Date: 2016-04-30
From: Byrds Nest #3 Hut

To: Terrapin Station Hostel via Elkwallow Gap
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

They opened the southern section of the Shenandoahs today. I was pissed and disappointed that I missed it by /that/ much. I thought about trying to go back and do them, but 1) the logistics would be nightmarish, 2) my dad is suggesting a family trip later in the year and I would love to see the Park at a time when there is sunshine and views and 3) the idea of having a 2-day buffer between me and the pack of hikers behind me is attractive. Last night was the coldest we've had in quite some time. I am very glad still to have had my down jacket and hat. I didn't batten down the hatches of my sleeping bag, but still. It mighta been close. The morning was misty and rainy and gross, and motivation to get up and go was pretty low. I headed out before Blues and Bolt. I stopped by Mary's Rock, which clearly would have just a commanding view of the surrounding mountains on a Better day. As it was, I had a view of the tops of the neighboring ridges bathed in a sea of white cloud. A cloud which I proceeded to descend into. The hiking right before Pass Mountain Hut was just gorgeous, though, beautifully carved trail through wonderfully open forest, lovely and flat. We all managed to group together near there and talked for a while. We played Contact for a little bit, a game White Rabbit and I both know from camp and taught to the others. Made me feel like a school kid again. The morning became foggier and wetter, the condensation falling off the trees like rain. We stopped for everyone to catch up just before Elkwallow wayside, then headed up together. The wayside was a letdown from what we had seen at Big Meadows. It was less diner and camp store and more beachside snack shack and 7/11. Bolt and Blues were especially disappointed in the chili cheese fries. We froze our asses off eating it outside in the misty rain and cold because there was no indoor seating. We went back in somewhat with the intention of resupplying, but the discussion quickly turned to "how can we get out of this miserable weather?" Though we all felt good enough to go on, none of felt like being damp and cold for the rest of the evening at a shelter. After some fruitless discussions with the workers there about cabins to rent, Blues came up with Terrapin Station Hostel, a hostel near Front Royal that seemed to also run shuttles, and could therefore pick us up. As Spidey stuffed his face with food, we called him up. He was in the Park already and said he'd be happy to pick us up in half an hour. We needed some more time to discuss and said we'd call back. White Rabbit especially was unhappy; she gets very into planning her itinerary, and futsing with it frustrates her. But even she was convinced by the idea of getting to stay two nights at a hostel and slack pack tomorrow. So we called the owner Mike back, but we kept getting his voicemail. Half an hour of more passed before we reached him, by which time he had apparently just gotten home. He said he could come back and get us, but it would be another forty minutes. We sat around the wayside in the fireplace and showed each other our favorite pictures from the trail while we waited. Mike eventually showed up and we packed into his van. It's funny how group dynamics change my hike. I almost certainly would not be doing this on my own: six people have a hell of a lot more sway than one does, and the pull of sticking with a group brings me along, too. We drove the long way down out of the park to Front Royal and pulled in to Mike's house, the garage and basement of which he's converted into a hostel. He has no heat down here, but some space heaters and a wood stove fixed that problem pretty quickly. We sat around, took showers, did laundry, ordered pizza and soda and listened to a great deal of classic rock on the radio. It was a really enjoyable way to spend the afternoon, actually. Blues gave White Rabbit the task of writing up two different possible itineraries for the next week, which she took to with extreme fervor (she eventually came up with 6). We'll see how the next days turn out. Improvisation has worked well so far. That's my style.