Date: 2008-10-02
From: Humpback Rocks Parking Area (BRP 6.0)

To: Rockfish Gap (BRP 0.0). 
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: broken clouds

Section Hike 08-34, Humpback Rocks Parking Area (BRP 6.0) to Rockfish Gap (BRP 0.0), Day Hike, 8.3 Miles, Northbound.   Thursday, 2 October 2008 - Today promises to be a sunny day with temps around the low 60s in the valley. Fall has come to the valley with low temps and fall colors. You can see the valley starting to change colors. We drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway one more time and I start at Humpback Rocks Parking Area. This will complete my hiking in the Blue Ridge Parkway. When I get out of the car, the temps are in the mid 40s and the wind is blowing hard. I hike down the ridge and into a gap, I am now protected from the wind and it warms up.   Continue down the mountain on switchbacks. Trail is very good and it is easy to walk along the ridge. There are not as many rocks as on previous hikes. Now the temps have got up to 55 degrees and I start removing my clothing layers. I keep on descending until I reach Mills Creek. Its a very refreshing water source. The water comes down from a spring and cascades over rocks to a level part of the forest where it forms shallow pools of water. The shelter is not too far away.   Arriving at Paul Wolfe Shelter, I find one of the nicest shelter I have seen on the AT. It is situated in a gap that is wooded, but still has plenty of open area for wildlife viewing while you relax at the end of the day. Mills Creek provides a good water flow and as the water tumbles over the rocks, it makes a restful sound. I sign the Trail Register and then I notice a new granite bench between the shelter and the creek. The bench has an inscription .. "In memory of John Donovan, 1945 to 2005, an adventurer who meant a lot to many people. Died May 14, 2005 in the snow packed San Jacinto Mountains near Idyllwild, California while attempting to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Our friend, we miss you."   This hike is turning out to be a true "walk in the woods." Lot of old growth and young trees. So far this morning, I have passed two Thru-Hikers head south to Georgia. They started in Maine in June and hope to finish in a month. Forty-five minutes later I notice an old homestead where the only standing structure is a brick chimney. As it would turn out, an hour later in my hike I met a day hiker head towards the homestead. He said that it was his home when he was growing up and told me where the barn, orchard, and livestock were located in the old days. Said he made a trip up to the old homestead once every six months. You just never know who you might meet on the AT.   After a gentle climb, I start my final descent to the end of my hike. I can hear road noise and begin to get glances of Interstate 64 and US 250. Reach Rockfish Gap where the Blue Ridge Parkway ends and the Shenandoah National Park begins. Judy is there to pick me up. My hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains and along the Parkway is now complete. The autumn colors are starting to show on the mountain sides in orange, red, and yellow, all with the green backdrop of the forest. As the month goes on, the colors will increase in their brightness and color variations.