Shenandoah National Park - North Section

I had the great opportunity to hike with fellow White Blazer Mercy from the Florida Keys in what began an eight day adventure section hiking Shenandoah National Park. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive as this would be the first time I would carry all my own gear. What follows is a day by day journal of the events, divided into north, central, and south districts.

October 19, 2008

From Rt 522 to Tom Floyd Wayside; 3.1 miles

Mercy and her yellow lab (I call her Mercy Dog) arrived around 1 PM where we visited and had lunch before our journey to the start of our week-long hike into SNP. Began at Rt 522 near Front Royal where the trail crosses. Began the steady climb up the ridge and I got my first taste of hiking alongside a dog - new for me! Arrived at the shelter area by 4:30 PM where we each found a tentsite, though mine ended up in a pile of rocks. Mercy offered up some hot chocolate in her heavy duty Nalgene container which was good as the temp began to fall and all I had for supper was a PB and J sandwich. We had a small fire and talked until hiker bedtime at 8 PM. I had a cold night that night and was wishing for my 15 degree Marmot bag.

October 20th

From Tom Floyd Wayside to Gravel Springs Hut; 10.5 miles

Day began early before the sun rose with the change of season. Hiked up to a view at Possum Rest then went to obtain our backcountry camping permits. Interesting walking with a dog seeing to her needs. Saw beautiful views from Compton Peak and the Marshalls. Mercy takes it real easy on the uphills so I went ahead and met up with her at look-outs or other points along the way. We arrived at Gravel Springs at 4 PM to set up our tents. Met one flip flopper who was about ready to finish his hike of the entire AT at Waynesboro. His name was Yogi.

Tent site at Gravel Springs

October 21

From Gravel Springs to Pass Mtn Shelter; 13.5 miles

Mercy elected not to go over Hogback Mtn and walked the Skyline Drive for the first few miles while I headed over the modest mtn. Met up with two elderly ladies section hiking the AT and enjoyed chatting with them. Met up with Mercy at Rattlesnake Pt overlook where she exclaimed her delight at seeing not one but two bears on her journey. Continued on toward Elkwallow when Mercy spotted her third bear of the day and my first - and young adult foraging. Arrived at Elkwallow Wayside for hamburgers. Then a tough climb out of the gap with my hamstring bothering me after a slight pull the previous night while trying to get out of my tent (!). Had a tough time mentally for a while until I saw the central section of the park displayed before me and found courage in such splendid scenery. I continued on to Pass Mtn shelter while Mercy nursed growing blisters. There I set up my tent. Some section hikers were in residence at the shelter. Made up my turkey dinner courtesy of the ATC cookbook and really liked how it turned out. Quite tasty. Cold windy night and my tent blew down once.

Part II in next blog.

Hikers, Hikers Everywhere!

It's that time of year - the hikers seem to be massing near Shenandoah to enjoy the brilliant fall colors - and yes, I will too. A fellow hiker and I will thru hike Shenandoah coming up, taking it all in and enjoying each and every day. I will post about our day-by-day experience when I return.

But I had the opportunity yesterday to have breakfast with a thru hiker I met on the trail back in '07 named Boo Boo. At the time she and her friend, Music Man, were at Pico Camp in Vermont, heading south, while Paul Bunyan and I were heading north. We have stayed in contact and saw each other at Trail Days. Since she was in town, we were able to enjoy breakfast.

So we sat in our booth at the IHOP, catching up on everything trail-wise and life-wise. For some reason though, I had the distinct impression that a table near to us was interested in our conversation. Why that could be, I didn't know.

Until a man walks up to my table and introduces himself. He is 357 Magnum who thru hiked the trail the same time we did. In fact, he left Springer on the exact same day, and we had seen off and on during our hike! I could not believe it was him. He was there with his family from North Carolina to see autumn in Shenandoah. But to be there at the same restaurant as I am talking with a fellow hiker- it was too fantastic.

But this is one of these great times that I cherish, especially the camaraderie and also the unexpected surprises. Thank you, Lord!

The Gathering 2008 - Hiker's Conference

The annual Gathering put on by ALDHA has come and gone, and we were fortunate to attend this years events, held near Pipestem resort in beautiful West Virgina. I had heard about the event via the White Blaze forum, but did not really know what to expect. Come to find out, it's really like a glorified hiker's conference. It lacks some of the silliness and good ol' time at Trail Days in Damascus but instead focuses on hikers and hiker's needs. There were plenty of workshops on a plethora of topics, including workshops that spelled out the how-to's of conquering any of the long distance trails, including the AT, PCT and CDT. They also had other diverse workshops on everything from gear to viewing nature to even hikes in Europe and the Andes.

One of the highlights for me was hearing from the second hiker ever to complete the entire Appalachian Trail- a man named Gene Esby. He underwent his journey back in 1951 and had plenty of fine stories to tell. I enjoyed listening to him and was pleased to learn that he will soon be publishing a book about his trek. Perhaps some dreamer out there like me who once read Ed Garvey's book will pick up Gene's book and receive the same vision I did to complete a hike of the AT.

Another aspect of The Gathering that we enjoyed was meeting other hikers. Mealtimes at the college cafeteria provided a great way to chat and meet new people. We ate with different folks every meal, from a couple planning a 2009 thru, to another couple who were workshop presenters, to men who section hiked and then the proud father of the main presenter for Saturday night whose son completed an entire journey of South America through the Andes.

Whether your plans will take you on a whole hike of a trail, a section, or just a weekend out in the woods, The Gathering is a great place to celebrate the spirit of hiking and enjoyment of the outdoors with others. Plan to come next year if you able!