Date: 2014-06-14
To: A day with falcons and views
Miles today: 0.0

Rattlesnake Point Overlook to Compton Gap/Front Royal Terrapin HostelEven though we have almost 14 miles on the AT ahead of us today, we take our time leaving Mathews Arm Campground. Mew Mew has decided to rest and take a zero here, so we will be parting company today. We have enjoyed hiking with her and are already plotting ways to get together in the future. Once Suuz and X are packed and ready to go, the three of us walk down to the campground office. Mew Mew wants to try to reserve a tent site for another night. We are hoping to yogi a ride on the Skyline Drive to Rattlesnake Point Overlook and retrace some of the AT we hiked yesterday from there, avoiding the long steep hike back up the Tuscarora Trail we took yesterday afternoon.We are in luck. A gentleman with a panel truck loaded with chain saws and other tools is just leaving and makes room for Suuz and X to sit in the back with their packs. He is passing through on his way to clear some family land and stopped to sleep last night. Though heading south to Elk Wallow Wayside, he turns north to drop us off at Rattlesnake Point Overlook, very close to where the AT crosses the Skyline Drive.We meet Tiger Bob, sitting on the stone wall at the overlook. He tells us he¢s a Clemson fan from South Carolina, hence the ¢Tiger¢ in his trail name. We start hiking at 8:30, retracing 0.6 mile uphill to the Tuscarora Trail signpost where we begin ¢new¢ miles on the AT. Today¢s terrain is fairly gentle with some gradual climbs, a few easy downhills and a good bit of level trail. Grass, ferns and the ever present poison ivy are lush and green from the rains that have dampened us and our tent on several occasions over the past ten days. We spy another red eft on the still moist trail and a tiny black snake with a bright yellow head.Not long after we start hiking, we come to a fenced area which includes a wooden box on a rock ledge. Part of a peregrine falcon restoration program, this habitat is protected from humans other than park staff providing for the care and feeding of fostered chicks. A young falcon sits on the box roof but walks out of view before we can get our cameras out. We are disappointed but not for long, as three falcons soar overhead in rapid succession.It is a beautiful day with no rain. At several overlooks along the way, we get great views down into the Shenandoah Valley. We can identify individual buildings in small towns below, including a tiny (from our vantage point) white church with a tall steeple. At the end of the day, we hike half a mile off the AT on the Compton Gap Trail to the Front Royal Terrapin Station Hostel. We hang our packs and gear to air out on the hostel¢s clothes line, start laundry and take showers. Later we sort through our third mailed resupply box. Diana and her Dad are staying at the hostel tonight on the last day of their Shenandoah section hike. Mike, the hostel owner, is driving Coop and Gabby, grandfather and grandson section hikers, into town and offers to shop for a small box of red wine we want for tomorrow night¢s celebration of Suuz¢s birthday. He returns with a half liter box of cabernet sauvignon, which we think will do nicely.The hostel¢s lounge is lined with bookshelves and an impressive collection of books and magazines, but we are too tired to read tonight. We visit with fellow hikers, including young Gabby, whose trail name is fitting. A little after hiker midnight, we turn in, ready to sleep and recharge after another great day on the AT.-Dr. Suuz and X