DAY 84: Campando in the shelter of Jim and Molly Denton

• Front Royal, VA (972.4) to Jim and Molly Denton Shelter (977.6)
• 1141 feet rise, 800 feet decrease

Some shelters have a narrative legend so powerful that we want to take the time to completely appreciate them. In 1975, there were shelters, but they literally protected you from the rain from above and the wind from three sides. In general, there was a source of water but not much more. They had nothing like the current comforts of a private, a picnic table and boxes or bears posts.

The path has extraordinary shelters such as the Association, Jim and Molly Denton, and Hexacuba. Unfortunately, we are losing two of our historical shelters. The 501 shelter and the Eckville refuge in Pennsylvania are scheduled to be demolished by the National Parks Service by 2026.

An iconic shelter

We argued how long we wanted to take to enjoy the refuge Jim and Molly Denton. After a good amount of discussion, we decided to make a short day of hiking and leave time to filter about enjoying the comforts.

Most of our walk has focused on miles to miles, the calories consumed and the published blogs. It is not a bad thing, but we have not spent much time hanging out in the forest relaxing.

Imagination vs reality

While we planned our walk, we imagine that we would walk a little, we would find a place of view and relax for a while before walking to the next view. We thought that at night we had a long time, we relax and relax for a while before we fell asleep to arise with the sun and go out.

We fail to take 3 hours of camps per day together with 10 hours of sleep. Because we are not fast hikers, it takes us from 8 to 12 hours to cover 8 to 15 miles per day. Together, we stay busy most of the time that we are not asleep.

Quick hiking to the shelter

We carry a transport service to the path instead of the city bus. The bus trip was about an hour and we were eager to walk.

We started walking at 9:08 am. With only 5 miles for the end, we clearly had the opportunity of a lazy day. Usually, the backpack at a rate of 1.3 miles per hour, or approximately 40 minutes per mile. We estimate that it would take 4 hours to arrive.

The path turned out to be easier than we anticipate. We cover the first 1.8 miles at a rate of just over 2 miles per hour. We argue perhaps the need to move forward and cover more miles, but we were quite committed to a lazy afternoon.

Behind the fence

The path continued today with the fence of the link chain from the southern side of Front Royal. This side remained better and lacked the vague underground current of hiker / premises conflicts.

We looked at the Internet and we discovered that the location was the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), a location to raise animals in danger of extinction and almost extinct. Before that, the 3200 acres farm was a withdrawal from the cold war era for diplomats. Before that, it was an American cavery installation.

In 1909, when the US Army. Uu. It began to buy what became almost 5,000 acres to build equestrian facilities, including stables, barns and other buildings and to provide new horses and mule supplies to the army. From the vast pastures, the animals were delivered by rail from Front Royal to World War I and World War II.

Curios: If those hills could speak … Secrets of 3,200 acres in Virginia by Jill Devine

We remember that the historian’s grandfather served in the cavery in World War I and probably set up a horse from the same installation for which we walked today. It was a very personal experience to go through the farm. He felt as if we could cross the fence, we could spend time and see our grandfather.

Bigfoot or Bear Foot?

With the backdrop of the somewhat mysterious fenced installation, our imagination was running out today.

While we advance, especially a giant footprint in the mud. We stopped and examined it. A bear, surely. I put my size of 11 feet by your side to compare. From that perspective, he looked great. Really big.

We send text messages to the children. Almost immediately, they made a turn again, «Bigfoot?»

It was certainly a great foot. I hope it was not a Bigfoot.

Deceleration

The path remained relatively flat but filled with rocks, so our rhythm slowed down.

We continue and reach the shelter around 1 pm

The shelter

After arriving at the shelter, we shared the picnic pavilion covered with two section hikers that began a two -week trip.

One of the hikers discovered that he forgot to pack a spoon or a fork. He cut a branch and after some attempts, one of the silver repair tape was designed. It worked quite well, although I imagine that he will be happy to reach a refueling city and obtain a real spoon.

The completed lunch, walked and set out to explore the refuge area.

More mystery

In addition to the picnic pavilion, there was a shelter with a large terrace and grass furniture. A horseshoe well was aside. Beyond that there was a private and outdoor shower.

There was approximately a «patio» cut around the shelter. A bunny passed, clearly carefree with visitors.

I tried to get some photos, but I managed to take this image inadvertently. I find it difficult to discover how the shadow was thrown and included my foot. Maybe this place is magical?

The magic continued. While we sat on the shelter cover on the great Adirondack sofa, the bunny hoped to climb the stairs and soon joined a squirrel. They got into the deck, almost playing together, for about 30 minutes.

Settle

The night advanced and we went to bed. The night was strange. It really never darkened, although the moon was not full. There were thousands of fireflies.

Even at 3 in the morning, there was an aura of misty light around the shelter. I couldn’t accommodate me. I usually sleep well in the forest. Tonight, he felt as if we were in an entire house, but we forget to close the door. Perhaps it was all the comforts that made him feel more like a house in the neighborhood than a shelter for trails. Maybe it was magical.

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