Date: 2016-05-20
From: Mountain Home Cabbin

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up late again. It is so nice in hostels. The bed at Mountain Home Cabbin was so comfy. Two older men had breakfast first, then were picked up by a shuttle. We had a lovely breakfast with a selection of jams, cooked by Lisa. See the pictures of Mountain Home Cabbin. We had breakfast with Chris. She hiked in the Whites last year with some of her friends. She said she hugged a rock during the gust. After the gust, she hiked to the next rock to hug, in preparation for the next gust. A shuttle came for Chris. We reorganized our packs, since we picked up a food drop we left in our cars.   As we were almost ready to leave, two cars arrived. They were a small Boy Scout troop out for a shake down hike in preparation for Philmont. We hiked down US 522 to where the AT crosses the road. Lisa waved and honked as she passed us in her van. We waved. Lisa parked her van where the AT crosses 522 and ran toward us. Out of breath, she explained we passed where we could get on the AT. I explained I came out at the intersection last May and that was where I needed to start.   We came to the intersection, viewed the kiosk and crossed the road to the Front Royal sign. We hiked on the boardwalk that ran parallel to 522. See pictures.   Bunches of people passed us on the trail around 11 am. We saw lots of showy orchis.   At 1:30 pm we stopped for lunch at the nicest shelter on the trail, Jim and Mollie Denton. See pictures. It had a large front porch with Adirondack chairs, eating pavillion, horseshoes and a shower! I never did figure out how water was constantly running from the top, out of the bottom right. There were reflectors on all of the structures. I'm sure they are helpful in the dark.   We came to grocery bags and a note. "5-15-16 AT Thru Hikers - A little 'trail magic' for your journey thru. Keep "walking your walk". Be safe. God be with you every step. Warren County H.S. Girls Basketball Team - Trash bag included. Leave it tied to tree & I will pick it up tomorrow. Enjoy!" No trail magic remained except the trash. The thought was nice.   We ended our hike at Manassas Gap Shelter. A German couple was there already. They pointed out a spot on the ceiling with "Leak" and an arrow down. We were glad there was room for us in the shelter. The weather report was predicting rain. We accommodated the "leak" as we spread out our sleeping pads and bags. The German couple had whole carrots. They said when they hiked in Georgia, almost every road crossing had trail magic. They had so much trail magic, they came to expect it.   As we were crawling into our bags, two women showed up. We told them we were headed for Bears Den Hostel. A day or two ago, they had hiked 23 miles to Bears Den Hostel. They arrived at 11:30 pm. There were a bunch of men clustered, watching the game. They asked if there was room and they said no. They were disappointed to hike so long and late for the hiker special of pizza and ice cream, only to be denied. They were so tired, they did not eat dinner. They were behind on calories the next day and paid for it. They hoped we would have a better experience. We pointed out the leak. They set up a tent.