My last post came from right outside of Pearisburg, VA at mile marker 630. Since then I have traveled almost 300 miles. The trail has been awesome and I have not gotten sick of the 500 miles that lie within the state of Virginia; it's been the best state thus far. I have made a lot of new friends and had tons of fun. I've gone through Pearisburg, Daleville, Big Island, and Waynesboro VA. It was sad to say goodbye to Nate, Ben, Coffee Pot, and Tarzan after Pearisburg. They all stayed back because they had minor injuries and were taking breaks. Shortly after that Dirty Mike and Matt went ahead of me and Ross because I had a headache and did some lower miles and they pushed on to meet a friend. For the past couple hundred miles it's been Ross and me hiking together. We have also made new friends like an older group of guys named Mott and Punkin Pie ( he spells his trail name Punkin not Pumpkin ). We also traveled with Gummi Bear and Roswell for awhile. In Waynesboro I met up with Wito and Wita from Miami and they stayed a night with me. It was great to see them, wish I could have hung out with them longer. In Waynesboro, Ross and I decided to Aqua Blaze, doing a section of the trail on a canoe down the Shenandoah River. We were excited to do it but after a night of rain and all of our gear getting soaked from rapids that were a little too intense for a big canoe we got off after 2 and a half days on the river to Elkton, VA where I am now. I'm trying to make it to Harpers Ferry, WV by Friday the 10th to meet with Mom, Pop, and Sofia. I'm super pumped to see them. It's been a long time. My trail name is now Patches because my beard is coming in and it's not much of a beard at all but I'm not shaving and I'm excited to see what it becomes.
