When I got to the Barn Restaurant in Atkins it was 9am (Monday 5/14) and I was ready for breakfast. I found Grim inside, a thru hiker I had seen randomly for the last couple hundred miles. He's from England and meeting his wife in NY on July 3rd and they'll travel home together - his visa expires but he hopes to come back next year to complete the rest of the trail.
After breakfast I went over to the Exxon gas station, one of the only other establishments within walking distance, to try to resupply. Buzzkill showed up and we found that the 'mexican restaurant’ attached to the gas station was closed on Mondays, so we walked down to the Sunoco where we found Blue Jay. We sat inside and charged our phones for awhile. There wasn't much in the way of dinners to buy, so I ended up getting junk food that would have to last me a couple of days. At 11:30 I went back to the Barn to have lunch before continuing on. An older man sat across from me while I waited for my food and I learned most of his life story in 5 minutes - he was one of eight kids with 6 sisters and 1 brother, grew up in a smaller town just down the road from Atkins where he got married at age 20, built his own house in ‘65, ran a cabbage farm until he got tired of that and went to work at a clothing factory sewing button holes in shirts, his wife started cheating on him with some man who lives in Atkins and he wasn't going to put up with that and my food came and he left to finish mowing his grass. Guess this is what I should expect sitting alone in a small town.
I got back on the trail a little bit after noon and took it slow because it was hot, even though I was hoping to make it another 15 miles. The trail went through lots of pastures and open fields. I stupidly forgot to fill my water bottle before I left town - I had packed out a cherry coke, which I was saving as an afternoon treat, and a Gatorade but the sweetness was making my stomach sick. I finally came across a stream about 8 miles out of town but a day hiker advised me not to fill up there because there was a cow pasture upstream. When I got to the next water source a mile later I was so hot and dehydrated that I didn't care if I cow was standing in the middle of the stream, I needed water. The rest of the miles were slow because of the heat - I didn't see many other thru hikers out, just day hikers.
I had a mini celebration when I hit mile 547 (¼ point!) - these mini milestones help me stay motivated. I saw Box Tortoise who was pushing for the campsite after the next shelter, so I figured I'd aim for there too. The trail continued through open fields and cow pastures, I was drenched in sweat. I came across a campsite by a stream, but I was really hoping for a good water source so I could wash all the salt off me. I continued a little further to Lynn Creek Campsite (AT mile 561.2) where there was a confluence of streams (I saw the word confluence in my guide book and decided that was where I was going) - 20.7 miles for the day, even after a 3 hour stop in Atkins. 
Pantalones arrived shortly after - I saw him earlier in the day hiking south to retrieve his buff he had left at a water stop, adding an extra mile and a half to his day. Box Tortoise also showed up. I tented by the stream and rinsed the salt and sweat off my arms and legs, it was a warm night again but not as bad.
I woke up Tuesday morning hoping to get 30 miles in and stop at the Brushy Mountain Outpost, right on the trail, and get dinner and a cold drink. I didn't hear my 5:30 am alarm but woke up at 6 and packed quickly and was on the trail by 6:35. The hardest part of the day was the first 5ish miles, 2,500’ up to Chestnut Knob Shelter. It was cloudy and extremely humid and I was pouring sweat and covered with cobwebs. The shelter was pretty cool, fully enclosed stone with a door. I had made the 8.3 miles to the shelter by 9:45 and felt I'd need to pick up the pace to get my miles in. I meet Achilles and Stairclimber in the shelter and we compared notes about the approaching storm.
The next 8 miles did not have a good water source so I started conserving. The rest of the day looked easier so I tried to pick up the pace. I tried not to lose momentum on the short steep climbs by telling myself I could catch my breath going down the other side. Some times this worked and others the hill would hit me like a wall. Virginia has a lot of PUDs (pointless ups and downs) - I knew I hated Virginia for a reason! The 'easier’ miles today were deceivingly hard.
When I got to VA 623 (AT mile 575.4) just after noon I had gone 14.5 miles. An older hiker was there and trying to get a shuttle into Bland but his phone was dead. I luckily had service and called him a shuttle but it would be at least an hour and a half before they could get there. He didn't have much of a choice, he was just about out of food and water. I shared my snacks with him and charged his phone with my portable battery. He mentioned he was the oldest hiker on the trail and I said “you must be Pappy!”. I had heard about him on some of the Facebook groups before I had even started my hike. He's a real interesting guy - he was born in Lithuania and moved to the US when he was 10, grew up in Lyme, CT and joined the Navy. He started hiking at age 65 in 1995 when he hiked the AT for the first time, followed by the PCT in 1998 and the CDT in 2002. He's also hiked the Long Trail in VT, the Colorado Trail, hiked through different parts of Alaska, and has taken many long distance bike trips. I sat and chatted with him for about 45 minutes and felt bad leaving him but I had to keep moving (I later heard from other hikers that he got a ride into town and was all taken care of). At this point I knew I wasn't going to make it to the Outpost by 6 when they closed, but I needed to at least make it to the next shelter 5 miles away before the storm hit. 
I got to Jenkins Shelter around 3:30 hearing thunder. Yodi, Sir Mix a Lot, Achilles, Nutter Butter, Somewhere, and Snowbeard all showed up - we hung out in the shelter while the storm passed. It poured with lightning and thunder, even hail but by 5PM it had stopped and I decided to push on a few more miles. I walked five easy miles to Laurel Creek - the trail was a river which made the walk slow. I did my best not to swamp my boots. I spent the past few weeks avoiding the brush on the side of the trail fearing poison ivy and now I was walking through all of it without hesitation to keep my boots dry. 
I made it to the campsite (AT mile 584.3) after only 23.1 miles, and Yodi showed up a short time after. My 30 mile day would have to wait. Since i didn't find any food for dinner in Atkins I ate Combos and Sprees for dinner. We had a little bit of rain and a little bit of thunder, but I stayed dry overnight in my tent. Yodi and the rest of the hikers I met at Jenkins Shelter intended on shuttling from Bland to Damascus for Trail Days so I will probably not see them again. 
I was up Wednesday morning at 5:30AM and on the trail by 6. I was determined to make 30 miles. Drops were falling from the trees, it wasn't raining but my tent was soaked. The first 7 miles to Brushy Mountain Outpost were pretty easy and uneventful - it was overcast so it didn't get too hot. Lots of cobwebs as usual. I arrived at the Outpost, which is right on trail at mile 591.2, at 8:30AM and ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich. While I was waiting a man sat down at the table across from me and started talking about living in Georgetown, DC back in the day and marijuana was everywhere and so was the crime and he was on his way to sell his brother's car for $1,300 to pay for his brother's medical expenses because he had stage 4 lung cancer and he told his sister in law to take that money out of the bank account immediately after to buy a burial plot so the government can't touch it and my breakfast is ready and I have to leave before the rain comes in. People in small towns sure are over-sharers. 
I continued up the trail at 9:15 and took advantage of the flat terrain. It started to drizzle which turned into a steady rain. By 11:45 I made it to VA 611, AT mile 600, and 15.7 miles into the day. I was thoroughly soaked by this point so I stopped at the next shelter to rest, have a snack, and dry out my feet. The rain slowed a little but it wasn't going to stop and since everything was already soaked there was no point in waiting it out. I felt like a machine in the middle part of the day - my legs knew just how fast to move, my feet knew exactly where to step, I used my trekking poles to power up the inclines. The miles flew by but my toes began to ache from being wet for so long. I only saw a couple of hikers and a handful of slack packers all day.
The last few miles were pretty painful - I was tired of walking, tired of being wet, and tired of talking to myself. I was actually relieved when I showed up to the shelter (AT mile 617.6) and there were 4 hikers there. I had walked 33.3 miles in 12 hours and 40 min with two 40 min breaks. I was excited to get into Pearisburg the following day - my friends Joe and Kim who I know from working at races live in the area and agreed to pick me up and let me stay the night. I only had 18.8 miles to walk on Thursday and was hoping to be there by 2pm.
I woke up to rain on Thursday (May 17), it had poured on and off all night. I had hung my pack on the mouse hanger, but another hiker, Workhorse, hung his on a nail over my head. I saw a mouse rummaging through his pack most of the night - when I told him about it the next morning he said he'd be in town the day after tomorrow and would look through his pack for damage then - gross. I finally got going at 6 when the rain had stopped. I made quick work of the only climb of the day but my legs felt heavy and sluggish - I wonder why..
A couple miles in I noticed my heels were starting to rub - my feet had swelled overnight. I attempted to tape them up but my skin, socks, and shoes were so wet that they didn't stick for more than 5 minutes. The miles continued to go by quickly but my feet were becoming more and more painful. It started raining just long enough to drench me and then stop. Just when I was almost dry it would rain again. It did that pretty much all day. The last 5 miles I was in so much pain. It felt like all the skin on my heels had rubbed off - I was worried I was causing so much damage to my feet that I would have to take several days off trail. I also didn't get cell service the entire day so I couldn't contact Joe to let him know when to expect me at VA 100. I stopped at Angels Rest view just long enough to take some pictures but I was in too much pain to linger. The last few miles seemed to go on forever and the pain in my feet was excruciating, I was almost in tears. All I wanted to do was take my boots off. As I approached the parking lot at VA 100 (AT mile 636.4) I saw a van and I was praying that it was Joe's. As I came out of the woods the door opened and Joe got out to greet me - man, was I glad to see him! 
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