Date: 2016-06-24
From: Tree Streets Inn Waynesboro

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: moderate rain

I am very sorry for the news blackout for the last week. Since my last post, I have hiked a little over 100 miles, the length of Shenandoah Natl. Park, (SNP) and they have no wifi connections, even in the restaurant/resort areas of the park. Since I "wasted" my last posting at the Verizon store in Waynesboro, trying in vain to figure out how to get rid of the bugs in posting via my android phone, today I will list my hikes for two days. The first day (June 23) was 7.7 miles to Calf Mountain Shelter. On June 24, I hiked 13.0 miles to Blackrock Hut. ( A hut is exactly the same thing as a shelter. It is called a hut bercause it is inside Shenandoah Natl. Park (SNP). Once I leave SNP,the places where I camp will once again be referred to as shelters.) Well, a funny thing happened when I took my android phone to the tech gurus at Verizon in Waynesboro. Have you ever had an experience with your car where the repair light comes on on your dashboard, the car engine starts making ominous noises like it's about to explode, it drives erratically, so you take the car in to your mechanic. Just before you get to the shop, the car repair light on your dashboard shuts off, the engine begins to purr like a kitten, the car now drives smooth as silk, and the mechanic looks at you like you are a nut job when you try to explain your car problems to him. Well, after spending a few hours to get to the Verizon store which was a few miles outside of Waynesboro, I typed a post on this blog, and I could not for the life of me get my phone to screw up. Nope, everything went smoothly, with not a single glitch. The sweet young twentysomething that was my customer service person looked at me like I was a kook and very gently but sweetly informed me that she could not fix a problem I was not presently having. Maybe it was my imagination, but as the Verizon door closed behind me after this encounter,, I could swear my phone began to snicker. I am presently staying at the Super 8 motel in Front Royal, VA and using the computer in their lobby, so I have no idea what problems I will have the next time I post from my phone. My first day back on the Appalachian Trail (AT) after my rest day (and birthday) in Waynesboro was a very short day, just 7.7 miles. THAT WAS A GOOD THING, AS I HAD TO RUN ERRANDS THAT MORNING,PLUS THE MORNING WAS MISERABLE, WITH HEAVY RAINS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE WEEATHER CHANNEL SAID I WOULD HAVE A 6 HOUR WINDOW OF NO RAIN BEGINNING LATE IN THE MORNING, JUST ENOUGH TIME FOR ME TO DO MY VERY SHORT HIKE AND SET UP MY TENT. THE SKY BEGAN TO GET PARTLY CLEAR, SO THE INNKEEPER AT THE B&B I WAS STAYING AT GAVE ME A RIDE BACK TO THE AT AND DROVE OFF. AS SOON AS HE LEFT, MOTHER NATURE SPRUNG HER TRAP. THE WEATHER WENT STRAIGHT TO HELL IN A BIG HURRY. TT GOT SCARY WINDY, (THE NEXT MORNING THERE WERE SEVERAL HUGE TREES BLOWN OVER). THE SKIES TURNED AN OMINOUS COLOR, THE RAIN CAME DOWN IN SHEETS, AND THERE WAS LOTS OF THUNDER. I WONDERED IF A TORNADO WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. FORTUNATELY, EVERYTHING TURNED OUT OK. MY WORST MOMENT CAME WHEN I was on a mountaintop with 6 electrical towers within half a mile. I tiptoed past them as quickly as I could, because I knew that if a lightening strike lit up those towers, I would be fried like a piece of bacon. The next day, I experienced the worst fog I have ever seen (this part of the Appalachians is famous for its intense fog.) SNP has a nickname among AT hikers. It is called "The Riviera" of the AT, because there are 3-4 restaurants along the way where hikers can buy hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs, milkshakes, etc. The fog was so intense that I could nmot see the restaurant (called a wayside) building until I was 5 feet away from it. Other hikers told me the blackberry milkshakes were NOT to be missed. I had two of them. The reason I had two was because I accidently spilled the first one.