Miles: 785.9 | Still needing rest, we trade another motel night for a slow, scrappy return to Glasgow—bus rides, cautious hitchhiking, and a little adrenaline after an encounter with an unmarked police car. Trail luck turns when a fast-driving historian in a white minivan delivers us safely to town with air conditioning, stories, and a prayer. The free hiker shelter across from the Glasgow Grocer feels like a gift: bunks, outlets, familiar faces, and an easy rhythm again. A Dollar General “budget buffet,” cheap wine, and a small fire round out the night. It’s simple, communal, and exactly what we needed to keep moving forward.
When we got up in the morning we packed slowly. We showered one last time before we left. I still needed more time to rest. I was pretty sure I just needed more recovery time, I wasn't really sick. We didn't want to shell out for another night at the motel so we decided to head back to Glasgow where there was free camping at a shelter built by some boy scouts and a church. Glasgow was about 16 miles away, though. I found out there was a public transportation system in Lexington because of the college there. As we left the room we ran into Blade, Peanut, Skywater, and Cackles (remember them from the Smokies?)! They were renting a car to go to Trail Days and they all met up here. It was so good to see them and catch up with them!
We walked to the nearby hospital where there was a bus stop. I wore my new shoes.
We took the bus into Buena Vista and got as close to the edge of town on the road to Glasgow as we could on the bus. We wrote Glasgow on my shoe box and started hitching. An unmarked black Ford pulled up to us and I quickly realized it was a detective. My heart rate quickened and I hid my thumb behind my back.
The man in the car made eye contact with me through the window and made a motion with his hand across his neck as if to say "quit it." He then turned, looked over his shoulder, and pulled back out onto the road. We almost got in trouble.
Hitch hiking is illegal in most of the US, by the way, but most hikers do it at least once... We stood there for a few minutes after, waiting for his car to disappear up the road.
After about 45 minutes and many friendly waves from locals going the other way, a woman in a white mini van pulled over. "I'm going to Roanoke." She said, "Can I give you a ride?" We said yes and told her our destination was just up the street. Her car was clean and the air conditioning was blasting. She wore a light blue seer-sucker dress and her short brown hair was perfectly straightened.
She had red lipstick and nail polish to match. She asked us all kinds of questions about our hike and told us about Francis Marion, "The Swamp Fox". She was a historian and a very interesting woman. She came from South Carolina. She drove very fast in her mini van and plopped us off at the Glasgow Grocer. She left us with a lengthy prayer and wished us luck. We were certainly blessed that day.
We got some drinks and snacks at the grocer and went over to the hiker shelter across the street. The shelter had about twelve very squished bunks, electrical outlets, an old microwave, porta potties, a little free library, and an outdoor shower. We set up Miles' tent nearby. The Woo crew was there (Blackbird, Crafty, TNT, and a few others) along with Shirt Pants and Jeans.
Later in the evening we went to the Dollar General and gathered supplies for a 'budget buffet': hot dogs + buns, s'more's supplies, cheap wine, and cereal and milk for the next morning. We roasted our dogs and marshmallows over a small fire in the fire pit and drank our cheap wine. We went to bed early and I think I slept alright. Rain rolled through in the evening.
We'd run into all of them a few times along the way but hadn't ever really formally introduced ourselves. They had been at Four Pines the second night we were there. We hung out with them as they waited for their last package at the post office. They all got matching short shorts!
