Date: 2017-06-25
From: Skyline 66.7

To: Fishers Gap, Skyline 49.3 to east, maintenance road
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we had a long hike, but there was a prize at the end: dinner and beer at Big Meadows Wayside.  We just had to get there before it closed.  We weren't sure when that was.  So we got on the trail by 5:45 AM.  I started with Arlene and Bill and stayed with them for the first four miles or so.  They took a break at a shelter, and I went on ahead.  The day was sunny and breezy.  It never got warm, so I had to put on my windbreaker every time I stopped hiking.We are in Shenandoah National Park.  The main road through the park is Skyline Drive, which runs along the top of the mountain ridges and has many scenic view pulloffs for cars.  It's also popular with bicyclists and motorcycle riders: the road is hilly and curvy, and no big trucks are allowed on it.  The AT generally parallels the road not far away, so even though we were in the woods we could hear cars and motorcycles for much of the day.  It made for a strange hike.About nine miles in I reached Lewis Mountain Campground.  Guthook said there was a store there with food, so I got off the trail to check it out.  The store turned out to be just .1 mile from the trail.  I was dazzled by the opportunity to eat real food.  I bought a ham and cheese sandwich, an ice cream bar, and a large bottle of ginger ale.  The store manager threw in free coffee.  I was in hog heaven.  The only thing better would be if there had been milk.  I sat outside on the bench and ate.  I couldn't finish the ginger ale so I didn't get the full 800 calories I was hoping for, but I was too chilled to drink anything cold.  Just as I was leaving Bill and Arlene arrived.  We decided to try to reach Big Meadows Wayside or Lodge for dinner.  The manager at the campground store told us it was open till 8:00 so we figured we could make it in time.  We agreed that I'd wait for them to catch up when I reached Hazeltop, a high point where I expected to get cell service.  I could check email while I waited.  I didn't have to wait long.  While I was reading texts and checking email another hiker arrived and sat on a rock next to me.  The last time I came upon a group of people using their phones at a high rock outcropping they invited me into their Internet cafe.  So I invited her into mine.  Then Arlene and Bill arrived. They decided to avoid further breaks so as to finish the hike early.  Our goal was to arrive by 5:30.  We arrived about 5:00, which put our pace around 1.75 miles an hour.  We were pleased to finish a 19.9-mile hike in less than 12 hours.  When we got to the endpoint everyone except Rennie piled into Patti's truck to get dinner at Big Meadows Wayside.  The menu there had calories for everything on it. I ordered a fried chicken dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, and a biscuit - about 975 calories.  To that I added a beer (150 calories) and blackberry cobbler with blackberry ice cream (650 calories).  I was able to eat every bit of this without feeling too stuffed.  We left there feeling happy and satisfied.  We're now settled in for the night.  Yesterday I retired my wool long underwear top and bottom that I've been wearing as pajamas to my clothing bin, thinking I wouldn't need them for a while.  Today I took them back out and am now wearing them.  Tomorrow our hike is 19.4 miles, and there will again be a chance to eat real food.  This makes me very happy.Best excuse of the day: Bill, "I'm going really slow this morning because I just put on clean clothes, and I don't want to get them sweaty."  (The sad part of this is that it's probably true.  Once we get clean clothes or take a shower we try really hard to preserve that clean state.)Wildlife sighting of the day: Arlene and I came upon a doe that was eating vegetation about three feet off the trail.  When we got to within 12 feet I started talking to the deer, warning her not to let humans get near her.  She looked up and continued munching.  We were so close I could see the flies on her back. When we got to within about five feet she turned and walked about five feet back into the woods.   Then she turned around again, looked at us, and continued eating.  Completely unafraid.  Wondering why we were on her turf. She didn't turn to leave until I stopped taking pictures and bent forward to pick up my walking stick.  Skyline 66.7: At Lewis Mountain Campground there was a large poster at the main kiosk with the history of the camp.  It was built at a time when racial segregation was still mandatory in Virginia.  Harold Ickes, who was Secretary of the Interior at the time, was a civil rights proponent.  He pressured the National Park Service to create a campground exclusively for the use of African-Americans.  Later he pushed for integration.  Interestingly, some easing was already started.  The cook at Lewis Mountain was so good that white folks started asking to eat there.  Very interesting place.