Date: 2007-05-26
From: Blackrock Hut

To: 1.5 mile past Simmons Gap
Miles today: 16.8

We enjoyed today at the Loft Mountain Camp Store and then the Wayside Grill. We started hiking at 7AM and were at the campground at about 10:30. We took the second trail to the campground instead of the trail up ahead to the store so we had to walk through some of the campground to get down to the store. When we got there we bought cold sodas and a bag of chips and just sat at a picnic table to enjoy them and to relax. Soon Gatorgump and Cindy came by with Gatorgumps sister and nephew. The sister and nephew came to get Cindy as she flies back to Florida tomorrow. But the nephew, trail named Random Kid, is staying to hike with Gatorgump for a while. When they got ready to go to the Wayside Grill they asked if we wanted a ride down with them. It is about a mile down the mountain so of course we said yes. We sat and talked and ate until we could eat no more and Gatorgump and his family were ready to go. So we got back on the trail to go as far as we could go. We were going to the Pinefield Hut but we wanted to get a few extra miles in so hiked on to Simmons Gap thinking there would be a place to camp. There is a fire road and if we could have found a level spot 20 yards from it on either side of the road, we could have camped, but there was nothing. So we hiked up the other side of Skyline Drive where the trail went and came to the top before seeing any flat area. So instead of hiking another 4 miles to the next shelter we decided to stay. We were afraid we would get caught in the rain if we hiked because we had heard some rumbling of thunder in the distance and had felt a few rain drops earlier. So we are on top of this mountain and are hoping the bears stay away. As we started up the mountain Toto heard a noise off to the side of the trail and down the mountain and said to me there is something big down there. Then we both saw this big bear. It started running and we were afraid it was coming toward us but it ran off in the opposite direction making lots of noise as it crashed through the brush. It made our hearts beat a little faster for a while. The trail was good today but we did have some fairly long ups. The main thing was that there were not a lot of rocks to further bruise our feet. Tomorrow we will do about 17 miles and that will put us over the 900 mark. Unfortunately we will not pass a Wayside Grill tomorrow for a hamburger and cold drink. Today Toto had a blackberry milkshake and I had a blackberry sundae, also.We are in the tent to keep away from the bugs. The flies, knats, mosquitoes, ticks, and ants have been bad. We like our tent for that reason. I remember in 05 how bad the ants were in the shelters here in the Shenandoahs, especially. Besides the bear we saw a rabbit and some deer. A couple of section hikers saw a timber rattler on the trail behind us. They showed us a picture of it all coiled up and it was big. Last night as we were getting ready to go to sleep a whipoorwill kept repeating its call over and over. I either went to sleep with the repetitive sound or it stopped. At home we never hear these birds anymore but we used to hear them a lot when I was younger. Toto has heard quails also and that is also something we don't hear much of at home anymore. It is 8:45 and it is getting dark and as much as I hate to go to sleep this early (because I wake up too early) there is nothing else to do. I woke up this morning with a headache and then I got nauseated and could not even eat a granola bar. I took a migraine headache pill and I slowly started feeling better. But when I was feeling the worst I could not stand the hiker smell of Toto or the sweet smell of the azaleas. Well, it is time to end this. We hear an animal walking around out there somewhere and hoping it is only deer.      Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto