{"id":712,"date":"2014-06-19T22:02:27","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T02:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hnatow.com\/wordpress-happytrails\/?p=712"},"modified":"2014-06-19T22:02:27","modified_gmt":"2014-06-20T02:02:27","slug":"day-65-mile-987-6-to-blackburn-at-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hnatow.com\/happytrails\/?p=712","title":{"rendered":"Day 65 – mile 987.6 to Blackburn AT Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today was a very crazy cool AT day. We got up early again to beat the heat since we had a lot of small but challenging climbs to do in The Roller Coaster. Things started off fine and we got through about 5 miles of it by 9:30 or so. We then unexpectedly hit some trail magic at a little dirt road. <\/p>\n

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Trail angels <\/p><\/div>\n

These folks were awesome. They made us hot dogs and hamburgers for breakfast. Score! The lady in the picture, Trail Mamma – her husband did a thru-hike in 2012 and they drove 9 hours from their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, just to do some trail magic this year. Wow… To make it even cooler, years ago her husband was in a serious car accident and broke his neck and the doctors said he either wouldn’t live or would be a quadriplegic. He recovered and went on to not only walk, but to do his thru-hike. So cool. Then not only did they make us food, but they “slack packed” our backpacks about 6 miles up the trail to the Bears Den Hostel. So we got to hike those 6 miles of the Coaster without a backpack. It felt like we were flying.
\nThe Roller Coaster climbs weren’t bad, but the rocks and humidity were constant throughout so it was a foot crusher kind of day. We heard something about a hiker feed at the Blackburn center (kind of a free shelter and resource house for hikers), so we decided we’d camp there for the night. This was a terrific idea, as a local organic farm (Stoneybrook Organic Farm) made dinner for about 10 or 15 hikers for free. It was wonderful and included multiple huge portions of chicken and rice, peas, salad, avocado dressing, pie, and tea. All for free… Just cuz Trail Magic. <\/p>\n

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My second plate of food <\/p><\/div>\n

Oh yea, and there was this… <\/p>\n

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\nTomorrow it’s 11 miles or so in the morning into Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, for a day and a half off. <\/p>\n

Vital stats :<\/strong>
\nMilestone – 1000 crazy miles
\nMiles hiked today – 19.5
\nMood – awesome
\nPhysical state – feet are feeling it after the rock crunching all day
\nSmell – 1000 piles of garbage
\nSong stuck in my head – Rollercoaster by The Red Hot Chili Peppers<\/p>\n

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