Date: 2007-06-29
From: Front Royal

To: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: light rain

June 29, Front Royale with CheeseA very nice nearo today out of Front Royal.I woke up around 8 a.m. and got after the day. It was nice to sleep in a bit. Lots of emailing via PocketMail today - and, by the way, I highly recommend carring a PocketMail if you are simultaneously hiking the AT and planning a wedding. We had breakfast at the South Street Grill and then headed back to the Center City Motel to pack up. It seemed like an arduous process but we did it and checked out a bit after noon.We then headed to the outfitter - we were going to stow our gear there while we ran to the post office and library. So, we got there and dropped our packs. On the way there, we ran into Cobweb, Mayo, and Tuna Bag - very exciting! Ronin and I headed to the PO and it started POURING about four minutes into our walk. We took cover under a large pavilion at an auto dealership for a little bit. We also found out that we still had quite a way to go to the PO ... we decided to just forward our mail to Harpers Ferry and head back to the outfitter. We hung out under the pavilion until it cleared up a little (but not much) and then headed back. It worked out okay because only my bounce box was there and I didn't need it anyway.So, back at the store, we were waiting for a shuttle but we were mainly waiting out the rain a bit. We headed to lunch at the Soul Mtn. Cafe, an amazing place where I had delicious tomato and basil soup and a spinach salad. And then back to the outfitter to hang out again in hopes of clearer weather. Team Average was there with Mayo, Cobweb, and Tuna Bag. It was an interesting place - it's owned by a couple and their daughter (who appears to be about six) was running all about the store playing with us and trying to help people shop. We pretty much just lounged around on the couch and chair they had for hours. It got a little out of hand. Ronin and Mayo really wanted to stay in town and, toward the end, so did Melk. Young Eagle took over as the motivator and got everyone out. After all, we are headed to Harpers Ferry!When the rain finally stopped, the guy from the outfitter had a minivan (which he said he traded for his manhood) and magically, all seven of us and our packs fit! He dropped us off at the trail at 6 p.m. That's a fine time to start hiking, right? It worked for us since we were only planning to head to the first shelter anyway. We've finally smartened up and only set our expectations on a nearo out of town.So, the hiking was amazing. Amazing. It started off flat. Then there was a big, sweaty climb but I remember thinking that it would make a nice day hike. Then the trail was flat until the shelter. Amazing. I was hiking with Young Eagle at that point and we actually paused for a moment to admire the trail. I think everyone who says the Shenandoahs are flat confused it with this part of the trail. It actually made me want to hike farther but... it was getting late. It was a nice hike and Young Eagle and I discussed his internship with the Secret Service and other job-related activities. The rain even held off the whole time!An hour and 50 minutes of hiking and we were at the shelter. This is a pretty nice one - used to be a house though you can't really tell. We are here with Tuna Bag, Mayo, Cobweb, Sunshine and Google.I was pretty fired up about my dinner tonight because I was trying something new - spinach and ricotta tortellini with cheese melted on top. That's right, I'm getting fancy! And I even managed to cook it all in a Ziplock bag! It was quite tasty.That was really the extent of the day. I was feeling really good because I actually looked forward to leaving town which virtually never happens to me out here - especially when it's raining. But, I am glad to be outside tonight. And it was pretty glorious to only hike five miles, five amazing miles.- Sound of someone snoring, Mayo writing on a piece of paper, rain dropping from the trees.Post Trail Thoughts:This was a good day. I was glad that we made it out of town when the overwhelming majority wanted to stay and I was glad to be hanging out with Cobweb, Mayo and Tuna Bag again. It was a good night at that shelter - Google and Sunshine arrived later as well.