Date: 2017-09-02
From: Hightop Mountain Overlook, Skyline Drive

To: Doyle's River Trailhead
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

Nine degrees Celsius was the temperature reading in the rental car (Frodo: I can¢t figure out how to switch it to Fahrenheit) when Frodo charged me, ¢Make wise decisions¢ and I walked into the rain. (Frodo: I¢m starting to be a little superstitious about this. What if I forget to tell him this sometime when we part at a trailhead or sign off on the phone? If something bad happened to him, I would feel like it was my fault. Yesterday I think I forgot to say it when we parted early in the morning, so I was glad to see him unharmed when Dot and I induced him to stop for breakfast [my text: I can order for you ¢ hot chocolate and pecan waffle?] and glad I had another opportunity to send him off properly admonished.)That¢s 48 degrees Fahrenheit. I don¢t think we¢ve seen temperatures that low for six weeks or more. Here at over 3,000 feet in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Shenandoah National Park, it was more frigid than it was last night at Mt. Katahdin¢s doorstep: Millinockett, Maine. Instead of sweltering in a tent in skivvies until 10 pm, Franky says that last night he slept uncomfortably cold. So today he bought a pair of Shenandoah sweatpants to take on the trail. (Frodo: They look quite heavy, so he must have been REALLY cold!) Next week he will get back his 30-degree sleeping bag. I¢m going to switch back to my warmer bag in two weeks.Where is everybody? It¢s the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. I walk all morning, ten miles, and see four people in what should be a holiday-crowded national park. Rain. Cold.Two miles after I start I meet two gals in Hightop Shelter, northbound AT section hikers Bear Bell and Caw.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j... We talk for 15 minutes; it could have been a lot more. Dot & Franky shared the shelter with them last night. Franky lit a fire yesterday late afternoon, the first he¢s lit on the trail. He was a hero, because it was cold.Right after lunch I meet a bedraggled backpacking couple. Wet. Two straight days of rain can do that. I silently thank my umbrella once again.Do the bears still scrounge for grubs on a rainy day? The deer still forage. If I were a bear I¢d hang out in my cozy den on a day like today.  We could have had at least ten stellar views today. Well-traveled short side trails lead to rocky ledges on Hilltop Mountain, Weaver Mountain, overlooking Ivy Creek, and Loft Mountain. If you like various shades of gray, there were views for you. We have trod 80 miles in the park ¢ 4 days, 3 of which were socked in and rain soaked. But tomorrow all reports call for good weather for our last full day in Shenandoah National Park. In addition to good weather, tomorrow will also bring me a new trail companion ¢ Not-A-Moose! She thru-hiked the PCT in ¢07, much of northern California and Washington around and with us. Then when I hiked the CDT in ¢15 she came out and hiked with me for about a week in northwest Wyoming. And, as she recently wrote, ¢What¢s a Scout long-distance hike without Not-A-Moose?¢ This strong-hiking young woman will hike with me for 7 days. Dot¢s happy there will be another hiking woman around.Looking forward to seeing that bright yellow orb in the sky tomorrow.