Beating the heat against Royal

Friday, July 3, Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5, 2026

A dome of heat hits the trail, so I decide to hang out in Front Royal for the weekend. I try to stay in the air conditioning in some local places.

Friday

YesSleep was only possible with my portable fan blowing air at me while I lay in my bed. I found it a bit wasteful to drain the batteries overnight, but I bought it specifically to keep cool in the van, so I guess it comes with the territory. I was glad to head into town instead of attempting a 20+ mile hike like I was planning just 24 hours ago.

Coffee to Grow had proven to be the perfect place to spend a lazy morning, so I drove into town and set up with my usual assortment of IT equipment – ​​laptop, power cord, mouse and headphones – and took over a table in the corner. I tend to keep my coffee orders simple, so it was just a cup of filtered coffee and cream. I needed to polish the blog a bit more and wanted to watch the Formula One sprint qualifying session later in the morning.

I hung out for a few hours before heading to the supermarket for my usual ice cream lunch. I returned to Front Royal eager to try some new places. I had seen a mead: Honey & Hops Brew Works on FarOut and it caught my eye. I don’t think I’ve ever had mead before and this place also had a working Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. Craft drinks and nostalgic games seemed like a great way to enjoy an afternoon. I sipped the mead and found the Strawberry Session to my liking, although I think I might be a mead drinker now. I would have stayed longer but I needed a proper meal. Vibrissa was just around the corner, so I headed over, hoping that other hikers had the same idea as me: escape the heat and hang out in Front Royal. I made the smart decision to order a classic Philly. I hadn’t had a cheesesteak in years and this did the trick. I stayed in Vibrissa enjoying the air conditioning and Hefeweizens. Once the daylight began to fade, I drove back up Skyline Drive to find a quiet spot to camp.

Honey & Hops showcase.

Honey & Hops main bar.

A tasty drink of mead.

The classic Honey & Hops gaming station.

Saturday

The 4th of July had arrived. With the Formula 1 Sprint race schedule at 7:00am, it was time for an early start at Coffee to Grow. Iron Mike was back in attendance and we spent some time chatting about the trail over coffee. Being caught up in blog posts meant I had a lot of free time. I stayed during Formula 1 qualifying for tomorrow’s main race while enjoying the delicious churro waffles from the cafeteria. In the afternoon I watched Project Hail Mary, a movie that has just become available on streaming services. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the movie since I found out it was in theaters earlier this year. I read the book last fall and loved it. The movie did a good job of emulating the book, although there was a lot more detail in the book even though the movie was 2 and a half hours long.

It was already mid-afternoon and I was still thinking about the Classic Philly I had ordered at Vibrissa the day before. I resisted the temptation to try something else and came back confident that I would get another amazing meal. He complied again and I had to continue with his bread pudding. The portion was generous with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, bourbon cream sauce, and candied pecans.

It was a perfect, peaceful day in Front Royal. I returned to Shenandoah National Park and saw some fireworks scattered in the valley.

Classic Philadelphia in Vibrissa.

The bread pudding in Vibrissa.

Capturing some Shenandoah fireworks.

Sunday

I slept better than I have in a long time, helped in part because today’s Formula One action didn’t start until 9:00am This morning I opted for an iced coffee, it seemed appropriate with the rising heat. The British Grand Prix was a great spectacle, although there was a controversial decision at the end of the race that saw it finish behind the safety car, without any racing as the drivers and fans had expected.

Once the race concluded, I was a bit hungry for lunch, so I went to the supermarket to buy my usual ice cream. Today I wanted to walk a little more around downtown Front Royal since it was a few degrees colder. I parked behind Vibrissa and headed towards the city center, but quickly decided that it was still too hot to spend much time outside. I headed back to Vibrissa to grab some beer and devour my third Classic Philly in three days. I had a good relationship with the regular waiters and was more than happy to spend time watching the World Cup. Football is by no means my favorite sport, but I could see that we were now in the round of 16 and the teams were facing immediate elimination.

Once the game was over, I walked over to Honey & Hops for another round of Strawberry Session mead. I visited the city park and saw the C&C Frozen Treats window and couldn’t resist visiting one more local treat before heading out of town. Back on Skyline Drive, I joined the crowd at the Signal Knob overlook at the time sunset was supposed to occur, but instead there was a storm. In fact, it was special to see the rain clouds and lightning from the wide view of the valley.

Royal Front Center.

Royal Front Center.

Royal Front Center.

Watching the storm from the Signal Knob overlook.

Last week

It was a shortened week and I struggled with fatigue from the start. Meeting the Smokies crew was a joy. It made me think about all the hikers I’ll see again after I get to Maine at the end of the month. I’m going to miss hiking in Shenandoah National Park, but I think I’ll move on quickly. The whole journey has been special so far and I’m sure I’ll enjoy whatever the future holds.

next week

I’m planning three two-day backpacking hikes for next week. The heat dome is behind us, but daily rain is now forecast for the foreseeable future. It’s probably the hardest part of the year to walk, so I’m breaking up my walks a bit to maintain some sanity. I’m planning on getting my Topo shoes past the 1000 mile milestone, which is almost as exciting as hitting the 1000 mile milestone next week.

-See you tomorrow

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