Date: 2015-07-10
From: Rockfish Gap

To: US 522
Miles today: 107.7

A break at home did me a lot of good and my walk through Shenandoah National park was all that I hoped it would be. I visited Blackrock and attended an evening ranger program on "a year in the life of a new bear family" at Loft Mountain Campground where my dad was a naturalist interpreter ranger. Each morning I decided how far I wanted to walk, knowing food was readily available at camp stores and waysides. Falling asleep at Rock Spring Hut, I realized I was completely happy, satisfied, and at peace. "Two Giant Fat People"-- HafizGod and I have becomelike two giant fat people living in a tiny boat.We keep bumping into each otherand laughing.The next morning the manager of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (the volunteer organization that maintains trails, shelters, and privies in Shenandoah National Park and Northern Virginia) came in to the hut and brought up the subject of "flip flopping" (thru-hiking the trail Northbound for half and Southbound for half). While I was at home my godparents had also asked me if I was considering a flip. I wasn't really, but the next morning after a flip flop being brought up again I decided that I'll be headed to Maine much sooner than I had originally thought and will hike home again, this time going South. I called the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters in Harper's Ferry (only about 53 trail miles away now) and received a kind call back telling me I could get a regional trail from Harper's Ferry to DC, a train, bus, or plane from there to Bangor, ME, and they could help me with "some logistics" required to get me from Bangor to Baxter State Park at the northern terminus of the AT. A flip will give me warmer weather in New England and cooler weather in Pennsylvania, put the most difficult terrain in Maine and New Hampshire in the middle of the journey rather than the very end, but most of all it will free me from time constrains and "making miles". My experiment with switching packs lasted all of about 10 miles-- with my old Gregory pack I felt like the 18-wheeler with "Oversized Load" on the back I saw climbing to Afton Mountain on I-64 as I drove myself back to Rockfish Gap. Luckily, mom was coming the next day to pick up my car and the AT crosses Skyline Drive many times so she brought my Osprey pack back and taped some more padding (A Thermarest Z-rest sit pad that I cut up) to the hip belt. Thanks Mom! Shenandoah gratitudes:--2005 thru hikers Lisa and Kirk who met my mom through a mutual friend for the trail magic card and contribution--family from Elkton, VA who invited me to their picnic at South River Falls Picnic Grounds during the 4th of July weekend-- section hiker Amazon and her German Shepard Liesel (trail name "Lethal") for being great hiking buddies -- cool, cloudy weather with relatively low humidity but only light rain (for the most part) through my home section-- thru-hiker Box Turtle for taking my laundry into Front Loyal, washing it (believe me, it needed it!), and even letting me wear some of her clean clothes while she was in town-- "Possible" (2012 South-bound thru-hiker) and "Anything" for the lovely hostel right off the trail near Front Royal-- cell phones and Facebook for keeping in contact with trail friends -- Sparky and Denise for sharing a meal at Loft Mountain Wayside -- my grandfather for funding my trip with money he left in a trustBack to the trail tomorrow after a zero today for my last Northbound section!