Date: 2022-10-01
From: Morgan Mill Rd

To: Front Royal
Miles today: 27.4

This entry is written long after the fact. It's now March of 2023, and I hiked this section last October, but didn't journal it in real time. So here I am, months later, recording it in preparation for the next section, which starts tomorrow (and which I will faithfully journal, I promise!)This particular section was fine, uneventful. I met some super nice people, as I do every time I hike. This time it was a man and his two sisters from Louisiana. He was an experienced hiker and they were not, and he was so excited to share trail life with them. They were a lot of fun and I hiked with them for a couple of days.  The next section starts in the morning, March 31, 2023. I'm hoping it will be a very long section. I'm starting at the north end of Virginia, in Front Royal where I got off last fall, and will be going south. I'm retired now, my knees are fine, the back doesn't bother me much, so the time is now to make a big push. My goal is to finish the state of Virginia in this calendar year! Since I have a roughly 330 mile gap to fill between Pearisburg and Front Royal, and since I only like to hike in the spring and fall (no summer hiking please!), that means I need a nice long springtime hike.  I have a good plan for starting. The first 100+ miles are in the Shenandoah National Park, which by AT standards is quite civilized. The trail roughly parallels the Skyline Drive and crosses it frequently, which means many opportunities to get off the trail, and the park is sprinkled with regular campgrounds and "waysides" where you can buy hamburgers and milkshakes. Mike is with me for the first week, maybe two if I'm lucky. He won't be hiking but he'll drop me off and pick me up every day so that I'll be slackpacking! We're going to have a regular campsite to return to every night, with a big tent and a picnic table, running water and electricity. Luxury! When he leaves to go back home I'll shoulder the Green Monster once again and continue my slow march south, a solo hiker again.  I'm out of shape, but I'll keep my daily distance short to begin with, and my pack is as light as I can make it.  A couple of changes this time. I feel like a traitor! Here they are, in ascending order of egregiousness: 1. I have a tent. I've been a dedicated hammock camper, but with the Gossamer Gear The One coming in at 17 oz I've become a ground-dweller. But it shaved a pound and a half from my pack weight so I'm good with it!  2. I traded my beloved Oboz hiking shoes for trail runners. Altras, the kind all the cool kids wear. I hate following trends (I'm old and grumpy) but.....a pound on the feet equals five on the back. At least that's what the cool kids say.  3. Worst of all, I've got the Far out app on my phone. I'm ashamed. I've long bemoaned the overuse and dependence on tech on the trail. I still do, and I'll have my paper map in my pocket. Let's see how far I can go without ever turning the phone on.  So, I'm off tomorrow on the next chapter of my great AT adventure! I'm excited and happy and not nervous because there are so many safety nets in place for the beginning of this section. Barring injury, all will be well!