Days 67 and 68 – Healing at Luray

Day 67 – Snuggle up at Open Arms Hostel

Taking a zero day in Luray at Open Arms Hostel today. The blisters on my right foot and ankle heal any time and I really don’t want them to get infected. Plus, with heavy rain in the forecast, I’m not around too much and rush back to the trail anyway.

I got up around 8am and heard the people upstairs. So I headed there and found that Speedy made French toast! Better yet, he loaded me with four pieces right away. I had a cup of coffee and sat down to enjoy. I sat down to enjoy breakfast with Haystack, Megasmiles and Rolodex. Speedy had a couple more French toasts that needed a home, so it was polite to oblige. After breakfast I went out with Speedy and chatted with him while he put his foot up, which was great fun. After chatting for a bit, I talked to my mom on the phone for a bit before heading to Walmart for a resupply trip with the rest of the gang.

At Walmart I was able to get enough food for 5 days of hiking, some food for my stay at the shelter, and the prescriptions the doctor prescribed for me yesterday. We then had a late lunch at the fancy restaurant known as Taco Bell. I ordered an impressive amount of food but unfortunately they were out of Cherry Pepsi so I settled for a Baja Blast.

First Taco Bell of the tour!

We returned to the hostel where we ate and then I started organizing my bag and food. After finishing that, I changed my bandages, put some antibiotic cream on my blistered foot, and lifted it up a little higher.

I worked on some blog posts most of the afternoon and focused on resting. Finally it was time for dinner and I chose to take advantage of my last freeze-dried meal and use the stove to boil the water. Clearly I didn’t need to use my stove since I was in a hostel, but I wanted to use the last of my fuel before sending my stove home. Then after hanging out for a while, we go to bed.

Day 68 – Resting at Open Arms Hostel

My second zero day in Luray started with some crepes that Megasmiles made for everyone at the hostel! They were fantastic, filled with Nutella, bananas and walnuts, plus some strawberry and walnut fillings. An incredibly awesome way to start the day!

I had a pretty slow day. I made a few phone calls to catch up with some people as well as take care of some things at home. I also worked on some blog posts and finally got out of the hole I was in for the last two weeks. Other than that, I changed my bandages several times and kept my foot elevated. Alison was also kind enough to take me to the post office so I could send my stove and pot home. Now without looking back, I continue with the strategy of using tortillas as a vehicle for my food consumption on the road.

A great t-shirt in the hostel. Answers to the Top 10 Questions for AT Hikers.

The shelter was quite busy later in the day as people flocked inside to get out of the rain. It looks like there will be a full house tonight. For dinner I made a frozen pizza that I bought yesterday at Walmart and did the only thing imaginable: I ate the whole thing in one sitting.

Light baby!

The rest of the afternoon consisted of just hanging out at the hostel. I took less than 2,000 steps today, the lowest on the trail by far!

Statistics for day 67:

0 miles

0′ rise, 0′ fall

Open Arms Hostel to Open Arms Hostel

13 DSLC…

Stove use times: 14

Statistics for day 68:

0 miles

0′ rise, 0′ fall

Open Arms Hostel to Open Arms Hostel

14 DSLC…

Stove use times: 14

Tracker of whole pizzas consumed: 10

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