Date: July 20-21
Start: Skyline Dr. MP 66.7 (1.2 miles south of Swift Run Gap)
End: Pinefield Gap
Today's miles: 10.1
Total (cumulative) AT miles: 70.1
Time: ~8hrs
Jen and I planned for a two-night backpack to get in some good miles this past weekend. We both got off early from work on Friday so we could hike the 2.1 miles up Hightop Mountain to camp in or near the hut. We were hoping to have the hut to ourselves since most of the thru-hikers should be well north of SNP by now. We started off too quickly...I let Rosie set the pace and the next thing we realized we were both wet with sweat and soaked. It wasn't that hot, but the humidity was thick, thick and thick! I had on a cotton shirt, which was pretty much guaranteed to never dry out the entire weekend. Fortunately, I had a clean technical shirt to wear the next day. I don't recall the exact time, but we summitted Hightop after about an hour and a half. We had been to the top before last year, but came up from the other side. I had forgotten that the shelter is a good 1/2 mile on down the mountain from the summit.
We finally arrived at the first spring above the hut when we ran into a hiker. Not sure if he was section hiking or thru-hiking. We didn't catch his trail name, so we just referred to him as "Blue Shirt Dude". So Blue Shirt Dude busted our hopes and told us there were already three hikers in the shelter. Bummer. Oh well, we brought the tent so no problemo. We were just hoping we could build a fire and spread out a bit in the shelter. The three hikers already at the hut were "Sleeping Bear", "Puddle Jumper" and "Slayer". The first two were young men, the last was a young woman. They were nice, but very quiet (which is good I guess). We walked behind to find a tent site, and since no one else was tenting, we had first choice. We got the biggest most private site and set up the LightPath. There was a chance of rain/storms, so we took the time to give it a solid & taut pitch. Didn't want to have to scramble around in a storm and fix things.
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It was then when things started going wrong. Not tragically wrong, but "Really?!??" wrong. While making our dinner of freeze-dried fettuccine alfredo with chicken, I made sure the bag was sealed, then turned it up to make sure I had mixed it well on the bottom. Well, the bag seal was weak, and I lost most of the alfredo juice. Right outside the tent. Four feet outside the tent. In bear country. Really?!?? Thank goodness for Rosie. She ate the pasta & chicken bits that spilled, and I poured water over the alfredo stain in the dirt to dry and dilute it. After all this, I checked on the dinner and realized there wasn't enough liquid to finish "cooking" the pasta. So I boiled some more water and added it. We then proceeded to eat watered down fettuccine alfredo with chicken. After we ate all the bits, there was about a cup of watered down alfredo juice left. Once again, thank goodness for Rosie. She slurped it right up. We packed up all the food, hung the bear bag, went behind a tree to potty, then called it a night. About an hour later (I think it was the distant thunder and lightning that woke me up) I remembered there were dog biscuits still in Rosie's pack, which was about 10ft outside the tent. Really?!?? Not as close as the alfredo stain, but now I'm thinking we have a bear buffet right outside our front door. I debated on whether to get up and go out in the icky wetness and do something about the biscuits, but then decided to just let the damn bears (and/or mice) have at it. I heard Jen stir just about then, and she announced she had to go pee (again). Me: "While you're up, can you toss Rosie's backpack up a tree?" Not as good as the bear pole, but whatever. We then both snuggled back down to sleep. I think it was sometime between 2am and 3am when we were both rudely awakened by the distinct, unmistakable sound of Rosie's gradual crescendo to a major puke event. Oh God, REALLY?!??!!!! I grabbed her from the back of the tent and dragged her to the door, reached up with my other hand to unzip the zipper, while hollering at Jen to "turn on the light!" Jen fumbled with the light, I fumbled with the zipper, and Rosie fumbled her dinner (including the alfredo sauce) right inside the door. Ugh. I managed to get her into the vestibule for round 2, but round 2 was only about 1/5th of round 1. In fact, round 1 was pooling towards our sleeping pads about now. We hastily got everything we could out of harm's way, but both of our pads got a taste, my sleeping bag got a taste on one corner, and I think Rosie stepped in it on the way out to the vestibule, because she tracked some back in in various spots. Ugh, Ugh, Ugh. I don't expect to ever eat Backpacker's Pantry Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken again. It is a smell that has scarred me for months (or even years) to come. We used up all of our bath wipes to clean up as best we could, and got it cleaned up enough that we could attempt to go back to sleep. I spent the rest of the night keeping away from one corner of my bag and pad. So now we have a) an alfredo stain in the dirt, b) dog biscuits up a tree, and c) Pedigree Little Champions with alfredo sauce in the vestibule. It was like a drive-thru for just about any hungry wildlife that should happen to come by. *sigh*
A couple of hours later, the drizzles and light rain turned into a complete downpour! Thank goodness the Lightpath is a bomber tent. We stayed dry, even though it came down so hard the mud splashed up the sides of the tub floor. On the plus side, we were also hoping that bears don't like the rain much. And that alfredo stain in the dirt? A distant memory. We both woke up for good around 7am. It was still raining lightly, and there was a lot of "tree rain" whenever there was even the slightest breeze. We laid there for about an hour, then realized it probably wasn't going to stop raining, and even if it did, the tree rain would last all morning. So we packed up and got out of the tent. I took all the wet gear, and Jen took all the dry gear and we hit the trail. Eight miles exactly to get to Pinefield Gap and the waiting Escape.
The forecast was misleading. We both thought the sun would finally break through late morning or early afternoon. I had grand plans of laying the tent out to dry while we ate lunch in the sun. Eh, no. The rest of the day could be summed up in one word: WET. We hiked down Hightop in the drizzle, bushwhacked our way up Roundtop in the rain (the trail was incredibly overgrown), hiked around Flattop Mountain in the tree rain, ate lunch by sitting smack-dab in the middle of an access road in the rain, and hiked and up and over Weaver Mountain in the wet fog to the Escape. Jen got a phone signal and checked in with Kenny on Flattop. I think she was getting a little worn down, and talking to Kenny and taking a pack off break was enough to lift her spirits. To help pass the time and keep us entertained, we played a "name game". Jen picked the letter "L", so we spent the last couple of miles thinking of famous people with a last name starting with "L". It was fun, but we really need to pick a new letter for our next hike. As we hiked, we had decided that camping that night was pointless. Even though I had a spare tent (a clean, dry and puke free tent) waiting in the Escape, we still had pukey pads and I had a pukey bag, and neither one of us wanted to deal with that.
We had dry socks and shoes in the Escape, which felt like heaven on the toes. We ran on down to Loft Mountain wayside for Diet Pepsi's, and then I showed Jen our campsite I reserved at Loft Mountain for August. Then we headed back north, picked up Jen's Yaris and went to Big Meadows for a hot meal. It was still foggy and wet, so no photo-expedition. In fact, I hadn't even brought my fancy camera since I was thinking "backpacking" and not "photo-x". After Big Meadows, we skeedaddled it out of there to head home for a hot shower and a warm bed.
I spent my Sunday washing the tent, my pad and my sleeping bag. Everything is squared away and ready for the next trip!
Oh, and Rosie puked again on Monday. Must be a stomach bug.
Date(s): 6/18 to 7/18
Start: Home
Waypoints: Home/Alaska/WV
End: Home
Today's miles: endless
Total (cumulative) AT miles: still 60
Time: blah
Wanted to blog about some non-AT happenings. I guess I'll start chronologically...
Parkside: I love reading the blogs and message boards on the AT thru-hikers. I ran across some posts on the message board about a hiker named "Parkside" that tragically drowned in a pond in Maine on June 15. The official cause was drowning caused by muscle cramps. He was < 200 miles from finishing the AT. One of the posts had a link to a blog that his mother was maintaining. I checked it out, and she had pics and videos that her son Paul (Parkside) had sent her. Holy wow. Turns out Jen and I met him and his friend/hiking buddy Achilles back in April. We had seen them on that Friday evening at Big Meadows wayside eating dinner. I remembered them for two reasons: 1) they were probably the first NOBO thru-hikers we saw this spring, and 2) Parkside wore a orange bandana and a green shirt, which is one of my favorite color combinations. We ran into them the next day while climbing up Little Stony Man. I remembered them from the night before. I joked with them about how fast they were moving. Parkside seemed a little shy and reserved, and Achilles seemed very warm and sweet. It really hit home when I read that Parkside had drowned, and Achilles had tried desperately to save his life. I had taken a couple of pics, but deleted them because they were blurry. Wish I'd have kept them now. http://northbounder1.blogspot.com/
Alaska: Jen and I went to visit Toni (aka, Pigeon) in Alaska for the 4th of July week. We were looking forward to just the three of us. Well...Linda was supposed to go, which we were happy about, but then she couldn't go, which we were sad about. Alaska was a blast! We learned how to make fire several different ways, got schooled on identifying flowers, rode a bus 11 hours to Wonder Lake and back, saw the "big three" (and more) in Denali wildlife (bear, moose, wolves), spent a night in a trailer killing mosquitoes, stayed at a ski resort (very nice!), drove 2.5 miles through a mountain, got rained on, and witnessed a bore tide. We did a few other things too...but you get the idea.
It was while we were in Alaska that we learned our Great Uncle John had passed. We were so sad, and so far away.
Class of '82: We had our 30 year high school reunion on 7/14. Saw some old friends, a couple of which it took me a minute to recognize! Guess some change more than others. I hope we can stay in touch, especially since we drifted apart rather quickly after our senior year. Well, not all drifted apart, but I drifted apart from virtually all of them. I think if it wasn't for Facebook, we wouldn't have been able to pull of a decent 30yr reunion.
Jules: Jules lost her mother just this past week. That must be the most devastating news she ever got in her life. It just breaks my heart.
Date: June 16-17
Start: Pocosin Cabin
End: Skyline Dr. MP 66.7 (1.2 miles south of Swift Run Gap)
Today's miles: 7.6
Total (cumulative) AT miles: 60
Time: ummmm < 6 1/2 hrs?
Finally back on the trail!! It seemed like a lifetime since we'd be on the AT, but actually it was only about a month. Our time in between was taken up by helping helping the parents out, taking a Memorial Day trip to Spruce Knob, and taking a mental health weekend off.
I'm so far behind in my posts, I'm having to go back and look at the pics to refresh my memory on all the details. I did "summer hours" at work and was able to leave at noon on Friday. Packed up the Escape and the dog and headed for the mountains. Did some photo-expedition on the way in. Got a nice hawk picture and saw a bear near Skyland.
We camped at Big Meadows in our favorite campsite (#37). It's the most remote hike-in site in the campground. There's only one neighbor that is close enough to possibly be an issue. So, you have a 50/50 shot at a good night's sleep. Well...there were 3-4 guys that finally showed up late Friday. They weren't as bad as some...no loud music, no partying. The only issue was they liked to talk. And talk. And talk. They were talking mostly about Jesus and the Lord and being a Christian. Finally around midnight, after the rest of the campground had gone to bed, I hollered over and said "Jesus says it's time for bed now". That did the trick. They finally shut up and went to bed.
Jen and I woke up early on Saturday morning (pre-sunrise) to start our hiking day. We made sure the Christians got as much sleep as we did before heading out. We decided to hit the trail early and take advantage of the cooler morning temps. Shuttled the Escape down to Swift Run Gap, then back up to Pocosin to start our hike. It was probably around 8am when we finally got started on the trail. Our goal was to crank out the first 3.3 miles to South River Picnic grounds before stopping for lunch. The trail was pretty uneventful. A view of some treetops and a couple of big rocks. The only cool parts were a patch of laurels that were still in bloom, and running into all the NOBOs along the way. We even ran into skinny Santa on the trail!! He's got a long ways to go!!
We finally reached South River Picnic grounds for lunch. We used the flush toilets, and refilled our bellies and our water supply before the gnats drove us to pack up and make a run for it. The hike from there to Swift Run Gap was a very gradual downhill until the last 1/4 mile or so, then it got steeper. It was right about then we ran into Toni's doppleganger heading north. Just when Rosie was saying hi to the doppleganger, a bug flew down and landed on Rosie's back. Rosie hates bugs and was snapping at it trying to kill it, when the doppleganger swooped in and saved said bug. I had never seen a bug like it before. She said it was a clicker bug, but it was bigger than any clicker bug I'd ever seen. I was still holding it in my hand after the doppleganger had headed on down the trail. Right about then the bug FINALLY clicked in my hand. I'm pretty sure anyone within a 1/4 mile heard me squeal with delight! :)
We finished up at Swift Run Gap, posed for a few pictures, then headed back to Big Meadows for a hot shower, a hot meal, a warm campfire and a cold six-pack. Just our luck the Christians had broke camp and were gone. No one else claimed the site, so we had a wonderfully quiet evening that night. Ahhhhh!!!
Sunday morning we did a short "recovery" hike from Swift Run Gap down to the next intersection with Skyline. About 1.2 miles total. It was pretty boring trail-wise. Once again, the best part was meeting all of the NOBOs on the trail. After the hike, we did a mini-photo expedition. Saw another bear, or maybe it was the same bear from Friday. It was too close to Skyland and the rangers called out the guys with the paintball guns to chase it off. Oh well. We got lots of pics of flowers, birds and bugs. It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Shenandoah.
I'd like to do a 1 or 2 night backpack for our next section. Get some serious miles done in one weekend. Not sure though if we can pull a 2-nighter with Rosie slurping up all the water. Hmmmm....
Date: May 13
Start:
Milam Gap
End: Pocosin Cabin
Today's miles: 8.1
Total (cumulative) AT miles: 52.4
Time: 6 hrs (but who cares?)
Just catching up on the blog...it's been too long. I'm trying to recall all the great things about this section, especially since it's been over a month ago. We camped at Big Meadows on Friday night, which would allow us to get an early start on Saturday. 8.1 miles is pretty aggressive miles for Gimpfoots! Jen rented Pocosin Cabin for Saturday night, so we were committed to get there.
We started our Saturday morning with a photo-exped. It was worth it! Our 2nd bear of the season...and we had him all to ourselves. We wouldn't have seen him, but a couple of young velvet bucks kept alerting to something on the other side of the stone wall. On a hunch, we investigated and found a nice sized bear! Kewl!!
After the photo-exped, we dropped the Escape off near Pocosin Cabin, then shuttled back to Milam Gap to start our looooong hike. We had hiked this section before up to the Laurel Prong trail, which is the cutoff to Rapidan Camp. It's pretty flat and easy, even though we were topping out on Hazeltop. The trail was so flat and straight that we started calling it "the runway". At one point a group of 4-5 deer crossed the trail in front of us. Jen had her fancy pants camera (I had a dog) and I started coaching her to just aim at that spot on the trail and start shooting. Sure enough, she managed to get a shot of the last one scampering across the AT. That was cool!
After almost 3 miles, we stopped at Booten's Gap for a break and snack. Rosie was hungry too...all that running back and forth worked up her appetite. We then pushed on to try and get to Lewis Mountain. There's a campground there, and a campstore with supplies. We (well, I) was counting on the campstore to resupply the water. We still had 3.3 miles to get there and between me and Rosie, we had sucked up most of the water already and we still hadn't conquered Bearfence Mountain! After a short break, we pushed on to Bearfence. It's a real popular hike in Shenandoah....it's 1.2 miles round trip and has a rock scramble. They call it the "mini Old Rag". We didn't get to see the rock scramble, since the AT goes AROUND Bearfence and not over it. But we did get to experience some of the rocks from another angle.
After Bearfence Mtn, it became a push to get to Lewis Mountain and the promise of a long break and resupply at the campstore. By then, we were already into the Gimpfoot chant..."Oww, Ouch, Owwie". Jen was even wondering if I could hitch a ride to the Escape and rescue us. Oh, silly Jen.
Just past Bearfence, we hiked through a recent controlled burn area. It was such a surreal landscape, but perked us up a bit. We took some pics, then pushed on to Lewis Mtn with a new energy. We FINALLY arrived at Lewis Mountain, but the puzzle became how to get to the campstore by the shortest route possible. We ended up hiking up an approach trail, then through an empty campsite to the campground hosts. They told us the quickest way. Whew! We finally made it. It was probably about an hour before they closed since they were still on limited hours due to not being "in season" (i.e., pre-Memorial Day). What a relief that they were still open! I sat outside on the bench with Rosie while Jen went inside to scope out the bounty. We had packed our lunches, and were mainly thinking "water" and "Diet Pepsi" (but not necessarily in that order). Next thing I knew, Jen stuck her head out the door and asked if I wanted ice cream. My response? "Hell, yeah!". Some lady outside chuckled outloud at my response. Turns out Dove makes vanilla ice cream dipped in dark chocolate on a stick. Holy shit!
We also got Diet Pepsi's and cold water to refill our camelbaks. And Rosie got a ham and cheese sandwich! It was all we needed to push on to Pocosin! But first, we had to mark our halfway point. Yes, we were now officially at our halfway point to finishing 101 miles! Truthfully, we were a teeny bit past halfway, but now we had the energy to celebrate. I had downloaded Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" on my iPhone in preparation. We took about 10-15 minutes to shoot some video of us jammin' to the tune. We had a lot of fun doing it. We had picked the tune because of an AT thru-hiker had used the same tune on his halfway video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnFMQ2NAgyk). Fun times! (Notice the Diet Pepsi...that kept us going for at least the next mile).
So the only place to go from there was Pocosin Cabin and the promise of the Escape, a hot shower, dinner at Big Meadows, a cold six-pack & toasty fire at the cabin, and a quiet comfy bed with four walls and a roof. Holy crap! Once we got to the Pocoson fire road, we had to hike .1 miles up to the Escape to drop of our day packs and the dog and pick up our gear for the night. Then, hike .2 miles back down to the cabin and drop our gear, then hike .2 back up to the Escape to drive to Big Meadows for a shower and dinner. So technically, we were at 8.6 miles already. Ouch. After a hot shower, we got our six-pack on ice and then had dinner at the wayside. That was another awesome cheeseburger! We lugged our six-pack, some firewood and the dog the .2 miles back down to the cabin for the night. That was the best night of the weekend. Rosie enjoyed being loose in the cabin and free to jump from bunk to bunk all night. She would switch bunks everytime she'd finish chasing the many, many mice that lived under the cabin. And we didn't have to put up with any noisy neighbors ALL NIGHT!
On Sunday, we discussed a short hike, but we were pretty well done for the weekend. We did a photo-exped instead, which included a snake rescue. We planned to get to Swift Run Gap on our next hike as soon as we could fit it in our schedules. Definitely after Memorial Day weekend.
Date: Sunday, April 29
Start:
Fisher's Gap
End: Milam Gap
Today's miles: 4.2
Total (cumulative) AT miles: 44.3
Time: about 4 hours?
Jen and I went to Toni's "Time to Fly" BBQ on Saturday to send her off to Alaska, Tanya asked us (The Gimpfoot Sisters) what we were doing on Sunday, and then informed us that whatever it was, she was going with us! We were waffling on paddling vs. hiking, then finally decided to hike since the weather wasn't as perfect for paddling as it was for hiking. We were looking forward to some company on this hike.
Jen spent the night with me on Saturday since we both went to Toni's BBQ. We got up early on Sunday and met Tanya and the beagles in Manassas. We took both cars so Jen could drive on home after the hike. Tanya and the two beags rode with me to SNP. We got to meet little Tobi (aka, Tobilina, Travinza, Tobster, etc.). She's the new puppy they just adopted. It was free park week, so we didn't even have to show our passes. It was probably around 9am when we hit the park. We saw some deer and a turkey on the road, but didn't bother with pictures. We were all just anxious to get on the trail. We drove straight to Milam Gap to drop off the Escape, then we all jumped in the Yaris to head back to Fisher's Gap. We stopped at Big Meadows wayside on the way for a pit stop before hitting the trail.
There was still some fog lingering when we started out. It always makes things seem so quiet and peaceful. We had an uphill climb at first headed towards Big Meadows campground. I had forgotten it was uphill. The AT loops around behind the campground. Little Tobi barked at the tents...I guess they looked scary to a little puppy. She is only 6 months old, so there were so many new things to see, hear, smell and bark at. Every time we would run into someone on the trail, she would have to decide whether they were friendly or scary. She barked with such ferocity at the scary ones, but she was soooo cute she just couldn't pull it off.
Once past the campground, we found a couple of very nice views. We stopped and had a snack on the best one and posed for some pics (of course). After our snack break, it was back on the trail. Tanya and the pups jumped a wild turkey hen. Tobi & Tammy wanted to chase it. We passed the Lewis Falls intersection, which was one of Jen's very first hikes a couple of years ago. She's come so far! She just gets stronger and skinnier day after day. We reminisced about that hike so long ago: our first trail bear (Clyde), the falls (Lewis Falls), the baby efts, saving a toad from Rosie. Good times! Then we came to a spring that crossed the trail...Little Tobi's first water crossing! We all watched to see what she would do. Ha! She managed to find a rock and jump over so she wouldn't have to get her feet wet. She has a lot to learn if she's going to be a trail dog!
Very shortly, we came to Tanner's Ridge Cemetery. I knew there was a cemetery there and had always wanted to visit. It's still being used today by the families. There were gravestones from the 1910's up to 2011. I think there were some unmarked graves also that probably pre-dated the 1910's. They were simply marked with small stones. We walked around and checked out the gravestones. It was cool seeing some of the family names that are landmarks in SNP. We saw "Meadows" & "Weakley" (Big Meadows and Weakley Hollow respectively). Tanya laughed at me when I would say "excuse me" as I walked around the graves. Well...no point in pissing off the dead, right? :) We took another long break in the graveyard...the sun was out and the grass was cut and we and the pups decided it was a good place to flake out for a spell.
Four thru-hikers emerged from the AT going northbound. They were looking for the quickest way to the Big Meadows wayside. I think they were day-dreaming about cheeseburgers! A quick check of the PATC app on my iPhone told them they should skip the road through the graveyard and continue north on the AT to the next fire road, then make a right to get up to the wayside. One guy stood next to me to check out the map, and the hiker funk was abundant. I have to admit I wasn't offended, but indeed had a special appreciation for the hiker funk! As they were leaving, one of the women lagged behind to adjust her pack, and that's when little Tobi decided she wanted to go play with said hiker. She tugged the flexi-lead out of Tanya's hand. Well, the problem with flexi-leads is they retract, and the flexi was headed straight for her! To a 6-month old puppy, a big leash handle chasing you is rather scary. I laughed so hard I cried! Little Tobi with the leash chasing her around the graveyard with Tanya chasing both not far behind. Finally, Tobi darted into the woods and the leash snagged so Tanya was able to retrieve her frightened little puppy. After that incident, little Tobi was not quite as brave for the rest of the hike.
After we left the graveyard, the hike to Milam Gap was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. Nice and flat with no rocks. What Jen and I call "the red carpet". :) We reached the Escape in no time, then drove up to Big Meadows wayside for a pit stop and snacks. We saw the funky thru-hikers sitting outside enjoying their cheeseburgers and their gear laid out nearby in the grass to dry. Looks like they got rained on the night before. We waved and said hi. They were grinning from ear to ear. The wayside cheeseburgers are tasty!
After the stop, we picked up Jen's car and drove to Panorama. Then we drove on up to Mathews Arm for picture taking, but alas it was too late in the afternoon and all the wildlife was somewhere napping. We finally gave it up and drove out to Burgers 'n Things for our traditional post-hike burgers.
We've set ourselves up for the weekend of 5/12. We're going to camp at Big Meadows on Friday, 5/11, then get up early and drop the Escape and gear off at the Pocosin Cabin parking, then hike the 8.1 miles to the cabin from Milam Gap. We rented the cabin for Sat night, so we'll get our gear from the Escape and spend the night snug in the cabin. Then Sunday, we're thinking of heading out early and pushing for the 6 or so miles to get to Rt. 33 (Swift Run Gap), which will be a major milestone for us. I'm also keeping an eye on Greenstone & Thimbleberry's AT journal. They are friends of Toni's and are back on the AT section hiking for a month. It looks like they should be fairly close to Pocosin the same weekend we're there...barring any delays. I'd like to do a little trail magic on behalf of Toni (Pigeon) since she's off to Alaska on 5/7.
Date: Sat, April 14 & Sunday, April 15
Start: Little Stony Man parking
End: Fisher's Gap
Today's miles: 8.1
Total (cumulative) AT miles: 40.1
Time: the weekend
Wow! So this is waaaaay late. It's been a hectic week. Dog-sitting for a friend, which turned out to be a major commitment. I've spent my week making home-cooked dog food, administering meds, applying lotion to a dog butt, and trying to keep my own dog entertained too! But anyhoosey, about the hike...
We took 1/2 day off on Friday (well, my 1/2 day ended up being more like a 1/3 of a day off thanks to some clueless co-workers). Jen got us a good site at Big Meadows (site #29 to be exact). It was a nice short hike-in site, with only two immediate neighbors. One neighbor was a very quiet couple, and the other was a small group that never seemed to be there. Yay! We used the Bean tent (aka, "The Taj") for space and comfort. We were discussing a night hike on Friday, perhaps to see the sunset from Little Stony Man, but I was running so late that it just wasn't going to happen. Instead, we just chilled on Friday and had a nice dinner at the Big Meadows wayside. Neither one of us had brought any food except snacks.
We got up early (pre-sunrise early) on Saturday morning for a wildlife photo expedition. We would hike after. We were running a tad bit behind, so we ended up watching the sunrise at the first decent overlook, which happened to be the Old Rag overlook. It was awesome! We were taking pics of the sunrise and Old Rag, when we heard, "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!". Yep! My old tom turkey was baaaack! He was hanging out near the road making a fuss. We got some good pics, then moved on. We never saw anything better (aka, no bears).
We finally hit the trail at 11:15"ish". We dropped the Escape at Hawksbill Gap, and shuttled in the Yaris back to Little Stony Man parking lot. We had hiked the Stony Man trails before, so we knew exactly what to expect...A steep ascent with a quick payoff (Little Stony Man), then a slow steady ascent towards Stony Man. The AT doesn't go to Stony Man, but passes near it. We then descended from Stony Man mountain down into Skyland. The Skyland north crossing was very familiar. Then we hiked to Skyland south, which was an area I had never seen before. There were times when you didn't realize you were smack-dab in the middle of Skyland. I kept wondering where the two women that were murdered in 1996 might have been camped. It is sickening to think that there are evil people out there that would do something like that. http://www.barryyeoman.com/articles/murderonmountain.html
Once out of Skyland, the trail was all new to both of us. Lots of really nice views! We hiked underneath Timber Hollow and Crescent Rock overlook. We got the same views as the people up above, but without all the people. :) Rosie was along for this hike, she did really well except when she had a little "breakdown". She just turned around and put her front paws on me and refused to move. We gave her a snack, some water, and some love and kisses. She was fine after that, so we must have hit the problem. I started playing a game with my iPhone where I would use the self-portrait setting, and then do something cute with Jen behind me. She finally caught on to what I was doing. All those miles and you tend to get bored.
We finally made it to the awaiting Escape at Hawksbill Gap. Rosie was sooo happy to get in her crate and flake out. Jen and I were tired, but overall we felt pretty good. The total miles for Saturday were 5.1. Afterwards, we retrieved the Yaris and headed back to Big Meadows. I had the best cheeseburger EVER! We picked up some firewood and some ice & beer for later. After a nice hot shower, we headed back to our campsite to chill.
On Sunday morning, we were really waffling on what was the plan. Were we going to hike? Or photo expedition? Sunrise? Sleep in? We both woke up pre-sunrise, and I was thinking of sleeping in....but then I had to get up to pee and figured I might as well stay up. We broke camp quickly (and as quietly) as we could. We were on the road by 6:20am. We were a tad late for the actual sunrise, but got some nice shots a few minutes after at Thorofare Mtn. overlook. We were still trying to decide whether to hike or not. Finally, based on the fact we hadn't seen any bears at all the last few times, plus it was cool in the morning and promised to be a hot day, AND because I think we were both feeling guilty about NOT hiking....we decided to hike. We retrieved Jen's car from Big Meadows and dropped the Escape at Fisher's Gap and headed to Hawksbill Gap and were on the trail by 8am. Once we started hiking, we both realized it was a good choice. Rosie had her flexi-lead, so she was one happy pup. Running back and forth and back and forth and back and forth...etc.
We had some great views! There was this humongous rock slide that the trail went right across. Did I mention it was HUGE? We took tons of pictures. It was kind of unnerving to think what would've happened if one of the rocks let loose. Fortunately, none did.
Then we hiked on up to Rock Spring cabin and took the side trail to check it out. Ugh! The cabin is just below the shelter, plus folks tenting along the hillside. It was as crowded as a Wal-Mart on a Saturday afternoon! No thanks! I took Rosie to the spring to get a slurp, and we took some pics of the cabin before heading back up to the AT.
Once back on the AT, we hiked along underneath Franklin Cliffs and some more great views. If you ever stop at the Franklin Cliffs overlook, park the car and hike about 1/2 mile north on the AT. It's just view after view after view. Odds are, you'll have it all to yourself.
The hike was so enjoyable, it was over before we knew it. I looked up and there was the Escape. I think we weren't ready for it to end. Oh well, to go any further would have meant shuttling the cars again. Our total miles on Sunday was 3.2. Our next section will take us past Big Meadows campground. We'll probably shoot for Milam Gap on a day hike. We picked up the Yaris and headed to Thornton Gap. We had our cameras, but weren't actually doing a true photo expedition. Coming past the Stony Man overlook, we FINALLY saw our first bears of the season. A mama and two cubs. We managed to get some half-assed pictures before the bear jam started and scared them off.
Jen was considering a photo expedition after that, but I had to get back to check on Cheeky (my cat) who had just had 6 teeth pulled the previous Monday. I was worried he wasn't eating enough. We stopped at Burgers 'n Things in Sperryville (which has become a tradition) for lunch, then we both headed home.
P.S. Cheeky was fine. This is Cheeky.
Date: Friday, March 30 & Sunday, April 1
Start: Beahm's Gap
End: Little Stony Man parking
Today's miles: 11
Total (cumulative) AT miles: 32
Time: a couple of days
Wow! We had quite a productive weekend. Our plan was to take Friday off and hike from Beahm's Gap up past Mary's Rock, and then camp somewhere between Mary's Rock and Byrds Nest #3 shelter. Then, hike out to Pinnacles picnic area the next morning where my Escape was waiting. It was the inaugural backpack for my new REI Crestrail pack. Rosie came along and carried her food & water in her own pack. We started out a little before 10am. Feeling good, taking lots of pictures, and the new pack was the shiznit. We climbed Pass Mountain and barely busted a sweat. As we got closer to Panorama (where Rt. 211 intersects Skyline Dr.), we made a plan to stop for lunch and use the flush toilets. Well...just as we were crossing Skyline Dr. to loop around from the back, it started to rain. Ugh. Not a toad-strangler, but a steady gentle shower. We were sooooo close to Panorama, but we had to stop long enough to put on the pack covers to protect the gear. It wasn't supposed to rain, but thank goodness we brought pack covers & rain jacket/poncho just in case. We booked it to get to Panorama and the shelter of the breezeway. We didn't even get any shots or video of the "milestone" crossing of Rt. 211. We may have to go back and stage a "reenactment". :) Rosie was really getting pissed. She hates getting wet unless there's a bird or squirrel involved. She kept walking up to cars in the Panorama parking lot wanting to jump in and go. All three of us went in one of the open family bathrooms together (what the heck, no one was watching), and before we could stop her, Rosie started drinking out of the toilet. Eww, dogs can be gross.
After lunch, it was STILL raining. There was nothing else to do but put on the rain gear & covers and keep moving. Our only bailout option would have been to hitchhike...eh, no. We headed off to conquer Mary and her rock in the rain. She was a real bitch too! Lots of baby rocks & pebbles thrown in our path, and she was torturing us with the almost constant view of her summit rock that never seemed to get any closer. But we trudged upward through the rain and fog. We ran into lots of hikers bailing down in the rain, and only saw one other lone hiker that was going up. I think he got gas bombed right before he passed us. Wellll...we didn't know he was back there. We FINALLY made it to the side trail to the actual summit of Mary's Rock. We debated for a hot second on whether to skip it, but after all that work, we deserved the payoff. I swear, as soon as we hit the side trail to the summit, the rain stopped and the sun came out. We laid out our rain gear to dry out, had a snack and posed for pictures. I scampered up Mary's big-ass rock for the obligatory "rock climbing" pics. The one good thing about the weather was that everyone else was coming down as we were going up. Which means we had the entire summit to ourselves and didn't have to share. Once we were ready to go, us and our rain gear had mostly dried out. We packed away the rain jackets, but put on the pack covers just in case.
On the way up Mary's Rock (in the rain), Jen mentioned getting a room at the Quality Inn in Front Royal. As Mary and her rock beat us down on the way up, and the rain & sweat soaked us to the skin, that hotel idea started sounding better and better. Hmmmm...a hot shower, take-out food, comfy & toasty bed...hell yeah! We descended Mary and her big-ass rock and headed down to the Byrds Nest shelter. We would decide what to do next once we got there. We found a dude already at the shelter that seemed a little sketchy. A real jumpy guy...telling us how he had hiked 30 miles through the night because he couldn't sleep. Really? Is that normal? He was twitchy and even "accidentally" threw his lighter in the fire. Really? Is THAT normal? Jen and I looked at each other right then & there, and without saying a word, we both knew we were pushing straight through to Pinnacles. We had another snack, offered the guy our matches to replace his exploded lighter (since we didn't need them now), then shouldered our packs and headed out.
So we have one more mountain to climb, 'The Pinnacle', before we make it to the finish. Going up that last mountain and heading down the other side, we came up with a new theme song for The Gimpfoot Sisters. It goes like this: "Ouch!", "Oww", "Ouch!", "Owwwie", "Ouch!", etc. Seriously, we were HURTING! We were limping through the picnic area at Pinnacles, just trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and bitching because we didn't think to park the Escape in the FIRST parking space next to the AT. We didn't even get any "finish" pictures. We were so over it. We did a total of 8.7 miles in ONE day, and climbed three mountains in the process. We kicked off our boots and drove our tired asses and sore knees & feet to Front Royal and that cozy hotel room.
We got up on Saturday early enough to get into the park before sunrise. Not a problem since we were both out on Friday night by 9pm. We decided Saturday would be a photo expedition day. We picked up Jen's car at Beahm's Gap, made our way south to Big Meadows and got a campsite for that night. We had a big (but somewhat healthy "healthy hiker") breakfast at the wayside, then headed out for more picture taking. Not a single bear all weekend. Blah! We had dinner at the wayside since we didn't bring any "real" food with us and were too tired/lazy to cook. We had a cold six-pack by the campfire. Sweet! On Sunday, we got up early and packed up before sunrise, but it was so cloudy and foggy we didn't really get a sunrise. We drove around looking for more wildlife anyway and the catch of the day was a big old tom turkey "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!". I loved him! Wish I could have gotten him on video.
We did another short "recovery hike" on Sunday to pick up another 2 miles. We went from Pinnacles to the Little Stony Man parking lot. It was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy compared to Friday's torture. Jen took her fancy-pants camera, and I had a packless Rosie on a flexi-lead. We all three had a blast! The views along that section are pretty awesome.
Next stop Skyland! And maybe even all the way to Big Meadows!!
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