Temps were quite mild this morning and a great setting to start the day.

5 miles down the trail was the Skyland Lodge and Restaurant. They served up a great breakfast with a spectacular view.

More great views.

I realized I hadn’t done a selfie in a while.

My new favorite flower…but not sure what it is.

Love seeing signs like this…

Her son is hiking the AT and came through this area earlier. She drove all the way from Richmond, VA to serve up trail magic. The Krispy Kremes were a hit along with cold drinks on this steamy day.

I wallowed a little too long at the Elk Wallow Wayside…love those Blackberry Milkshakes.

Unfortunately, all that wallowing got me caught in a big rain shower 20 minutes before tonight’s shelter. Not the best way to end a 28 mile day with wet boots stomping through mud…but not the worst either. This was the first time I’ve experienced warm rain. Felt pretty good after a hot day. Luckily there was room in the shelter as most folks had already set up tents.

I saw several more bears today. One of them kind of held me up for a bit because he didn’t runoff like most do after seeing me. He just continued to graze on leaves…and a bit to close to the trail for me to pass, so I hung out and watched (hope to upload a short video).

Some great views to start the morning from High Rock Mtn.

I saw 3 separate black bears this AM. This pic is a screenshot from a video I shot. I will try to post it from town.
Far more terrifying than the back bears were these large rat snakes I walked under without realizing !

It’s nice to use the umbrella for the sun for a change.

The vista near the Meadows Camping area.

Gorging at one of the many Shenandoah roadside eateries.

Their famous Blackberry milkshake.

Lounging in the grass under a shade tree 20 miles into a 25 mile day.

Looks like it was shaping up to be a good sunset.

Home for the night…drying out my sweaty/smelly shirt from the gutter. It was a warm humid day…quite the change from a couple days ago.

Sunset from the shelter.

A cabin you can rent in the park (unoccupied tonight) made for good sunset watching and journaling location.

A gorgeous blue sky morning in Shenandoah from the top of Black Rock Mtn.

One of the many conveniences of crossing Skyline Drive so many times…a fat stack of pancakes for 2nd breakfast.

More great views today.

There was a fairly large fire that came across the AT just the other month. Amazingly, the grass is already starting to come back.

We passed mile 900 today…only 1300 more to go

Pretty little white flowers lining the trail.

The terrain and hiking tread has definitely been easier through Shenandoah. I never thought a 22 mile day would come easy but I even stopped for pancakes and got in by 4:30. I typically would have gone further but it’s hard to find a decent campsite away from the shelters and the next shelter was 10+ miles away. So a relaxing evening in camp it was. There are always lots of interesting folks around to talk to as well.

The best way to start the day is a make your own waffle station!

We finally have some blue skies. I love these tractor seats staring at the view of the radio communication towers.

We entered Shenandoah national Park today. A couple grassy balds as we weave in and out of the woods

LK enjoying lunch under a shade tree along skyline Drive.

Shenandoah has some interesting bear hanging apparatus at the campground and shelters.

This is what a Zero Day looks like…bliss!

It was too much work finding a barber

Not too bad for a Self Performed haircut

Although it’s called a Zero Day for doing zero trail miles I did a lot of stuff today (not just a haircut) and about 3 miles just around town. An abbreviated list of today’s chores: Post office, grocery store, pay bills, clean gear, plan next 100+ miles, book lodging for next Sat when we exit Shenandoah (Memorial Day weekend is busy!) , deal with Apple tech (gps not working), and sign closing docs for a refi on the house.

It was great to sleep in, especially since we were warm and dry inside and It rained pretty hard last night. The river in front of the cabin was flowing like chocolate by morning. I was feeling better but very happy to have an indoor bathroom nearby that didn’t require a 200′ climb in the middle of the night.

We departed about noon and immediately crossed this cool suspension bridge over the Tye River.

The clouds came rolling up the valley as we did our 3000′ climb. I definitely did not have my energy back…I was dragging and legs were heavy

Some beautiful unidentified flowers.

Just as we were about to set up camp for the night some day hikers offered to give us a ride to the Devils Backbone Brewery 5 miles off trail. So we hiked another couple miles to Reids Gap and piled into the Honda Civic.

Jeff and his son Andy were great trail Angels and bought us tons of food and drink. My appetite wasn’t quite back but was getting better.

The Brewery was a huge complex with several outdoor fire pits. They even let hikers camp on their property and had outdoor bathrooms for our use.

Although I was able to get some calories in me I wasn’t feeling great by the time I went to bed (too much food/drink?). I’m looking forward to getting to Waynesboro tomorrow…about 19 miles on relatively modest terrain. The plan is to take a full well earned rest day on Monday.

Finally, a clear morning!

Blue Ridge Balds

Such a treat to get views after so many days of fog

Crabtree Falls was impressive…more of a cascade as it drops ~1500′

The last set of falls

The incentive for doing a long day even while feeling under the weather was option to stay warm and dry at the Crabtree Creek Cabins (big rain was in the forecast overnight).

LK was kind enough to take the “captains loft” so I could sleep on the main level bed, allowing for a quick escape to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

I felt significantly better today than yesterday but I was still lacking energy and had minimal appetite. I toughed it out all morning and finally got some food down at a late lunch. After that things went much better. I figured I had consumed maybe 1500 calories in two days (48 miles) instead of my normal 8000.

The main reason for pushing so far today was to stay at Crabtree Falls Campground cabins. They are very hiker friendly, plus it was supposed to pour tonight. After my last couple days I needed a reward. LK was nice enough to hike with me all day today (7am-7:30pm) at my sluggish pace.

One note I didn’t mention yesterday…
the 800 Mile mark was passed!

The day started with a walk along the James River Foot bridge (built specifically for the AT).

Must be at least 500′ long!
More clouds and fog.
There are definitely some good views out there somewhere.

A tranquil brook at the end of the day.

Based on this blog post things look fairly similar to most days…but it was very different. This was the first morning I woke up and had no energy. Considering, the first 4 miles were pretty much flat I knew I’d be in for long day, especially with 3500′ of climbing just ahead. I dragged up the climb, legs heavy and no drive in my step. I tried to shake it off but no luck. I had lost my appetite too. I stopped at a shelter ~13 miles at 1:30 and took a long break…even a nap when the sun popped out for a bit. I finally pushed off at 2:45 for the final 10 miles on relatively easy terrain. Things got progressively worse as my stomach was gurgling. Needless to say there were a lot of pit stops,,,Brown Blazing as its called out here. My energy levels were even lower but I really wanted to camp at the shelter ..if for no other reason than the privy. I have never had so many people pass me on one day. About 5 miles from the shelter I hitched my wagon to Polar Bear and found a 2nd wind (actually a 1st wind today!). It was a long day on the trail: 6:45am-7:45pm. Hopefully things are feeling better tomorrow 🙂

Woke up to fog…again!

I heard the Blue Ridge Parkway area has really good views. This “haunted woods” thing is cool but starting to get old 😦

There’s a giant FAA tower just up the way which normally has incredible views. At least it’s not raining !

This is known on the guillotine

The rhododendrons like the water

By late after noon the clouds started to lift and we got a couple views.

Moondog looking a bit concerned about the Flash Flood warning sign on our shelter tonight.

My body seems to be holding up well considering the big miles. My heels still get a little tight toward the end of the day. I think my boots are losing some of their impact resistance…I’m feeling more rocks through the bottom then I used too. My only troublesome issue is a muscle in my back. It seems to tighten up every afternoon and I’m not sure why…it’s not pack weight. Maybe some more massage therapy in Waynesboro or a chiropractor

Here’s some more trail wisdom:

Lots of Cheese might get you to Maine, but Whine definitely won’t.

This one was written on the shelter wall (not family friendly)…
If the Trail was easy it would be your mom

I did an SNL version of this (think jeopardy w/ Will Ferrell and the Sean Connery character).

The AT is rough, just how your mother liked it last night Trebek.