Daleville Delights: Monaco and Moo Moo

Sunday June 7, 2026

Finally, a summer Sunday with some much-needed downtime. Enjoying some local spots in Daleville while watching a wild F1 race.

Downtime in Daleville

Two months into backpacking the Appalachian Trail and I’m finally far enough ahead of all my responsibilities to have a day off with some free time. When I’m not hiking, I’ve always been busy writing blog posts, making retroactive updates to the first batches of posts, planning my hiking itineraries, and organizing my resupplies. All I need to do today is finish packing the food and complete my toiletries. The 6:30am wake-up time ensured I could do it before even heading back into town, to the Little Green Hive cafe for a coffee and a comfortable spot to watch the Monaco Grand Prix.

The race was exciting from start to finish. I was fascinated by the strategic choices that were used during the race. The race sped up tremendously in the final quarter as several cars crashed into the barriers and a handful of cars were left out due to strange penalties. This opened up opportunities for drivers who didn’t have the strongest cars to achieve a great result. Too many things happened at once to keep track of: the sign of a great race.

Moo Moo’s delights

I first saw that there is an ice cream shop in Daleville called Moo Moo’s Delights on the FarOut app. Being a chocolate and ice cream addict, I knew I would have to stop by. They had every ice cream flavor imaginable, but their specialty is their “cowabunga” shakes. They are a milkshake in a mug lined with frosting and topped with whipped cream. I thoroughly enjoyed mine and it made me feel like my day off had a highlight.

A cowabunga smoothie from Moo Moo’s Delights.

See you tomorrow poses outside Moo Moo’s Delights.

Forward

After Moo Moo’s, I left Daleville towards Glasgow and the James River. The Appalachian Trail crosses the river on a 1,000-foot-long bridge. A trailhead is located along the river and some railroad tracks. I spent my last few hours of downtime lying in the bed of my truck. Dinner consisted of half a bag of pretzels and a Powerade. Throughout the afternoon, three large trains roared down the tracks and across the river. While they were an incredible sight, I thought it might not be an ideal place for car camping. I could see that there was another trail junction nearby with room to park on the shoulder of a paved road. I drove there to check it out and found it quiet and empty. It took me a while to fall asleep, but once I did, I slept like a rock. In the morning, I would return to the James River and begin my four-day backpacking trek.

A train crosses the James River.

Last week

As I reflect on the past week, I’m struggling to think of anything I could have improved. I didn’t forget anything, nothing was broken and I didn’t have any mishaps along the way. I made several minor adjustments to my hiking itinerary. Those adjustments ended up improving my experience greatly. Having dinner with Diver, Y2K, Toby and the rest of their team made me want company. The photos we took the next morning at the McAfee command will remain among my most coveted photos. I more than made up for the slight drop and mileage on the first day over the next two days. I even managed to catch the sunset at McAfee and set myself up for a relatively easy fourth day back to the van. I feel like I should also acknowledge that I put a lot of thought into collecting and filtering water in the right places and at the right times. I stayed hydrated during the tough climbs all week and minimized the need to carry a lot of water without taking unnecessary risks.

I think it’s worth calling attention to my extra calories at Catawba Grocer. On the one hand, they were delicious and worth the out-of-the-way excursion. On the other hand, they could be a sign that I need to eat more.

next week

Tomorrow I’ll dive right into a four-day backpacking trip. I will begin by crossing the James River Bridge and hike two days back to the Wilson Creek Shelter. I’ll be back on Thursday and spend Friday walking about 20 miles north to Route 60. On Saturday I’ll be back in the van in time for another day off filled with Formula One and hopefully some more free time.

-See you tomorrow

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