Date: 2005-07-09
From: Waynesboro

To: Front Royal, VA
Miles today: 170.0
Weather: scattered clouds

HEADING OUT OF WAYNESBORO; BUT FIRST A BIT OF DRAMA, AS USUAL:Finally! We made it out of Waynesboro, and now we have finished the entire 100 miles of Shenandoah National Park, but it wasn¢t without drama as usual! A crazy guy in the woods killed his inlaws the day we were trying to originally leave Waynesboro and then he fled into the park woods, and so the park was shut down, hikers were forced to leave the trail, and a massive man hunt followed. When it happened, all the police and park rangers would tell us hikers was that we weren¢t allowed into the park because a man with a high powered rifle had killed two people and then fled into the woods. We found this out as we were heading back into the park, and so sunflower and I took that as a sign to get a hotel room with the joy of a cold ac and get another day of rest since Shenandoah National Park was closed anyways, and it wasn¢t safe to stay in a campground any longer. Hikers rumored that the man had killed two random hikers at first, but we learned the truth the preceding day. It was nice to rest another day, and we were definitely ready to put in some serious miles as we headed into the flat and wonderful Shenandoahs. THE 100 MILE SHENANDOAH PARK FOOD FEST BEGINS:We headed into the park with high spirits that remained throughout our entire stint in the park. As we entered the park it was nearly six o¢clock but we only had about six miles to do that evening and the park is relatively flat so on the way into the park we talked about how great it was going to be to hit the next hundred miles only carrying about one day of food at a time because the park holds ample opportunities to resupply food and it also provides restaurant opportunities daily so it was going to be a blast¢¦We definitely ate our fair share of burgers and ice cream while hiking through the park, and in the process of hiking from grill to grill, we actually got some hiking done too, in fact, we cleared the whole park in slightly over one week, and we even got to escape into Luray Va for a night and escape a violent storm!SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF SHENANDOAH, THAT DON¢T INVOLVE EATING:On July 3, we hiked into Big Meadows tap room for a few brews and some dinner. We had planned on hiking to the next shelter after we left the Big Meadows Lodge, but after some fine German wheat beer, and playing some cards at the shelter while listening to some local music, we decided to camp shortly after the big meadows area¢¦ Well, I guess we were camped in a spot that was too close to the trail because some hikers told a park ranger that we shouldn¢t be there and so we almost escaped our camp spot that next morning unscathed, but as we were walking out a ranger told us to stay put and he informed us that we were camped too close to the trail and even though he could fine us, he chose not to. I think after he learned we were thru-hikers he was OK with our camp spot¢¦The next day we hiked into the Skyland Lodge for dinner which was only about a 14 mile hike. After we ate a great dinner full of combination appetizers and such, a guy introduced himself as ¢Traveler¢ and then he sat down and informed us that he was the original man who first did the four state challenge which is something I plan on doing in a few days¢¦(The Four State Challenge is a hiking feat that requires hiking Four states in one day, It is nearly twenty four hours of climbing and hiking about forty-seven miles through the mountains of VA, WV, MD, and PA. I plan on doing this as it is approaching in about one week. I hope my knee will hold out for it!) Well, Anyways this guy bought our dinners for us, and then bought us beers as we chatted about trail life and trail personalities¢¦It was some great trail magic¢¦) We left the lodge happy to get a free dinner, and headed up to the summit of Stony Man Mountain on our way to the campsight for the night and Sunflower and I didn¢t realize what a treat we were in for once we hit the summit. I had been disappointed that we could do the required miles to get into Luray, Va earlier that day for the July Fourth festivities, but we hit the wonderful summit of Stony Man Mountain around 9:00 and we got to see 180 degree views of the surrounding views which included an absolutely beautiful show for us, since we could see the surrounding towns in the distance, and we saw and awesome fireworks show in the valley below that was totally magical. It was crazy to see the fireworks go off miles away and then the booms weren¢t audible to us for nearly minutes afterward! It was great¢¦While in Luray Virginia it was also really cool to finally get to meet Sunflower¢s hiking ¢mentor¢, ¢Chronic¢. Chronic started in Pearisburg a few weeks ago and this gentleman is working on his third thru-hike! It was great speaking with him, and I am glad that I finally got to meet him, and hear his some of his advice, especially in regards to doing to flip-flop hike so we can ease our rush if we need to¢¦We still however, plan on flying through Pennsylvania to possibly still finish on Katahdin, instead of driving up to Katahdin and then hiking south to make sure we hit good weather¢¦Whatever happens, I am having a blast¢¦OTHER S.N.P. HIGHLIGHTS:I saw two rattlesnakes, and a copperhead! Sunflower and I are probably the only two hikers who haven¢t scene a black bear,(or twelve), yet! It has been fun talking to Park vacationers who think thru-hikers are superstars and going through the various question and answer segments. The blackberries are amazing in the park! We have gotten to eat fantastic ripe wild berries daily! It was also great in the park to finally start beating Sunflower in Rummi!NOW, WHAT IS NEXT? ! :Well, currently we¢re in this great hostel in Front Royal Virginia called Terrapin Station. (That¢s right, ¢Dead Heads¢- I said Terrapin Station, as in the Dead references¢¦), It is in this guys basement and it is great to feel at home and watch the Tour de France on TV which is killing me to miss while hiking. It brings tears to my eyes to not see the tour everyday, but I am excited to do my cross country bike tour that is in the works right now, and so it is exciting to hop in bike shops while in town and check out new gear with Sunflower who hasn¢t road much before so I get to explain stuff and think/talk about it, and talk about logistics every now and then¢¦We are hiking out of Front Royal tomorrow and then heading up to Harpers Ferry WV to finally rid ourselves of this horribly long state of VA once and for all after nearly 550 miles and what seemed like forever. I am so excited to get up north. At the hostel is a picture book of the Pacific Crest Trail and Sunflower and I just got done looking at it and it totally got the gears turning for a hike across the continent from Mexico to Canada in the future after the bike trip from Bar Harbor to Washington State¢¦Basically, I got a lot of big plans and I ma excited to start thinking about my next adventure, but first, I need to settle for the winter and earn some cash after we hike the trail¢¦ I am doing great and I am super excite and still loving this trail and its surprises!Well, I gotta go but all is fantastic¢¦Check out the picture gallery, I added a lot of new pics¢¦I have so much more to write and say, but not enough time!Take it easy everyone!...