Pearisburg, VA (USA)

Today was a lucky day - I set up a ride and didn't have to backtrack! After getting gas (Circle K) and breakfast (Dairy Queen) in Bland (0815), I headed into Pearisburg and met up with my friend David's dad (Bob). Parked my car at the AT trail-head in town on Cross Avenue and the Bob drove me back up VA-663 until I was right where I ended my hike the previous day. After saying goodbye, I headed NOBO (0945). The weather was warm (55-70 degrees) with a light breeze on the ridge. It was pleasantly quiet and the views were even better than the day before. There were several gentle climbs and descents through the day - not too difficult and I was able to keep up a nice pace all day. Because I'd slotted into the "Bubble", I didn't see any Thru hikers all day. In fact, I only encountered a few people: a couple with a dog (on the ridge), a young couple climbing up to the top of the ridge (I head more than a few "are we almost there?" comments) and a Smokey Mountain AT Trail Maintainer (and hiking blogger for "Trek") with his two dogs. The latter gentleman was waiting (with "trail magic") for the family of eight (parents with kids between 16 and 4 years old) that I'd been hearing about all weekend. In addition, I encountered the hiker from yesterday ("Rand-Bo") who had rubbed me the wrong way with comments about how he was a "real hiker". He was sitting on the side of the trail, eating lunch, and I didn't recognize him at first. He started telling me about his time in the jungles of Southeast Asia ("the rhododendron tunnels remind me of the war"). He provided the rest of his bio too: 72 years old from Syracuse, USMC Vietnam Vet, knee replacement, hiking with his brother and their two cars (and handing off as they passed each other in the middle of each leg). He'd had a rough day and lost some of the items in his backpack (it had come unzipped before I'd seen him). I had a completely different opinion of him after talking longer today. He asked me to look for his missing gear when we said goodbye - I located them less than half a mile away. Found several great overlook views - the little houses visible in the Wilburn Valley looked so tiny! The last three miles were retread (from my 2014 visit) and included a LONG descent from Angel's Rest (lots of switchbacks). Despite a few stops for social interaction, I still finished the 10+ miles into town by 1400. For just a few moments, I experienced a feeling that I've heard about from the Thru hikers: "Oh yay - a town!" I drove to another trail-head (VA-100) and met Rand-Bo's brother, returning the gear I'd located. My drive home (US-460, I-81 and I-66) was filled with traffic but it trouble like that was still worth the effort. Got a gas fillup at Sheetz in Haymarket (1815). Nice hiking weekend! AT Today = 7.32 miles / Grand Total AT = 1123.59 miles