Slackpacking Trip - Day 2

[woke up at 0615 and got ready for the hike - I had breakfast at the hotel and told them I wanted to extend my stay for another night - left on my bike at 0715 and rode a few miles to where the trail crossed under I-81, north of Daleville - I hiked 0.3 miles north on the trail (through Troutville) to US-11 and started south again - walked all the way from there to the top of Tinker Mountain on the other side of the valley - highlights included: roughly flat trail, cool air, pretty scenery, small animal sightings, "trail magic" boxes, a log book (for signing in - I used the trail name "Workaround") - as I walked, I was equipped with two hiking poles, my Notre Dame backpack (roughly 20 pounds of gear) and my Wyoming brown Stetson - only saw two groups (NOBO mother and son, NOBO solo man) - my brain was cleared up very quickly - at this point, I don't even remember what I was thinking about, but it wasn't work... - my duck taped boots held up OK, but my feet hurt a lot from yesterday (bent back toenail and achy ankles) - when I reached the top of Tinker Mountain, I heard loud arcing sounds from nearby power lines - views were tremendous - I spotted what looked like a fire road near the trail and walked down to it to backtrack to the hotel - I had originally considered riding my bike to this location, but thank goodness I didn't... - when I got to the paved surface again, I realized that I had been on a private road for several miles - an untied watch dog, who chased me for a bit (along with "Posted" signs at the bottom of the hill), informed me of that fact - I walked along the road until I reached the hotel - I had drunk all of my water, so I filled up again and taped my toes with bandaids - I had already hiked around 4.25 miles of A.T. by that point (1030) but didn't want to quit - so I drove my car to retrieve my bike and parked on US-11 (1400) - I started north bound again, walking across cow pattied fields and up and down rolling hills - the sign said it was 3.9 miles to the top of Fullhart Knob - it was all uphill and the weather was getting warmer - my feet felt better in the running shoes but I was about to give up until another hiker (NOBO woman and her dog) caught up to me - she encouraged me to keep going ("not far now to the shelter") - we walked for another 3 miles before and she told me about quitting her job and how her dad had just left her alone on the trail (after a week together) - I would definitely have turned around before I did, but the fatigue eventually got to me and I decided I would not be able to make it up there - when I sat down to rest, the dog didn't want to leave me behind - they continued, though, and I gave it another shot - about a half mile away, I found them again - they had run out of steam too - before I headed down the hill, she showed me some of the other terrain and landmarks in her A.T. Hiking Book (inspiring for tomorrow) - I made my way back to the car, learning how hard it is to hike downhill - it is actually almost harder on the body than going up (which is just tiring) - I also decided today that all of the hiking on the trail near where the road crosses will probably be uphill - the trail drops just long enough to meet the road and then climbs back up... - I saw a snake crossing the trail and laid down in the middle of a farmer's field to catch my breath, listening to loud cardinals singing and the sound of the gentle breezes that made the hike bearable - back at car around 1730 - cleaned up at the hotel and had dinner across the street (Rancho Viejo, Mexican) - very sore now, it was hard to walk... - total on the trail today was 7.67 miles today (not counting biking or backtracks) - Grand Total for A.T. is now 15.32 miles in one direction - watched Game of Thrones and posted photos on Facebook before heading to bed around midnight (exhausted and sore - fell right to sleep)]