Back to Angels Rest Hikers' Haven

Slackpacking went well last night. After being dropped off by the shuttle at the Peters Mountain Wilderness Trailhead, we hiked South and only stopped once for a few hours to let Forest rest and sleep. Forest did a great job leading the way in the dark. Twice he stopped and froze, and each time I realized he was alerting me to a bear ahead of us on the Trail. Both times we just waited for the bear to move on and then continued on without problem. I have to admit it was a little eerie having nothing but darkness behind me.

At 11 a.m. we were at the original trailhead to hop the shuttle back into Pearisburg. Forest and I went straight to Hardee's, where I'm happy to say we were treated wonderfully. The staff was so accommodating; they invited us to stay as long as we wanted, and offered to let me charge my electronics. Unfortunately, I didn't have my chargers with me, but the gesture was so nice. I ate 3 breakfast sandwiches, what they call "hash rounds" and a Coke.

After hiking 20 miles and stuffing myself, I just wanted to sleep. We headed straight to Angels Rest Hikers' Haven, where I picked up my pack and resupply package, and decided to rent a private room to ensure that we'd get some sleep. Again, everyone at Angels Rest was really nice, and no one questioned whether Forest was a service dog. We crashed at noon after asking my wife to call me at 8:45 p.m. to be sure I was awake.

Tonight I'm staying up to repack Forest's and my pack to include the latest supplies and water for the next 50 miles. Anything I don't need, I packaged and dropped at the Post Office, to send back home. Tomorrow morning, we will catch the shuttle back to the Peters Mountain Wilderness Trailhead again. Once there, I'll set up our hammocks to wait out the heat of the day, and we'll set back out northward in the evening.