I wake in the predawn darkness and start packing up quickly, because I am on a mission to get to town today. I arranged for Alison to pick us up at Elkwallow Wayside and drive us to Open Arms, where I can take a shower and do laundry. Martian is agreeable to going to the hostel for a town stop, even though he doesn't need to resupply at this time.
The sun is just starting to rise as I load my pack onto my back. Martian and Scrat are also ready. They said they had a good sleep and no mice ran over them, unlike previous shelter inhabitants.
The temperature isn't very cold; my thermometer reads 54F degrees, but I am really chilly so I leave my down coat on as I leave the shelter. I will probably need to stop in a few hundred yards to take it off, but I don't care.
Today is going to be really pretty. The views from the ridge are amazing, but I'm sure it's difficult driving down in the valley; the fog must be thick, judging from the scenery.
The first task of the day is to hike past Mary's Rock. This is a very popular hike in SNP, as the views are supposed to be spectacular. Because of the fog I stick to the trail and start the descent to Thornton Gap. The views are amazing for the next mile, until the trail starts to level out near the gap.
Thornton Gap is the access point for SNP closest to Luray. We could get a ride to the hostel from here, and it would be the easiest thing to do, but I don't want to hike only 5 miles today. I'm not in the mood for a Nero (Near Zero), and I really want to shoot for as close to 15 miles per day as I can. I'm so close to getting out of SNP, and I want to continue my momentum.
My plan is to hike to the next logical pick-up point at Elkwallow Wayside, which will fall short of the 15 mile goal, but it's as close as I can get today. Ms. Alison is totally fine with picking us up at the wayside for a fee, which I'm happy to pay.
I spot this really cool larvae which I am not familiar with, and must stop to snap a picture. Other than a bunch of deer near Pass Mountain Hut, this is about the only wildlife I see.
Scrat catches up to us while I am trying to navigate a huge tree that is blocking the trail. We hike together for a little while up an unnamed mountain that has obviously been the site of a devastating fire not too long ago. The trees are black and broken husks, and the only plants that are thriving are blueberries. Thriving is an understatement, since the short blueberry twigs are literally loaded with hundreds of flowers on each stem, promising a bumper blueberry harvest in a couple of months!
I keep looking for bears constantly. I don't want to startle one, but I am so surprised I haven't seen any; there are a ton of black bears in SNP and I have seen many over the years here. I am disappointed that my hike here will be ending tomorrow and I have yet to see a bruin on this trip.
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| Look at All the Flowers on These Blueberry Stems! |
We arrive at Elkwallow Wayside after zero bear sightings, and I drop my pack. I turn on my cellular service and get... nothing. Not one bar. I go into the store and ask for the wi-fi password. I try to send Ms. Alison a text via wifi, but I get a "no service" message. The cashier knows Ms. Alison and said she is really busy, planning on running shuttles all day, but she lets me use the landline to leave a message on Ms. Alison's voice mail.
I am really bummed. I don't want to sit here all day, wondering if she will ever get my message. I ask Martian if he wants to hitchhike, since Thornton Gap is 8 miles away. Even if we can't get a ride the entire way to the gap, we can at least get somewhere with cell service.
Martian agrees and we walk onto Skyline Drive. We stick our thumbs out and the third car to pass by stops. A woman rolls down her window and asks if we need help. I explain the situation to her and she says she is going that direction and we can jump in. What luck!
Fifteen minutes later she drops us off at Thornton Gap and we see Chew Toy sitting on the ground, airing out his wet tent. He just returned from a resupply run into town and he is heading north after getting some sunshine. Apparently it rained really hard in the valley last night.
I am able to get in touch with Ms. Alison. She just returned from the gap, but she will leave and pick us up in about 30 minutes. I grab a snack and take off my pack while we chat with Chew Toy for a little while.
Ms. Alison pulls up and we jump in her car for the ride back to Luray. She says that so far the only other hiker is Humble, who I met just before entering SNP. He has some kind of stomach bug and is recovering at the hostel. She is then going to Big Meadows to pick up Babysteps! Martian and I were talking about getting some food in town tonight, but we decide to wait until Babysteps arrives in case she wants to join us.
We pull up to the hostel and Ms. Alison gives us the house rules and tour. I'm delighted to find out that I have my own room. It's a bunk bed, but she doesn't like making the top bunk unless she has to.
I grab my keys from her and run to my truck to put on my flip-flops for the first time in 9 days! I then go inside and explode my pack, hanging my things to air out, stringing them all over the bunks.
I shower and put on clean clothes and just lay on the bed, doing my Duolingo and going through emails. I enjoy doing absolutely nothing for a couple hours.
Babysteps arrives and Humble emerges from his room. He says he is feeling much better, but doesn't want to expose us to any germs unnecessarily. We all agree that it's definitely not Norovirus if he has recovered this fast, and we are comfortable with him joining us for dinner. I'm prepared to drive when Ms. Alison says she would like to join us and she is happy to drive her van.
We pile in and go to a local pizza place. I get pasta with chicken and mushrooms in a cream sauce. Martian gets three different entrees and eats all of the food! Humble eats most of a huge Stromboli; I guess he is fully recovered from his stomach bug!
Humble has a very interesting relationship with the trail; he has been hiking for three years! He just goes where his heart tells him to go. He skips some sections he has already hiked sometimes, but others he hikes again. He helps out some of the hostel owners by working briefly. He was at Stanimal's running shuttles for a couple weeks before he felt the need to continue on his journey. He thinks he may help out another hostel in Harper's Ferry for a while this week. I heard the term MYTH (Multi-Year Thru Hiker), and I think this describes him perfectly!
We return to the hostel and I am out 30 minutes later!
Today's Stats: 12 Miles, 2,100 feet gain, 3,100 feet loss
Trip Stats: 953 Miles, 212 K feet gain, 214K feet loss
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