Date: 2015-06-12
From: Rock Springs Hut

To: Luray Va
Miles today: 14.1

Up earlier today and back on the trail by 6:50. It was expected to be in the 90's again today so an early start was a must. As I have stated before the trail is in really great condition and for the most part flat and smooth. About an hour in today as I was coming around the bend, I came across something different, a rock field or should I say a rock flow. Rocks large and small were covering an entire hillside and of course the trail went straight across them. Having hiked extensively in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, rocks, even big rocks on the trail were no big thing. The rock flow didn't last long and I was once again back on solid ground. Hiking on I finally came across an overlook at Stony Man Mountain, at 3837' it is the highest elevation the AT reaches in the park, and the view was fantastic. After so much hiking under tree cover it was a real pleasure to finally see something, and the something was a fantastic view of the valley below. From there it was a 800' drop over 2 miles and a real stress on my shins. Then back up to the Pinnacle picnic area. Here there were bathrooms and an outside faucet of fresh cold drinkable water, no filtering necessary. For me it was drink drink drink and took off my shirt and rinsed it out in the cold water. Putting it back on felt wonderful, clean and cold, ahhhh. Leaving the picnic area I continued up to Pinnacle Mt. (3730'). From there is was a 700' drop in under 1 mile, ugh and what a surprise, the Byrds Nest #3 Hut was right there on the trail, no side trail necessary. It was only 12:30. As you can tell from the distances I've been covering the trail is easy to hike. Many hikers who started their northbound journey in the spring, already have completed 70+ days of hiking, their legs are strong, there is a lot of daylight so they are easily doing 20+ mile days through the park. While at Stony Man Mt. I was able to make a call to Gerrie. We shared a FaceTime chat where she should see first hand the awesome view. She said the view was so real it made her stomach flip. The sad news was that our home automation system, controlling lights sprinklers etc was going haywire and was causing her much grief. I knew I would not be able to "talk her through it" so I decided to stop hiking and go home. For any of you married men out there you understand the phrase "A happy wife means a happy life" so without hesitation I headed for town. Town meant Luray Va at Thornton Gap. A total of 14.1 miles from Rock Spring Hut. I arrived US 211, the road to Luray, at 2:33, put out my thumb and hitched a ride into town, about 9 miles away, where I stayed at a Best Western motel for the night. In the morning I took a cab to Front Royal where I rented a car from Enterprise for the 315 mile drive home. I left Front Royal about 11:30, drove straight through arriving home in Moonachie at 4 pm.....Once again life was beautiful on my piece of Appalachian Trail but now I'm needed at home............During this shortened hike, I had a wonderful time, met so many nice people and hiked my butt off.......This will be my final Trail Journals entry........Total AT miles hiked today 14.1........Nite all.....