Slack packin' with Big Papa

After our wonderful rest at the Bellfry we got back to hiking. We left around 7:30 and got on the trail at 8:30 after breakfast. It is getting hot these days so the earlier you start, the better, and with the big climb we had at the start we were happy for the cool weather at the start.

Beautiful mountain laurel in bloom

Having lighter packs gave us the idea to hike bigger days. Puddin wanted to hike 25 on the first day, then 30 on the next. That is a ton of miles in two days, but we wanted to be able to take advantage of the service my dad was providing us with.

We quickly mad it up the climb on the first day, but the miles were taking longer than we thought. We average between 2.5 to 3 mph with full packs,  but apparently we hike the same speed with lighter packs. The day went by slowly, but had good views and enjoyed the windy weather keeping us cool. The hike ended with a 3,000 foot hike down over 5 miles that took its toll on our knees. We were glad to have barely anything in our packs.

Our views from the top

Mountain streams

A panoramic of the valley below

The second day we felt good after the big miles, but 30 miles was still intimidating. We were southbound for the day (SOBO) and were excited to pass some of the people we had been hiking with who were ahead of us. My dad drove us north to Waynesboro, Va so we could start just before the entrance to Shenandoah National Park. 

The day was still cool and we hiked fast. The terrain was more flat than what we had been hiking in the past and we enjoyed it. We crossed over a bunch of rivers and hiked a good amount next to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Pretty little waterfall

We got some trail magic from Sandman's mom and we loved the Honey Buns. We saw some great views and there were a ton of people on the trail with it being Memorial Day Weekend. We had another big down at the end of the day but we were surprised to run into our buddy Nova who we hadn't seen in about two weeks. We took a break to chat with her and tell her our plans for the next couple weeks. After that it was only the final 2 miles to the parking lot where my dad was waiting to take us to a comfy hotel. After the 30 miles we were hurting and stinking and excited to get to lay down on the bed. 

Happy to have completed our first 30 mile day. 

So from here we are going to drive from Waynesboro, Va to Harpers Ferry, Wv. We will hike southbound for about 160 miles over the next 12 days. We are doing it this way so we can meet back up with Puddins mom and aunt and hike part of Shenandoah with them. If you are following us through the spot device it will look funny for a minute while we flip flop, but hopefully it won't get too crazy. 

- Paddy Cakes

Bellfry Home

As Paddy Cakes and I rolled into Buena Vista we were excited to soon see Mr. Coffey (Patricks dad) who was coming to spend a few days with us. Before he got into town we were picked up by a wonderful woman named Pat who owned a wine store and she gave us a ride into town. She pointed us to some good restaurants and good places to relax while we waited. While in town we met up with Sleeping Beauty and Etch-a- Sketch. Sleeping Beauty's dad and brother were on there way to come hike with him so they invited us all to come stay with them in a home right outside of town named the Bellfry.

This house was amazing. It was a three story home with a bell tower, a porch tower, a labyrinth in the backyard, a man cave and much much more. We were welcomed into the home by the care taker where we showered, did laundry and had a delicious home made meal made by Sleeping Beauty's, Aunt Kathy. It was a wonderful unexpected treat. 

Stained glass front door

The two story porch tower

Paddy Cakes enjoying the view from a swing on the porch 

Sunset from my room

They had tons of stained glass windows

The place was so big they had a map of the grounds 

Upstairs the seven rooms had continent themed rooms. I stayed in the Antarctica room. The coolest part was down in the man cave they had two bunk rooms and in one of the rooms they had a rock wall that you use to climb up to the top bunks. It was so cool and a well thought out home. 

It was a great place to relax and enjoy everyone's company. While we were there Paddy Cakes and I decided to do our first slack packing since we wanted to spend time with Mr. Coffey. Slack Packing is when u have a day pack ( not your full pack with tent and all) and hike the day with only a few items on you. Then we had Mr. Coffey scheduled to come pick us up at pre-determined places and times so we could spend the evenings with him. So we start our slack packing tomorrow, and are looking forward to having a light pack. Will let everyone know how it goes. 

-Puddin' 

Pictures of us in Virginia

Admiring the view from an outlook

A great swimming hole. 

Yes it was cold but it was a hot hot day

Paddy Cakes diving in. 

The bugs got bad so we had to pull out our bug head nets. Don't really know where the gang signs came from?

Beautiful trees seem to be all around us

Everything is so green

Yet another beautiful view

Nap time

A great bridge that spans the James River

Some guys were bridge jumping

James River

Only 1403 miles left to go!

A few crawfish short of a boil 

Mountain Laurel in bloom in our tunnel of trees on the trail

A tiny orange newt we saw on the trail

Beautiful Butterflies are out everywhere for spring 

TRAIL DAYS

After two full months of hiking and only taking four days off from hiking, my wonderful mother and father treated us to an amazing cabin right outside Damascus VA for Trail Days. For those who don't know what Trail Days is, it is one of the largest gatherings of AT thru hikers on the trail. It is a combination of vendors, hikers, bands and everything in between.

Sleeping Beauty and Spanky waiting for mom to come pick is up. 

All the boys got haircuts at the cabin. 

Even dad got a new doo. 

Some of the vendor tents

Dad doing the hula hoop for a discount at one of the vendors tents

Mom and Dad hiking on the creeper trail. 

Some pics of tent city where all the hikers stayed. 

The biggest fire pit I have ever seen. I could stand up on it and the rocks would have been waist high. 

More tents in tent city

Some have more style than others

Trail days was wonderful and fun and all we wished it to be but living in the woods for two months has spoiled us! We were ready to get back to our cozy tent with not so many peeps around. So we said bye to the wonderful parents and headed back to our Appalachian Trail adventures. 

Puddin'