Resting at the Dojo

Ewok and J-Bird celebrated the conclusion of their second month on the Trail by taking a day of rest at a martial arts training center turned hiker hostel near Bastian, Virginia. After not hearing from Matt in over a week, I was pleasantly surprised when my phone rang late yesterday evening.

Matt reports that AT for CZC continues successfully as they make their way through the final days of June. As they approach 600 miles hiked on the AT, he reports that his spirits are not as high as they were a few weeks ago. They have evidently struggled to find water over the past week and are resorting to carrying a gallon of water each to supplement their Nalgene bottles. Furthermore, the southern Virginia trails are quite a bit rockier than expected and Matt reports that he was feeling "beaten down" and "very sore." No doubt a day of rest, a full belly and an air-conditioned room to sleep in worked their magic last night!

James, Matt and Houdini continue to hike together and have parted ways - for the time being - with Low Profile and Crazy Beard. The latter two hikers have been hitchhiking more while Matt and James have preferred to hike every mile, only hitchhiking when needing to get into town or a convenience store.

When I asked if he had seen much wildlife, he reported that he has seen quite a few more deer since entering Virginia. They spotted a black bear trudging through the woods and it took off down the mountain upon sighting the hikers.

Matt wishes to thank all his supporters and continues to think of Comfort Zone with each mile that passes. He asked that I thank Julie Rosson for her letter received in Bland and offers his most heartfelt thanks to Trubrit for letting them stay at the Dojo! In Matt's words, "thank you so much for your hospitality. We'll be coming back to Fort Bastian when it opens next year!"