Woke up this morning in Edinburg, VA. It was thirty degrees. By the time I got my gear packed it was twenty, and dropping.

Gear up. Off to the gas station for coffee and smokes. The women in there were very kind. The wind, not so much. Hung out for half an hour. Saw traffic picking up so I headed for the ramp.

Gear down. Thumb out. The last of my coffee in hand.

Maybe half an hour later a young, super skinny woman stopped. "Where ya headed?" "South down the 81." "I'm going to Harrisonburg." "That'd be awesome!" "Hop in."

Gear in. Me in. Introduce myself. Brief chit-chat. She's got a lead foot. I don't think the term 'speed limit' was in her vocabulary. She drove safe. But fast.

She dropped me at sheetz about five miles north of town. I give her my heartfelt thanks and head inside.

Phone charging. Breakfast bagel secured. I know the temperature is supposed to drop all day. It never got any warmer than when I woke up. I check the weather. It's cold and getting colder. I'm hoping to make it far south out of this cold today...

Phone in pocket. Charger in pack. Gear up. Out to the ramp. Gear down. Thumb out.

It's fuckin' cold!!! The wind is gusting to thirty degrees. Coming from the north. I've got hand warmers in my shoes and my gloves. I'm rotating in the sun trying to keep warm. It's not happening. 'All part of the ride' I tell myself with a smile.

Some waves. Lots of confused stares. One hour. Two hours. 'Fuck it's cold.' 'Hey wind, that's enough!' Steady temperature drop.

I decide to go pretty far down the ramp to get some trees between me and the wind. It helps a little, but not much.

Three hours. I can't feel my hands. My legs are frozen. It's going from bad to worse quick.

Four hours in... 'Fuck this. No sense being stupid. I'm out.' Gear up. I walk past sheetz to Pilot.

Inside. Find the truckers lounge. Not much of one, but there's seats, and I can charge my phone.

And it's warm!

Check weather. The 'feels like' is gonna be zero degrees in the valleys. Minus ten on the ridges. I have more appropriate gear than I had last winter, but I'm definitely not setup for this.

Throw a post on reddit looking to see if anyone's got a spot I can crash in the area. I get a message pretty quick. "I can sort you out. If you're close we can meet in person." "I'm at the pilot north of town." "Bet. I'll sort you out. Take your post down so they don't ban you."

I'm not begging for money. I'm just looking for a place to crash, so I leave it up. Also, I've been around the block a few times. I don't believe anything someone tells me until it happens.

An hour goes by. 'No worries. Dude probably has stuff to do. Can't expect someone to rearrange their life in a few minutes.'

Half an hour later, still nothing. Another kind redditor comments he can get me a room. "Let's hold off and see if this other guy comes through. I'll get a hold of you if it falls through..."

I send a message to person number one. Wait about half an hour. Radio silence.

I get back to the other guy with some details. Boom! Room booked. My profuse thanks. Get my route on maps. Gear up. Out the door.

The sun has set. It's getting dark. There's nowhere to walk on this road. There's no street lights. I'm out in the country. I've got 4.2 miles to walk. The wind is howling!

About three-qurters of the way there I stop to rest. Take a drink of water.

My water jug is frozen inside and out. The cap is frozen shut. I break it lose, bang on the jug. Get a much needed drink. On down the road...

Cut through Lowe's. Down the final stretch. I'm sweating lightly and freezing at the same time. I can't feel my ears. 'Is that ice in my mustache?'

I know better than to go from full hike mode directly into a warm building. I need a cigarette.

I see the hotel. 'Ah, the promised land!' I stop off to the side of the door. Well deserved smoke lit. 'That's better.'

Finish smoke. Gear is still on. Inside. Drop pack near a couch. Start peeling off layers.

"Were you a boy scout?" It's the woman at the front desk. I laugh. "Yeah I was. A long time ago though." "I knew it! My boyfriend was a boy scout. He told me about the layers."

I start to give her my info. She's already on it. "I just need to run his card for incidentals... It just declined." She starts listing the usual options. I've got my debit card, but that will definitely decline. There's a dollar and change on there.

I message dude. We wait. I tried calling my brother to see if he might put his card down. No answer.

The front desk girl tries everything. Running the card again. Calls. Sends an email. She was super helpful, and very gracious about it. I couldn't ask for a better person to deal with.

After a while she tells me I can hang out as long as I need. The overnight person is cool too. I'm in good hands.

Get a message. "I'm on hold with them right now." Such a feeling of relief! I walk over to the desk. She double checks to make sure the card goes through...

All is good! I'm stoked! I thank dude. I thank her for all of her help. Grab a luggage cart. Toss pack on. Into the elevator. Upstairs. (Top floor no less. Thanks man!!!) Down the hall. Key opens the door...

Aaaawww yeeeaaaah!!!

Shoutout to u/CBassnBacon for hooking a brother up on truly miserably cold night that would have been a toss-up if I made it.

You're a wonderful soul!!!