Now I remember why I don’t sleep in Hostels. Because I don’t sleep. The two men in the room were quiet, no snoring or even heavy breathing. I just tossed and turned all night. The bunk bed was a bit caddywhampus. Maybe too many people sleeping on the lower bunk? Who knows. But for the life of me, I just couldn’t get comfortable. I finally switched ends and that helped slightly. Blue would’ve never approved!

I heated up yesterdays coffee in the microwave and I was packed and gone by 6am. I was long gone before anyone else was up or moving. The trail was empty. Just me and the spider webs. And there were a ton of webs to be slayed today. Some wrapped around my face which was pretty disgusting. I just don’t like spiders. That’s one thing me and my grandson Sid have in common. I don’t mind snakes or any reptiles for that matter, but spiders, no thank you. Needless to say, once the sun shines on their spindling webs, I whacked them away. Now, I do not mess with a full intact spider web. Those are intriguing and I will actually take a side route to avoid them. But just a silk string across the trail, I have no use or patience for those.

The Roller Coaster of ups and downs continued all the way to the roadway. It really wasn’t that terrible and it helped that I had already tackled a third of it yesterday. It was the typical PUD’s pointless ups and downs. No real views this time of year. The trees are covered in large leaves and block any chance of seeing a vista. I just put my head down and hiked as quick I could go. Which honestly, is maybe 2 mph. With all my stops and breaks, it averages out to a clip of, yep you got it, 2 mph.

My biggest stress today was crossing Route 50. Yes another four lane divided highway. I just don’t get it. I’m starting to wonder if hikers are expendable? This would never happen in California. There would be warnings, tunnels or bridges. Jeeze, we even built an underground tunnel for frogs in Davis! But here in Virginia, nope. Just run across the highway and hope for the best!

Luckily I made it or I wouldn’t be writing this blog. The later half of the day was much nicer. I met a local walking his dog. Another older gentleman came up one of the side trails and we sat on a proper bench and chatted for a bit. He was from Poland and hikes 3 times a week. He’s probably in his 80’s and seems quite spry. His wife walks around the neighborhood where the trails are flatter but he prefers climbing. He talked about all the trails he hiked in Switzerland and Colorado. Quite the inspiration for my future self.

The only issue I’ve had in the past three days is finding water. There was only one stream after I crossed the highway. I ran into a couple of Nobo’s and they told me the spring at the Shelter was still flowing. So that’s my destination for the night. The weather has cooperated and I only had two very brief sprinkles. Not enough to warrant any rain cover, umbrella or jacket. The temperature has been mild. No crazy humidity but I’m definitely sweating. I guess it’s good to keep my skin moisturized from the beads of glistening perspiration. Now that I think of it, my skin hasn’t been dry at all since I’ve been hiking. No need for lotions and potions. Good thing since I didn’t bring any!

I arrived to my humble abode around 5pm. I saw a total of four people today, one dog and lots of birds, squirrels and spiders. And there’s this crazy looking moth that resembles Nemo, the fish. It’s orange, black and white. Cute little moth and very fast.

As soon as I arrived, I went to the spring and filled up. This time it was only 50’ from the Shelter and just slightly downhill. There was a pipe that came out of the hillside and was flowing quite nicely. The hummingbirds were gathered around as there was a field of gold flowers. The other pesty insect that was hovering were small bees. They’re not yellow jackets but a version of their smaller cousin. They don’t seem to sting or bite, from personal knowledge. They will land on me, and then takeoff when they realize I don’t have anything they want. What they do want, is my food. Not meat, but anything else. Odd little insect. Even when I went to pee, they followed me, landed in the spilled excrement from my body, and after checking it out, left. Hopefully, they find something else to do tonight than hang out with me and Norman.

Norman has been pretty quiet today. He seems like he’s either content hanging out or he’s ready for something new. Hard to tell because his expression on his face never changes. One things for sure, he is easy to have around and honestly, doesn’t eat much. I’m hoping he doesn’t lose any weight. This hiking thing is a great weight loss program!

Today was a great time with me and the Lord. Before I left this morning, I pulled out my laminated bookmark of Psalm 91 and left it for Pink. When we talked last night, he told me he had a few pages from Psalm in his backpack. He has faith. He’s just still trying to understand who he is in Christ. All we can do is influence others, share with them the love of Jesus, and trust God to do the rest. He always has the perfect plan.