Date: 2015-05-12
From: Rockfish Gap VA

To: Beagle Gap Shenandoah National Park
Miles today: 5.4

We woke and had breakfast at my aunt's house in Lexington VA, then headed to Rockfish Gap, Waynesboro VA. When Ooma shuttled me here three weeks ago, I had not paid as close attention as I should. My memory is that I had settled into a long ride, to suddenly be told we were here at Rockfish Gap. She stopped on a shoulder of a bridge/overpass that was too narrow for her vehicle, for me to toss my feet over the guard rail and head south down the trail.   My husband and I stopped at the Rockfish Gap Visitor Center. The ladies were very helpful giving directions to the trail. They also said the tunnel construction at Mary's Rock was finished. While at home, the Park gave us two automated calls letting us know about this construction. No vehicles, bicycles or foot traffic was allowed through the tunnel during construction. Expected completion date was Monday May 18. If it was delayed, Mike would need to drive 45 miles out of his way to pick me up Monday evening. It was GREAT news to hear the tunnel was finished ahead of schedule.   Mike let me off in the parking lot near where I had started south a few weeks earlier. We agreed to meet up at Beagles Gap, five miles away. See the pictures of the bridge and parking lot. After crossing the bridge and rounding a turn, the trail veered uphill into the recesses of the woods. There is a seclusion to be found on the trail, just a few feet away from the road.   I woke in the morning and started hiking with a sinus headache. I took some Excedrin in the parking lot. I met a couple of men hiking alone. The cheese and crackers I had for breakfast were not sitting well. For the last two years, I did not eat dairy products, eggs, gluten, corn, soy and peanuts. But last night and this morning, I ate a lot of cheese. Going up the gentle slopes was not helping either. Hmm. Five miles should be easy for me, but ......   I stopped to burp more effectively and looked back down the trail. Prime was hiking in the same direction as me. I let him pass and then hiked together. He spent 20 years in the Army and hiking the AT was the hardest thing he had done, mentally and physically. There is something about you can quit any time. There is no one standing over you, telling you what to do. Prime started from Springer in March. He encountered a foot of snow at Max Patch with plenty of wind. Later we met Bullet and his friend. They started a little later in March. They encountered snow on the trail too.   We stopped at Beagles Gap where a kind man had a gallon insulated jug of cold water he was offering hikers. He used to set out the water and leave until last year when the head of the Appalachian Trail Conference said he could not leave the water unattended. So now he sits next to the water and chats with the hikers. He met Jennifer Farr Davis and her husband at this gap. My new friends moved on. I waited for my husband.   He drove me back to our campsite at Loft Mountain Campground. It is a nice site close to the bathrooms. Some of the trees have not leafed out yet. We had a relaxing afternoon and ate at the camp store on Skyline Drive.