We left Mike and Peggys the next morning but were reluctant to actually start hiking again. After hanging at the trailhead and a second trip to the Hawg and Dawg, we decided to zero instead and made our way back to the cabin. The next day we finally made it out of town. About 12 miles, in a torrential downpour and freezing temperatures, we were miserable and decided to bail. Back to Mike and Peggys we went. That evening we went to a movie and got to walk through a drive thru for milkshakes! Not kidding ourselves the next day, we decided to slack pack southbound so we could spend yet another night with Mike and Peggy. We finally got out of Erwin TN for good the next day and ran into some good friends along the way. We got down to yet another hostel and decided to escape the thunderstorm that had rolled in out of no where. We found ourselves at a place called the beer wash, a drive thru beer shop/bar. I won a free beer by sinking a quarter into a special glass! That night we got a special treat and were lucky enough to watch Ha Ha do her stand up routine. She killed it, our abs hurt as we walked back to our beds. We got the most amazing breakfast before hitting the trail just as it began to rain the next day. Luckily it cleared up in the afternoon so we sat with our feet in the river and foraged for wild ramps to use in our dinners later. We tried unsuccessfully to make a fire before giving up and crawling into our tents. The next day we all hiked together and had a blast sharing stories and making inside jokes. Our group became known as the locomotives and the five of us reveled in the fact that we had found such great people. The next morning, we moved quickly through an active bear zone but then slowed down and took many breaks for the rest of the day. Later, we came upon some sodas and granola bars left out for us by a church group and took one last break before making camp. We set up in a gorgeous meadow and battled the wind all night long. We got moving fast the next morning, knowing we would hit damascus that evening. I dreamed of milkshakes and burgers as I hiked 6.5 miles in an hour and a half before hitting the TN/VA border and crushing three states. We got to town sore but happy and hit up the dollar general for some ice cream right away. After running a few errands we checked into our hostel and were lucky enough to get put in a huge teepee he had in the backyard. Overnight it rained and the teepee was a little leaky so we moved inside for the next night after a well deserved zero day. We are now making dinner for each other and planning our next section. Heading out of Damascus tomorrow! Mile 470 and three states down!