Day 74 – Front Royal was awesome

Last night I had a pretty restless dream. With the shelter packed, there was a lot of movement all night and several loud snorers. The fact that it was my first night back in a week probably didn’t help either. Fortunately I didn’t hear the mouse running along the side of the shelter. Small victories!

Escaping the Shennies

The morning came early, as several people began packing at 5:30 am, and not in the most leisurely manner. It didn’t really matter, since he wasn’t in a deep sleep anyway. After a few people packed up and made some space, I slowly got up to do the same. Since Big Stick, Blueberry Turtle and I were in no hurry to get going. However, after breakfast and bandaging my feet, we still hit the trail shortly after 7:30am. After a day of walking, my still-healing blistered right foot looked pretty good, which was a relief to see. However, my left heel was still quite broken. Hopefully, I can put a bandage on it that will hold with the flexion of my ankle over the course of the day.

Once we got going, we embraced the sun that welcomed us this morning. Being off trail and out of rain for most of the last week, I’m sure I didn’t appreciate it as much as others. But it was actually a pretty nice morning with a nice breeze and blue sky.

Fortunately, the hike went smoothly and there were no major climbs or descents in the morning. A little before 11am, I arrived at the end of Shenandoah National Park!

Have a good trip

Potentially unpopular opinion, but I didn’t enjoy my time here. Between the heat, rain, fog, and foot problems, it wasn’t my favorite time on the trail. And yes, I know I missed most of the rain, but the little I got wasn’t great. Unfortunately, leaving Shenandoah, I was treated to some nice rocky parts of the trail. Fortunately, it was short-lived and the trail went downhill for the last two miles to the road toward Front Royal. Over 13 miles done before 1pm, not bad. Unfortunately, my left heel was bothering me a lot, as my shoe was directly rubbing against the raw wound. My bandage fell off sometime in the morning and he was getting angry. So with about 2 miles to go before Front Royal, I reapplied a bandage and temporarily taped it on with some Big Stick luektape. Yes, the things I had a reaction to on my right foot but I needed to wear something… I also made the decision to walk with my Croc on my left foot, since even in sport mode, it didn’t rub against my exposed wound like my shoe did. And it turned out pretty well. Short distance, and although the traction and cushioning weren’t that great, the Croc was solid!

I am fashion

in front royal

While I spent the last week off the trail and didn’t really need to run into town, Blueberry Turtle and Big Stick wanted to come in and grab a bite to eat and I didn’t need much convincing. When we reached the road that leads to Front Royal we stuck out our thumbs looking for a hitch. In less than a minute, a car stopped across the road dropping off a hiker and asked where we wanted to go. We responded to Spelunker’s in Front Royal and he responded that he could take us there. The driver’s name was Gumbo and he provides transportation for hikers in the Front Royal area. He dropped us off at Spelunker’s and said if we needed a ride back to the trail we would call him. Greetings Gumbo, thank you!

Excellent!

At Spelunker’s we walked in and ordered our food. I got a double cave burger and fries and it may have been the best fast casual burger I’ve ever had! So messy, but so good. While we ate we decided to head into downtown Front Royal and visit Base Camp, a hiker facility between the outfitter and a brewery in town.

Awesome place, Iron Mike is the man!

We walked a half mile there and were impressed by how nice and welcoming the facility was. Laundry, bathroom, shower, borrowed clothes, towels, you name it, they had it.

And so began my first HERO (get in and out) of the trail. Even though I hadn’t been on the trail for long, I wasn’t going to pass up clothes and a shower. While they were doing laundry and after a shower, I headed to the brewery with the guys and had a couple of beers. It was a warm day and the beer was cold!

Health

We also visited the outfitter and met Iron Mike, a former hiker who worked there and was very friendly and helpful. Then, for the next few hours, we hung out in Front Royal, attended a wine tasting, and visited some of the shops in the area. And talking to Iron Mike, he offered to take us back to the trail when he finished his work, so we went to the brewery again to get something to eat and packed up and got ready to go out riding a little after 6 pm Then Iron Mike drove the three of us and Tahoe back to the trail. What a nice guy and salt of the earth kind of person! Returning to the trail, we hiked 3 hot, uphill miles to Mosby Campground, which had surprisingly flat spots to pitch tents not far from a spring. In the process, we sweated quite a bit and reversed much of the cleaning we did in the city. Even with 5 hours in the city, we were able to squeeze in a moderately productive 17 mile day.

Also, Front Royal was amazing! One of my favorite stops on the road so far. I wish I had spent more time there, but after having 9 zeros in the last 2 weeks, I needed to keep walking.

Day 74 Statistics:

17.0 miles

3,179′ ascent, 3,914′ descent

Gravel Spring Hut to Mosby Campground

20DSLC…

Stove use times: 14

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