A much-needed shower (day 75)

My day started in Shenandoah National Park, but I left shortly before morning. It was one of my favorite sections of the trail so far. While I’m a little sad to see it go, I hope to make it to Harpers Ferry later this week. It looks like another major milestone that’s just on the horizon.

In search of the shower

Aside from getting out of the park, the main thing on my mind was my desperate need to take a shower. A week had passed and I wasn’t planning on staying in a hostel for a few more days. On FarOut, he showed a 4-H Center advertising $1 showers for hikers. I was planning a stop, but only realized I had missed the connecting road when it was 1.2 miles behind me.

Determined not to turn back, I took a short hike to the Mountain Home B&B in Front Royal. It wasn’t far from where the trail crossed U.S. Route 522, and they charged just $5 for a shower and $2.50 for laundry. Once I arrived, another hiker informed me that they stopped at the 4-H Center this morning and were told that showers were not offered today. So I guess losing him was a happy accident after all.

happy accidents

A couple of us hikers sat on the patio chatting while I waited for the laundry to finish. It took me a while and I didn’t get back on the trail until almost 4pm. This morning there had been numerous explosions, apparently recent, on the road. Some of them were large and difficult to navigate. I had to go quite a ways off the trail to get around them, climbing up large tree trunks along the way.

In this process, I guess one of my water bottles fell out of my backpack. I didn’t realize until I got to the B&B and they didn’t have replacements. But to my surprise, this afternoon I ran into a hiker I hadn’t seen in a while and he found my bottle, another happy accident.

early in the night

Not long after returning to the trail, I called him and settled for a short day. I made it less than 12 miles, but it was wet and getting late. The good thing is that the Jim & Molly Denton shelter was really nice. There was even an outdoor shower (although I didn’t need it) and a convenient water tap. Tomorrow I’ll start running to catch up on some miles on the way to Harpers Ferry.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.