Date: 2015-05-09
From: Thornton Gap

To: Mountain Home, Front Royal, VA
Miles today: 27.7

5/9, 27.7, Mountain Home B&BToday was the very definition of bittersweet. While I was excited to get back on trail, it was difficult to say goodbye to Bonobo knowing it will now be Maine before I see her again. The expense and distance makes it illogical to arrange another visit. We awoke on time and set to the tasks of packing and making breakfast. We finished on time and were on the road at 7:00. By 7:30, we had taken final photos and said our goodbyes, and I was walking. I planned to get to a hostel in or as near Front Royal as I could. In reality I just wanted to finish the Shenandoah Park since I have been there for a week. It was humid today, and supposed to get hot, so I wanted to hike as many miles as early as I could, in case I needed to slow my pace in the heat. My first break was at Elkwallow wayside, the last chance for a cold drink in the Park. I had a soda, a gatorade and a bag of chips. Then I grabbed another bag of chips to eat with my lunch. At 11:00 I was leaving the wayside. It was interesting to hike alone today. I hiked my own pace and made my own stops. Lunch was on a rock formation where I found enough breeze to shoo away most of the gnats. As the afternoon ticked on an interesting fog bank settled in, shading my hike and making the day quite pleasant. I then realized I was making good time and started wondering if the first hostel would be too soon to stop and, sure enough, I arrived at the gap for the first hostel at 3:30, too soon to stop, and decided to hike on. The next hostel was listed in the guide as a B&B, which is usually more expensive but the listed price looked very reasonable. I called ahead from the top of one of the final ridges and they sounded very friendly and accommodating so I reserved a bed and continued. As I crossed a stream I came upon a disposable styrofoam cooler with a note on top. "Trail magic for Silverback. Please save for him. He will remove this note and leave the rest for others." Inside the cooler were cold drinks, fresh fruit, candy and snacks to fill the cooler. I had no idea who left it, but I had a strong suspicion. Bonobo, Beef and I were going to be guests at the home of Beau's parents as a kind thank you for some hiker help early in our journey. Unfortunately timing was such that this weekend did not work out for the family, so I guessed this was their way of saying thank you. As I was enjoying the cold drinks Chef hiked in. I had passed him at a stream crossing a few minutes earlier so we snacked a visited for a short time. I finally wrote help yourself on the top of the cooler and hiked on. I reached the trailhead before the hostel and waited for Chef as he was trying to decide whether to stop there or hike further. It was 6:30 and still pretty warm, so when he arrived at the trailhead he had decided on the hostel/B&B. As we were rechecking the exact directions there from the trail, up hiked Beau and Dude finishing a long day of slack packing. Then a few minutes later, Beau's dad, my trail magic trail angel pulled up to pick them up. It was good to finally meet and yes, he had left the cooler. In fact he had left another at the first hostel because he heard from Bonobo I might be going there. It contained more cold drinks, snacks, a deli chicken for my dinner and flowers for Bonobo for mother's day. It was a very kind gesture and over the top for trail magic, but after we hiked on he went over to the other hostel, a few miles away, and brought it back to the Mountain Home B&B where I was then able to enjoy it, and share with the others staying there. This was by far the best trail magic yet and much appreciated so thank you for making Front Royal a memorable stop on my journey.The rest of the evening was spent visiting and eating, and now I have to decide how far to hike tomorrow. I ended today hiking 27.7 miles as the trail, my body and the weather all cooperated nicely. Nevertheless, I think I will back off and relax as I hike a little today and aim for something more like 15 to 20. Breakfast is included with our stay so I will be on trail a little later tomorrow. I was asked by a local day hiker today what my favorite part of the journey has been so far. While that is a hard question to answer, because the journey is a complete adventure, I had to mention the kindness of people, both on and off the trail. Hikers are a community that is open and accepting of everyone and does not judge until someone proves otherwise. My broad belief that there is kindness in everyone is being expanded as I see it happening every day. There are still some who stay to themselves but largely, hikers and certainly trail angels, are filling the bill.Time to turn in so thank you for coming along.Silverback