Day 69: Intestinal distress.

So, right now we're in Luray, VA, at the far north end of the Shenandoahs. I'm waiting on the after hours Convenient Care clinic to open so I can maybe finally get a hold of an antibiotic prescription for giardia... But to be honest, I'm not real sure I have giardia, all I know is that I'm having an incredible amount of intestinal discomfort. What kind of discomfort? Well, that's personal and would certainly be too much information, but I'll tell you anyhow.

I stop every half hour to either 1) dump crazy amounts of fluid out of my butthole or 2) squat in the woods with what little dignity I have left with an urgent desire to evacuate my intestines but mostly just get flatulence... And maybe some more fluid. To be honest, I didn't know that there was rectal mucus until yesterday... Now I know, don't ask me how I found out.

Regardless, we're back on the trail and doing big miles again. It sucks that I'm having to deal with this while I have but I guess they call it Appalachian Trials for a reason.

Yesterday we got an amazingly late start (1:00 PM) and after getting dropped off at highway 33 in the Shenandoahs, a park ranger denied us reentry into the park unless we each pay 10 dollars... So we walked about a quarter of a mile down the way and bushwhacked back into the park. She literally told us that "as long as she doesn't see us enter the park" then we didn't have to pay, so we made good on that promise.

In other news, I saw a bear yesterday. This is the first bear I've ever seen. Let it be known that the Shenandoahs are jam packed full of wildlife, much more so than any other place on the trail thus far.

We didn't get to camp until 1:00 AM and woke up at 6:30 AM and in the last twenty hours we hiked 35 miles. Needless to say, we're very tired.

Here's some mediocre pictures and also a deer: