Date: 2008-06-05
From: Waynesboro, Virginia

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Hotel pillows really are no good at all. I slept using my hiking pillow because it was the only way that I could get comfortable. We ate the hotel¢s continental breakfast which was decent then we went back to bed and watched tv. It was a total veg-out which felt great. We eventually packed up our gear, showered, and left about noonish. We walked to the library and both checked our e-mail. The internet was slower than dial up so we decided not to do any trailjournals entries. I just didn¢t have the patience to put up with it. We walked to the Kroger grocery store and picked up a few needed items. We were quite a site pushing our packs around in the grocery cart. We got a couple odd looks, but most people smiled. Unless the miles count I really don¢t want to be lugging that thing around. Our choices for lunch within walking distance were slim, so we ended up back at the Chinese buffet. It wasn¢t as good as yesterday. I guess at buffets you should eat early, when everything fresh. Lesson learned. We called the Angel Network an got a ride to the outfitters. Our new MSR hyper-flow water filter was having some major unknown problem and Rich hooked us up with a new cartridge. He was a big help, even called MSR for us to figure it all out. I think because it¢s a new filter some of the kinks might still need working out. We¢ve learned it may be better to wait until others do it for us, that way we can get the product after it has been perfected. Again, lesson learned.We hang out on the porch of the outfitter eating snickers ice cream bars and stalling. A ride from the Angel Network picks us up and brings us back to Rockfish Gap where we left off. Brad goes to the visitors center and fills up our water bottles and then we sit on the lawn for a long, long time. Eventually we start hiking at about 4pm! We stop at the little booth in the woods and get ourselves a permit for Shenandoah National Park!!!   This is very exciting to me. It is crazy hot out, probably 90 degrees so that makes for some slow hiking. Along the way we see a bunny and four deer. The deer don¢t seem to be very afraid of us, in fact they seem to have staring contests with us. After a few minutes they do dart away. They are a lovely honey and chestnut brown colors and look soft and healthy. We move on to Bear Den Mountain which is only a little climb, but he heat makes it feel so much bigger. At the top there are a bunch of radio towers but the cool part, off to the side, is about 6 old tractor seats fastened to the ground in a semi-circle. I think it would make a beautiful photograph if the seats were filled with our hiking friends, but it is just Brad and I, so the photo is of empty seats.There are lots of spots where the vegetation along the side of the Trail has nearly taken over the Trail itself. And the woods are full of vines. Sometimes taking over trees so that you can¢t even make it out, it is now just a mass of vines. It¢s beautiful. Everything is so green and full. We roll in to Calf Mountain Shelter just as the temperature is starting to cool a bit. We eat dinner and hang out. Instead of bear cables like they had in the Smokies, they have bear poles. It is a tall pole with hooks at the top for you to hang your food on. There is another pole handle used to lift the bag up and loop it onto one of the hooks. It is incredibly difficult. First, the food bags are freakin¢ heavy.   Second, you have little control over the tall handle. And third, your arm goes numb holding it above your head trying to maneuver the bag onto the hook. It is wicked funny to watch people try, but we really aren¢t all that successful so it turns out to be a group effort. Finally, Duncan shimmies up the pole to the top, someone hands him a food bag and he places it over the hook. This too is an amusing process, but this one actually works. After our food is safely out of bear¢s reach we go to bed. The heat just drains all our energy.