5/30/06 Tuesday: Bearfence Mtn Hut to Pass Mtn Hut (26.8)

PICTURES:
1. View south from Hazeltop Mtn.
2. This is a first!!! Almost a quarter mile of trail in a straight line with no hills...LOL...
3. My first rattler... He was pretty lethargic... Didnt move a muscle.. I thought he might be dead...
4. I passed by the stables on the way to Skyland.
5. Here is Irish sitting down to lunch at Skyland
6. Views of a section of hwy through SNP from Jewell Hollow Overlook.
7. Just catching my breadth after a long, hot, muggy,day...

Another beautiful day lay ahead... I'm out by 0630 with possible breakfast available at the Big Meadows Lodge eight miles away...:)... I must admit, the thought of a large omlette was first and formost on my mind as I head north... There were some nice vistas on the way but unfortunately the muggy weather brought a lot of haze with it, really adversely affecting the views... Just as I approached the side trail to the Lodge at 0930, I came across a ledge with a rather nice view of a town below. I took a pic and then decided to reserve my room for the following night, since you never know when you can get cell reception out here.. Then, a couple of section hikers I knew stopped by for a break and we chatted a bit. Well about 1010 I decide to head to the Lodge for my omlette...only to find out that the restaurant closed at 1000...:(... I mumble a few unmentionables under my breath and purchased a large snickers bar and a pepsi to go... I got my book out and notice that the next restaurant was another 8 miles away and probably had the same hours as this one so with the time being 1045 I figured no problem... easy to say that when you don't have a map and are completely unaware of the two 500" climbs and falls that stand in your way... Sometimes its just better not knowing...LOL... On my way out of Big Meadows, I ran into Aloha, the 19y/o high school grad from Portland,Me. She had just returned from a visit to the local hospital for dehydration caused by some bug going around... She told me she was also headed for Pass Mtn. Hut and we would probably meet sometime later. I "strolled" into the Skyland Restaurant at 1345 and found they were open till 1430... Plenty of time to spare... I ordered the box lunch to eat on the patio, since I was literally dripping with perspiration at this point, and relaxed on their patio to observe the haze of the day... To bad, they probably usually have a great view there too... Irish walked up at about 1429 as I was finishing, and I quickly directed him to the waiter so he could place his order. He had reservations at the Skyland Lodge, so after chatting for a bit, I bid him farewell, and continued on my way to my final destination, another 9 miles away. A few miles out of Skyland I ran into Aloha again and we walked off and on together for the remainder of the way. We also caught up to Glowworm, who was also recovering from a more mile form of the bug, but also taking it slow today... We all arrived at the Pass Mtn Hut about 1930. I set up my tent, got some water from a great spring, cooked dinner and got reaquainted with a number of the hikers already there, many I had not seen in weeks. About 2130 I turned in for the night...

5/29/06 Monday: Loft Mtn to Bearfence Mtn Hut (26.8mi)

PICTURES:
1. Morning at the Loft Mountain Ledges...
2. A medium sized black snake.
3. Trail Majic at US33
4. Trail Majic again at the Lewis Mtn picnic area..
Wayne and I both got out at 0630. I reached the Pinefield Hut at about 0800, about 4 miles later ahead of him and found Irish just starting his day. I got my water from the spring but was having some problems with my water purification device, so I borrowed some chlorine from Irish to treat my water and got back on the trail. I reached the next shelter/water source at 1110 and decided to have lunch there... While I was eating a very inquisitive father and daughter dropped bye. We chatted for about 30min as I prepared and finally ate my lunch... The afternoon proved to be the warmest yet with temps soaring into the 80's. I was fortunate to receive some Trail Majic at US33 in the form of a cold coke...:)... at about 1300... nice pick me up before ascending the 1000" mountain standing in front of me... I was hurrying to make it to the camp store at Lewis Mtn before the 1730 closing time... I made it by 1630, with plenty of time to spare and picked up some sliced turkey and cheese to go with my wheat tortillas... MMMMM... A couple picnicking nearby, stopped by and offered me a beer and some food which I graciously accepted. I received a skewer of veggies and chicken, large section of watermellon, and homemade cake.... Needless to say I was quite stuffed... Poor Wayne, who said he was gonna take it easier today arrived at 1800, after the store closed and after the picnickers left... I offered him the rest of my pringles... I took 5 minutes to shower at the camp store. It was one of those coin operated showers and I had to borrow a quarter from Wayno to get my 5 min. (there was no change machine around) 2 min to wash the all the body parts and 3 min to rinse as much sweat out of the clothes as possible... We all then walked the one last mile to the thru-hikers shelter. On the way to the shelter I met Bunny again... I had not seen him for about 2 weeks. He was not feeling too well but was hopefull that it would pass by the morning. Well it didnt!!! From the time we reached the shelter, about 1900, he started puking and didnt stop until he woke me at 2230, asking me if I could help him up to the ranger station for a trip to the hospital. I could see he was worried, probably never been this sick in his life. He's 26y/o and a picture of health... Well on any other day but today that is...lol... Anyway, Irish, who was already at the shelter when I arrived, and I packed up all Bunnys' stuff and began our walk up about 500" and 1mile to the road. I headed for the camp store, which double as the bunkhouse for the campground rangers. It all worked out quite well with a ranger available within 15min of my arrival. We found Bunny and Irish bushwacking their way to the road as the ranger and I drove bye. The Ranger was a little worried about his condition and an after Bunny agreed, he called for an ambulance. The Ranger then drove off with Bunny to meet the ambulance which was coming from Harrisonburg. To this day, I still dont know what Bunnys' real name is so we can't inquire about his condition... We all hope it was just a bad flu bug... Irish and I returned to the shelter with our headlamps blazing, keeping one eye out for a bear that was spotted earlier this day by the outhouse... We were back in our sleeping bags by 2330, on a star filled night....praying for Bunnys' quick recovery.

5/28/06 Sunday: Calf Mtn Shelter to Loft Mtn (24.6mi)

PICTURES:
1. A mom and her 2 sons walked in the 7 miles to try roughing it for the first time. She said they thoroughly enjoyed it but that one rather tough 7mi roundtrip backpack adventure would be enough for these guys... I certainly agree.
2. Finally got some bear pics. I avoided the Blackrock hut, didnt need any water, and continued up the trail a little ways and came across this fella... Pretty good size.. I tried to get a little closer but he took a sharp right and headed off into the brush... I walked bye and never saw him again...
3. I got a chance to share my bear story with the family who took this pic at the Blackrock viewing area
4. Just leaving the Blackrock area, I came across this rather large frog in the trail... I almost stepped on him..
5. The dear here must see plenty of humans...they often dont run off when you walk by...
6. A sunset pic after a long day. I sat out on this ledge for about 2hours relaxing and making calls to friends and family.
Well, I slept pretty well considering all the noise... Had some hikers pitch their tent next to me about 2300, a little night hiking... and had a group of older hikers in the shelter knocking over pots and pans at 3am...lol... Any way I slept in, not sure what the day was to hold for me... It was a beautiful one though and by 0830 I was heading north... Today I would catch my bear on camera...:)... While the dear are too numerous to count here... bears are a different story... But, finally one parked itself right on the trail...right in front of me...:)... Later on, I passed Wayne (Wayno) on the trail and we met again at the Loft Mtn Campground Store for dinner... He left the picnic area a bit before me, interested in finding a place to camp nearby... Well About a mile away, near some cliffs I came across him and his hammock... He has a hammock with mosquito netting and rainfly... Nice way to go; I'll have to try it out sometime... Well we both found spots and I had great cell reception on the cliffs, the best of both worlds. I was able to phone a number of family members before it got too dark to find my way back to the campsite and fot some great sunset pics too...

5/27/06 Saturday: Waynesboro, VA to Calf Mtn. Shelter Shenandoah National Park (SNP) (7mi)

PICTURES:
1. Thats Dave and I at Rockfish Gap saying our goodbyes...Thanks so much for visiting with me and helping out. You are a good friend. I do hope to repay the favor someday and I would certainly love to visit again next time to explore the rich Civil War history of this area...
2. A couple of volunteers grooming the trail near the entrance of SNP... Thats Lee on the left and Natasha on the right..
3. I wonder what they need all them discs for way out here???
Dave drove the approximately 2 hours out here to visit and arrived about 0730. He is another early riser... I had got up early to sample the continental breakfast, a little appetizer before we would go out for breakfast...:)... There was a Cracker Barrel right near the hotel, so we decided to check it out... On the way over there we drove by a Bar-B-Que restaurant which apparently was the destination of all the fire engines I heard at 0300. The place was serving dinner the night before, I had opted for Dominoes Pizza delivery, but now It had a rather large hole in the roof with a number of busted windows... It looked pretty bad... After breakfast, Dave drove me to the laundry where we met another hiker I had supper with 2 nights ago. We were all about the same age and got to know one another a bit before departing for the outfitters to get new carbide tips for my trekking poles, and shoe laces... After that we were off to the grocery store for more snacks for the week in Shenandoah. After that it was time for lunch...:)... And Hardees was right there... We ate our fill and Dave finally dropped me off at Rockfish Gap to continue my trek north about 1300. He and his wife adopted two children 6 years ago and they are about 8 years old now... He is quite involved with Scouting and had to hurry back for a car was fund raiser which had already started. What a friend, and I had not seen him for 30 years... He had not changed a bit...still the honest, caring, friendly, give you the shirt off his back kind of guy.... Dave, I can not thank you enough...
I started my hike about 1315 and met of all people Skunk with her Mom. Her Mom was here to hike for the week with no particular destination in mind... They made it to the first shelter late that night after what I thought was a rather difficult hike. I was told it would be flatter....someone liedddddddddddd... I turned in early with an upset stomach...for the first time since I started my hike I couldnt finish my meal... I felt a bit queasy all night but got over it in time for the next day... Thank God because a number of other hikers have ended up in the hospital with flu symptoms and dehydration....

5/26/06 Friday: Maupin Field Shelter to the Super 8 Motel Waynesboro (21.1mi)

PICTURES:
1. An example of a not so well groomed trail...LOL
2&3 Views from Cedar Cliffs
4. Views of a housing development on a ridge from the BRP
5. Old cemetery, appears abandoned along the trail.
6. Met this section hiker at the end of the day. He brought me up to date on the history of this partiular section which included evicting entire communities.
7. THe cornerstones and fireplace of a homestead along the trail
8. And some more Trail Majik and the end of the hike today...


I was out at 0630, anxious for my rendevous with my old friend Dave... I was on the move wanting to get my blogging done early today so Dave and I could hang tomorrow, and eat...alot...;)... I stopped a few times on the way to Waynesboro to call Dave and Jackie and took some pics of the pretty spectacular views while I was there.. The Cedar Cliffs and Glass Hollow Overlook locations were beautiful.... I took a short break at the Paul C. Wolfe Shelter about 1315, had a snack, got some spring water, and rested my feet a bit... After 30min I was off again. Toward the end of the trail, about 4 miles from Rockfish Gap, I met an elderly section hiker and we stopped and chatted for a while... he pointed out the history of this section of the trail suggesting I keep my eyes open for old homesteads and cemeteries from when this land was privately owned, before the Federal Gvt kicked everyone off... He offered me a ride into Waynesboro, a 5mi trip from Rockfish Gap, and I graciously accepted. We both walked north toward Rockfish gap, I arrived there about 30min ahead of him so I could dry off in the sun a bit... I do get a bit sweatty doing this...;)... I arrived at the hotel about 1630. Another good day...

5/25/06 Thursday: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter to Maupin Field Shelter (20.5mi)

PICTURES:
1. View from Spy Rock
2. The best Trail Majik yet!!! The two gentlemen on the left are sponsoring it and the two hikers on the right with their dog spent the night on Spy Rock...
3. Views from The Priest Mtn.
4. More views from The Priest Mtn.
5. A different shade of rhododendrum... nice
6. That's Jim from Memphis, also having a good day on the trail...
7. Views from Three Ridges
8. Hanging Rock Vista where I also had dinner.

I was out by 0615 today with a big day planned along with some pretty good climbs to boot. Many of the hikers I stayed with last night were headed for a hostel 3 miles away for a free lunch... I decided not to waste the morning waiting for the free lunch and continued on my way... My first stop was Spy Rock. Less than .10 off the main trail this was a pretty cool scramble up some rocks...with a great view once I got there... Also found a couple up there with their dog...they stayed the night up on the rock... He said it was his 7th thru hike and second stay up on Spy Rock... This time he didnt have the 50 mph winds...lol... It was a beautiful night...just right for laying under the stars.. I still dont know how the dog got up there??? Anyway, I left them and headed north again with a 500" climb which has become pretty common for Virginia. Well, greeting me on the other side of this climb was some TRAIL MAJIK!!! And this wasnt your run of the mill trail majic either... They were cooking pork chops, steaks, had all sorts of pies, candies, fruit, beer, soda. You name it, they had it... WOW!!! I ate my fill and stocked up on some energy bars for the trail ahead, I was running low... and after about 90min of eating and chatting I bid the a good day and comtinued on my way up The Priest Mtn... About a 1000" climb for us north bounders.... A 3000" climb for the poor southbound hikers...lol... I used all my water on the climb and stopped at Cripple Creek on the other side for some more and headed for Harpers Creek Shelter for lunch and a break... Just before arriving at the shelter I met Jim from Memphis, a section hiker and retired Navy VP19 Pilot. Im always amazed at the incredible diversity among the hikers... School teachers, doctors, nurses, boat captains, iron workers, oil drill rig workers, ex military, you name it and there out here... Its wonderful... The afternoon was nice and uneventful until I arrived at the Hanging Rock Vista location at about 1700 where I decided to spend another 90min rest/dinner period and make some phone calls, since I had pretty good cell reception... It was sunny with a breeze at first, but by the time I finished eating the breeze had become gusts of up to 40mph...lol...time to move on... The Maupin Field Shelter was only a couple of miles up the trail and I arrived for the night around 1900.