Date: 2023-04-11
From: Daleville VA

To: Waynesboro VA
Miles today: 134.0

It has been several days since I have done a journal entry. I apologize for the delay.On Sunday, April 2, we left Daleville and hiked to Bobblets Gap Shelter. We didn¢t actually get to stay at the shelter that night because there were so many hikers already there, there was not room for us. So we moved just a little ways on past that location and found a nice area to pitch our tents. We were joined by Speedy and Long Walkabout. This was an 18.6 mile hike and we saw an elevation gain of 4450 feet. We also crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time.On Monday, April 3, we hiked to Cornelius Creek Shelter, which was a 19.1 mile day and 5300 feet elevation gain.On Tuesday, April 4, we hiked from Cornelius Creek Shelter to Petites gap. This was a 10 mile hike and we saw a 2200 feet elevation gain. On this particular day, we met my wife where she picked us up because she was on spring break. We dropped Prepper off at Stanimals Hostel in Glasgow, and then we went on to a hotel in Lexington.On Wednesday, April 5, we picked Prepper back up at his hostel, and then we were returned to Petites Gap. We hiked that day to James River bridge carrying lighter packs. It is always nice when we get to have a day when we don¢t have to carry our full heavy pack. On that day, we hiked 9.9 miles and saw an elevation gain of 1500 feet. As we were walking along the trail, there was a doe deer standing in the trail, and she did not show any signs of being afraid of us. Our sheltering arrangements that day were the same as the day before.On Thursday, April 6, we were returned to the James River bridge and hiked to the Punch Bowl Overlook off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was an 11 mile hike with 3800 feet of elevation gain. Again, we were carrying lighter packs that day and our sheltering arrangements for the same as the two previous days.On Friday, April 7, my wife dropped us off for the final time and returned home. She dropped us off at the Punch Bowl Overlook and we hiked to Salt Log Gap. This was an especially hard day for me because I knew I would not be seeing my wife again for at least three months. It was also hard for another reason because it was the coldest day we had seen in a while and we ended up walking through freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Fortunately for us, we had made arrangements to be picked up by a shuttle and taken it back to the hostel in Glasgow. This had been a 19.4 mile day and we saw a 5200 foot elevation gain.On Saturday, April 8, we were dropped back off at Salt Log Gap and hiked to Harpers Creek shelter. This was a 19.7 mile hike with 4200 feet of elevation gain. Since this was a Saturday, and as we were approaching the shelter and walking by the closest trailhead, there were a lot of cars in the parking lot. This caused us to be concerned that the shelter might be overcrowded. But as it turned out, all of the weekenders were using their tents, and we had the shelter all to ourselves.On Sunday, April 9, we hiked from Harpers Creek shelter to Dripping Rock parking area off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was a 12.8 mile hike and saw an elevation gain of 3600 feet. We were picked up by a shuttle driver from the Stanimals Hostel in Waynesboro.The next morning, on Monday, April 10, we were dropped back off at Dripping Rock parking area and we hiked the 14.2 miles into Rockfish Gap. We saw an elevation gain of 2300 feet that day.As of Tuesday, April 11, we had decided to take a zero day. We had not had a zero day in eight days and we had hiked 134 since our last zero. As of this writing, I have been dealing with plantar fasciitis in my left foot and called to make an appointment with an orthopedist. However, I was not able to get an appointment until Wednesday, April 12. So this is going to force us to take at least one extra zero day before we can get back on the trail. When we do get back on the trail, we will be entering Shenandoah National Park.