Date: 2017-06-23
From: Gravel Springs Hut Tent Site

To: US 522/Front Royal, Virginia
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

6/23Gravel Springs Hut Tent Site to US 522/Front Royal, Virginia 13.4 miles Total miles:  969.7Note:  I am in Front Royal and was able to post numerous photos from 6/17 to 6/22 today.We were all moving by 5:30 this morning because we knew we had a good distance to cover to get to Front Royal, and we wanted as much time as possible to complete our business in town. It had rained around four o'clock, but it had stopped by the time I got up. I was momentarily delayed when I discovered a surprise visitor on one of my socks, which I hang from the loops of my trekking poles every nught.  A large slug had made himself at home on my sock.  I was able to safely dislodge him and return him to the ground outside.  We were on the trail by 6:40 and made excellent time up Marshall Mountain.  The climb wasn't all that steep, and, with a few rocky exceptions, was good, smooth trail.  We passed one last overlook, and I took Mike's photo there.  It was while climbing Compton Peak that I met my first rattlesnake on the trail.  I actually saw her sunning herself on a rock before I heard her.  She was not pleased with my intrusion and made this fact quite clear by facing me and noisily rattling her tail.  I talked soothingly to her while I got out my phone to take pictures, but she wasn't impressed.  I carefully walked along the rocks and brush to the left side of the trail and got around her. Just then, Mechanic came up the trail, and I warned him about our unexpected companion. He was starting to follow my example,  when the snake crawled across the trail to take up residence where I had just walked. Mechanic was able to make his way past the brush on the right side of the trail, and we both continued on, leaving the snake behind.  I have always loved snakes, and it was quite exciting to encounter this one.  At Compton Gap, Mike was able to contact our shuttle driver, Sharon, and we got a piece of unexpected news.  She needed us at the shuttle point by 1:00, not at 2:00, as we had originally planned.  This left us one hour less to travel the 5.6 remaining miles to US 522.  All of our old legs were churning for the next two hours, but everyone made it before the deadline.  As Gravity chugged into the parking lot at 12:57, I made like a baseball umpire and called him "safe."  A few miles before the intersection, we passed out of Shenandoah National Park.  Sharon arrived a little after 1:00 and graciously took us back to Mike's car.  From there it was to the hotel for eagerly awaited showers and laundry.  We then headed for Wal-Mart to resupply for the four day journey to Harper's Ferry.  We then made for the Backroom Brewery, a place that Mike visited prior to joining us last week.  It is an amazing small brewery with 15 different beers on tap, all brewed on site using their three barrel system.  Chris, one of the employees, gave us a tour of the brewery and answered all of our questions.  We sampled several of their offerings while we feasted on pulled pork sandwiches and bratwurst.  I suppose no brewery is complete without a mannequin sporting a flower pot for a head, so I had to ask Chris about this particular addition to their lawn decor.  He told us of the day he arrived at work to find that a black bear had pushed out one of the windows of a storage shed, dined on an entire bag of grain, and fallen asleep in the building.  The bear was still there when Chris entered the building the next day. The mannequin serves as a deterrent to bears, a sort of a Scare Bear.  He added that another mannequin stands guard against deer at their garden site.  "But why the flower pot for a head?" I asked.  Apparently, some ne'er-do-well stole the head several months prior to our visit, and they had improvised as well as could be done.  It seems that mannequins, and their heads, are rather pricey.  After this wonderful visit to a great brew pub, it was back to the hotel to sort food, pack equipment, and get to bed. Mike will drop Gravity and me off at the trail head tomorrow morning before heading home to Rolla. It has been great fun sharing the Shenandoahs with him.  Gravity and I will begin our four day hike out of Virginia and on to Harper's Ferry.