Saturday, June 20, 2026
An early wake-up wakes me up from my sleep. I accept the early start and hit the road, eager to get into town to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Wake up call
W.and crashed into my tent all night. The noise of the leaves being crushed by the constant gusts was even louder. It took me an effort to fall asleep but I finally did. It wasn’t the glorious night’s sleep I was hoping to get at Humpback Rocks. This was followed by an abrupt awakening to the sound of voices, early hikers heading to the rocks to watch the sunrise. It was five in the morning when the first of them passed by. I was camped about 10 feet from the trail and they made no effort to be quiet as they passed by. Maybe they didn’t see my tent in the dark. Every group that passed woke me up again and realized that I had created this situation. There was probably a good reason why no one else wanted to camp here. I wasn’t about to leave my tent before 6:00 am, so I kept trying to fall asleep. Once dawn broke, I gave up and started packing up camp. I made one last trip to the rocks as everyone had left after dawn. In retrospect, it might not have been a bad idea to wake up to see the sunrise, considering I was about a 30 second walk away. Something to remember for next time.
The sun did not wait until morning to wake his lazy bones from his tent.
It was a lovely but windy morning at Humpback Rocks.
It’s not easy to find a flat place to sit at Humpback Rocks.
It really looks like a fleeing whale if you squint.
Humpback rocks overlooking central Virginia.
The view from Humpback Rocks.
Breakfast at Mill Creek
The early start wasn’t the worst. I had set an alarm for 7:00 am so that I would have the opportunity to return to my truck sometime in the afternoon. I was now going to be on the road at 6:45am The first 5 miles were an easy downhill walk to the Paul C Wolfe Shelter. It would be a perfect place to relax and have breakfast. There was no one at the shelter, no doubt they wanted to leave early to catch a ride to Waynesboro or enter Shenandoah National Park. I watched Mill Creek go by as I filled up on oats and some leftover peanuts and sunflower seeds.
I left the shelter after 9:15 am, with 16.9 miles separating me from my truck and some food from the city. My backpack was ridiculously empty. All that was inside was my small summer quilt, the lining of my sleeping bag, my pillow, and my bear bag with a few empty food bags. I took out a liter of water and barely noticed it.
walk in the park
After exiting the valley, the trail was easy to Rockfish Gap. I only had about 12 miles to walk in Shenandoah before returning to the van. I felt excellent. My legs had a lot of energy uphill and I had every reason to hurry. The gentle trail conditions were making a difference. I had gotten used to pushing myself to the point of exhaustion and endless climbs. Today felt like a walk in the park, and I guess it was.
Although it was a national park, the southernmost 10 miles of the park are of little interest. There was a small view through a gap in the trees that showed downtown Waynesboro perfectly. I kept the pace high and was tearing down kilometers at the speed of knots. I was doing this while running with only 1 liter of water that I had left the shelter with. The cloudy morning had given way to some sunshine and a bit of heat, but I wasn’t discouraged. I climbed Calf Mountain, the last big obstacle before returning to the truck. The last sections of the climb were not very steep and I was able to keep pushing. The excitement of finishing a 6 day backpacking stint was taking over me. I checked FarOut expecting to see at least a half mile left and was surprised that I was actually overestimating for once. Two-tenths of a mile was all that separated me from Turk Gap. I hit the road and walked the short trail to the parking area, relieved to find my truck right where I had left it Friday morning. It was about 3:40 p.m., a surprising time to end a 22.4-mile day that included a lackadaisical breakfast at a shelter.
See you tomorrow comes to Shenandoah National Park (again).
A view of downtown Waynesboro from the AT.
A view from the trail in Shenandoah National Park.
The view from the McCormick Gap overlook.
Caramel ice cream with sea salt (for electrolytes)
As usual, I cleaned up, put on my best city clothes, and headed to the nearest grocery store in search of cheap, cold ice cream. Yes, my sweet tooth is the priority when I return to the city. After filling up on sea salt caramel ice cream I found a quiet spot in the store to finish my blogs for the week. Since there is no Formula 1 event this weekend, I will fill the time with a big project that I have had in mind since I started hiking.
-See you tomorrow
| Leg | Begin | Mile | End | Mile | Ascent | Decline | Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | humped rocks | 854.8 | Turkish gap | 877.2 | 4,130 | 4,794 | NOBO |
Total: 22.4 miles, 49,399 steps
- Hike type: Backpacking
- Camp: van
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