Appalachian Trail (day 57) - Brink Road Shelter to Sola Appalachian Christian Retreat (Unionville) / mile 1349

Rainy and muddy day, it reminded me of the time I've spend hiking in New Zealand.

Morning was wet and windy, the path was running with water. I managed to face plant the trail for the first time after slipping on a rock, it had to be done, it was like paying respect to the trail gods, I'm surprised I've managed to hike for that long without doing it. Luckily I didn't bruise anything as it was mostly twigs and leaves I've smashed into.

This section of AT was particularly boggy and muddy, I've gave up on keeping my feet dry and was just walking straight through streams and various wet patches to save time and effort.

At 4:30 PM I've reached the town called Unionville where I was planning to spend the night at donation based Sola Appalachian Christian Retreat, it only had four bunk beds available and I was worried that they might have been already taken but I was wrong, I was the only person staying here tonight!

I've got greeted by Doug aka "Banzai!" who was a pastor of the Christian church in Unionville. He thru hiked the AT in 2013 and had an affinity for hikers and hiking. His grandfather was a Polish immigrant from village near Tarnów. We talked about Poland's complicated history and political geography. He seemed to be quite knowledgeable about what was going on in this part of Europe.

I took a shower and did an actual laundry, first one since Basecamp in Front Royal over 300 miles ago. Then I went to a general store to ressuply and get some canned food to reheat for dinner and breakfast as I didin't want to spend money at a restaurant. Rest of the evening went very quickly and soon I was falling asleep in a warm, dry, comfortable bed.

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