Made it to Waynesboro (by car anyway)

We're done hiking and making our way home. Here are some updates and will make it more current later.

7/25 Slept on the porch of the bunkhouse because of the difficulty of hoisting the dog to the second floor of the bunkhouse up the ladder. Bitten by no-see-ums for the first couple hours of the night, nice the rest of the night, as we could see the stars.
7/26 Had a communal breakfast (just like dinner) where everyone helped setup or cleanup, kind of odd considering we paid a fair amount to be served...no biggie tho. Checked into the semi-private room after a little confusion about what room we had. Neville and Michael (owners) hinted that we should give Kayenta a bath, so we did. Got our massages which were spectacular. Had a nice dinner with tourists and other hikers, including Flying Irishman from Dublin.
7/27 Left after breakfast at Wood's Hole, and giving them our "bounce" box to send home. We will do without it for the rest of the trip. After a torrential storm, caught up to Achilles on the way to Pearisburg VA. Walked to Pearisburg and called a shuttle intending to stay at the Holy Family Hostel. We got out of the car and the Priest chewed us out about having a dog and trying to stay. Craig neglected to read the "no pets" verbiage in the A.T. Guide. After Craig shouted back the priest commented on how nice Kayenta seemed. Achilles stayed at the hostel while we went to the Holiday Lodge where the person was super friendly.
7/28 Resupplied and ran into Achilles before checking out of the hotel. He seemed to appear out of nowhere...that's probably the last we will see him. Caught up to the Flying Irishman on the way to Rice Field Shelter where we spent the night. This shelter had a nice view of the town...would have been a little better in the morning if the fog was not present.
7/29 Very cool foggy morning. 16.5 mile day to Bailey Gap shelter nearing dusk. Lots of ticks in this area. Flying Irishman stayed at the shelted as well. Nancy had a rough hiking day, seemed to trip and stumble over everthing.
7/30 Stopped for some water and Kayenta followed as usual on our water run. She decided to make a bed in what turned out to be a nest of bees. She was stung at least twice if not more. Hiked to Laurel Creek shelter where we saw the Irishman right before he left for the next shelter...(days layer we read in journals that he went two more shelters, a total of 27 miles for him) He wants to get to Harpers Ferry by mid-August. Late at night Craig heard and spotted a bat hanging in the shelter...cool.
7/31 Hiked thru sunny hot open farm fields and over many stiles where Craig had to airlift Kayenta...very exhausting. Saw the oldest and second largest oak tree on the A.T. Our hiking friend Sharon S contacted us and said she may be able to bring our car to Waynesboro; we will find a ride to the car at the end of our trip and spend the night there. We hiked a long ridge and saw views of a storm that never got to us, stayed at Niday shelter.
8/1 Kayenta was not enthusiastic in the morning as she was holed up under the shelter. However she hiked out. Hiked to a monument dedicated to Audie Murphy, the most decorated WW II vet. He died in a plane crash nearby. Found what we think was trail magic-mashed potatoes, raman noodles and tuna packs. Stayed at Pickle Branch shelter after a day of hot and very humid hiking.
8/2 Hiked to the Dragon's tooth overlook which was very scenic, but the hike out was the toughest downhill over rockfaces so far...especially with a backpack and a dog. We were elated that we chose not to do this hike at the end of the previous day. Hiked to the Four Pines hostel which is a 3 bay garage with a shower and toilet...donation only requested. We called the owner Joe who stopped up and fried some deer meat for Cushie who needs to put on some weight. Then he took us to an AYCE dinner and grocery store for resupply. The road was closed to these places, so he drove us in a golf cart thru some pretty rough terrain. It was the wildest ride Nancy had had in a long time, Craig was in the back bouncing around trying to hold down the grocery items while the cart went up and down steep terrain, through mud puddles and under low tree branches. This would be an unforgetable resupply trip. Slept at the hostel.
8/3 Hiked to McAfee Knob where we met some fun day hikers who liked the kilts and Cushie. Walked thru Tinker Cliffs which was just as beautiful as McAfee Knob. Stayed at Lamberts Meadow shelter.
8/4 Met our first SOBO (Southbound) thru hiker; he had been hiking 25 miles per day to get this far south from Maine. Stopped in Daleville VA for water purifier advice at the outfitter and for lunch. Kayenta was limping more than her usual morning "get-it-all-going" limp so we decided to stay at the HoJo in town. Kayenta rolled on the carpet in joyous celebration...well played! Craig took a dip in the pool while Nancy made some phone calls, one of which resulted in a potential ride to Waynesboro at the end of our trip.
8/5 Made the decision to hike shelter to shelter unless Kayenta loses the limp. Today was the hottest most humid day so even 5 miles was a challenge for Kayenta. Met first time section hiker Mark and his dog Felix. Made it to Fullhardt Knob shelter where we also met thru hiker Packman from Philly. It was the begining of a lot of comedy between Packman and Mark. That night a lot of rain came, and Mark's hammock fell due to operator error. He had to sleep that night on the shelter floor with no pad. At 2am Packman decided to make a large fire and check out the hammock since the rains had stopped.

Will fill in other details later.