Day 10. 500 mile Journey to Salem. Middleburg, VA to Gainesville, VA. About 18 miles. 54,000 steps. Overcast sky. High 77 degrees. Following a wonderful breakfast at the B&B, we headed out for our walk to Gainesville. We spent a good portion of the day on gorgeous roads, paved and unpaved, absorbing the beauty and serenity of the VA horse country. I could have taken hundreds of landscape, barns, and horse photos – but you’ll just have to visit and appreciate for yourself to see more! We had a little off trail scramble adventure, followed by one of Lisa’s best surprises yet – shaved country ham biscuits!!! Now that was a snack break for the books! Thank you, Lisa! And that was followed not too long later by a wonderful picnic lunch! Double thank you! Two pieces of trail magic today! A man in line behind Lee at our 7-11 stop heard what we were doing and paid for her coffee. AND, Elizabeth wished for an onion for her lunch sandwich AND Lee immediately FOUND ONE on the ground – whole fresh and usable, Elizabeth sliced and ate on her sandwich!! What in the world ???!! Hotel a sight for sore eyes today – several of us a little more tired than usual. Clothes washed, dinner complete (some in and some out), feet iced, muscles stretched, ”good nights” shared. Another really special day. #mysalemjourney #journey2salem
– Lucy Rose C’76
Day 10 and 17 miles! From Middleburg, VA to Gainesville, VA. The Fab five thru walkers found ourselves at the back of the group so we attempted a selfie! (Groupie?) We have a morning ritual that Marcia created by playing the same song each morning, “Good Morning, Starshine”! When Marcia hikes the Appalachian Trail, that is how she starts each morning! We love Marcia … she’s our plus one / stowaway who transformed us from the Fab Four to the Fab Five. Story of the day: we were following the trail, which was beautiful, but then it tricked us when suddenly our road turned into…. We don’t know! Mounds of excess asphalt that was dumped in mounds so we had no choice but to climb! But no worries at the end was Lisa, our esteemed van driver, who met us with ham biscuits and cupcakes. How did she know were were in need of TLC after our climb? Per our usual, we stopped at a gas station for the usual reasons plus stretching. We stretch A LOT! We gather the most attention from strangers when we stretch in public… seriously. Lifestyles of the Roadies- laundry day! Every few days we do laundry in the hotel. We usually get it all in before we go out to dinner. By the time we return it’s ready to be folded. As if goofing all day while working hard on a 20 mile walk isn’t enough to feel like college… laundry confirms it! #mysalemjourney #journey2salem
– Frances Cronlund C’98
Day 10 Journey to Salem! 200.95 miles so far, according to my Strava App! #journey2salem #mysalemjourney
– Debbie Faires A’83