Remember how it rained every day for the past 5 days? Royster doesn’t care, she’ll start a fire. It became one of the best fires I’ve created so far.

Our campsite was great. Ancap busted out his ipad after sunset and we had a movie night. Have you seen “Almost Famous?” You should. Here’s the imdb page.

The Appalachian Trail runs through the property of the Settlers Museum. I found the Lindamood Schoolhouse to be very interesting. Its an old schoolhouse, built in 1894 and used until the 1930s. I didn’t get my own photos of it, sorry. The West End United Methodist Church had left oodles of trail magic inside the school. There were 2 coolers full of cold soda, gigantic baskets of chips and fruit, and and assortment of anything you can imagine possibly needing (batteries, toothbrushes, first aid, hair ties, pens, and my personal favorite… Q TIPS!!!)

In Atkins, VA, a gaggle of hikers collected in the gas station parking lot and drank beers to celebrate my birthday. Me, Flatline, Ancap and Tent Pole got a room at the nearby “Relax Inn.” I will make no comment regarding the cleanliness of the establishment. It was really nice to take a shower and watch Office Space though.

Reached mile 547.4 today. It is the official quarter way point this year. Happy that 75% of the trail is still ahead of me 😊

The AT goes through a lot of private property in southern Virginia (mostly farms and cow fields). To get through the cow fields, hikers climb over fences with the aid of “stiles.” They are a lot of fun! 🙄🤘🇺🇸

Creepy old house.

Accidentally hiked at night. Can you see the moon? It was beautiful but kind of spooky because I had just passed the old abandoned house and I wasnt entirely (mentally) prepared to hike at night.

I believe these are Mountain Laurels. They started blooming this week, along with the Rhododendrons and Tulip Trees 😊

View near the top of Chestnut Knob, one of the most brutal ascents of the past few weeks.

View from the tippy top of Chestnut Knob. The valley below is called “Burke’s Garden.”



This is where things get really interesting (if you think geology is really interesting). This entire valley is essentially an 8 mile long by 4 mile wide sinkhole. Check out the wikipedia page about it (click!!!)

From Chestnut Knob, I hiked the ridge for about 6 miles to VA 623 and called for a shuttle to St Luke’s Hostel. I was pleased to discover that the hostel was located in the valley of Burke’s Garden.

The valley is one of the strangest places I’ve ever been. The mountains encircle the small, unincorporated valley entirely. It’s kind of confining. I feel almost claustrophobic. At the same time, it’s beautiful and unique, and incredibly peaceful. The Amish population contributes to the feeling of being put somewhere back in time.

I’m happy to be spending the night at Saint Luke’s Hostel. The bunkhouse is neat and clean.

The house on the property is absolutely gorgeous. Owner “Doc” opens the first floor of his home to hikers, as well as the clean, spacious, well-stocked bathroom on the second floor.

I enjoyed reading a book of Rumi while waiting for a homemade meal to cook.

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