Pale lizards with fire-colored heads rule the trail. As I come down the trail, they sense me and dart away, to climb to the back of the nearest tree. Scarlet Tanagers flit from tree to tree above my head, sending a call to warn others of my presence. This is their land, one where they may still thrive. I try not to interfere with their doings, hoping that it might manifest into mosquitoes and mice not interfering with me.

I stop to talk with a weekend hiker, and consider how much we are alike and how much different.

I think of the sun, how it glares from above, how I change from praising it to cursing it as time passes.

I think of the trail, how it always seems to follow the direction of greatest change in elevation, always seeming to go further skyward, with seldom even a view as a reward.

I think of hikers’ talk. The talk today is our reaching 800 miles. I think how hard it is to comprehend walking 800 miles, what that means.

Yet we have done it, and we shall continue. What a beautiful, difficult, strange, surreal, and awesome adventure this is.

I left Lexington this morning in good spirits.

Because of the new shoes, I decided to hike a short day to ensure their proper fit and comfort. Though it may seem obvious, the right shoes are extremely important and can make or break a hiker. I spent over an hour at the outfitter trying them on, but it is different to e hiking in them all day. They passed the test – for today at the least. Where my old shoes were beginning to fray and provide blisters, none have come so far. I am pleased.

When I stopped hiking, I still had plenty of daylight to build a fire and make dinner. My side dish was corn! I have grown fond of packing it when I reach a grocery store, and I feasted on three ears tonight with fresh lime juice. Others drooled as they cooked bland noodles and instant mashed potatoes. This time, I also brought an orange bell pepper. Next time, I shall be even more extravagant! And healthy too!

No, no, I’m not simply off the trail to wait out a little rain. The fact that I happen to be off the trail just about every time it rains is pure coincidence. I am in Lexington, visiting my friend Jonathan! He lives so close to the trail, and in such a great town too!

As the thunder rolls outside, I am in Jonathan’s house, as he teaches a piano lesson. I’m in the room with two pianos, and we went to dinner at a piano bar, where I expect Jonathan will soon be a regular performer. Music is a huge part of his life, and it made me realize how much I miss music – not just music in general, but powerful music, emotional music, and classical music.

I have recently been listening to an audiobook while hiking (Game of Thrones, finally). While some might think this is cheating, hiking can eventually become tiresome. Talking to the trees is only fun for so long. But being here inspired me to throw some Ludwig Van on my phone, so I can listen to something pretty during my walks.

This morning, we even got a chance to see some live music, a handful of local musicians playing whatever songs came to mind.

It was delightful. Later in the day, I bought some new shoes!

I don’t like spending a lot of money, but this is a necessary purchase, as my old ones are falling apart. I am hoping to break them in at least a little before hiking tomorrow.

It has been so wonderful to spend time with Jonathan and his friends!

Today was a big day, 22 miles. I certainly got an earlier start than yesterday, but I still felt as though I was dragging my feet for most of the way. My pace is normally faster.

At one point, I came across this:

And for once, I wish there had been a sign, to explain. I accepted it and hiked on.

The day was not too eventful, as it was mostly constant hiking, but I did recently run into two unlikely people. The first, Guthook, designed the AT app I use for my phone. The second was a friend from home, David Rice! I was so surprised to see him, and couldn’t believe that he hiked that section right when I happened I be hiking it.

It’s a magical trail, I suppose. I’m looking forward to what happens next on the trail!

The first day of June! It’s hard to believe that the season is moving so quickly, yet when I think about how long I have been on the trail, it feels like a year has passed.

Today started even slower, as I was still hanging around camp after noon. The trail sent me a sign that it was too much sitting around: while lounging in my hammock, a bird from above relieved itself, and I got bird poop on my face.

There are a lot of things I love about life in the woods, but that is not one of them. However, it did motivate me to get up. And I had packed and left by 1:00. Despite my very lazy start, I managed to catch up with the others at a shelter about 16 miles north.

The hiking has been pretty, but this section of the trail frequently crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are often signs at the crossings, boasting of the crossings and explaining the mountains.

It I a double-edged sword. It is cool that people can experience the trail, ad the signs can be informative, but it also takes away from the wilderness, with frequent motorcycle noises blaring nearby.

I’m secretly hoping that it will occur far less tomorrow.

I ended up staying the night in a shelter built in the park for hikers. It was a very nice shelter and even had electricity, so I charged my phone while I slept.

I got a slow start in the morning, but I felt no guilt about it. I will hike however I hike. It was an easy hike back to the trail, and a nice walk throughout the day. Today was not as hot as recent days, which made for a pleasant day in the woods.

I caught up to some friends, and we just started a game of rummy. I’m looking forward to catching up to others and another beautiful day tomorrow.

Most everyone woke today in time for the continental breakfast, and many were trying to get as much out of it as they could. Personally, I was just excited that they had lemon poppyseed muffins, which I had not eaten since before the trail. So my breakfast was mostly muffins and coffee.

After checkout, I headed over to the coffee shop with a few other hikers, where we spent a few hours talking about life over coffee and tea. It was a nice place. We split up, and I took care of some town errands, mainly buying more food. Then, I began hiking out. It was already later in the day, so I just planned to go a few miles. I am camping tonight in the town park of Troutville, where they encourage hikers to stay. They also have free showers and laundry available. I think that is so awesome, and I am excited for more towns ahead that are this hiker friendly.

I enjoyed breaking midday yesterday to take a nap in the heat and enjoy time eating and socializing. The consequence was night hiking the rest of our planned miles, ten miles into town.

We arrived very early this morning and had agreed to go to Waffle House, as they are open 24 hours. The excitement of finally reaching town in the dark and heading to the restaurant was pretty awesome. We ordered large plates of hash browns and chocolate chip pancakes. We barely finished it all, and we were so tired afterward that we slept in a non-designated sleeping area near Waffle House.

I woke up soon after first light and didn’t know what else to do, so I went to Waffle House. With a cup of coffee in hand, I was planning out what to do in town and what town to visit next. Another hiker told me we were all going to get a hotel room, so I headed over there to hang out. When I arrived, I was a little shocked to see six people completely enthralled by an episode of Cops – even more so when it ended and the next episode of Cops began.

I finally convinced a couple of them to go check out the outfitter and the coffee shop. We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, which was a treat, and now we are back at the hotel, watching television. At least it’s not Cops again.

The night hike went well. We were dazzled by fields full of fireflies. Our packs were lined with Christmas lights. In the midst of the night, we reached mile marker 700.

We arrived at the shelter and collapsed toward sleep. I awoke at 5:00 a.m. Our plan was to reach the picturesque McAfee Knob early in the day. We did a pretty good job.

After the knob were many similar rock cliffs, many of which reminded me of Pictured Rocks back in Michigan. I was grateful to experience both the beauty and novelty of this section of the trail. Everyone gets a McAfee picture, and it was awesome eating lunch on the cliffs and meditating among the mountains.

I don’t plan on night hiking every night, but I ended up stopping early at a shelter to nap, with the intention of hiking a few more miles later. After napping and cooking some eggs while waiting for friends, the time somehow got to be past 5:00 already, so some more night hiking may take place. We shall see!

After our slack pack yesterday, we took a lazy day. Our plan is to night hike out and get a few miles in.

We prepared our packs and showered and then enjoyed the luxuries of the hostel. The owner, Joe, is a very cool dude. If you beat him at corn hole (beanbags), he will do your laundry for free. Nobody has beat him that I am aware of.

We played chess, read books, played darts, and watched some Quentin Tarantino films – all in all, a good day. I had missed the thrill of a good movie, and despite the fact that ten of us were crowded around an iPhone to watch it, it was a good time.