day 33 - 04/12

this morning was even colder! the thing that got me out of my sleeping bag today was knowing that a new backpack was waiting for me in pearisburg, va. i don't think i mentioned this, but i have been dealing with a poor fitting backpack for about 400mi now. i thought that it was because i lost so much weight. apparently, it is actually because i measured myself incorrectly when i measured my torso myself instead of going to a professional. when i was in damascus i was measured by tom at the mt rogers outfitters. i have always considered myself to be on the larger end of a medium/large frame and at 5'11" i am fairly broad shouldered. well, this has absolutely nothing to do with your torso measurement. i hope any potential backpackers read this and learn from my mistake. the measurement is actually from the top of the hips to the protruding bone at the base of the neck. so in actuality what is called the hip belt doesn't fit on the hips, but above the hips and navel, around the waist and resting on the top of the hips. therefore, silly me is actually a small frame! my hips are really high, meaning i have long legs and a short torso. oops. so anyway, getting my mew backpack was a great motivation for getting me out of bed on such a cold morning. when i stopped for lunch at a shelter along the way, i could still see my breath at 12:30! ya, cold! as i was cruising along to the po in pearisburg, i stopped to "smell the roses" as i always do and took the picture below of pearisburg from above an hour before i descended down into the town. very picturesque. the new backpack rocks! it takes some getting used to as it feels like the "hip" belt is very high. i kind of feel like an old man who wears his pants almost up to his chest, but i don't care cuz it is oh so comfortable. i pigged out again in town and then hit the trail to get to the next shelter, after chatting with my mum, of course. 28mi from my dismal falls camping site to rice field shelter. 634mi total.