L’guini and others: Greetings from Waynesboro. We have made good time so far and are passing many thru hikers. But, yikes, the crowds are something else. I have never seen this number of hikers on the trail. This is my third time and this is differeng.
From Pearisburg to here we have passed 8-10 a day. Sometimes more. At Seeley Woodworth there were 8 hammocks and 12 tents full of thru hikers. And it is sort of like a zoo. Slack packers are going every direction, the relocatable beer parties are relocating (mostly via yellow blaze), etc. I don’t want to be a grumpy old man, but if I weren’t feelin so good I would be a bit put off by all the non-traditional stuff going on. I guess everyone can hike their own hike, but I think that if (and when) a lot of the folks get to K they will regret all the parts the skipped and slacked early on. It seems like there are lots of folks who have given up on making a traditional thru hike.
The weather has been great. Some are complaining about it being too cold at night (they, like us, sent the winter gear home a few weeks ago) but the flip side is that it is not too hot during the day. Only one scorcher in the past few weeks. I know it will get hot, but for now we are very happy and don’t mind if we have to go fetal at night.
The newest hostel, Four Pines at Catawaba, could be good, but right now it is a beer party that lasts until 2am or 3am. So, if anyone is thinking of going there, be warned.
Time to go eat Chinese.
Old Man