Day 68

First zero day in a month! Feels good to have a short to-do list today. I need to do laundry, and shop for a resupply. I also hopefully can find a new rain jacket. 
We started the morning off with breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It wasn't the most appetizing to look at compared to previous breakfast places on trail, but it got the job done. We then went back to the hotel room and layed down for two hours before getting the courage to get up and go do laundry. 

We walked over to the laundromat and while our clothes were washing took a quick trip to Goodwill. My rain jacket is very old, smelly, heavy and not waterproof anymore. So ideally I find a new jacket, and even if it's not the best, at least it won't smell. 

I ended up striking gold with a LL Bean rain jacket for $8.50. it looks pretty waterproof and doesn't smell so I'm taking that as a win. Brand new it goes for $100
I donated my old jacket and went back to the laundromat. While our clothes were drying we grabbed resupply food and got subway at Walmart for lunch. We are going 6 full days through the Shenandoahs, but with Hiccups partner giving us trail magic, and all the waysides(restaurants) in the park we don't have to carry much food. Tomorrow we will hike 7 miles, then do 5 full days of hiking, averaging around 20 miles per day. 

We went to Applebees for dinner after our siesta in the hotel, and finished the night watching some baseball. We were all exhausted today, our bodies definitely needed the rest. 

Shannon will be coming down to Philly to visit me at the end of May which is really exciting. While Nick is at a wedding in NH, we will get two zero days together. In a week we will be pretty close to mile 1000 too! 

***Special thanks to Valerie Chase for the Applebee's dinner and margaritas!***

Happy Trails 🌲 


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