Part II: Summer

We returned to the woods after the long weekend and found that we could no longer cling to the thought that it was still Spring. Summer had come to the mountains, with it's heat and bugs, and we could not stop it. All of the trees had leaves now, and the rhododendrons and mountain laurel were in bloom. It does not feel like we have been out here that long for it to be June already.

5/28 Tuesday 11.7 mi
We were dropped off back at the James River, where we had stopped on Friday. Wander's mother, daughter, and granddaughter were headed back home and it was sad to see them go. We didn't feel like going home with them, but neither of us particularly felt like walking. There was a 2500' climb waiting for us, which didn't help either.

5/29 Wednesday 16.4 mi
Passed 800 miles today. We had an easy long downhill in the morning, and then a 3000' climb to Bald Knob in the afternoon. Made it to Hog Camp Gap for the night. Scarce water continues.

5/30 Thursday 14.3 mi
The trail stayed between 3500' and 4000' in elevation all day long, so it was a relatively easy day. We stopped and camped at The Priest, a rock formation at the end of the ridge.

5/31 Friday 13.8 mi
We started the morning by going over The Priest, down 3000', across the Tye River, and then back up 3000' over Three Ridges Mountain, then down 1200' to Maupin Field Shelter. With the warmer weather here I was glad to be done with Three Ridges, the last big climb on the AT in quite awhile. We saw our second rattlesnake on top of Three Ridges on our way down.

6/1 Saturday 1.7 mi
We saw this event called Trail Daze posted in shelters earlier in the week. It takes place today and is put on by a local brewpub. We happened to be in the right place at the right time, and so planned to catch a shuttle in the morning at Reed's Gap, less than 2 miles away. We arrived at the gap to find trail magic, and waited for a shuttle to the event with about 25 other thru hikers. Thru hikers got in for free and they had free camping, so we ended up spending the night. There were various vendors set up outside, including three local trail clubs, Backpacker magazine, and other hiking related booths. There were a lot of thru hikers there that we hadn't seen in a long time, so it was a good time. The brewpub had excellent food and beer, and there was live music outside. All just four miles away from the trail.

6/2 Sunday 14.1 mi
We survived the festival and what turned out to be a very windy night, got up early and hitched back to the trail. It was about 20 miles to Waynesboro yet, and originally we had planned on getting there today, but stopping at the festival now put us a day behind and low on food. I was looking at eating nothing but peanut butter for the day.
It was an easy hiking day in front of us, getting over Humpback Mountain looking like the hardest part, and the climb to it was gradual. We were both hungry though, and were rationing our last bits of food for the day. About five miles in, when we least expected it, we came to a road crossing and found trail magic. There, set up along the road, was a group of people set up to feed hikers. We sat down (experienced trail angels away provide chairs) and had watermelon shoved in our faces. There were coolers of drinks and I found a beer (hey, it was noon-ish). We were in time for the last of the breakfast round, and watched as they changed over to lunch mode. Of course we stayed. Shish-kebabs and baked potatos were for lunch, along with fruit, chips and cookies. There were about a dozen of us, and we were in awe. We stuck around as long as we could, but needed to make it closer to town, so thanked our hosts and went on our way. Stomachs full, the remaining day's miles went by easier. Only a day away from town we would have been fine, but it was a great relief to find food like that.
The rest of the afternoon, as if we needed more excitement, turned into Nature Day. By that I mean we saw two deer, a rattlesnake, and two black bears. This was the first time we saw a bear that didn't immediately run away from us. It watched us watch it. I even got my camera out and got some video.
We made it to the shelter five miles before town and called it a day.

6/3 Monday 5.2 mi
We were up early and had an easy and uneventful trip to Rockfish Gap, where we left the trail and hitched into Waynesboro, about four miles away. The usual town ritual of motel, shower, food, laundry, and grocery took place. An excellent Chinese buffet was found, and we were full for the night.
Waynesboro is at the southern end of Shenandoah National Park, and tomorrow we will start our journey across it. SNP is 108 miles long and we plan to take seven days.

Mile 857.5