Date: 2010-05-29
From: Rockfish Gap/Waynesboro, VA

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It's always so nice to be back out in the woods! I was definitely in a funk coming out of town today, and the first few miles were miserable. Now that I've settled back into the trail routine, though, and am in my sleeping bag, I feel great. It seems to often I go this way out of town.Braids and I had a lazy morning at the hotel and even got a late checkout. Although we both knew we were carrying way too much food for the Shenendoahs, we hiked out around noon with our heavy packs. We huffed it down to the Tastee Freeze for lunch and ice cream. (I later came to regret downing the entire german chocolate shake, but in retrospect, I think it was worth it.) We were picked up there by Joan, one of the many Waynesboro trail Angels. Thank you, Joan! (She was SO sweet!) We hit the trail, both dragging hard. I've been looking forward to SNP (Shenendoah Natl Park, or the "Shennies") for so long, but I just couldn't get myself very excited to be hiking. I sat down for a break after 3 miles, looked at my books, and planned a tentative hike plan for the next several days. The shelters here (or huts, as they're called in the park) are spaced somewhat poorly. Camping away from huts is not prohibited here like it is in the Smokies, but there are so many regulations that I decided staying mostly at shelters would probably be easier. This led to the short day today. My plan from here is a 13, a 21, another 13, and then a 22. It's a little strange, but should space out the long days and give breaks in between. I haven't seen any bears yet, but another hiker saw two earlier today hiking the same section. I can't wait! I'm now officially happy to be in the Shennies.In other news, this will be the first night Braids and I have spent apart since around Bland. I'm a little sad, but glad we're still being independent women, and I'll probably see her within a couple of days. She came in for dinner and then hiked on out around 7. We definitely have VERY different hiking styles in that regard. No, Thank you!Oh, one other funny thing- I've been told that one reason to not carry much food in the Shenendoahs is that people will give us food (especially on Memorial Day weekend!). The idea is- you can't feed the bears, but you can feed the thru-hikers! I expected this somewhat at picnic areas and road crossings, but apparently it happens at shelters, too. There is a really nice group of three male section hikers here. They just left out of Rockfish Gap today, and have all realized that they brought too much food. They were off-loading as much as possible. We sat at the table eating beefsticks and trail mix, and I couldn't resist a 10oz bag of tasty seasoned pretzel bites. I added that to my pack unopened, but will munch them down (and share them) quickly. By the time my dinner was rehydrated, I was almost full off of food from the section hikers and snacks of my own that I didn't eat today. I had to practically force down the second half of my dinner. (But, of course, I preservered and was triumphant!) If this continues, I may still have excess food by the time I reach Front Royal!Postscript, May 29, 2011: For some reason that line, "You can't feed the bears, but you can feed the thru-hikers," really makes me miss being a thru-hiker!