I wake early and start breaking down my camp, and see the Six Pack is finished about the same time. We exchange pleasantries. I offer the kids some lollipops, but they have received so much trail magic, that they decline and offer me Reese's peanut butter cups, which are way better than lollipops! I remark that this is a more than acceptable breakfast on the trail, with which they wholeheartedly agree. We snap quick pictures, and I later see our picture on their Youtube video of the day. They really are the sweetest family, and the children are so polite and engaged in their experience. I give both the parents and the kids a lot of kudos for sticking it out on the trail. This is no walk in the park. Conversely, there is a lot of trauma bonding that takes place here.
We walk together for a mile or so, until they need to stop and I continue on to the shelter to collect water. I decide to take my shoes off and soak in the positively gorgeous stream in front of the most lovely shelter area. Ugh, why can't I ever find a place like this to spend the night?
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The Six Pack takes a quick stop to filter water, but they are in a hurry to get to the next road crossing, where a trail angel is picking them up for a much needed town break. The two oldest girls remark they haven't had a shower or clean clothes in 7 days, so they take off like horses before the barn. They are consistently hiking 20 miles per day, so probably won't see them again. Such is life on the trail.
I talk to a gentleman who is filtering water. He is doing a three day section hike and wants to thru-hike in the future. He asks me a lot of questions about my sleeping system and my pack weight, and I am happy to take the time to answer his queries.
I stop at the next stream crossing, four miles from the shelter area, to filter more water. The day is getting really hot; it's already 80 degrees and I have to do some climbing to get out of Rockfish Gap, the southernmost entrance to Shenandoah National Park (SNP). The next water source isn't for 9 more miles, when I arrive at the next shelter.
I enter SNP without fanfare. Rockfish Gap is a confluence of the start of I-64 and Skyline Drive, which traverses the park for 105 miles. I have driven several times on the scenic and winding road, which takes about three hours by car. I will take almost one week to walk this stretch of the Appalachian Trail, which parallels the road for the length of the park.
I stop at a kiosk, which reminds passersby of Leave No Trace principles, and take the worst selfie of my life, which I won't share here. A car pulls up, which is my cue to hit the trail.
My enthusiasm for entering the park is short-lived, as the day get hotter by the minute. The lack of leaves on the trees makes me feel like I am melting. I want to guzzle my water, but I must conserve it, especially when I have a long slog in this heat. I debate on whether I should wear my sun shirt or take it off, but then I will have to slather my ghost-white skin in sunscreen, which I hate to do when I can't shower it off later. The heat wins and I end up taking off my long-sleeved shirt.
I listen to four episodes of Swindled podcasts while climbing up the hill. My thermometer records a sweltering 89 degrees. The trail is dusty when it isn't rocky, and the worst part is it doesn't travel in a straight line for more than 25 feet. Rather, the trail zigs and zags back and forth over rocks and roots, and I bump my shins several times on boulders as I try to conserve my energy by walking in as straight a line as possible.
Most of the elevation is behind me when I get to a Skyline Drive crossing. The soft, tall grass is so welcoming, that I think I would love to take off my pack and shoes and lay down in the grass on my little mat. I take off my shoes and socks, stretch out my may, and lay down to get promptly attacked by a swarm of biting black flies. I scramble to get on my shoes and throw my pack back on before almost running up the trail.
Thankfully, when cresting Bear Den Mountain, my effort is finally rewarded with the most amazing blue sky and billowy white clouds surrounding... cellphone towers! Not exactly the views I hoped for, but I'm almost laughing at the irony of the day at this point. This is THE best view of my day and it's a bunch of towers. Brwhahaha!
I am about done with this day and this trail when I emerge onto a meadow which crosses Skyline Drive. From the meadow I get a nice view of Waynesboro Valley, but I could care less at this point. At least the meadow is pretty.
I only have 2.5 miles left and one more 500 foot climb left before I can call it a day. I am so excited to get to camp, but I am tuckered out and I almost take a wrong turn on the trail. I need to be more alert because the last thing I want at this point is bonus miles.
I get to a sign for the shelter and I'm overjoyed. Halfway down the blue-blazed trail is a piped spring, and I decide to load up with water so I don't have to backtrack tonight; sometimes the shelters are a long way down from the trail.
I didn't need to worry about the distance, because the shelter is just around the bend from the spring. I arrive to see five tents are already set up, disbersed as much as possible in the limited flat space around the shelter.
Two young men and another gentleman are sitting at the picnic table eating dinner. I take off my pack and sit at the table, planning on getting my dinner started while I set up my tarp and hammock. They introduce themselves as Space and Z-Dog, two brothers who are thru-hiking. The gentleman is their dad. He flew out to hike SNP with them for the week.
I get set-up and enjoy my freeze-dried dinner before promptly getting settled in my hammock just as the sun is setting. This area faces west, and the sun sets directly behind the bear pole, backlighting our food bags with a pretty red-orange sky in the background.
Today's Stats: 16.5 Miles, 3140 feet ascent, 3270 feet descent
Trail Stats: 872 Miles, 196K Ascent, 200K descent
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