Local Trail Hikers Take Eating To a New Level

In our continuing journey with the , we find Pace (Shawn McCarton) and Hungus (Karl Weiss) stopping for “real” food at a break from hiking in a town. Pace gives some sage advice:

• DO NOT TRY THIS UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES* 
  
  What we ate: Hungus had an Angus mushroom and Swiss with large fries, 5-piece chicken select and 2 large dr. Peppers. Calories= 2350 
  
  I had: a 20-piece nugget, big Mac, large fries, cheeseburger and a large dr. Pepper. Calories= 2600  

After dinner, the pair went about taking care of necessities, and found a little help:

Anyway, we made our way back to the hotel and learned that the laundry wasn't working so we would have to walk to the laundromat. Hungus and I showered, made a shopping list and started the long walk. On our way a nice woman stopped and offered us a ride!! She took us to the laundromat that was closer to the grocery store. SWEET!! 

 Hungus and I made phone calls to pass the time. Once finished we crossed the street to the food lion. It was already 8pm and we needed to walk back to Walgreens before it closed at 9. While on the checkout line a nice older gentleman started inquiring about our hike. I decided to work my yogiing skills ( yogi= getting trail magic like food or a ride without asking). I told him how far we had hiked but our longest walk for the moment would be back to the hotel. He asked if we had a ride, no, and then offered to drive us back!! DOUBLE SWEET!! I said he could just drop us off at Walgreens. Turns out Hungus and he had some similar work connections. We got to Walgreens and thanked him. He said he'd wait for us and drive us to the hotel. TRIPLE SWEET!!! He gave us his business card and said he would love to hear from us when we finish. 

And finally, they ran into some hometown friends:

Pace's good friend, Johanna, from home was actually driving through the area with her mom, Andrea. They were bringing her sister, Alanna, and all her stuff back from Arizona. The timing couldn't have been more perfect! They met us at the hotel around 1245 and they shuttled Pace, Watermelon, and I into town in two trips. We went to the Choo Choo Cafe which was quite an interesting place. Picture an antique store, now throw antique tables randomly around the store and that is the Choo Choo. There was one lady to cook and clean and serve the tables. She was the nicest lady ever and the place had a super cool vibe to it. The three hikers each ordered 2 meals since they looked small on the other tables. As we waited for our order we browsed the antique store checking everything out. The food was excellent but I could have eaten two more meals.  

After lunch we said good by to Pace's friends and walked back to the hotel. It was a really great treat to see someone from home!! Back at the hotel we grabbed our packs and walked back up to the PO to mail our bounce box to Damascus. This will be the next town you folks at home can send stuff. The address is: 

Karl Weiss or Shawn McCarton 
C/O General Delivery 
Damascus, VA 24236 
Hold for AT Hiker 4/26