Today I met a hiking legend. I was walking when I saw a man, followed by a woman, walking south. I stepped aside to let them pass. The woman was wearing sunglasses, but as she passed by I suddenly recognized her. “You’re Pegleg, right?” I said. She stopped, took off her sunglasses, and I immediately knew it was her.
I watched all of your YouTube videos and read most of your blogs about The Trek last year. She was the first woman to complete the border-to-border calendar year triple crown. And then, because that wasn’t enough, he walked 10,000 miles during the year.
It was amazing to meet her, even if only briefly. He asked me if I was going to do the AT this year. I said yes. He wished me a fun walk and continued on his way.
Route report
Nothing notable happened on the road today. It was a simple walk through the woods with a couple of meadows to break things up. I really enjoy walking through the meadows and hope to do more in Virginia.
Today I passed by an old schoolhouse at the settler museum. A church had a magical trace inside. After a peanut bar and apple juice, I was back on my way.
I arrived at Long Neck Lair, which also doubles as an alpaca farm, at 1 pm Ken drove me into town to resupply my English. I also got a Philly cheesesteak and a Blizzzard at Sonic! Cyndi and Ken, owners of the lodge, are amazing people!
Thought of the day
One of the things I’ve realized along the way is that I can only live with a limited number of items. I haven’t counted them, but I probably only have 25-30 items under my belt. That’s all I need.
Most of us struggle with satisfaction. It’s a lesson I’m learning here. I can be content with so little. You can too.
People struggle with their finances because of satisfaction. They can’t live off what they earn. Going into debt is the only way to get what they “need.” In the United States we have a lot of abundance. We should all consider making satisfaction a priority. If we did, I think it would change us considerably.
people i met
At the hostel I met MacGyver today. He’s too young to have seen the TV show, but said his grandparents had the DVDs. He and his brother saw them when they were children. Boy did I feel old!
Anyway, he got the name because he is good at fixing equipment. He and I talked about God’s creation and our favorite parts of the trail. Hopefully, I was an encouragement to him.
Plant of the day
Little Sweet Betsy is common in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. Blooms in early spring.
bird of the day
Today’s bird is the Eastern Woodland Pewee. The bird has a very recognizable «pee» song.
“Eastern wood pewee (71095)” by Rhododendrites is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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