Date: 2017-06-24
From: US 522/Front Royal, Virginia

To: Dicks Dome Shelter Tent Site
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

6/24US 522/Front Royal, Virginia to Dicks Dome Shelter Tent Site15.2 milesTotal miles: 984.9I slept well in the hotel bed and was up by 5:30. It may have rained during the night, but the day dawned clear and cool, although quite humid. Mike had a long drive ahead of him back to Missouri, and Gravity and I needed to get back on the trail.  We left the hotel, grabbed take out at McDoinalds (I ordered two Egg McMuffins), and arrived at the trail at 7:15. We bid farewell to Mike and were back on the trail.  The plan is to reach Harper's Ferry by Tuesday, which should be no problem, as there are only  fifty-four miles separating Front Royal and Harper's Ferry.  Today's goal was Dicks Dome Shelter, 15.2 miles away.  I was in no hurry, because there would be no problem getting there in plenty of time before dark.  Unlike yesterday's hike, when there was a deadline that needed to be met, we would be camping in the woods tonight, so no such deadline existed.  I purposefully set out at a leisurely pace. The morning's trail was easy.  There is always a climb out of.town, but today's was not very steep, and the trail was mostly free of rocks and other obstructions. There is a different beauty to clear trail in the woods, and a beauty that is far easier on the feet. About five miles into the hike, I arrived at the Jim & Molly Denton Shelter.  I stopped for water at the spring and met Toboggan (named for the hat not the sled). Toboggan is another good example of someone hiking his own hike.  He puts in long days of up to thirty or more miles for up to a week or two, but then goes home to Asheville for a week-long break before returning to the trail for another round of high-mileage days.  He asked if he could see the picture I took of him, because he is concerned about his weight loss while hiking, despite eating over 5,000 calories per day. He is certainly burning the calories. I wished him well as he prepared to jet down the trail on another high mileage day, content with the fact that I would be covering only half of his mileage today.  I was intrigued by the description of the Jim & Molly Denton Shelter in my guidebook, which adds a notation of a porch, chairs, and a solar shower to the usual list of privies, tenting, and water.  The. Denton Shelter is the mansion of shelters. There is a separate pavilion with a picnic table and fire ring. There is a porch with a bench and chaiirs.  I checked out the solar, spring-fed shower, but felt no need to try it out. This shelter even has a place to play horseshoes. I did visit the privy, which includes a two section door so you can open the top section for a view, an option that I did not choose to pursue. A few miles past the shelter, I came across an informational sign attached to a tree informing me that for the next twenty-seven miles I would be walking along the western boundary of Mosby's Confederacy, the base of operations for the partisan ranger, Colonel John Mosby, during the Civil War.  I was hiking through rugged terrain, and it was easy to see how Mosby's raiders could attack Federal troops and then seemingly melt away.  I was almost immediately brought back to the present, however, when the trail crossed VA 55, skirted a residential area, and crossed under I-66, a busy interstate highway.  The trail then crossed a stream over a footbridge that featured stone steps and truss-rod suspension.  There was a picnic table there, and I knew there would soon be a long climb out of Manassas Gap, so I decided to eat lunch there and was joined by Gravity.  I took a brief nap on the bench after eating, a nice luxery.  The trail up the mountain was steep and rocky in places, but, again, I took my time. I saw numerous piles of bear scat, but no bears. I passed a stone wall about halfway up and paused to wonder if it was involved in the fighting during the Civil War.  There isn't anyway to tell its age. As always, I am amazed at the amount of work that went into constructing these walls. Even with taking my time today, I reached Dicks Dome Shelter at 4:45.  Actually, the dome shelter, which is small and cramped, is no longer in use.  There is now a brand new shelter, which I believe will be renamed Whiskey Hollow Shelter.  I set my tent up along an old forest service road behind the shelter.  Gravity joined me about a half hour later.  We again opted to cook by our tents, as the shelter was inhabited by a group of loud weekend hikers. I was in bed before dark. The hike on tap for tomorrow will again be relatively short, and includes two features of note.  I will be hiking along the first half of the Roller Coaster, a 13.5 mile section of tightly packed ascents and descents, and I should also pass the 1,000 mile mark.  I am really excited about that and about reaching Harper's Ferry soon.  It's hard to believe I am almost halfway through this little adventure.