Appalachian Trail: Day 57
Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored. All the gear mentioned in this post was purchased by me at retail prices. I have no affiliations with any of the companies or brands mentioned.
This morning consisted of a quick 4 mile hike to get to VA 16. About 0.2 miles before the road is the Partnership Shelter. The shelter has showers with hot water and a really nice privy. After seeing this, I wish I had pushed harder yesterday and gotten to it to stay.
While waiting for the shuttle into Marion, a fellow thru-hiker going my the trail name Rattlesnake showed up. We ended up going into town together and running errands. A quick stop at CVS for some mediocre refills, a quick resupply at the grocery store next door, and then we went into downtown to go have lunch at the Wooden Pickle. After lunch, we checked out Marion Outfitters which the guy who runs it makes a lot of shorts in YouTube. Then we went to the post office because Rattlesnake wanted to send some cold weather stuff home and I used the time to charge some devices before getting back on the shuttle to head back to the trail.
We talked about various topics all during this and really hit it off. When we got back to the road crossing, we talk about plans. She is a faster hiker than me, definitely a trend, and wanted to hike another 8 miles that evening. I hung out at the visitor center at the road crossing for a bit to try to get more charge before they cut off the power. And did a couple miles before setting up camp.