Day 2: Can you say pain?

My mom and I made it down to Virginia safe and sound on Saturday. The drive was easy and I even got a personal "Welcome to Virginia!!" by a highway trooper. He was even kind enough to give me a welcome basket with a $131 ticket in it. Just my luck...

We hiked 8.6 miles the first day and setup camp next to a creek. I was a beautiful campsite. We then hiked 5 miles to the car this morning and then I did another 6.3 miles slack-packing (hiking with a day pack rather than a full backpack). Mom drove the car up to where I finished my slack-pack. We then drove back into Troutville and got a hotel again. :) We showered and ate at Outback...mmmm, Sydney's Sinful Sundae...I couldn't think of a better 2nd night on the Trail. Mom will be dropping me back off on the trail tomorrow morning and then she will head back to Fort Wayne. :(

Here are some excerpts from my journal on these first couple of days:

Day 1
"...we only saw 3 day-hikers today and no backpackers. Like I figured, I think this hike is going to be much more alone than my last hike. Doesn't seem to be any thru-hikers in this part..."
"...many thoughts have been going through my head all day. I can't believe I'm out here again and I'm very anxious about it. Am I really ready to do this again for 3 months? I hope so. Will I really be by myself most of the time? I love solitude...but loneliness scares me."

Day 2
"...we ran into our first trail angels. A bunch of kids from some camp were day-hiking and handing out fruit to backpackers. I got an apple and mom got a pear...they were so good..."
"...I think I hiked too fast because I am in serious pain now. I have blisters on my feet and all my muscles hurt..."
"...once again, only say weekend backpackers and day-hikers...no long distance folks..."

I hope everyone is well and had a great 4th of July weekend. I will most likely be posting again around July 15th. Until then...

Section Hike #2 Total: 19.9 miles
AT Total: 742.5 miles