Date: 2015-06-16
From: The Church Hostel

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: broken clouds

Waking up early, I ate breakfast and put my pack together. I had decided to sleep on the floor as the cot hurt my shoulder and I couldn't get comfortable. Having arranged a ride from a trail angel I went outside the back of the hostel and waited on the stone wall. I was off to an early start with the help of a trail angel giving me a ride to the trail from the Hostel. There were some educational plaques at a kiosk so I stopped to read them before hitting the trail. Soon I was entering the much discussed, Shenandoah National Park which I had been looking forward to for some time. After the Smokies, this is the place that I heard that you are most likely to see bears. I stopped in at the trail Kiosk and filled out my registration as I heard that it is free to do so, but if you don't you can be fined up to $500.00 and I didn't have money for that! It was a nice gentle climb on easy trails down to McCormic Gap and up to Bear's Den Mountain with its antennas. I startled a deer coming around a corner, and with an explosion of movement it was off into the woods. Then it was over Little Calf and Calf Mountain to the Calf Mountain shelter where I stopped for a snack break and found a small handful of black raspberries that were so delicious! It was my favorite no cook meal of Buffalo & Blue Cheese combos and a package of pepperoni. I would wrap each combo in pepperoni and then follow it with my new favorite drink - an Arnold Palmer! (I had 2 20oz nalgenes that in the evening I put a tea bag and a packet of lemon flavored Poweraid. I let the tea cold brew overnight) It's a drink full of antioxidents and electrolytes. I made a number of crossings on Skyline Drive as I climbed Turk Mountain and Wildcat Ridge and there were some great views. The trail crossed the Skyline drive before I made it to the Blackrock Hut (shelters are called "huts" in the park) I noticed that the trails were very well marked and maintained in the park with concrete posts with metal bands with information on them and an AT clearly marked in the concrete posts. Going North the trail to the Blackrock Hut shelter goes down and to the right of the trail and you descend for about a 1/4 of a mile. The shelter has a bearpole, picnic table and a large stone firepit in front of the shelter. I had walked down with another hiker who had dropped her pack at the trailhead to get water. We were greeted by a very cheerful and crazy homeless vagrant who called himself the "Jumping Russian" who claimed to have jumped off of a 100' cliff and landed on a tree without major injury. This sounded like a scene from Rambo! Apparently he had been living in the shelter for a few days and may have been eating in the park by "yogi-ing food from hikers and park visitors. I collected water and then helped the Crazy Russian collect firewood. We soon got a large, roaring bonfire going and hung up our bear bags on bear poles, mine with assistance. I also found more ripe black raspberries which were delicious! :P Some hikers arrived during a break in the rain, filling the shelter, and two were holding their clothes on sticks over the fire as they tried to dry them. It looked like a silly duel of flags and the goal was not to set your clothes on fire. (They succeeded!) I got ready for bed and listened to the rain before putting on my headphones for my nightly routine.