Date: 2017-05-10
From: Hazeltop 

To: Byrds Nest #3 Hut
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night was very quiet, with no wind, no foot traffic, and no whip-poor-wills. But the full moon on a cloudless night kept the tent eerily bright. I awoke a couple times thinking it was dawn, then realizing the birds hadn't started singing. Once on the trail, the first five miles were easy going, mostly downhill on a smooth trail. I detoured into Big Meadows Lodge to seek breakfast and potable water. Three deer were grazing near the trail and didn't seem bothered by my presence. One seemed quite willing to strike different poses while I took photos at close range. Eventually it left the trail to allow me to pass. Big Meadows Lodge and Dining Room were about to open for the season... later in the day. But a friendly kitchen worker invited me into the kitchen to fill my water bottles. Eight miles up the trail was Skyland Dining Room, where I bought a "real" sit-down lunch with silverware and linen napkins... at a reasonable price. The hostess seated me near a power outlet so I could charge my phone while I ate. That's when I discovered a major problem with my phone: TouchWiz Home has stopped working. TouchWiz is the launcher that presents the home screen and launches apps. Without it, my phone has become little more than a text-and-talk flip phone. [That's why this journal entry is being posted so long after the fact.]After a good meal and face washing in a real sink with running hot water, I felt much better. I was surprised to see Towlie as I was leaving; he had also eaten there but we hadn't noticed each other until we walked out. The last section of trail for the day was surprisingly rocky. But another "tame" deer encounter made the walk go by quickly. Towlie, SunSeeker, and I were the only ones at Byrds Nest #3 Hut. We all normally prefer to spend the nights in our respective tents, but the forecast was calling for heavy rain, so we decided to sleep in the shelter. After supper, I stepped away from the picnic table and the shelter to brush my teeth. When I looked up, I noticed a bear foraging in the brush about 50 feet away. It looked at me, and then it went back to foraging. The bear was obviously not alarmed, angry, or even curious about my presence, so I stood in place and finished brushing my teeth as I watched the bear. [SunSeeker later mentioned how surreal the situation was, both the bear and I behaving as if the encounter was the most routine thing in the world.] Eventually I walked slowly back to the shelter to get my camera, but by then Towlie had scared the bear away. I won't soon forget the experience. Stakes, who is section hiking the Shenandoah at similar speed to the three of us, arrived just before hiker midnight (dark), too late to see the bear. "STOPPING IN": I've written several times that I've "stopped in" somewhere in SNP. That may give you the impression that campgrounds, stores, etc. line the trail just as fast food restaurants line a commercial section of highway. In fact, the Park Service has gone to great lengths to preserve the natural beauty of the trail. The commercial establishments, and even the shelters, are mostly invisible from the trail. "Stopping in" usually requires a detour of 0.1 to 0.5 mile on a blue-blazed side trail... each way. Those side trails aren't considered trail miles, so their distance aren't included in the mileage counts.