We are in Virginia, which is the largest section of trail in a single state. It includes Damascus (host to Trail Days, a hiker gathering) on the southern end, McAffee Knob, Dragon’s Tooth, and Tinker Cliffs in the middle, and Shenandoah National Park on the northern side. All told, Virginia owns 551 miles of trail, almost 1/4 of the entire journey.

It’s a lot of trail packed into one state. And there is so much to see and appreciate here.

And yet. We have both had days when hiking has lost its sheen. (See also: all the talk about The Virginia Blues.) Thru-hiking is not an activity that involves much moderation. Every day we set out to hike no less than 15 miles, and these days we try to average 18 miles a day. It can be easy to slide into a routine of just pounding out miles and getting lost in the soreness of our feet and the rockiness of the terrain. Personally I’m not living up to my trail name these days because I’m regularly saying to John, “Can we go slower today? I just want to stroll.”

Luckily, the trail and the area surrounding it have many opportunities to slow down.

Dragon’s Tooth is a set of jagged rocks that required some climbing, though not so serious that these two amateurs couldn’t make it.

Hiker reunions. The view from McAfee Knob at sunset was a group event. We have been slowly reunited with hikers we met on Day 1 at Springer and in the first weeks of our trip. A large group of us took it slow over this stretch of trail.

Food. Really good food. Another reason we slowed down as a crew was to go to The Homeplace Restaurant in Catawba, VA. It’s a beautiful spot in an old house with some of the best food we have had just off the trail.

It’s not the easiest to go to. It’s only open Thursday to Sunday from 4-8pm. And apparently we made it three days prior to the start of a ten day vacation for the staff.

But the Homeplace is well worth the effort. For $20, you can have an AYCE (all you can eat), family-style meal with fried chicken, roast beef, slow cooked pork, ham, biscuits, mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, pinto beans, green beans, baked apples, pepper relish, apple butter, cobbler, ice cream, coffee, iced tea, and lemonade. Yum. For those with a calorie deficit, it’s heavenly.

I have no photos of the food because of how completely focused on eating we became once the bowls of steaming biscuits and crispy fried chicken arrived at the table. (Note: this place is not for vegetarians.)

We lounged for awhile before cramming into a van and getting back on trail, our bellies full of the best trail meal in Virginia.

Bring Your Own Lobster. Okay, we know this is pre-emptive and we should really wait for the northeast to get lobster. (Friends who live close to lobstering coasts, look away.) But we’ve been craving fresh, ungarnished food and broke down and had a lobster steamed at a Kroger seafood counter and ate it in the parking lot with a nutcracker we purchased at the store. Super classy. Especially with the barnacles.

Physical setbacks. John sprained his ankle the other day on trail so we hoofed it seven miles to a spot where we could stay off trail for a two days. After ice baths, arnica applications, KT taping, legs up the wall sessions, and one day of slackpacking where John kicked my butt up the hills, I’ve decided it’s time for John to carry a pack again so I can enjoy hiking again.

Berries. The berry situation is in full force. Fresh food is hard to come by, except when it’s berry season and the trail is lined with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and … wineberries.

Hikers don’t work nearly as hard as this dung beetle.

Turtle crossings

Snakes that won’t get off the trail.

Wildflowers. We started the trail when all of the spring wildflowers were in bloom, and we still try to capture new photos of flowers as we see them. Here are a few of the new ones.

Fungi. Since we received a heavy rain at the start of Virginia, we have seen many varieties of fungus.