Dan and Kara Hike the Appalachian Trail: Pig Pen Tracker: Mile 575, near Bastian, VA

Pig Pen has been moving along well since he dropped his parachute (me) last Wednesday. We also brought Kara home for a while to give her paws a rest. They were wearing thin spots and need to callus up some. He has hiked 108 miles over the past 5 days and is now well past the 25% mark. He resupplied himself at Marion, VA and we mailed him a drop box to Pearisburg, VA which he will pick up on Thur. We will put him one in the mail tomorrow to Daleville, VA and that will get him through "Trail Days." Trail Days is the big hiker festival in Damascus, VA May 17-19 where hundreds of thru hikers will convene to enjoy concerts, auctions, vendor sales, etc. It is timed by Damascus so that most of the thru hikers will be somewhere within reach of a local ride up or back to the festival. Afterwards the hikers will get a ride back to where they left off and continue on with their hike.

Here are a few micellaneous photos's he has emailed me recently. The ones of the school house are of Lindamood School at the Settlers Museum in Atkins, VA. Robin and I visited there a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.