlands dotted with cows and goats and leash-less dogs. Eventually, we rolled into town, and Ben pulled up to the Damascus Diner where we hoped there might be some WiFi we could use to work on and publish a new blog post. We thanked Ben, exchanging hugs. He wished us luck and then we were on our own…

…until we walked into the diner, where we found Oak having breakfast! Seeing one of our favorite trail people was just what we needed in that moment- it took some of the edge off of how much we were already missing the friends we’d just parted ways with. He waved us over and we joined him at his table. Though we’d already had breakfast back at Breece’s that morning, we decided to look over the menu. It didn’t look like anything on the menu was vegan-friendly, an intuition which was confirmed by the waitress when we asked. We settled for coffee, which worked out just fine anyways because we’d need to find someplace else for WiFi access.

We sat with Oak while he finished his breakfast, half working on some of our blog writing while we did so, but mostly catching up on everything since the last time we’d seen him. Around 9:30 am, Batman strolled in- we were so excited to see him as it had been a few days since we’d last crossed paths. He let us know that Tenacious Hot Cakes and Einstein were going to be joining him around 10 am, so we decided to hang out a while longer so we could see them, too. They showed up, Tenacious Hot Cakes with a quart of Oreo ice cream that he intended to use as a topping for his pancakes. This is his signature “last breakfast before leaving town” move, and how he got the “Hot Cakes” part of his trail name. We said hey, briefly caught up, and told them we’d see ‘em out on the trail. From there, we’d be going to the Broken Fiddle Hiker Hostel where Oak had stayed the night before. He said we could hang out there and use their WiFi to finish up our blog post. Awesome, we thought! We’ll get it done real quickly and get back on trail before by noon latest.

Well, noon came and went, and we were still sitting on the porch at the Broken Fiddle trying to get that post up- it was taking forever! We had gotten behind on the blog and were trying to get all caught up before we headed back out on the trail. Because of that, we had a pileup of days. Not only did we need to flesh out and tweak our writing, but we also had to go through the process of getting photos downloaded off of the GoPro and uploaded onto the blog. Sounds like it should take no time at all to do such a thing, but believe me- it took an excruciating amount of time to do so and synthesize it all. While we were working on this, Oak had gone back into the hostel to shower and get ready to go back on trail. It had been a few hours since he’d gone to do this and we were still right where he left us on the porch. As he rounded the corner, we heard him say “please tell me y’all still aren’t here working on that blog!” We both gave him sheepish grins.

In the end, we didn’t roll out of Damascus until about 3:30 pm. We published the blog, grabbed a few things we needed from Sundog Outfitters, and were finally back on trail. It took about an hour for my body to readjust to having a pack back on, but then I started feeling strong and BAM! and I cruised along the section of trail leading out of Damascus. The sun was out and beating down on us- it was so warm I was wearing the tank top I’d just acquired at the outfitters.

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Because we didn’t get on trail until much later than expected, we planned on going to the first shelter 9ish miles in rather than the second shelter about 15 miles in. However, by the time we got to the intersection and realized we’d have to hike 1/4 mile off trail to get to the first shelter, we were feeling good and decided to press on. By then, the sun was no longer beating down on us, and we were hiking in what may have been some of the nicest temperatures we’d experienced on trail thus far.

The light started to fade quickly, and eventually we had to pull out our headlamps for a bit of night hiking. The moon was stunning and nearly full, but we still needed our headlamps in order to see and avoid the roots and rocks protruding from the trail. I was a little nervous about night hiking, but we talked and kept each other company and that helped to curb the fear. It helped, too, that the sounds of the river and streams we walked alongside during this stretch made me feel more tranquil, less anxious.

After roughly 5 and a half hours of hiking, we rolled into camp a little after 9 pm. We tried to be as quiet as possible, knowing that the Family and Toodles must be sleeping in the shelter. We walked behind the shelter to see if we could find a good camping spot. “I see your true, colors…” someone started to sing from the woods we were headed for. We paused for a second. “Are you an alien, or a thru hiker?” the disembodied voice now said. We chuckled, now knowing exactly who we were hearing. BAM! responded in a semi-whisper, “Actually, we’re hikers from another planet!” “Oh! Alien Thru Hikers!” Laughing, we approached the spot where we’d heard the voice coming from. Two tents were set up in a nice, flat, forested area just beyond the shelter. “Hi Tenacious, Hi Batman,” We said, “It’s BAM! and Hero.”

There were plenty of nice spots for us to get set up, so we got right to work with our camp routine. Within an hour and fifteen minutes, our bellies were full of delicious food and our heads were hitting our lightweight inflatable pillows.

-Hero

Day 42 (Saturday, March 27th, 2021)
AT Miles Hiked: 12.3
Lost Mountain Shelter > Thomas Knob Shelter
499 Miles Down, 1694.1 To Go

The alarm went off at 6am, but my mind woke me up several minutes earlier. After getting in late last night, we had only gotten 7 hours of sleep and our bodies were telling us that they wanted more. But the weather forecast had thunderstorms rolling in around 2pm, and we wanted to get over the highest peaks before the storms came through.

So, after taking 5 to 10 minutes to convince our bodies that we needed to get up and going, we turned on our light and started packing. The morning was pleasant, not too cool and clear skies. We could hear the Family and Toodles packing up in the shelter nearby and went over to say good morning. They let us know they had a similar plan for today and would be trying to push to the next shelter before the storm hit.

We finished packing up and got on the trail just a little bit after the Family left. We were having a hard time pushing ourselves to hike quickly, though. Our bodies were feeling a bit sluggish and both of us were thinking about how we would rather be back in Abingdon with our friends instead of dodging thunderstorms in the highlands. But we pressed on, and it really was a beautiful morning. The clouds started to fill in the sky, a warning of the coming storm, yet it was a pleasant temperature and calm in the forest. The birds were chirping and we passed several trickling springs. I was trying hard to focus on the natural beauty around me and remind myself of all the reasons why I love being out here. Mentally, today was harder than most.

It didn’t help that we had a long climb up nealy 2,000 feet of elevation gain. It wasn’t steep or even that strenuous, but it was long and seemed to drag on for hours. We finally got to the top and were treated to amazing views at Buzzard Rock. The Forest Service had recently done a prescribed burn and we could see the storm clouds building in the distance. All of this made for an eerie but captivating scene. We didn’t linger for long, though, because we were trying to stay ahead of those thunder heads building behind us.

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We got to Whitetop Mtn. Rd. and saw the Family in the parking lot. For a moment, we thought there was trail magic and we got excited. Then we realized they were just getting resupplied. So, we said a quick hello and told them we would seem them down trail.

It had already started to sprinkle a bit when we got to the Elk Garden parking lot, somewhere around noon. Hero noticed the bathroom and decided to take advantage. She walked over, but the door was locked. We took our packs off and hung out under the tiny awning next to the info sign and had a snack. The shelter was only 4 miles away so figured we should be able to make it before 2pm when the storms were really supposed to hit- surely this little bit of rain right now was just a precursor. We threw our packs back on, crossed the street, went through a gate, and started towards a large open bald – FLASH! Lightning lit up the sky followed by booming thunder only a couple of seconds later. We looked at each other then at the open hills ahead of us and back at each other. “That doesn’t feel safe- let’s head back to the parking lot.” We went back through the gate, crossed the street, and back under the info awning. The rain started coming down harder. Then Hero said, “we could go to the awning by the bathroom, there is more space.” We ran over there, set our packs down and turned on our phones to check the weather.

This wasn’t supposed to start until 2pm! When I checked the radar, we could see the small cell that was moving over us. Behind it was a much larger cell, and we determined that we would have a small window of time, but probably not enough to get 4 miles to the shelter. Lightning flashed again, two seconds later – Crack! The storm was right on top of us. For now we were staying put…

…10 minutes later the Family and Toodles hiked down into the parking lot. They came over to the bathroom hoping they could squeeze under the awning, but there wasn’t enough room for all of us. The rain was dying down at this point, so we all started talking about our plan. We were all trying to figure out how to get over the open fields ahead of us and to the next shelter safely. Bad Santa asked if anyone had a satellite image of the trail to the shelter. I did and I pulled it up. We looked at it and noticed that the open field was only a half mile long and then we would be in tree cover nearly the whole way to the shelter.

Being under a uniform canopy of trees was a lot better than being in a high open field during a thunderstorm. This gave us some comfort and the confidence we needed to press on. The first smaller cell had passed, so this was our window. We all took off up the rolling hills as thunder boomed in the distance, it seemed further away at this point. Hero and I were moving at our faster pace again- it’s amazing how a little extra adrenaline can motivate our tired muscles.

We made it to the treeline and we all felt a little relieved. Now we had to try and push the next 3.5 miles before the bigger storm hit. It was muddy and rocky, but we were cruising. We were in the front of the pack with Toodles, Stumbles, and Ninja Feet. We had been hiking for about an hour and Ninja Feet turns around and says “Quiet, Toodles this is the moment you’ve been waiting for… the first ponies of the trail!” Sure enough through the trees we can see two little ponies. We all get pretty excited, and for a moment we forget we are trying to outrun a giant storm. The trail takes us closer to the ponies and we realize there are 5 or 6 in this field. Oh of course we have to get pictures! They come right up to us and start licking our legs – they love the salt on us sweaty thru hikers. As I was taking a picture, one of the ponies went over to my trekking poles and started chewing on the straps – I quickly pull it out of its mouth.

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We hear thunder and remember the coming storm. We rush out knowing the shelter shouldn’t be too far away. We get a view out over the mountains and can see the menacing storm heading our way. It looks so cool – I have to take a picture. The wind picks up and we watch as dark clouds literally engulf us. Moments later the rain starts. Now we are almost running, and it starts to pour! We see the shelter, but it is packed with boy scouts! We squeeze under the awning and out of the rain, but still feel the cold wind. There we wait with our packs on for the storm to pass.

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We were glad to hear that the 30+ scouts were moving on after the storm. This meant there would be more options for us to find camping, maybe even consider the shelter if it was just tramily members.

After what felt like hours of waiting, the Boy Scouts cleared out and the shelter still seemed pretty cramped. We thought hard about cramming ourselves in there with Toodles and the Family, but then determined that our double sleeping pad was going to take up too much room. We opted for a tenting spot nearby in the spruce forest. It wound up being a good option as it afforded us more space and privacy. We just hoped that the tent would hold up okay during the storms headed our way. We were experiencing what felt like the cliched “calm before the storm,” which made setting up the tent a lot less stressful.

We ate dinner, and afterwards I played a little ukulele. With all the people around, I was a bit nervous and it didn’t so much feel like I was just practicing for fun- it felt like more of a performance. But I guess people liked what I played. I didn’t realize it at the time, but apparently French Fry (who might be Starfish again?) was recording me while I played!

After a while, we could feel the winds start to shift and we knew by the intermittent rain drops hitting the ground that the storm was approaching. Hero and I said goodnight to everyone, quickly packed up our things, and headed to our tent. Settling in, we spent the rest of the evening thinking through a plan of action if we needed to jump ship because of the weather. We made sure anything we really didn’t want to get wet was up off the ground (in case the bottom of our tent filled up like a bathtub) and hunkered down.

We waited with bated breath as round two of the storm started to close in…

-BAM!

Day 43 (Sunday, March 28th, 2021)
AT Miles Hiked: 4.1 (backtrack miles)
Thomas Knob Shelter > VA 600, Elk Garden
499 Miles Down, 1694.1 To Go

We were woken up throughout the night by one of the most intense storms I’ve ever encountered in my life. Without a doubt it was the most nerve-wracking storm-related night in the outdoors I’ve experienced thus far. The rain battered our tent from dusk til dawn while thunder shook us and lightning cracked across the sky- our closed eyes were no match for the intensity of its too-close-for-comfort flash. More than once, lightning would brighten the inside of our tent and only a second later we would hear the accompanying thunder, meaning it likely struck less than a mile away from us. Though sleep was hard to come by, I silently gave thanks anytime I was jarred awake to the spruce forest we were nestled in, for our tent that held up and kept us dry, for the inflatable sleeping pad between us and the earth, giving us at least some protection from potential ground current.

Rain still pattering on the tent fly, we checked the radar as soon as we awoke this morning. Although the storm that rocked us throughout the night had all but dissipated, another severe one was on its way. Rain was guaranteed throughout the day, with a likely chance of thunderstorms starting in the afternoon. The next section of trail we had ahead of us would traverse through the Grayson Highlands, which included several stretches of wide open fields and balds with little to no tree coverage. Not only were we not very keen on walking along high elevation balds in the middle of thunder and lightning, but Grayson Highlands was also one of the sections of trail we had been most looking forward to. We didn’t want to pass through the area in a hurry with our heads bent and spirits low.

We weighed our options and decided to text Breece and see if she’d be able to help us out. As it turned out, she’d been worried about us last night as the storm raged violently at their house down in the valley- if it was bad where they were, she was certain we must be having a real time of it up on the ridge. Absolutely she would come and get us! We were so relieved and full of gratitude- now we just had to get to a spot where she could pick us up. We wanted it to be as easy as possible for her to scoop us, which meant we would need to backtrack about 4 miles to VA 600, Elk Garden parking area, the spot where we’d huddled under the bathroom awning less than 24 hours prior. It would mean doing that stretch along the trail three times- yesterday afternoon when we were being chased by the storm, today as we backtracked to Elk Garden to meet Breece, and tomorrow when we would be coming back through to push on. It was hard to feel like we were moving backwards mileage-wise, but ultimately we knew that it would be well worth it so that we could dry out and not freeze overnight, spend more time with Breece and Ben and Magnolia, and save Grayson Highlands for a sunnier day.

We packed up quickly, thoroughly motivated by the promise of a warm, dry car just a few miles back down the trail. We had a window of time in which the rain stopped ever so briefly, granting us the opportunity to get the tent taken down without getting the inside of the body completely soaked. After doing this, we rushed under the awning of the Thomas Knob Shelter and scarfed down some breakfast, chatting with the Family and Toodles and updating them on our plans. They were planning on zeroing at the shelter, possibly considering a night hike once the storms passed by. The forecast was indicating that the temperature would drop into the low 20s after the storm had passed- no one seemed keen on getting soaking wet and transforming into popsicles overnight.

Waving goodbye to everyone, we set off on the trail. Only, it didn’t resemble a trail anymore so much as a river. We tried to rock hop for about the first minute or two before we realized our efforts were going to be fruitless- our feet were going to get wet, and that was that. And so we trudged, making our way back down to the parking area. We got there early and immediately ran for cover under the awning in front of the locked bathroom, causing us to feel a sense of deja vu. We huddled there, dancing to keep warm while we waited for the blue Subaru. At one point while we waited, Tall Man showed up, and we all commiserated about the weather and updated each other on our plans. He was planning on moving on to Thomas Knob where we’d just come from. We wished him luck and hoped that he had some warm and dry layers for the night ahead.

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After some time, we heard that familiar “beep beep beep beep beeeeeeeeeeeep!” and there was Breece! We hopped in the car and sped down that mountain back towards civilization.

After that, the rest of the day was all about eating delicious hot food and chillin’, two things we were beyond stoked for. I took what was one of the best showers of my life and felt like a queen as I slipped into fresh, clean clothes. When Magnolia woke up from her nap, we half watched Moana while we played. Once again, she was chock-full of little kidisms and hilarious one-liners. At one point while she was watching Daniel Tiger, Breece remarked that the show was somewhat of a modern take on Mr. Rogers. Without skipping a beat, Magnolia exclaimed, “Yeah, it’s modern!” We all cracked up hearing the word “modern” coming from a precocious two and a half year old. After Magnolia went to bed, we ate some of the best chili while watching one of the dumbest rom-coms. All in all, it was a day well spent in the company of some of our most favorite humans. We’re so grateful for the way it all turned out, so appreciative of the caring people we are so lucky to call our friends.

-Hero

Day 44 (Monday, March 29th, 2021)
AT Miles Hiked: 20.2 (4.1 repeat, 16.1 new miles)
VA 600, Elk Garden > Hurricane Mtn Shelter
515.1 Miles Down, 1678 To Go

We were so grateful to have been inside and warm last night, and 6am felt like it came way too quickly. We gave ourselves 5 more minutes, but then we had to get up and get ready to head back to the trail. Ben would be dropping us off in Damascus to catch a shuttle before heading in to work.

We quietly packed up our stuff, careful not to wake the sleeping toddler in the next room. We had a big breakfast and some coffee, which we transformed into mochas with our hot cocoa packets (Swiss Miss makes a non-dairy cocoa mix these days at it is deeeeelish! -Hero). Breece gave us big hugs before we left. It was hard saying goodbye again, and this time Magnolia was still asleep so we didn’t get to give her one last hug- it broke our hearts not being able to say goodbye to her. That little girl brings so much joy into our hearts!

It was nice talking with Ben on the drive into Damascus, and we were so grateful for the ride. We got to the shuttle and Batman and Tenacious Hot Cakes showed up a couple minutes later and we all went out to Elk Garden parking area. From there, we started hiking those 4 plus miles to Thomas Knob for the 3rd time. But today it was sunny and pleasant – we weren’t dodging thunderstorms or walking through a river on the trail. We were pretty excited that we would be going through the Grayson Highlands on such a beautiful day!

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We got back to Thomas Knob and took it in with fresh eyes. On Saturday and Sunday, the place had been bursting at the seams with everyone who stayed there. Now, we were the only people there. We checked the log for a tramily update and Hero wrote in it. After a quick snack, we continued on to the Highlands.

We weren’t into our hike very long before we hit the 500 mile mark. Elated, we took a few photos and enjoyed the sense of accomplishment that came with reminding ourselves that we’d walked here from Georgia.

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It wasn’t long before we emerged from the spruce forest out onto the rocky balds. We technically weren’t within the park boundary yet, but the other worldly feel that we’d been told about was already starting to take shape. Indeed, the rock formations had the look and feel of something you might expect to see on another planet.

We crossed into the park and there they were: ponies! A few were congregating near the informational signage, probably hoping for snacks or a salty leg or two to lick. We read some of the informational signage before carrying on, certain that we’d see more of the funny creatures.

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Sure enough, we hadn’t gone half a mile before we were enthusiastically greeted by what appeared to be a younger pony. It trotted right up to us, whinnying and tossing its mane with gusto. After it had stood there for a few moments and we clearly didn’t have any treats, it whinnied again, let out a disgruntled snort, turned right around and trotted away. The trot turned into a full on gallop with several sassy whinnies thrown in- such a dramatic pony! Hero was overwhelmed with pony-induced joy.

We kept going, enjoying the Highlands and saying “Hello, we love you!” to all of the ponies we passed. Eventually, we crossed over the state park boundary and though we had a few more miles of seeing ponies, we soon were beyond the Highlands altogether, a.k.a beyond the “pony zone.” We focused then on making miles to Hurricane Mtn Shelter where we planned to stay for the night.

We arrived at the shelter and it was completely empty- not what we were expecting based on word that had traveled down trail indicating a whole bunch of the tramily intended to stay there. I guess plans changed and they decided to push on to Dickey Gap where they could get a ride into town.

Though we’d hoped to see some folks, we also were kinda stoked to have room in the shelter for the night. Plus, Tenacious and Batman were planning on staying here for the night, so we figured we’d probably get to see them.

As we were getting dinner ready, someone we hadn’t met yet strolled into camp- he introduced himself as No Plan. Fond of hammocking, he went about getting set up while there was still some light in the sky. Soon Tenacious arrived, and Batman not long thereafter, although he ultimately decided to camp a little further away down the hill. We talked with No Plan and Tenacious until hiker midnight. Then, we got settled into our sleeping bag and crashed out.

BAM!

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Day 45 (Tuesday, March 30th, 2021)
AT Miles Hiked: 19.2
Hurricane Mtn Shelter > VA 16, Pat Jennings Visitor Center
534.3 Miles Down, 1658.8 To Go

Slept right through the alarm this morning, but our bodies woke up on their own only about 30 minutes later. Sunrise colors were starting to fill the sky, and we had a great view as pinks and oranges highlighted the ridgelines in the distance. Even though we had some miles to make today, we were sluggish in getting going. We took our time, in part because it was quite cold and we had to shake out our hands every so often to warm them up.

The terrain and our surroundings today were a lot less “wow!” than yesterday when we were hiking through the Grayson Highlands. No more ponies either, which was a bummer (I really loved those ponies). We had to do some road walking because of a re-route, which was less than ideal. But the weather was on our side, especially as the sun climbed higher into the sky and the cold air of the early morning slipped away. It wasn’t a day filled with the “oooos” and “ahhhs” that tend to accompany gorgeous mountaintop views or magical moss covered spruce forests. But we found moments here and there as we crossed through grassy fields and got little glimpses at farmland in the valleys below, as we walked through tunnels of rhododendron and listened to the burbling of streams we crossed.

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It was a little after 4 pm when we reached the Partnership Shelter right before the Pat Jennings Visitor Center. We were delighted to see that Wicked, Tall Man, Viking Man, and Not Yet were all there! We spent a little bit of time catching up with them, asking them how they had faired through the storms. After a bit, we said goodbye and moved onto the visitor center where we called for a cab. While we waited, we let our new thru hiker friend No Plan charge his phone with our power bank so he wouldn’t have to go into town just to juice it up. The cab took a while to show up, but we were okay with that because it gave Tenacious some time to catch up. He made it just in time, and we all jumped in the car and wound our down the windy mountain road into the town of Marion.

The cab dropped us off at the EconoLodge. We went ahead and booked a room for two nights knowing that we’d be taking a zero tomorrow to have a Hiking for Hunger work day. The bright lemon walls and lime green accent wall smacked our eyeballs as we walked into the room. Home for the next two nights- gotta love it.

We were wiped out from the day and desperately in need of sustenance, preferably the kind that could be delivered right to our peeled-paint motel door. There wasn’t much in the way of vegan-friendly food, let alone vegan-friendly food that could be delivered. We settled on a cheese-less veggie lovers pizza from Pizza Hut with a side of breadsticks sans butter (we think we may have detected a hint of Parmesan cheese, though our stomachs didn’t protest so we’re holding out hope that it was just our overzealous imaginations at work). Despite being unsure, we ate every last bit of it- hiker hunger is for real, y’all!

Too tired to put any real effort into working tonight, we flipped through the channels and landed on the tail end of the original Jurassic Park. Our eyelids grew heavy as animatronic dinosaurs galavanted around and frightened humans haphazardly escaped the doomed island. I remember thinking at one point “wow, this movie felt way scarier two decades ago.” Then sleep got it’s way, and I was out like a light.

-Hero