Date: 2004-06-13
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Skyland Lodge
Miles today: 16.1

¢Skyland was originally a 19th century mountain summer resort owned by George Freeman Pollack, who pushed hard to evict surrounding small landholders and create a national park here, and then, ironically, was forced to sell and give up management of the resort when the park took over.¢- From the ALDHA Thru-Hiker¢s CompanionIt dipped into the 40¢s last night, some hikers seemed chilled as they have fleece blankets instead of summer sleeping bags; then again, the temperatures have been unseasonably cool. I decided to hike with Ian and Norma all day as they have a decidedly more relaxed attitude about mileage than I had ¢ I¢m hoping some of it rubs off on me. I really enjoy their hiking style ¢ they stop often to snap photographs, take numerous short side trails, and as they say, ¢like to poke around.¢ Thru-hikers, on the other hand, especially those concerned with doing 20 mile day, generally take very short breaks at view points and seldom take side trails longer than 100 yards to overlooks or points of interest.First, we took a 0.2-mile side trail atop Bearfence Mountain that led to a rocky overview with ¢excellent-good¢ views of Bluff, Bush, and Jones Mountains, and the community of Graves Mill below to the east. Then at Hazeltop (3,812 feet, one of the tallest mountains on the A.T. in the Shenandoah), a side trail led to views of Long Ridge and the valleys to the west. In 2002 I blew through here in 5 days, averaging 21.4 miles daily and enjoying very few sights, just for the sake of stringing 20 mile days together ¢ this is the mindset I¢m trying to disabuse myself of, and which probably contributed to my dehydration. We also spent 20 minutes ¢poking around¢ in the ¢mountain people¢ cemetery just south of Big Meadows, getting a better idea of the people that lived in this area before many were evicted by eminent domain in order to build the parkway.We arrived at Big Meadows at noon, and took 4 hours off from hiking. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the Wayside, and Tom (who I met back at Bailey¢s Gap Shelter and in Daleville) joined us. Tom is an interesting guy ¢ he¢s a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines and has biked and hiked all over the country. We then spent a few hours at the visitor center learning about the history and culture of the Shenandoah Parkway and the people who lived here before being evicted; we lounged about in the sun; and visited the lodge. We also ran into Coyote, Saltlick, Lefty, Michigoose, and Crash Bang.We eventually got back to hiking, enjoying the views, and my getting an education from Ian ¢ his background is in geology ¢ as we enjoyed some of the massive rockslides up close. At Rock Spring Hut we saw Beast, Gala, Yoda, and Dutch. Dutch is having knee problems so she only covered 3 miles today and is looking forward to a break in order to recover. Archaeopteryx, her hiking partner, is off at a wedding in New Jersey.We pushed on to Skyland Lodge, filling time talking about Alaska and film, and the time went quite fast. Ian, Norma, Tom, and I are sharing a ¢rustic¢ cabin tonight, and having yet another restaurant meal (if only all hiking were like this). Catdog, Hawk, and Quest are also staying here. I last saw Quest at Trail Days, and he too recently experienced some health issues ¢ it seems as we near the 1,000-mile mark, some of our bodies become a bit obstinate.This was an ¢excellent-good¢ day, one of the absolute best I¢ve had on my nearly 6,000 miles on the trail.