Date: 2017-09-04
From: Whiskey Creek shelter

To: Tom Floyd wayside
Miles today: 18.7

One moment we were enjoying a quiet break at Manassas Gap shelter and the next we were surrounded by a dozen or so dogs. This turned out to be just another manifestation of our proximity to the DC area, where there is an organised group comprising dog owners who like to go running with their pets. They were briefly worried whether we¢d be upset by this sudden profusion of canines but one look at how we were all petting their dogs quickly put them at ease.Inevitably, that led to us chatting about our thru-hikes, leading to them in turn asking whether we needed anything. As it happened, we did ¢ we were aiming to do a quick resupply in Front Royal before going into Shenandoah National Park but it was looking like a tough two-road hitch.One of the dog owners was kind enough to drive us to a generic discount grocery store for our resupply and then drive us back again to the trail, even though he lived in the opposite direction. The drive made it clear that this would have been a tough route to hitch hike. He also proved to be an interesting guy, who¢d relatively recently retired from the State Department, where he¢d specialised in South America. This had required him to learn Spanish and his fluency via an initial immersion course and then several postings was such that the Spanish speakers he interacted with never picked him for a Gringo but couldn¢t be sure where he was from. Mexicans, he told us with a grin, thought he was Colombian, while Colombians were convinced his accent was Mexican.The trail was not particularly exciting in this section, but at least it wasn¢t following straight, flat ridgelines as it had for most of the last 400 miles or so. Still, it was almost entirely forested and viewless, and felt like it was a connector section before reaching Shenandoah National Park tomorrow. As if to compensate for this, the next shelter we encountered was famous for being one of the nicest on the trail so far. Whoever is responsible for the Jim and Molly Denton shelter went way beyond the minimum and this structure was three-sided like the others but otherwise was of an entirely different kind. An expansive deck at the front featured Adirondack chairs, while there was a separate covered eating and cooking area nearby. And a game of horseshoes set up in the grassy area in front. And a spring-fed shower, which Train tried and reported back was ¢very very cold¢. It was a shame that it was too early in the day for us to stop so we pushed on. The next compensating factor was the Mountain Home bed and breakfast, set up literally a stone¢s throw from the AT by a couple who we were told had thru-hiked the year before.They didn¢t seem to be home but they left open the ¢Cabin¢, a self contained building which was also an appealing place to stay. More importantly from our point of view, they had ice cream and similar luxuries available on the honesty system. And there was a swing seat looking down the valley where we could enjoy the view while eating our tubs of ice cream. WIN!Moorenko¢s was a brand I hadn¢t seen before but their ginger ice cream was delicious. And, as the company slogan on the tub stated, it was ¢cheaper than therapy".We knew the final section of the day was likely to hurt, since we were climbing up into the Shenandoahs. It was indeed hard work but the trail was good and our fitness was up to the challenge.Sriracha, Sweetblood and Dirt had stocked up on water at Mountain Home but Train and I were aiming to visit a spring on a 0.2 side trail from the shelter. This is another sign of the time of year but the spring was only barely flowing and was difficult to access, being little more than a puddle in a gap between excavated boulders. We obtained water, but it contained a fair bit of fibre.Three goldilocks and the bear were already present and it took a bit of ingenuity to find campsites on the rocky and sloping ridge. As ever, we were aided by the work of those who had gone before to create camping areas. Life is good.AT fact of the day: Everyone hikes their own hike out here, as is only right since there are no real rules to an AT hike other than the ones you impose. There are, however, differing levels of purity. My only requirement was for a continuous line of footsteps from Canada to Springer, which allows for occasional blue blazes, while others want to see every single blaze. When our driver dropped us off at the highway and not the car park from which he¢d originally taken us, we were faced with a quandary: is it worth doing a few hundred yards of meritless road walking? About half of us ¢ including me ¢ decided it was.