Date: 2015-05-16
From: Bearfence Mountain Parking

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 7.2

When I woke my foot was better but not 100%. Walking on the sidewalk was fine. Rolling my right foot toward the outside was painful. We were slow in getting started. At 10:30 we started out from the 56.4 Skyline parking lot for Bearfence Mountain Trail and hiked the 0.1 mile to the Appalachian Trail. Mike headed up Bearfence Mountain Loop Trail. My foot seemed OK so I headed down the trail. All day the trail had very few rocks and no roots. The plan was to hike 7 miles to the Big Meadows Campground. I did not want to overdo my recently healed foot.    There were more beautiful flowers. See the pictures.   Near the end of the hike I met Celeste. Her group had hiked to Lewis Falls and were tired. She wanted to hike a bit more with her dog Bella. Celeste is a consulting forester. Her husband is an urban forester for Durham. They have two children 10 and 12. She enjoyed the views and flowers. We parted at the turn off for the Big Meadows Lodge. Bella was tired.   This was the day that when we left home a week ago, the prediction was 12 hours of rain. As it turned out there were a few sprinkles. I was at the campsite taking a nap in the tent for the 30 minute downpour. Perfect!   Mike's stomach was not feeling well, so he was not going to eat or make dinner. Close to 6 pm, I took the van to have dinner at the Wayside Cafe that closes at 7. I noticed the Visitor Center was nearby. I was hoping a ranger could identify a large black and white bird I saw pecking on a tree. The Visitor Center was closed. I took the walkway to the back of the building. There was a beautiful view of Big Meadow and Skyline Drive. There was a hiker trying to hitch a ride.   I drove to the hiker. I asked where he wanted to go. He said Front Royal. It was further than I really wanted to go, but I said OK. He was from Moscow. He could speak English but had trouble understanding English. I only know one Russian word, spasibo [thank you]. So he talked and I listened. He had hiked in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. He was flying back to Moscow in two days. He was overwhelmed by the beautiful views as we drove past overlook after overlook. He said goodbye to the Appalachians with a longing in his voice. He appreciated that there was no trash on the AT. In Russia, the trails have lots of trash. He said he was flying out of Washington D.C. So I left him at the sign that said Washington D.C. by way of US 211.   It was 6:30 pm. I was 18 miles from Wayside Cafe. I was concerned I might not get there before they closed. So I stopped at Skyline Resort & Restaurant. There was a 45 minute to be seated in the dining room, so I went to the Mountain Room. There was a man sitting by himself at a table for four. I asked if I could sit there. He said yes. As I sat down I said it seemed too obnoxious for me to take a table for four. I asked him if he had hiked the Appalachian Trail. He was here for the weekend but two years ago he stopped in Maine. That was the year it rained and rained and rained. He said he was hiking the trail in knee deep water. He was hiking through the puddles because it was pointless to try to stay dry below the waist. Maine does not have bridges. The rivers were at flood stage with tremendous pressure and chest deep. He and his buddy were caught between two flood stage rivers. There was a rope across the river that they held on to as they crossed. They also were tethered to each other. His buddy let go of the rope. The only reason he did not drown was because the man I was talking to, held on to the rope and cantilevered his buddy to shore. In this, they both lost their packs in the river. A kind soul sent his pack to him months later. Nothing in the pack was salvageable but the pack was still good. With only the clothes on their back, they left the trail. He is planning to finish the trail, possibly this year. Hopefully with far less water in the Maine rivers.   Every day is an adventure on the trail.