Date: 2016-07-05
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: US 522 (Front Royal, VA)
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: light rain

For the past six days, from Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro, VA, to US 522 outside of Front Royal, VA, I have hiked through the Shenandoah National Park (SNP). Using a library computer here in Front Royal, I will recap my trip through SNP.For roughly 103 miles, the AT runs through SNP. Overlooking the Shenandoah Valley for that entire length, the AT rolls between 2,000 and 4,000 feet, without the significant ups and downs I saw earlier in Virginia. While rocky in some places, the SNP portion was tailor-made for big miles, as many thru-hikers take advantage of the relatively easier terrain to put away huge chunks of mileage. Another distinguishing feature of SNP that makes it unlike any other stretch of the AT is its tourism infrastructure, from lodges, to restaurants to "waysides", of which hikers make liberal use. Then, to add to the SNP experience, there are bears galore in the park, one estimate placing the number at 800. Finally, I again hiked through my share of rain, just in case I forgot that I was in Virginia.Before launching into the park, I had the pleasure of having dinner outside of Waynesboro with my good friend, Kevin, who drove down from the DC area. He suggested that we visit the Blue Mountain Brewery, which lies midway between Charlottesville and Waynesboro. An exceptional choice, we sat outside to enjoy a lovely view, listened to an excellent solo singer/guitarist, and had dinner. Thanks, Kevin, for making the two-hour journey, and for a wonderful evening!!!Because the singer was both talented and pulled from a playlist that we liked, Kevin and I recounted for each other the music we listened to growing up. The conversation reinforced for me that the one thing I miss the most from being on the trail (after my family!) is, indeed, music.As I planned out how I wanted to move through the park, I decided to average 20 miles a days over the first three days, and then ratchet down to 16 miles a days over the last three. This made sense from two perspectives. First, it would allow me to spend four of my five nights in the park at shelters, where I could choose to tent or sleep under a roof. And, second, I knew that by week's end, I would begin to tire, and would appreciate the shorter days.As I've witnessed in other parts of Virginia since June 15th, rain played a role during my time in SNP, and I took advantage of the shelters to stay "inside" for three of my five nights there. One day, it rained just in the afternoon, another day in the morning, and then again in the afternoon, and, on a third day, it poured from 11:30 am through dinner. But, as is the case if you look hard enough, there was a silver lining (and, in this case, two of them.)At Waynesboro, a large number of the hikers that had surrounded me left the trail to "aqua-blaze", meaning that they decided to kayak the Shenandoah River to avoid hiking further in Virginia. (This is one way that hikers deal with the "Virginia Blues".) With that crew gone, I instead fell in step with a new group of fellow travelers, a group that I took to immediately and looked forward to seeing each night at the next shelter. Some were section hikers (Bass Pro, Margarita, Ex and Meg), some were NoBos (Zing, Sprinter, Jefe, Twinkletoes, Turtle Goat and Roadrunner), and some were flip-flopping (Deets and Elizabeth). We would cross paths during the days, and congregate at night to share experiences, with almost all staying in the shelters because of the rain. The camaraderie was warm and unhurried. I will miss them as we scatter in the coming days.In addition to new friends, the continuing rain in Virginia has been accompanied by rather moderate temperatures. While I saw a few hot days in southern Virginia, I haven't had to deal with anything approaching ninety degrees in weeks, and I'm not sure it even hit eighty while I was in SNP. The evenings recently have been cool -- on the edge of comfortable for my 55 degree summer sleeping bag. And, on at least one day in SNP, I'm sure it never broke out of the sixties. Northern Virginia has had a run of unseasonably cool weather for late June and early July, and we hikers have been the beneficiaries. (But I'm afraid my luck is coming to a rapid end: as I type, it is now over 90, and the mercury will again top that number in each of my upcoming (and last!) four days of hiking in Virginia.As I mentioned, the restaurants and waysides were an added bonus of hiking in SNP. One day, I had both a welcome breakfast at Big Meadows Lodge, and a wonderful lunch at Skyland Resort with Sprinter, Zing, Jefe and Twinkletoes. Then, on the day it rained from late morning to evening, I took solace in a mocha milkshake that I had over lunch at the Elk Hollow Wayside. Certainly, the added calories from this non-hiker food helped my trek through SNP, but, perhaps more to the point, it was simply a nice change to be able to enjoy a little bit of "normality" in SNP.During my time in SNP, I came across at least a half-dozen bears, and probably more. Seeing everything from a cub scurrying up a tree to an adolescent near a parking lot to a mature adult in all its size and glory, I was treated to a very impressive parade. The bears were a bit more used to humans, and not as skittish, as others I've seen, thus giving one some very good opportunities to see them "up close and personal".With my arrival in Front Royal, I have now completed 969 miles of the AT, and have just 53 miles left until I reach the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's office in Harper's Ferry on Sunday, which will mark the end of my northbound march. My childhood friend, Rich, is joining me on Saturday to hike the last two days of my journey to Harper's Ferry, and then he will drive me to the Baltimore/Washington airport, where I will catch a flight home to Rhode Island. After a few days there, Alison and I will drive to Maine, and I hope to hike Mt. Katahdin on Friday, July 15th, to continue my AT trek. While in Rhode Island, I have an appointment at the Apple Store and should soon have my phone back in working order. Let's hope that they can recover all the photos that I took throughout June!!