Date: 2017-05-12
From: Big Meadows Lodge, VA

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: overcast clouds

5/12/17 Pass Mt Hut, VAMiles hiked: 623.6 Miles to go: 1574.5Another rainy day. 1st Sgt, Ramsey, and I awoke around 6:30 AM in a nice warm, dry room at the Big Meadows Lodge, ate a hot breakfast in the dining room, and were on the trail by 8:30 AM. The morning was overcast, brisk, and foggy, but no rain. We had an 18.8 mile day planned, with lunch at the Skyland Lodge restaurant (I love hiking SNP - food everywhere!). Ramsey was still fiddling with his pack after breakfast and told us to go on. I think he prefers hiking alone. The trail was pretty flat and the rain was holding off, so we made good time. I feel like I'm pretty much back up to speed at this point. Yay!We passed through a section of very pretty waterfalls cascading down the rock faces next to the trail. If we hadn't have had all the rain yesterday I don't think many of these would have been flowing much. Of course, there were no views to be had. We passed many overlooks that were walls of pure white clouds. It's like the Smokies all over again, substituting rain for snow. At one point in the hike, we saw contraptions that looked like the styrofoam trays from ground hamburger packages strung together in a stack of six or so, hanging from a pole about four feet in the air. We speculated that they were a trap of some sort, maybe gypsy moths or pine borers or maybe even aliens. We never decided what they were and moved on. After hiking eight miles, we reached the blue blazed trail to Skyland Lodge. Once again, the fog was so thick that we couldn't even see the lodge; however, we were at least able to find it this time without asking for directions. It was a little before noon, so we had to wait a few minutes for the restaurant to open for lunch, which gave Ramsey time to arrive and join us. We all had nice hot lunches and prepared to head back out. Ramsey had checked the weather forecast on his phone and it looked like rain would start any minute. It was noticeably cooler when we emerged from the building, so we donned our rain jackets for warmth and headed out. As predicted, it was t long before it began to sprinkle. We passed an older man taking a break along the trail and he asked, "So, does hiking in a skirt work?" Without batting an eye, I said, "Sure! It got me him!" and pointed to 1st Sgt. It took them both just a second...We continued to hike and eventually came upon a crew of US Geological Survey employees carrying what appeared to be stacks of six or so styrofoam trays like what comes in ground hamburger packages (see picture). Aha! Now we would have an answer to our mystery! It turns out that they are rainfall and humidity monitors that they are placing as part of a study of salamander habitat in Shenandoah National Park. We stood and talked to the crew for probably twenty minutes. Luckily, we both find that talking to people we meet along the way is one of our he most interesting aspects of the hike. As we continued to hike, it settled into a steady rain. At one point, we passed a couple hiking down the mountain and, of course, stopped to talk. It turns out that they are Flip Floppers that just started at Rockfish Gap a few days ago. They did not appear to be enjoying the rain. When we told them our trail names, they both lit up. It turns out they had been reading our trail journal pages before starting their hike. Cool!We finally arrived at the shelter wet, but not soaked to the bone (more specifically, not soak to the undershorts - that s when the problems start). We are now tucked in our sleeping bags in dry clothes in the shelter. We are sharing it with father and son section hikers from PA. The Flip Floppers opted to tent. The rain is still steadily falling; however, it's supposed to pass through by 9 AM and then be nice for the next 8 days! Yay! Tomorrow is a 22.4 mile day, so we plan to be up early. We'll have second breakfast at the Elkwallow Wayside late morning, pass out of the park in the afternoon, and be at a hostel tomorrow evening where we can dry out, resupply, and plan out our last few days in Virginia.