Day 67: Oops we did it again

Nero?! Doh. Well, we sorta had a good reason.

We had to go to the outfitters to get some stuff, but they don't open till 9. Plus the laundry was a fiasco and we tried to dry them a bit more in the morning sun on the sidewalks. No dice, the mildew is still there. But the laundromat is a long hitch. So, here was the plan as it developed. Never mind how it started as.

First, check out of hojo. Next get Luke's haircut. Next buy supplies at outfitter which include new orthotic soles for becca. Hopefully this lessens her foot pain over time. Then, mail back 14lbs! Of stuff to SWard. Where did this all come from? Well funny story on some of it. Sward sent me.my shoes due to my left foot pain. I thought maybe the cushion of a shoe would help. But I wore the shoes yesterday and this morning, but instead of pain going away, new pains came. So I sent the shoes right back to her. Kinda wasteful I guess but worth the try I hope.

At the store, we learned of a shuttle.to the Troutville trail days festival. We had planned on hiking the 2 or 3 miles.from daleville to the festi, but we needed gear repairs and the firestation offers free laundry. So to make sure we got all that done in time we to the shuttle. But not before going to the coffee shop for our first real coffee in god knows how long. While ringing us up, the guy said oh you are thru hikers, and then .gave us our drinks for freee! So cool when trail towns treat hikers like this.

The Troutville trail days fest was waaaay small. A hundred people maybe? Maybe 50 hikers?  But it was awesome. Becca went to the firestation and did laundry, while I bothered Alan, the gear repair guy. We got all our stuff fixed and he even gave us a new awesome stuff sa k for.our tent. Alan is awesome. I got his info and he mine so that I can help him get to burning man, which we both agree he needs to attend.  He likes doing work for others and has metal and wood working skills. If that doesn't describe a burner then...

With our chores done at 3 pm, should we even hike? YES. we should take the shuttle back to daleville and slack pack back to the festival. For the uninitiated, slack packing is hiking without your full back pack. The trail days shuttle made this 2 mile slack pack an easy choice. It was deliciously evil. We even hitched to the festi once we hit the road. Well, actually, we accidentally hitched halfway back to daleville forst, because I spaced out and went the wrong way on the road. Lol. Oops. We got a ride back though.

Ok. Now it's 4pm. We have our packs. Should we get on the trail? No. Let's go to pomegranate (a nice little restaurant in Troutville with a lot of farm to table foods) with Perc and Howzit for happy hour beers and burgers. Awesomeness.

Now back at the festi, we are definitely going to camp here tonight. Nate, from the shuttle peeps gave us gin and cranberry drinks. Mover told us about a trashcan in tent village (not city, way too small for a city. Tent hamlet maybe) that was filled with beer and whiskey. Do whiskey and cokes and jamband music. I've been here before, but this time it's way more relaxed.and we don't have to deal.with the ridiculousness of all those frat boy wannabe hippies in damascus. Becca played in the playground and I chilled with Alan and talked music fests and burning man. Great night.

We camped by the train tracks in the back of the park which had not seen a train all day. That changed at night. Wow. Pretty scary really. I did not sleep well. Becca slept like a rock. A drunk rock ;)