Chased off the road by the Shenandoah showers

Monday June 22, 2026

My first full day in Shenandoah National Park begins with many miles of serene trails, but an afternoon downpour throws my course off course.

Pre-hike checks

ANDYesterday was pretty busy for a free day as I needed almost every hour to complete my cost analysis. I hadn’t packed the food or refilled the toiletries yesterday, so that task moved to this morning. All the intense concentration and consumption of an indefensible amount of sugar made me restless and I got up after 2:00 a.m. I slept pretty well and got up shortly after 7:00 a.m. I knew today would be a comparatively short 20-22 miles, so as long as I was on the trail by 9:00 a.m. or so, I would be fine. I had completed what I hoped would be one of the few decent-sized climbs on Saturday while hiking into Shenandoah National Park from Rockfish Gap. It was a warm, sunny summer morning, but a last-minute check of the weather forecast revealed a 40% chance of storms starting around dusk. Maybe starting late today will be costly.

Information about Shenandoah National Park

Yesterday I spent time researching some of the things to see in Shenandoah that I should be able to include in my itinerary. I previously drove Skyline Drive in 2022 and hiked one or two short trails. This would be a much more complete visit, although I also needed to make sure I had enough time to relax and stuff my face on the park’s three trails. Today I will arrive at Loft Mountain Wayside sometime in the afternoon. I’m looking forward to my first blackberry shake and my first burger.

Another thing I discovered in my research is that hikers often mix on some road on Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive is the original route of the Appalachian Trail. When Shenandoah National Park was being built, the decision was made to reroute the AT. Therefore, many hikers consider Skyline Drive to be an acceptable alternative route and use the term retro-blazing to apply to anyone who chooses to hike through the park. I plan to take the AT all the way north, but I may backtrack once I turn around. It may allow me to get back to the van sooner and gain some additional free time. That being said, I’m not sure I’ll need any additional free time this week, as there are plenty of amenities within the park. I also deliberately chose a lower daily mileage than usual to have more time to admire the park. After weeks of planning 20+ mile days and extra hours of hiking, I now have the opportunity to take things a little slower and really savor my hike in a beautiful National Park. I think it makes sense to take advantage of the opportunity. I may still do some retro-blazing, although it would be more for taking in the views and hitting the miles so I can take it easy when I feel like it.

Shenandoah Schlep

There was only one thing I didn’t expect during my stay in Shenandoah National Park. My choice to spend six days straight backpacking meant I would have to carry quite a bit of extra weight on my back. Once I was on the road away from my truck at Turk Gap, there was no turning back. I adjusted my pack so the weight was lowered to my hips and immediately began a 400-foot ascent. It was slow and my calves didn’t appreciate the rude awakening, but it started off smoothly.

Black Rock Brunch

I didn’t have breakfast in the van, but planned to do so at the nearest shelter. In Shenandoah National Park the shelters are called cabins. The nearest hut heading north was Blackrock Hut, 8 miles away. The trail was easily passable most of the way. Once I arrived at the shelter, shortly after noon, I collected some water from a strongly flowing spring and sat at the picnic table for what was now brunch instead of breakfast.

Just up the path from the hut was the summit of Blackrock. It had clear views in almost every direction. The top of the mountain is effectively a field of rocks that one must climb if they want to reach the top. The rocks once lay at the bottom of the ancient Iapetus ocean. After the ocean dried up, the Appalachian Mountains lifted the rock upward. I left my backpack on the trail and headed to the top. I hadn’t felt much wind on the trail so far, but there were plenty of gusts at the top of Blackrock.

Nearby was a mother with her two daughters. A girl, about eight or nine years old, started singing a song she knew from a Disney movie. She was a good singer and the song fit perfectly with the atmosphere at the top of Blackrock.

Trail signage in Shenandoah National Park is pressed into metal bands attached to cement pillars.

Ready for my basic breakfast/lunch at Blackrock Hut.

View from the summit of Blackrock.

View from the summit of Blackrock.

View from the summit of Blackrock.

Another flat, easy section of the Appalachian Trail near Blackrock.

The park is full of friendly deer.

Dodge the elements

It was a perfectly pleasant day, but now that afternoon had arrived my attention turned to the possibility of rain later in the day. It looked like the rain would start around 4:00 pm About 7 miles up the trail was the Loft Mountain Camp tent, which I thought might be an option to stop and get off the trail if it rained heavily. I heard the first thunder just after 3:00 pm I had about 1 mile to go. I was constantly checking my phone for weather updates. A short distance from the camp store, the weather app predicted the rain would start in 13 minutes.

Shortly after arriving and looking for a drink, I met a hiker named Hot Sauce whose girlfriend had come to Shenandoah to visit him. At the same time, the skies opened and it began to rain. I had seen that the Loft Mountain roadside was just 1 mile ahead. The lure of a burger and a blackberry shake motivated me to ask if they would be willing to give me a ride down the street. They happily accepted and I had «challenged» my first trip of my walk. The rain began to fall lightly and became heavier during the trip. When I set foot on the road, the rain was pouring down.

View from Doyles River Overlook.

Stay dry

I ran in and grabbed a table. An employee asked me and the other hikers to take our backpacks outside, since they are not allowed in the store. I initially placed mine on the bench of a picnic table. After seeing the water falling from the ceiling landing on the picnic table and on my backpack, I moved it to the ground where it was out of the splash zone.

I was hoping to experience my first burger in the park, but unfortunately the road was over. I settled for a pulled pork sandwich that came with coleslaw and fries. Honestly, it was a pretty low-rent meal, but I gobbled it down anyway. Hopefully the next trail can squash my burger cravings. Around this time, Twisted Mullet entered the tent after being sidetracked by the rain. We sat together and chatted about our lives and the trail.

Around 5:30 pm it was time to start my triple crown blackberry smoothie. This was more appropriate, although it would have been more suitable for a hot day than a rainy one. At 6:00 pm the trail was closed, which surprised me a bit as FarOut showed they would be open until 7:00 pm Fortunately, the rain started to let up at the same time, allowing me to get back on the trail without getting soaked. I decided to walk back to the camp store where I had turned off earlier so I could continue my hike exactly where I had left off.

Heavy rain outside Loft Mountain Wayside.

One third of the triple crown of blackberry smoothie!

in the clouds

The trail continued uphill to a rock outcropping with an incredible view of Shenandoah National Park and beyond. The clouds couldn’t decide whether to take a storm or not. The variety was incredible, something you only see on heavy rainy days. In many of the valleys in the distance great wisps of fog could be seen. You could even see a few short ribbons of Skyline Drive winding down the sides of the hill. It was just after 7:00 pm. I checked the forecast on my phone because I knew there was still some chance of rain tonight. The Weather app showed the rain would start in 26 minutes. I had to decide whether to continue walking a few more kilometers to complete the itinerary planned for today, or if it would be better to camp in one of the places near the viewpoint. I didn’t know how long the rain would last, but since I had already been walking most of the day I decided to set up camp. Worst case scenario, my tent canvas would get wet and I would have to pack up the inside of the tent separately in the morning. If I kept walking, my shoes, socks, and feet would get wet, and there was a chance I would set up my tent in the rain, which meant it would get wet anyway.

Setting up my tent was no picnic. The site looked like level ground with one or two loose rocks, but in reality it was about 2 inches of dirt layered on top of solid rock. My four tent stakes barely had anything holding them in place. I almost gave up, but I persisted long enough for everything to hold long enough for me to adjust the pitch of my tent. When I set up camp, it was just before sunset. I walked towards the overlook, but there wasn’t much to see. A small section of the cloud was slightly tinted orange, but other than that, the scene looked much the same as before. I spent about 10 minutes admiring the view before the wind carried me back to the comfort and warmth of my tent for the night. The rain never materialized, which was a slight bummer as I could have kept walking. But I figured a few extra miles tomorrow was a fair price to pay to ensure I stayed dry. For now, anyway.

A doe and fawn lurk beside the path.

View from the overlook near the Forensic Discovery trail.

-See you tomorrow

Total: 17.3 miles, 42,811 steps

• Hike type: Backpacking
• Camp: Tent, Cliff view MM 894.5

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