Date: 2007-06-02
From: Big Meadows Campsite

To: Thorton Gap Parking Lot Stealth Camp
Miles today: 17.6

Left out of Big Meadows at 7:15 a.m. All others were fast asleep. A Pepsi and Lemonade ¢ a few pics with Bono and the deer and it was time to get back in the woods. As I circled the park I waved to the kid next to his dad and their RV (recreational vehicle). In fact, I saw mucho RV¢s at this campground/resort. Some of these things were literally rolling homes! Anyway, I though that would be pretty cool to own one and travel the country. Then I thought, I am traveling the country more or less doing the same thing, but in a different way. That thought was the start to a great day of hiking! Came up on many deer this day ¢ Bono¢s pretty much used to seeing them now and has since realized never will he be able to catch one of these nimble creatures! Early on in the hike we came upon part of the trail that had those blasted ¢marble-sized¢ rocks that just wreak havoc on Bono's webs in his paw, not so much his pads. I watched as he sought after every patch of soft grass he could find instead of trail which had loose gravel. Long story short, I decided to try his mittens to see how he would fare. Of course, his first 30 ft. were the ¢getting used to¢ steps. After that, he just exploded in his new mittens and the comfort brought to his paws. Well, he just went all day long and I was often having to run to keep up!Walked past a trail crew and thanked them for their efforts. One of the guys I had seen a couple days ago over 50 miles away! Passed by the horse stable at mile 917.2 and decided to take a break and chat with these folks at the picnic table. The guy offered Bono some water (First trail magic since entering the Shenandoah¢s). I gave them the trail journal website and asked them to sign my guest book. Took a picture of a boy, his mom and Bono and told them to get the website from the guy at the table and I was back on the trail. Came up to one part of the trail that had a no pet symbol (a lady with a dog and a slash through it) and wondered ¢what¢s up with this?¢) How do I get to the other side? Finally, I decided I would play dumb and say I did not see the sign if confronted. Made it thought that section and took a 40 min. break at Pinnacles Campground. Made a few calls and just as I was saying to Cheryl, ¢Now it would be nice to see a vending machine and grab 4 mountain dews,¢ a guy asked if I needed anything? I replayed ¢any Mountain Dew?¢ Score! Bobby Orr! He gave me 2 Dew¢s ¢ second trail magic in 1 day!Ended up at Thorton¢s Gap around 5:30 p.m. trying for a hitch. When no one was pulling over went to try the payphone and a few #¢s in the back of the book. No luck and they didn¢t have a phone book to call a cab.   Headed back to the road and told myself 20 more minutes and then head back to the trail. Just then a guy guy pulled over to give a ride ¢ 3rd trail magic! ¢Styger¢ was his trail name and he¢d just finished trail work. He agreed to get me to Luray, which I thought was pretty cool since it wasn¢t on his way! Got my resupply done and wasn¢t sure how I wsa getting back to the trail. That was the bad part. The good part was I had food! I tried everything from asking people if they were going east. I called the shuttle again, called for a cab or camp out in this construction field until tomorrow? I even asked the kid at Food Lion to call his buddies to see if they wanted to make a couple bucks ¢ no go. Well, it was rounding 9:30 p.m. and the store was open until 10 p.m. As I sat and admired my food, a guy walked by and commented on ¢how tired my dog looked.¢ I told him how fard we came and asked if he was heading east. He wasn¢¢t. But then, he must have had a change of heart because he said he would. Leroy Fry was his name and he said he knew where it was I needed to go, cool! We drove and I did recognize a few shops as we passed ¢ guess we¢re on the right track. We talked about cars and swore a lot. It was a good 8 miles back. Then it was apparent we might be lost, but we ended up finding the place. I was so thankful for these 2 people going out of their way to give a ride ¢ 5th trail magic. As Leroy Fry left me in the lot, he shouted ¢watch out for those #$(@*$ bears¢ and drove off. I wasn¢t looking forward to the 1 mile hike in the dark to the shelter, so I took a look around at this apparent abandon guest/info center with working bubblers, toilet and said why go anywhere tonight, lets look for a place behind some bushes and that¢s what we did.