Journal
Shenandoah National Park
April 18 through 24, 2010
A week of springtime backpacking on the AT with my dad and a bunch of scouts from my old troop, with birthday cake at the end.

Sunday 4/18
I met the contingent from New Hampshire about 10:30 at the trailhead where the AT crosses 522 just southeast of Front Royal, Virginia. Once everyone had sorted out their gear, three of us shuttled the cars to the south end while the others began a three mile hike to the first shelter.
The drive southwest through the Shenandoah Valley was quite nice with farms and towns and everything fresh looking with spring green. Then we turned southeast and climbed the spine of the mountains up to the Skyline Drive. This is National Parks week, so the entry fee is waived. We left my dad's Volvo and the 15-passenger van there, and drove my car back to the north end. But we found a closer parking lot and only hiked a mile.
The shelter is a typical open front lean-to, but this one has a large front porch. The guys have taken it over, and we adults find places for tents. It's quieter this way too. It's chilly tonight with a strong wind. Dinner for Caroline, Dad and I is tacos, and I surprise them with ice cream for dessert. On a hike a few weeks ago I had packed up my tent with morning frost on it. The day was warm but when I unpacked it that evening, the frost was still there! I realized that if the tent could insulate frost like that, it could insulate a pint of Ben & Jerry's!

Monday 4/19
Breakfast was Dad's dehydrated casserole of bacon, grits, eggs and spices. We re-constituted it and it was quite good.
It's chilly this morning but the wind had abated. We hit the trail and soon warm up with the sun and exertion. The day is beautiful with blue skies, cool temps, and a light breeze We have views off spur trails in every direction.
At Compton Peak we all sit on a rock and watch turkey vultures and one pair of black vultures riding the orographic lift.
We made it to Gravel Springs hut. There's a nice strong spring here, a bit of a clearing, and tent sites in the woods. There are scattered clumps of ramps in camp and a large patch of them on the trail in. There is also a large patch of them on the trail to the hut. There's also bloodroot in flower, wild ginger, mustards, redbud, and many others.

Tuesday 4/20
Our trail today goes up and over Hogback mountain. Some of the guys are having foot blister problems and we're going slow. With two hours yet to go I notice the shadows are getting longer. So the stronger guys head back and take some of the weight of those affected, and we move faster down to Pass Mountain hut. Curry couscous with vegs, and impossible pie for dessert. The guys happily finish of the rest of the pie.

Wednesday 4/21
A gentle rain begins in the night and continues late into the morning. Breakfast is in the hut but we pack up in the drizzle and tents are wet. This is our longest scheduled day of fifteen miles. And we get a late start. Dad and some of the others decide to hike the Skyline Drive and cut off a mile and skip the climb up to Mary's rock with potential views into the inside of a cloud. I join those for the top, and we are rewarded with a short break in the clouds just as we reach the summit.
The plan is to join the others at Byrds Nest 3, but the rendezvous is missed and we loose another hour waiting. We don't make it the fifteen miles to Rock Spring. Instead we have a lovely tent camp on a shoulder of Stony Man. Some of the guys walk 0.7 miles to Skyland for dinner and back. Caroline, Dad and I have pizza made in camp. Then some of us take the short hike to the face of Stony Man to watch the sunset.

Thursday 4/22
We're behind schedule, so today will be a very long 16 miles. Again some choose the road part way and cut off a mile and a half. We stop at Big Meadows for lunch, but mostly we just hike today. We share Bearfence hut with two northbound AT section hikers for the evening, one of whom is hiking with two dogs.

Friday 4/23
The man's dogs were tired and were a bit reluctant to join him on the trail with their packs. We headed south. Charlie, one of the scouts, has shown an interest in the wild edible plants I keep finding. We chat about it as we hike and I find a few more. Toward the end of the day I gather a few leaves into a ziploc and give him a wild salad for his dinner.
Unbeknownst to us, my sister and mom have flown down, rented a car and are here on the Skyline drive. The trail crosses the drive at highway 33, dad and I are bringing up the rear, as just as we are about to leave the roadway and enter the woods, a car stops behind us and toots the horn. “It's probably a lost tourist asking directions” we both think. We turn around. It's mom and Sue! Dad had just been commenting that the pains were getting to him. “That's it, I'm done” he declares. We have only one more night on the trail and it's only three miles ahead. Then out to the cars in the morning. I toss my pack in the car and run/walk to catch up with everyone on the trail. I say goodbye at the next trail crossing just a mile ahead, then join the family for a drive north on the Skyline Drive and back to my car, then to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Front Royal.

Saturday 4/24
Breakfast sandwiches in the hotel, then we are joined by my brother and his wife, and we return to the Drive, and meet the scouts and their leaders at Big Meadows, where they've showered. The staff at the interpretive center there let us use their staffroom for a birthday cake and ice cream celebration. I turned 50 today.

Then end.