Date: 2016-06-18
From: Quality Inn

To: Little Calf Mountain Stealth Site
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: clear sky

I slept in at the motel this morning. Got up around 7 to lower back pain. It seems like when I take a day off the following day my back hurts. I think it's a residual affect to not wearing a pack for a whole day. The pain usually only lasts for a little while and then it subsides. I got up and showered and we headed to breakfast at Waffle House. It was fantastic and we don't have this restaurant in the northeast. After breakfast Otter and I headed back to the motel and packed up our things. Check out was not till 11 so we took our time. Ompi got into town last night and actually roomed next door to us. Most of the Quality inn last night was thru hikers and I think I knew most of them. While hanging in the room I saw Slosh walk by our room as Scavenger was right behind him. The Royal couple made it into town. I also saw the dude or (Jake the fake) as his trail journal name is. We know him on the AT as "The dude" he made it in as well. We chatted for awhile about our hike and the true meaning of hike your own hike. Some people get offended or upset when you hike with them for sometime but then move on for one reason or another. They may enjoy your company and might be sad your moving on but don't be offended. You will cross paths many more times as you move forward and new people will come into your fold and give you new great memories and experiences. We both agreed it's important to get much out of your hike and not get stuck in a rut. Follow where the journey takes you and if your gut says I need to don't hesitate. We all chatted while we played ball with Ghost. Ompi and the Royal couple went to do laundry. I went back into the room and finalized my packing. We saw see sharp a bit later and he came down to say hi and play with ghost. At noon our trail angel Michael picked us up to bring us back to the trail. He agreed to give Slosh a lift to the outfitter and back with us. We arrived at the interchange parking lot and thanked Michael and said goodbye. Otter and I bought a soda from the food truck and enjoyed a cold drink before getting on trail. We walked the side road back to where I came off the trail and crossed onto Skyline Drive after crossing over a bridge over I-64. We walked the road for 1/2 mile and the trail than shot into the woods and climbed back up to the ridge. About a mile in we came upon the self registration station for those who were overnighting in Shenandoah National Park. You fill out a form and the top portion you tie to your pack with metal twist ties. I don't see this thing lasting very long but good thing we should only be in the park for 7 days or so. We continued on and stopped when we got to McCormick Gap for a late lunch. After lunch we had a small climb up to a bunch of communication towers on top of Bears Den Mountain. The guidebook also said there were tractor seats at the summit. I didn't understand what that meant until I got there, see the pictures for a visual. We started down the other side and began looking for a place to camp. We were gonna start with a short day to let Otter get his trail legs back as he has been off trail for about 2-3 weeks. We came to a field which was the beginning of Beagle Gap and you could see a truck below where you could see coolers. Was this trail magic? Someone from the truck yelled up to us from the truck do you guys want cold drinks. We ran down the rest of the way. They were getting ready to wrap up for the day but saw us and waited. The people were a thru hiker who was taking a day off and her mom and grandfather. They decided to do trail magic together at the gap. So amazing and unexpected. We stopped and chatted for awhile, drank and ate snacks and then moved on. The trail after crossing the road climbed back up through another field on the other side of the road. We still were looking for a place to camp but no luck yet. We were hoping for a place when we got to the woods but nothing. We slowly continued on as we were tired from the sun and from all the sun yesterday. We finally reached the summit of Little Calf Mountain which was an open field that had been mowed with fantastic views. This was the place to camp and it was my first time camping on a bald like summit. It was a full moon tonight and the sunset was shaping up to be epic. Otter and I set up our tents. Bi choose to forgo the rain fly as I wanted to see the stars and full moon. We ate out dinner and played ball with ghost. A girl showed up with a dog who was local and had walked up to camp over night to watch the sunrise in the morning. She had made fresh Picco and had tortilla chips and shared with us. Fresh veggies (salsa) it was delicious. We chatted while watching the sunset she the moon rise and it was magical. A perfect evening. We got into bed about 9:30 as the colors began to fade. I do find it amazing as I write this that its 10:09 pm and you can still see twilight on the western sky. It's so neat being so far west in the eastern time zone. Wow!