AT Day 40: Short Hop to Mt Rogers HQ

Daily Miles: 4.0, Total Miles: 534.2

Gusty, biting wind all night long. No incentive to put on my damp hiking clothes, I kept my sleepwear on and headed down to Mt Rogers HQ.

The town of Marion VA has a transit bus system that does pickups from here a few times per day. I only had to wait ten minutes and joined several other hikers for the short ride into downtown Marion.

I had seen on the FarOut app some positive comments about Massey’s, an antique shop/cafe. They are now welcoming hikers and providing services like laundry and showers. It did not disappoint – Tia welcomed me, showed me around and I had a great omelet, fruit bowl and coffee while washing my clothes. The post office was only a few steps away so I picked up my resupply box including needed new shoes. My stinky shoe’s tread was down to nubs and I managed to rip the fabric on top of the shoes. I suspect sharp, exposed tree roots.

I took another transit bus about two miles to my motel, got the room heated up and took a wonderfully hot shower. Later, I had my first Mexican food on the AT at Mi Puerto – not bad!