15 miles

Today is going to be a great day. There is a brewery just a short hitch off trail and we aim to be there by lunch time so we can wait out the afternoon storm that’s suppose to come through.

We set off as soon as we can and kind of hike in a line all morning. We have Two Tone and I, Hairnet, and Crazy Eyes all walking together and it was a great time. It didn’t take us long to get a hitch into the brewery. Only about 3 minutes on the corner and an older couple that lived nearby scooped us up and dropped us off promptly at the front door of The Devil’s Backbone Brewery. We sat down for lunch and got to work quickly on some beers and food.

Afterwords as we are all sitting around chatting and drinking Crazy Eyes excuses himself out as he’s tired and doesn’t feel well. We continue on doing our thing u til it’s time to go and meet him outside. Crazy Eyes and two other hikers are outside the front of this brewery just absolutely tacking their brains out. Literally on all fours just tossing cookies.

We came to the conclusion that it wasn’t food poisoning because one guy didn’t even eat and the other two didn’t have the same thing. What they do all have in common is that they have all been frequenting the shelters and that’s where you get norovirus.

Crazy Eyes is basically helpless at this point so Two Tone and I arrange a hotel room for him in the nearby city of Waynesboro that we are set to arrive in tomorrow. I order him a Lyft and get some plastic bags for him to throw up in on the way and set him off. The other two guys are staying at the nearby camp spot which seems irresponsible but whatever. I’m definitely not staying there and catching that stuff.

Two Tone and I hitch back to the gap to resume our day on the trail. As we arrive their is a van sitting there and we joke about hitching into town as well because of how tough the last few days have been so I jokingly stick my thumb out as these people and they rolled down their window. “Where ya headed?”

Before you know it we are in the back of this van with this lady named Melanie and her daughter Allison. They’ve agreed to take us to Waynesboro just for the hell of it. On our way we begin to talk. Turns out Allison is set to be married in two days so the family is hanging out at the nearby lake enjoying each other’s company before the big day. They invite us back to their campground instead and of course we say yes.

We hang out with them exchanging stories until close to real midnight as they cook s’mores and fruit pies over the fire.