I wake up at my usual time even though I slept just awfully last night. I tossed and turned, and was hot and cold. I start packing quickly and within a few minutes I hear an alarm and stirring from the room next door where Martian and Babysteps are staying.
I strip my bed and carry my pack and the used linen downstairs. Ms. Allison is half-awake in the laundry room in her robe. She asks if I would like some coffee which I answer in the affirmative. She hits the button on the coffee maker and I go outside to finish some last minute adjustments to my pack.
Baby Steps, Martian, Humble and me are all leaving the hostel for the trail today. Baby Steps and I check out the pin map that Miss Allison has. There is a pin in the map for each hiker that she has hosted over the years. There are so many pins in some places, in fact, that she has a separate map below the big one, so we add our contributions.
Today, Baby Steps, Martian, and I are going to Slack pack. Baby Steps is going to start a few miles up the trail from us and slack pack back to Thornton Gap southward. Martian and I are going to be dropped off at Elkwallow Wayside where we left off yesterday. We are then going to hike 19 miles to my truck, which Miss Allison is going to help us reposition this morning. I am a little daunted by the length of the hike, since I have been struggling a little with 15 miles per day, but I know I will be able to hike much easier without all the weight of a fully laden backpack.
Humble and Martian ride with me to Front Royal, 40 minutes away. We arrive at the Route 522 parking lot and Humble shoulders his pack and hikes north towards Harpers ferry. He is going to skip the northern part of Shenandoah, as he has already done this section. He is definitely a MYTH.
Ms. Alison and Baby Steps arrive right behind us and Martian and I get in her car with our daypacks and we enter SNP from the northern entrance near Front Royal.
Baby Steps gets dropped off first at Gravel Springs Gap, where she will hike 14 miles south to Thornton Gap. I start to hug her goodbye, but then I realize I will see her soon, since we are hiking northbound from 6 miles south of her starting point.
Today is a series of three decent mountain climbs with a couple rolling hills thrown in for good measure. The hike starts straight up Little Hogback Mountain but without the weight of a full backpack I am able to walk at a decent pace. My goal is to maintain a 2.5 mph pace, including pit stops and water filtration. If I do that we can be done in 8 hours. Realistically, I know I will lose steam in the afternoon and won't be able to maintain this pace all day. At least it's easy right now when I am feeling fresh.
We climb up and over over Little Hogback Mountain and when we are on top I see a figure clad in black with blonde hair hiking towards us. Baby Steps! She is singing, belting out some song about how good it is to see each other again. We exchange hugs since I may never see her again, then we break apart and say goodbye.
The trail winds back and forth over the ridge and we get spectacular views to the east and the west. I decide I like the easterly views the best, because to the east the mountain ranges parallel each other all the way into the edge of the horizon. Unlike to the west, where hikers get pretty views of the valley between the next mountain ridge far to the west, way over in West Virginia, but you also see interstate and the towns.
Thankfully he was finishing his call of Nature and not beginning it. We walked together for a short while until he reunites with his hiking companions. They are hiking to Front Royal tomorrow where his wife is picking them up back home.
We arrive at Compton Gap after hiking 14 miles. This is the last time I have to cross Skyline Drive. I swear I have crossed this thing at least 50 times over the last 100 miles! I walk halfway across the parking lot, when I decide to go back and get a picture of the Compton Gap sign. I look to the south, and see a bear walking across Skyline Drive!! If you blow up the picture below, you will see the bear. To be honest, this is the perfect distance to see a bear on the trail, in my opinion!
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After Compton Gap, the trail follows an old forest road for a long time, and the trail is just heavenly on my back and feet. The day is gettin really hot, and the next five miles are going to be a challenge, even with a daypack. At least the trail descends a lot more than it goes up!
I celebrate crossing out of Shenandoah shortly afterward with a picture and some silliness.
Three miles after crossing Skyline Drive, the trail passes by Tom Floyd Wayside, which isn't like a Shenandoah wayside at all, but a shelter located outside of the park. The FarOut app says it is one of the worst privies on the entire AT, so of course I need to stop to check it out.
At the shelter, a middle-aged couple are sitting without their packs. They are planning a flip-flop of the trail, starting near their homes in Pennsylvania. They are not a couple at all, but friends who reconnected recently when both found their life situations left them without connections at home and without long-term work obligations. We chat for a little, and when I ask if the privy is really bad, they say it's not bad at all. I leave without investigating further.
I have to go up and over one more hill before the final descent to the truck. I am absolutely spent in the heat. I am out of water, and I am almost out of food. I am obviously not out of whining!
The trail follows a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire for almost a mile. The massive amount of acreage is mown, and the many buildings are painted the same white color with red roofs. I wonder what kind of cult or super secret government facility this could be. I later find out it's the Smithsonian!
We arrive at Route 522 around 5:30 pm. I am so thankful to be done with this day and especially with this section of the trail. I am sad, however, to say goodbye to the many wonderful and interesting people I met while hiking through here the last 9 days.
Martian gets his pack out of the back of the truck and we take a picture as I give him a hug goodbye. He is a really nice person and I hope he enjoys the rest of his hike and finds his people out here. Plus, he put up with endless hours of my yammering while making the miles more tolerable for me. He is going to hike five miles to the next shelter. I am complaining about 19 miles while he is doing 24!
I head home to celebrate my husband's birthday with friends and family. And to soak my feet! See you in a few days!
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| SNP Boundary |
Today's Stats: 19.3 miles, 3,380 feet gain, 4,780 feet loss
Trail Stats: 972 miles, 215K gain, 219K loss
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