April 16th - 43 - Atkins, VA to Knot Maul Branch Shelter
The first thing I note in my journal today is that I crossed the mathematical one quarter point of the AT. I guess this was important to me at the time. Or more realistic is that when you are hiking you spend a lot of time thinking. So maybe I just thought a lot about where I was on the trail.

It was only 13.9 miles of hiking today, but that really doesn't matter giving the solid group of hikers that I am with. Imagine being 6 years old again and having a sleep over party with  10 of your closest friends. Now make those people interesting, varied in background, with a common albeit far off goal of hiking a long trail. Now stretch that sleep over to one hundred and fifty days.

Grease hiking out in front of me across a lovely open meadow. 

Off of the road the trail weaves up through some old fields. There is barbed wire and abandoned equipment adding to the ambiance. The trail for the next few day would cross these old fields, still to this day one of my favorite parts of hiking in Virginia. The air is perfect, cold at night, crisp in the shade and the perfect amount of warmth provided by the sun. 

Does this really need a caption?

Handsome Dan after vaulting one of the dreaded fence stiles.

Holston Branch, great place to eat lunch and cool of your dogs.

Dan and I stop for a snack by the Holston Branch. Half Moon is here nursing a rolled ankle. I follow suit and put my feet in the water. This is a great idea for any long distance hiker. At the very least take your shoes off during longer breaks. Not only does it feel good, but it really does help the pain inflicted on the feet by hiking all day everyday. 

At the shelter there is a great communal atmosphere. Sunbear, Grease, Blink, Rambo, Halfmoon, Dan, Mama Bear, Hard to Kill, Sunshine, Youngbeard are here. There is a fire going (a rarity for my hike), Hard to Kill surprises us all by cooking brownies over the fire in his cook pot flipped upside down. We hang a collective food bag that by our estimates is in excess of 100 pounds. Some whiskey is passed around, and good times are had by all.