Roadsides and wet socks – The Trek

The next morning we woke up a little later than usual. It was nice to sleep in even if we discovered our mat had another leak. We would have to get more patches the next time we went to town. After packing up camp and having our usual breakfast of protein bars, we hit the road.

hot and thirsty

Another hot one awaited us. The Captain hates the heat and in this cold he feels quite miserable. But he keeps walking regardless, in true “embrace what sucks” fashion. On top of that, today we weren’t going to go through any roads that were going to stink. It’s funny how a can of soda or a hot meal prepared by someone else can motivate you. However, we set off to leave a few kilometers behind us.

As we walked along the trail we noticed that we were running out of water. We didn’t anticipate it, but water sources in Shenandoah were few and far between. And since it was so hot, we were sure to feel it. We were sweating through our clothes and had little to no water left in our packs when we finally reached a trickle of water. It took us a while to fill our CNOC bag and filter all of our water. We took the opportunity to find some shade and have a snack for lunch. With our water bottles full we began the trail again.

Motivated by magic

We passed some fellow hikers who said there was a campground in a mile or two that was making magical trails. That was music to our ears and really lifted our spirits. We walked to camp with a little more pep in our step, anticipating the next magic of the trail.

We arrived at Lewis Mountain Campground and headed straight to the tent for a snack. Along the way we met the camp host whose trail name was Santa. He invited us and several other hikers to his site for hot dogs and hamburgers. Of course we accepted and headed off after finishing our snack. Santa was very kind and courteous to us. He gave us a free meal and even offered to let us stay at the campground for free. We ended up declining the offer to camp at their campsite and instead walked another mile down the trail to the Bearfence Hut Shelter.

The dark side of trail magic

It wasn’t until we left Santa behind and talked to some other hikers that we discovered something a little disconcerting. Apparently, Santa has had some inappropriate interactions with some hikers. Making rude comments towards them and making them feel uncomfortable and even insecure. It’s disturbing to think that this man who was so kind of us could be so devious toward other hikers. It’s a lesson of hiking that the angels of the trail are not always who they seem. And that hikers must take care of each other to ensure each other’s safety.

From hot and dry to cold and wet

We woke up the next morning to our tent soaked. It had rained all night. Most of the inside of the tent was dry but there was a small amount of water at our feet. During a break in the rain, Avalanche jumped out of the tent and went to make breakfast. While she was gone, I packed up the inside of the tent. Once the rain started again, I jumped out of the tent and quickly packed up the tent. It was going to be a cold, rainy and foggy day, very different from the last few days.

Wasting time on the road

As we walked along the trail in our waterproof jackets, we came across another edge of the road, note it! Big Meadows is one of the most important stops in the Shenandoahs. We took off our wet socks, put on our camping shoes, and ran inside. We arrived just in time for breakfast. Today’s plan was to walk about 12 miles so we would have plenty of time. We decided to stay on the side of the road for several hours to protect ourselves from the rain. This allowed us to catch up with family and catch up on some blogs. We were on the road for about 4 hours in total. Before we left we had some lunch and a blackberry pie for dessert.

A capital idea

When we returned to the trial we had a great idea. It was 6 miles to the shelter and in a few hours it was going to start raining. We decided I was going to get ahead of myself and get to camp early enough to set up the tent before the rain hit. For that to work, I had to move some of his pack to Avalanche to make it easier for him to run. After moving some supplies to Avalanche, I started running down the trail.

The weather was great and I planned to get there about 20 minutes before it started to rain. Only about a mile from the camp I stopped abruptly. The tent poles were still in Avalanche’s backpack! I immediately turned my phone off to airplane mode and found several missed messages from Avalanche. She discovered this almost immediately and tried calling and texting me. Well, it was a good plan but very poorly executed. I got to Rock Spring Hut before the rain but had no way to set up the tent. About 30 minutes later, Avalanche arrived at the shelter and so did the rain. We set up camp together and were able to keep the inside of the tent mostly dry.

Afterwards we prepared dinner and ate with the other hikers under the shelter pavilion. We all played a couple rounds of cards before going to bed. Tomorrow was going to be another rainy day. But hey, at least it wasn’t too hot.

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