Shenandoah National Park

Day 85 – Reed’s Gap to Rockfish Gap: mile 845.2 to mile 864.3

Tim and Emily picked me up at the hostel at 6:30 AM to take me to the trail head where I would hike 19 miles from Reed’s Gap to Rockfish Gap, where they would pick me up in the afternoon. I left most of my heavy stuff in the truck and therefore slack packed  for the first time. I kept my clothing bag in the backpack as well as everything that was in the brain. My pack probably still weighed over 10 pounds but still a significant reduction in weight.

The day started out quite nice but by mid-afternoon the clouds returned in preparation for the promised rain in the days ahead. Tim and Emily picked me up and took me back to the campground where I pitched my tent near their truck camper. After a quick shower we went out to dinner at outback steakhouse.

Day 86 – Rockfish Gap to Blackrock Hut: mile 864.3 to mile 885.0

This was my first day in the Shenandoah NP. The weather was foggy and misty most of the day. The hike was tougher than I had expected and the thought of the trail being easier in the park was quickly proven wrong.

I have mentioned in the past that I have grown to like the mountain laurel the best of all the flowering bushes and trees. One saving grace of today’s hike in the fog was that I saw the most mountain laurel I have seen on any single day. They were lining the trail much like the rhododendrons were in earlier sections of the hike.

I was hiking in a small bubble of other hikers when we came across a couple of trail maintenance people. The couple told us to help ourselves to some cold drinks in the back of their parked vehicle a few hundred yards further down the trail. One of the options in the cooler was a V-8  vegetable drink. I opted for one of them to get some vegetables.

Day 87 – Blackrock Hut to Hightop Hut: mile 885.0 to mile 906.4

I got the tent down before the morning rain but it was pretty wet from the overnight thunderstorms. It rained pretty hard in the morning hours and I got soaked. As a result I hiked most of the day in wet shoes and socks. By the end of the day my feet were a mess!  I won the contest on whose feet looked the worse. Luckily, by morning they had dried and looked normal. They still hurt, though. I hope the forecast of several days of dry weather holds.

I did pass the mile marker 900 during the day’s hike. I have been consistently doing 100 miles in six days, which is what Amy and I were doing together right before her injury.

My friend, Tim, is hiking the full length of Shenandoah national park while camping nearby. He would join me for a day and a half or so of hiking and was waiting for me at the shelter when I arrived. His tent was already set up and I quickly set mine up in order to beat the oncoming thunderstorms promised for the evening. I barely got my evening chores done and in my tent before the rains came. If all goes well this will be the last rain for a while.

Day 88 – Hightop Hut to Big Meadows Campground: mile 906.4 to mile 926.8

Tim and I got up and got started hiking around 7 AM this morning. We plan to hike 20.8 miles today and hope to get a site at Big Meadows campground. The weather was a mix of sun and clouds, but mostly clouds as the day wore on.

Shortly after we started our hike we came across a deer feeding just off the trail. It did not seem to be bothered by us and continued to munch as I shot some video footage of it. You can see the footage in the daily summary video below.

We stopped and got water at the spring near Parkinson cabin. The cabin is one of several fully enclosed buildings available only via reservation through the park. The nearby spring is free to use for hikers.

We stopped for lunch at Lewis Mountain Campground where I ate two microwave chicken sandwiches, a bag of Fritos, and an Apple Pie Pastry. All total probably 2400 calories. I was hungry again 2 hours later.

At some point around noon I noticed a deer off in the distance near the trail. At the same time I saw some movement in front of a tree near the deer. I told Tim that I thought there was a baby deer up near the one we saw cross the trail. Sure enough as we approached the area a fawn was laying under a tree right near the trail. We think it thought it was hidden from us and stayed still until we started to talk to it. It then immediately jumped up and ran into the woods.

As we arrived at Big Meadows Campground we became worried about availability as the place was packed. We got in line at the check-in booth behind a couple of other hikers. They knew of a particular site that they could go to because otherwise nothing was available. We did hear the gentleman checking them in that he had options. So when it was our turn we found out that the options were to pitch our tent at his camp host site. Tom was a generous and kind man and Tim and I enjoyed talking to him about full-time RVing, which is what he and his wife are doing. He said that he had a two month gig as camp host here at Shenandoah national Park.

I took the opportunity to take a shower before we went to the lodge for dinner. After dinner I did some laundry so that I could finally have some dry clothes to wear the next day.

Day 89 – Big Meadows Campground to Pass Mountain Hut: mile 926.8 to mile 945.6

Slept in a bit and got breakfast in the lodge at 7:30. We were Planning to meet Emily for lunch at Skyland. The Skyland dining room opens at noon so we didn’t want to start hiking too soon. The distance between big Meadows Campground and Skyland was only 8 miles. It was a clear morning and relatively cool temperatures, perfect for hiking. At just under 2 miles to go before we got to Skyland, we met up with Emily.

For lunch I had the burger with a side salad (gotta get some vegetables).  For dessert I had a piece of their famous blackberry ice cream pie. It was delicious.

After lunch I parted ways with Tim and Emily and resumed hiking alone. It was a beautiful afternoon for hiking and I had many views and so many more flowers. The shelter for the evening was about a quarter of a mile off trail. I got there late because of our late start and long lunch. I quickly set up the tent, got a bite to eat, and lay down for the night.

Day 90 – Pass Mountain Hut to Tom Floyd Wayside: mile 945.6 to mile 969.2

Today was my last day in the Shenandoah National Park. I had a long hiking day of over 23 miles. I had planned to have lunch at a Wayside and get one of their famous blackberry milkshakes. I arrived at the wayside at 9:40 AM. The grill and milkshake making activities weren’t to begin until 11 AM. Some hikers that were already there and we’re planning to stay in order to get a milkshake. I had too many miles to hike and decided to just eat other stuff. All total I probably consumed well over 2000 calories.

I spent most of the day hiking with one other hiker. For some of the time it was Jingles and the other part of the time it was Yellow Jacket. When I wasn’t hiking with someone else to help pass the time I was listening to some audiobooks.

We had a few nice views today and saw a couple of deer. As I was getting close to the shelter and the end of the long day, two deer stood in the path and wouldn’t move until I got very close. You can see this encounter in today’s video.

The Shenandoah national Park was harder than I was expecting. It didn’t help that I was in the rain for the first 1 1/2 days and the last day and a half was very hot. My pace and miles per day have been quite a bit higher in Virginia but I wouldn’t say that Virginia has been that much easier than the earlier states.  Tomorrow I have just 3 miles to hike to get into Front Royal where I will spend the night and recharge.

Update on Amy (Craftygirl)

written by Amy

My post-op visit went well.  The incisions are healing nicely so the stitches, 13 in all, were removed   My arm still has quite a bit of bruising in lovely shades of green, yellow, and purple. I now have a cast which I’ll need to wear for three weeks. It is more comfortable than the bandages but still gets hot when I go out for a walk and the itching underneath  the cast is almost unbearable, at times. 

I’ve learned that I can walk from my daughter’s house to the orthopedics offices in about 90 minutes. So, weather permitting, I can walk to my next appointment. I also walked to the local REI to purchase hiking leggings, hiking shorts, and a more effective sun hat for when I return to the trail.

Meanwhile, staying with my daughter continues to reap family time benefits. Our other daughter flew in from the west coast for a wedding so she naturally stayed here. Our son decided to drive in from Vermont so that we could have a family reunion sans Dan. Time for him to be a bit jealous of me, for a change!

Daily Data

Day	Miles	Total Asc	Total Desc	Steps
85	19.1	3264	3986	52375
86	20.7	5075	4360	55903
87	21.4	5282	4714	57974
88	20.4	4406	4012	61565
89	18.8	3871	4826	54464
90	23.6	4560	5475	62209