The Climb to Katahdin: Back North

The last week has been quite amazing. We are back in Virginia and headed north again after a great weekend with Patch's parents. We are lying in our tent on a bald 5200 feet up. The stars and fireflies have been out. There's a decent breeze offsetting the rising temperature of the days. There's 3G service and we couldn't be happier.
Hiking southbound was interesting. There was a surprising amount of us, actually, so we met some new people in the south bubble. We stayed on track with meeting our larger mileage days goal. We even made it into Hampton, TN for some much needed Subway and some free camping behind the only bar in many many miles. It was crazy, really. The owner of the Ice House Saloon told us "free camping anywhere on the premise". The problem was that trucks were parked everywhere and there was nothing but uneven rock aside from that. Nevertheless, we do what hikers do and figure it out. It's only for one night. So we did. We set up tent and hung out a bit in the first real bar we'd been to in months. It was fun. Darts, pool, and foozball. Then we went to bed for an early rise to get to the first waterfall in quite some time. We'd heard a lot about it and were quite excited. It lived up to the hype. It was massive but too cold to swim in. So, we ate and admired. We do a lot of that.
We also finally got to see Caveman again. He was going north and we were headed south and we finally intersected. It was so nice to see him again. It'd really been weeks. He hiked with us a bit back to another amazing waterfall where we met his brother and friend who are hiking a few weeks on the AT. The Human Caterpillar in full effect. At least until we went on South and Caveman North.
We arrived at E19 in Roan, TN where we headed to a local popular hostel to wait for Patch's family to scoop us up to do a weekend of camping at Roan State Park. It was great. Patch's family were very kind and we appreciate everything they did for us. Especially the nonstop much-needed amazing meals throughout the weekend. Very good times.
We then got a ride from Patch's buddies that showed up Sunday. They took us to Walmart which was helpful but a bit overwhelming considering it was midday Sunday before Memorial Day. Got some supplies and headed back to Damascus where we sent back our old backpacks and sleeping bags. It's finally hot enough for another solution than our big bulky sleeping bags. Reverie got a plush blanket and her cocoon and I opted for a snuggie. It's camouflage and just big, light, and cheap enough for me. In Damascus, we ran into the infamous Baltimore Jack who has thruhiked the Trail 9 times; 7 of them back to back. Gnarly. He pumped us up on the section we are now hiking and told us we are on the right track to reaching Mount Katahdin by early October which is what we were shooting for. Excellent.
We got outta town and into the woods for a good start on the Trail. 16 miles today. We are happy with that. That's roughly the average we gotta start pulling. We are now in the state that has the most miles of the AT with over 500 and if we aren't able to make our mountain legs pump out mileage now, we never will. It's time to get down to business. It's getting hot and we've been at it for 2 months now. We know how this thing works and we are in our stride. Filming is going well Chaser's camera is finally fixed. Now all we have to do is watch out for snakes, pray for pretty days, have a good time, and hike.
The next big thing we have planned as far as family or friends is NYC in about a thousand more miles which should be around early August, I think. Fourth of July in Harpers Ferry, WV. That's the next immediate goal in 500 miles.
I must go. We are trying to start waking up earlier to beat the heat. We appreciate all the new followers, especially the ones we've met along the way.
Swimming hole tomorrow.
Mail drops, General Delivery: Coltin Calloway and Lindsay Fasic ETA 5/31
Atkins, VA.
We accept baked goods, things that remind us of home, and anything you want to send us at all.
Thanks.