Date: 2006-06-09
From: Big Meadows

To: Thornton Gap
Miles today: 17.6

I dropped off Bama and Little Wing at Big Meadows off the Skyline Drive at 8:00 am and did a little sightseeing while they caught up on some mileage. The Lodge there is very nice and there's food, gifts, gasoline, etc. I drove south on the Skyline stopping at overlooks and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the ranks of peaks and the valleys below.I drove back up north to the Skyline Lodge beyond Big Meadows. I met a couple of section hikers named Wannabee and NoNameYet. They had a really funny story about some clown on the trail who was packing a railroad flare to light in case he saw a bear "'cause they're 'fraid of fire!" We figured he had no idea that they don't go out and he could very nearly burn down whatever woods he was in. Some people . . .I hiked south on the AT from Skyline and surprised Bama and Little Wing who had stopped for a quick lunch at the stables near there. That was fun. I tried to buy them lunch at Skyline, but they wanted to move ahead. I had lunch - excellent food and service. Skyline was originally built in the 1920's by a wealthy family and served as a hangout for theatre folks, celebrities and such - think a rustic version of William Randolf Hurst's San Simeon castle on the west coast. President Herbert Hoover also had a little trout fishing retreat near there and the original Skyline Drive was a short spur up from the valley to their properties. Making use of the go-go attitudes of the Roaring 20's, Congress appropriated money to construct the Shenandoah and Great Smokies Nation Park System. Then, the Great Depression hit and FDR used the teaming millions of unemployed youth to form the CCC to do the construction of the Park System. Funny about timing, if it had not been for the spending of the 20's followed by the depression and cheap labor of the 30's, the park system as we know it would never have happened. And then WWII was benefitted by the millions of young men trained in the CCC and used to the rigors of its military-like organization.On up the road, I drove north sampling the beautiful views. The weather was perfect. I stopped at Elkwallow, another "wayside," as they call them. Knowing that Oly and Old Drum were in the area, I asked some kids that were section hiking if they had seen either one. A boy named John said Old Drum had just left Elkwallow and I could catch him at several farther AT crossings on the Skyline. Off I went to surprise Old Drum somewhere.Some crossings later, I parked the car at Gravel Springs trailhead and hiked toward the Gravel Springs Hut southward on the AT. After a while, I saw Idenity Crisis, whom I had met before at Fontana Dam. He said Old Drum was about 45 minutes behind him. A little later I met a thru-hiker named Iron Wolf and he said Old Drum was just behind him. Soon, here comes Old Drum and I call his name and snapped his picture. I'm sure he thought I was nuts, then after a quick re-introduction, he remembered me. We hiked out the the parking lot and chatted about stuff and he told me a great bear story. Bama and Little Wing have YET to see anything resembling a bear. Bama had taken a picture of some Black Angus cattle earlier and said that maybe the folks back home wouldn't know the difference . Bama also ran into Banjoman and Rusch Hour, so she was really happy to see them both again. After picking up the girls at Thornton Gap about 5:00 pm, we headed back to Front Royal and had an excellent dinner of Kentucky Fried Chicken and brie and crackers at the Quality Inn.Bill