Date: 2014-05-20
From: Bearfence Hut

To: Rock Springs Hut
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 6: We awoke to an overcast day in the mid-50's...Hmm is our weather changing? We packed up and were on the trail by 7:25am, a record. We immediately started our first climb of the day. Fortunately we only had 2 major climbs for the day and getting one done early was good. Like yesterday we only crossed Skyline Drive once today.As with several earlier days, one of today's goals was to make it to one of the eateries along Skyline Drive...this time it was the Dining Room of the Big Meadows Lodge. They serve lunch from 12-2 and were 8 miles away.Along the way we passed the abandoned apple tree in the attached photo. We have seen lots of apple trees in our AT hike especially in the SNP. Because these hills were originally private property, apparently many owners planted apples. When the land became a park, the apple trees remained. According to one of the locals, in the fall, when the apples ripen, the bears just sit under the trees and eat!What you can't see in the picture is that there is a cemetary just right of the apple tree. There are some old, unreadable headstones, but some recent ones too. Surprising to see this in a National Park Presume it was grandfathered for original inhabitants.We arrived at the Lodge at 12:15pm. It was built in the 1930's by the CCC. It sits on a rock ridge with grand views into the Shenandoah Valley below. The dining room had walls covered in Chestnut boards and the ceiling had oak beams. The north wall was of glass so we could enjoy the views. We were joined for lunch by Bearded Dragon and What Time is It. We ate salads (missing those greens!) and meat dishes...but had to finish it off with a Blackberry cobbler with Blackberry ice cream!! .Mmmm.After lunch, Bearded Dragon and What Time is It headed out for the next hut. However, since we had good cell service, we hung around to make some calls. Spider made reservations at the Cardinal Inn in the town of Luray, VA for tomorrow and Thursday.. Then he began phoning around to find transportation off the mountain to Luray tomorrow. Spider thought he had made arrangements a month ago with a local Trail Angel to transport us to Luray, but when he called to confirm yesterday the Trail Angel said he couldn't make it Oh Oh. Unfortunately, after a dozen calls, we still don't have a ride. We may have to hitchhike. That will add some adventure to this trip!!After finally leaving the Lodge, we hiked along the edge of the Big Meadow Campground., when what should we see but a sign saying "Trail Magic Ahead". When we arrived we found 5 couples had set up an area in a campsite next to AT for hikers to sit. They were offering fresh fruit, donuts, cookies and beer. So not to be one to pass free food by, Spider sat down and chatted with the group as he ate a slice of watermelon and drank a beer. ET was too full from lunch to eat more than one cookie. These people were from Maryland and just like to do this. Got'a love it. One piece of info we heard was that thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow. Sounds like we are taking a day off from the trail at the right time.We finally left the Trail Angels and "rolled" down the trail, arriving at our destination hut at 5:05pm. There are 8 of us here tonight. One is a thru-hiker, Naked Ninja. Don't you just love these trailnames?Animal sighting: 1 deer. It actually wandered through our camp as we were packing up this morning. Not afraid of people at all.