Date: 2014-05-18
From: Black Rock Shelter

To: Front Royal
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Hikin' With the CousinsLeaving Black Rock Hut on the 16th was a bitter sweet experience. After such unexpected reunions and so much excitement the day before I now had to face the fact that this was the last time I was going to see some people for a while, as I was planning on jumping farther ahead into the Shenandoahs to meet up with my cousins, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who were coming to hike with me. I had done large sections of the park over the winter and previous fall in training for the trail and had decided, due to my prolonged stay in Waynesboro, to forgo hiking those sections again in favor of speed. I hiked for 5 miles to a road crossing along Sky Line Drive, where I thought I might be able to hitch a lift to the next Wayside. There are a lot of Waysides in the Shenandoahs. Aside from those 1st 40 miles in the park there is either a wayside or restaurant every 15-18 miles along the trail in which to treat oneself. Traditionally most backpackers pack really light through this section of the trail because they can eat restaurant food at least once, if not twice, everyday until they hit Front Royal at the northern end of the park.My plan to hitch to the next wayside would have been a good one on a sunny day on a weekend, but it was a cold, foggy Thursday in May and there was almost no one driving along the parkway.I decided to find a place to sit, as sheltered from the gusting wind as possible, at one of the overlooks and try and wait it out. Rain was scheduled to hit in the afternoon and I was crossing my fingers that I'd find a ride before it decided to dump with full force. I sat for almost an hour before a car pulled in and I jogged over to ask if the young lady behind the wheel would be willing to take me 10 miles north. She said yes and within the hour I was sitting inside, eating a hotdog and bag of chips, and writing thank you cards in the sheltered environment of the wayside. As I sat I watched through the window as the winds came up and made the trees dance and sway amid swaths of fog. Mom and Dad pulled up an hour later with my cousins, Ken and Taylor, in tow. I hugged each of my parents for a full minute and then proceeded to grin like an idiot at anyone that looked my direction. I hadn't realized how much I was looking forward to seeing everyone until they showed up. I threw my pack into the back of the car and we drove down the road a ways to the Big Meadows Lodge where I had arranged to meet my former flat mate/best friend and her parents for lunch. It was so good to see her!!! In the intervening 2 months since we parted she had done some traveling of her own to Germany, so we traded war stories as the group settled down to a lunch of burgers and sandwiches.It was all over too fast and soon Ken, Taylor and I were strapping on our packs and waving goodbye to everybody. We'd hardly gone a mile when the promised rain finally began to pelt. It came down fast and hard and, despite rain gear, we were soaked through almost immediately. We trudged on 3 more miles and called it quits at Rock Spring Hut around 4 o'clock. We spread out our things to dry and tried to find dry spots within the shelter.It was hard. The hut was one of the older ones and quite leaky. The upper level was one big pool and the lower level wasn't much better. We did the best we could and then wrapped ourselves up into our sleeping bags and talked until dark. Ken is my first cousin and about 30 year older than me. Taylor is his daughter and she's about my age. They're just plain fun. Ken's a total ham and an easy person to talk to. He's active and usually ready for a good joke. Also, like much of my family, he's a card player. Spades games at our annual family reunion are becoming more cutthroat by the year... And there is also an annual shoving match as people (aka my sister-in-law and I) jostle for positions to be Ken's Spades partner. It pays to be victorious in the shoving match. Taylor is much more reserved, but equally full of good humor and adventure. She has worked at Philmont Scout Ranch for the last two years and was planning on leaving for her third once she got back from hiking with me. She's tough. I admire her more than I can say. We talks and traded news and stories until dark when the rain grew so heavy we could hardly hear over the din. We had to rearrange a few time too, because water kept gushing in from different places around the hut and soaking different sections of sleeping bags, packs and mats. It wasn't exactly a miserable night... But that's only because I had good company. We got up let the next morning and out later still. The rain made way for fog in the morning and the fog gave way to a weak sun in the early afternoon. We hiked a lovely, slow 15 miles with lots of breaks. Ok... I might be overstating that last bit a little. It was lovely and slow for me. They were panting a bit. I know I'm a terrible cousin for saying this... But it was a total ego booster! I didn't realize my fitness level until compared to non-everyday-backpackers. Seriously. It's one thing to outstrip my mother when we hiked out of the NOC, but to be able to out walk 2 people who are fairly fit and active individuals was amazing to me. I'm used to being on the slower end of the bunch. Seriously. There are 60 year olds who out walk me out here. Anyway, it sort of puffed my feathers when Taylor asked, "Don't you ever sweat?!" as she recovered from a climb. We ended the day at another empty shelter 15 miles up and everyone went to bed early. We were up early the next morning and hiked the last 8 miles to the final Wayside of the Shenandoahs, where my parents had parked my truck for Ken and Taylor to pick up. We piled in together and drove to Front Royal for lunch. We arrived in town to find a wine festival in full swing with live bands, vendors and street food taking up the entirety of Main Street. We ate at a pub on the less busy end of town and then said our goodbyes. I wanted them to stay longer, but real life was sadly beckoning them back into its clutches. I picked up my pack out of the back of the truck trying I decide whether to go back to the trail right then or tootle around town for a little longer, when 2 things happened simultaneously. My intestines gurgled precariously and my phone buzzed. Key Lime had texted asking me to slow up a bit so she could catch me and my insides were asking me to fun the nearest restroom and stay close to it for a while. I decided to get a room for the night and hike out in the morning. I sweet talked the lady at the Relax Inn into double discounted rate and then proceeded to sleep and watch TV in the comforts of a hotel room for the evening. All I have to say is this: blessing upon Thomases Crapper and Twyford, distributor and inventor of the modern flushable toilet. They made my evening considerably more enjoyable.I did not stray far from my room all evening except to do laundry.