Bland, VA (USA)

I woke up without an alarm clock and looked outside - there was thick frost on the cars. But the sun was shining brightly, so I only waited until the only nearby restaurant, Dairy Queen, opened (0800) before leaving my room. Took breakfast on the road and made my way to the trailhead on VA-615 (Laurel Creek). I wore a short sleeved shirt (was carrying more) and headed up the mountain (NOBO) at 0830. It was a bit chilly initially and I almost put on my jacket. However, I decided against it and, after a 30 minute climb, felt just fine. On the ridgeline, I got several beautiful views of the valley (and town of Bastian) below. I could hear the traffic on I-77 and vehicles on the gravel access road above me for most of the morning. I made very good time on the (relatively flat) trail during my outbound leg - so fast, in fact, that I doubted my pedometer and the clock. But it was clearly the turnaround point - not just from the trail signs, but also the fact that the AT joined the only gravel road mentioned in the guide. Despite the uncertainty, I didn't wait to start my backtrack and made even better time on the way back. There was no mud, wind or rocks - a very nice section. About halfway back to my car, I encountered the first of six Thru Hikers. Like yesterday, most of them were not very talkative. But I did meet two - "No Point" and "Rickless Morty" - who stayed to chat for several minutes each. I learned that they were in the lead "Bubble", which consisted of over 30 hikers who started in February. Most of this group appeared to be on track to finish in June or July. The conversations were pleasant and I would loved to have stayed for more but each of the hikers mentioned places they needed to be to stay on schedule so I reluctantly headed towards my car. The sun was shining very warmly by that point - what a beautiful day! I arrived back at my car at 1345 PM - earlier than I'd expected - after (apparently) around 13 miles. It was definitely possible that I had hiked that far but I was surprised at the miles per hour. Wish my deja vu was better tuned today but I feel good about my intuition about a place I last visited almost four years ago - this is what happens when I don't use clear landmarks as turn point... (I researched online later to make sure everyone else's descriptions were the same as I'd expected.) Anyway, I'm counting it! Headed back to town to rest and prepare for one more hiking day before going home. In my room, I watched TV and did a lot of reading. Instead of eating at Dairy Queen, I snacked on food I already had. Felt great - not just because of the weather, Thru hiker vibes and distance, but because I have officially finished half of the Appalachian Trail! AT Today = 6.50 miles / G.T. AT = 1093.07 miles (Half Way!!!)