Sorry For The Delay, Too Much Fun to Be Had

We took two zeros coming out of Woods Hole Hostel as the thru-hiker laziness set in a little earlier than expected. When we finally left the small town of Perrisburg Va. an extreme cold had set in. We made sure to keep moving in order to stay warm. We got to a shelter and found it was exploding with other hikers so we hiked on into the evening. We got to a place called the Captains where we zip lined across the river and set up camp in his backyard. Lemon had still not shown up and after 45 minutes had passed I began to panic. We sent a few hikers to cross the river and look for her. We found her pack and all of her gear waiting on the other side. Now realizing that wherever she was, she had nothing. A but later we saw a light and she came running up to the camp, flustered. She hadn't seen us across the river so she had ran back to the last shelter trying to find us. As we all calmed our nerves around the fire, I reveled in how amazing it is to care about people who were complete strangers a few months ago. The laziness set in again the next day in the form of a four hour lunch break and only twelve miles of trail. We got to a shelter and did a stretching circle with everyone before crawling into bed under the stars. The next night, after a rough day of rocky uphills, we got to a shelter that was being occupied by not only about 20 thru hikers but another 17 Canadian students who were out on a short trip. I've never seen so many tents in one place. We all got super slanted spots but I fell asleep quickly. I woke up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag the next morning to the 17 Canadians making the most noise I had ever heard in the woods. Frustrated, I packed up quick and got out of there so I wouldn't have to deal with them again. We got to a rock outcropping called dragons tooth were we spent some time bouldering before the cold set in and sprinkles began to rain down on us. The decent from dragons tooth was a rock scramble on slightly damp rocks that took us way longer than expected. We got down to a road where a sign for a hostel sucked us all in as the rain and thunder grew. We packed hikers in and had a mini dance party before eating at the best restaurant on trail. A family style all you can eat place, perfect for thru hikers. The next morning had not changed the weather so we decided to zero then slack pack 25 miles the next day when it would clear up. We had a great day with some really great hikers before heading out early the next morning. The next day was wonderful! We experienced the famous McAfee knob and the equally gorgeous tinker cliffs area. As we sped down from there, I felt great. As I passed day hikers without packs, my confidence started to boost and I started to move faster. I came over a small foot and before I knew it, my feet were flying up over my head and I came down hard on to my bad hip. I wanted to crawl into the fetal position and cry but I knew everyone behind me had seen my fall. I jumped up fast and hobbled away as fast as I could, trying to scrape up whatever dignity I had left. We finished the day but I was hurting bad. Luckily the next day we were leaving to canoe down the Shenandoah river in what people call an aquablaze. We got a ride almost immediately and made it to our meeting place where a bunch of my former PCT friends were waiting. We jumped on the river the next day and had the best few days, sans a thunderstorm that filled our boats with water, a cracked hull in one boat, and a sick lemon who had to get off the river early. After the river, we had to get back to the trail. Little did I know, not many people pick up hitchhikers when you're not near a trail town. After five different rides we made it back and jumped on trail. We were in a new group of people after the aquablaze and the locomotives were officially derailed. I created a new group called Team Vortex with some pretty incredible people and we decided to stick together until the trail days event back in damascus. We got to a swimming hole and decided it would be great to stop and swim in the heat of the day. A ranger came along and informed us of some milkshakes and burgers just up the road and we couldn't resist. We set up camp by the swimming hole and then went in. They said they'd pick us up for breakfast again the next day and again we couldn't resist. As we ate, the founding member of Team Vortex, Mile Marker, found out about a full ride scholarship he had recieved to go to grad school in the fall. We knew we needed to celebrate so we bought an exorbitant amount of beer and started playing cornhole. We only made it four miles to a shelter where we tried to hand out beers to other hikers. The next day was rough. The heat hit us early and after only three miles we decided to siesta until we all felt better. Eight hours later we left and hiked into the night another eleven miles. A heat thunderstorm was blowing up around us and every few moments the entire sky would light up but it was warm and dry.  One of the greatest night hiking experiences of my life. I cowboy camped that night till about three when rain started to hit and we frantically moved to get our stuff out of the rain. That day we got to the james river bridge and spent quite a bit of time swimming before hitching into town to resupply. The next day out of town, I caught the most gorgeous sunset on top of a bald before night hiking a bit more to get into camp. The next day was the beginning of trail days so we got down to a road and met our ride. Three former thru hikers who drove us all the way for free. Trail days is a festival held every year for current and former thru hikers. We had a complete blast, meeting new people, seeing a bunch of old friends, and dancing around a bonfire all night. It was very bittersweet to head back to the trail on Sunday. The heat and humidity is getting worse but we are finding ways around it. The people on trail have been by far the best thing about this whole experience. Mile 1022