Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
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May 14, "The Place"

  A rest day is such a beautiful thing. I have actually accomplished a lot today but it's been so relaxed that I don't feel stressed at all. Usually when I'm in town, I run around like a chicken with my head cut off, & I end up feeling so frazzled that I can't wait to get back to hiking. I got almost no sleep last night, due to all the various pains in my legs & the symphony of snorers in our rooms. Actually the snoring calmed down, around 3AM & then I dozed for a few hours.

At 7:00 I decided it was time to make a break for the telephone, so I put on as many layers as I could find in my messy bunk & hobbled down to the mini-mart where there's a telephone. I spent an hour getting caught up on life at The Washington Project & then another half hour checking in with Tony. It's no wonder I have to refill my phone card so often! But it's good to get caught up with everyone.

After breakfast, I worked my way to the post office to pick up my mail drop & lots of yummy items from Mom! As I was coming back with it, I was very surprised to run into Voyager Bob, whom I haven't seen since Neels Gap, our 4th day on the trail. I've been consistently following him by a day or two ever since then, & it was fun to actually see him again after all these weeks. He actually left town yesterday & got only 6 miles before he came back, because his blisters were bothering so much. I think he was going to try to head out again later today.

When I got my boxes back to the hostel, I pulled out the reading material in them & then headed to the Laundromat to get the clothes a little less dirty & get caught up on the news from home. It was so much fun, even though the email's are a couple weeks old. It's all news to me! Later, I was at the outfitter & discovered they had free internet access, so I actually got to read some current email's & I sent a few replies as well. it's amazing to me how fast the world moves out there. Click - & I've instantly sent a message.

Of course, any trip to the outfitter entails an outlay of cash, & this one was no exception. Today's major purchase was a pair of trail running shoes, which seem to solve the problem of my ankle & heel soreness. I don't know why I've been wearing the boots for weeks for 5 weeks without a problem & now they're rubbing my foot wrong, but I'm willing to give this a try. These are essentially regular running shoes - low-cut & canvas, no waterproofing possible, but they should be pretty comfy too. They seem to be quite popular right now, as a lot of hikers in town are walking around with new footwear.

The last item on my agenda today was a haircut, so I managed a walk-in appointment at the barbershop across the street. To be honest, I can cut hair about as well as she can, but it got the job done & it only cost me $7. I think my longest hairs are now about an inch on top. Pretty cool!