Date: 2015-05-29
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap, Waynesboro, Va
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: clear sky

My day started sometime in the wee hours, when I awoke to my stomach growling at me for food. Unable to appease it, I tossed and turned for a while. Then I tried studying my guidebook pages, trying to plan ahead a bit for the next section, which is Shenandoah National Park. That only made me hungrier as I read about camp stores and Wayside offering food and milkshakes. Lights out again, I finally dozed until 6am, when I exited my tent to retrieve my food bag. You know it's bad when you can't wait to eat your last clif bar and granola bar which together barely make a dent in your stomach. Soon after, I left camp with Count and Lavender, and Trudge also behind us, talking our way up the Trail toward town, with me in the lead. Suddenly we all heard a hissing growl coming from above us, and the guys saw the bear in the tree. We backed off, watched it, then tried to proceed again, with the same hissed warning. We decided to make a wider berth around it by going into the woods instead of taking the Trail, and once we did, the bear came down 20 feet so fast we could scarcely blink. Fortunately, it was a smart bear who ran off away from us in the opposite direction. It wasn't a cub nor a full-grown adult, probably an adolescent. So there you have it, I have survived my first bear sighting. Other wildlife encounters this section were 2 startled deer (on separate occasions), 3 snakes (one fast-moving 2-foot gray striped, 1 small black, and one baby garter), a box turtle, a rabbit (one day further north, so I suppose the rabbit is actually ahead at this stage...), and dozens of the brown wormy things (photo posted yesterday), though fewer than last week when it was wet. Also, I keep forgetting to mention the butterflies, there are far more of them in the woods than I ever expected. Many black/blue swallowtails, the occasional yellow swallowtail, and then others, smaller ones, I don't know the names of. On three occasions I've seen two, or three, bees, just hovering in the air together in sync, in what looks like a miniature Blue Angels air show formation or something. I've never seen that before, and wonder about it...please inform me if you know. When I come to them they simply disperse, or vanish, over my head as if never there. Oh, plus one large bird/hawk soaring over the valley from the overlook atop Three Ridges. We did make it to the road crossing to town, where we got a ride from some kind section hikers, who had already given some thru-hikers rides from town back to the Trail. Thanks, guys, you were a superb shuttle!!! I dropped my backpack in town at the Quality Inn, where I had a room reserved, but not yet ready...then continued on my ride to the outskirts of town where many of the big "chains" are centralized. I was dropped off at the largest Panera Bread I've ever visited, where I enjoyed unlimited hazelnut coffee with a scone and a bagel, and my mystery paperback, which I'm happy to report is more than half finished (I have not yet figured out who dunnit). I did some resupply at a super Walmart. Then I stopped into Starbucks for a Frappuccino (I know, probably overkill on the coffee, but I have to get it when the opportunity comes). Then back to Panera for a take-out fugi apple chicken salad for lunch at the hotel. Only problem was getting back into town, now carrying two bags of groceries plus lunch, and huge gray clouds moving in rapidly from the west! I saw a group of 3 get up from their table to leave Panera and begged a ride. One guy said sorry, he had banking to do across the street. But Jeff, the other, said "aw, come on, get in my car and I'll take ya". Good man! (That assessment made by his exiting buddy. I agreed though). When I checked in at the front desk, I found that my box from home had arrived during my absence. Nice timing!!! And soon after, the pounding rain. No worries, I was safely in my room, freshly showered, AC cranked up, dry and happy, and fed.