We had no idea what to expect today. Because of poor phone reception, we didn’t get 100% confirmation that Bob and Chris were going to pick us up at 10. We had no choice but believe we’d make contact. Climbing up a few hundred feet from the Hut was good enough for us to get a signal and find out we were on for 10.
Simmons Gap was the first road crossing we came to and our rendezvous point. There were 6 other thru-hikers there with us while we were waiting for them to arrive. I saw Chris pull up right on time with Bob following right behind. We haven’t seen each other since we finished the Camino almost a year ago. Chris and Bob introduced their wives, Toni and Dandie to us and then asked what we wanted to do AFTER we had showers and did laundry. I’m guessing it probably wouldn’t have killed us if we had hit the showers yesterday.
They took us back to Loft Mountain Campground for showers, laundry, beer—we must have smelled pretty bad because everyone of them were willing to throw quarters our way to pay for showers and laundry. Chris had even brought soap with him to douse everything. He’s had plenty of experience with thru-hikers so he was prepared for the worst (and we delivered!).
They did know what to expect next. After we finished our drinks, they asked if a restaurant off of the trail would be acceptable. Burgers are good, but that’s all that’s available at the waysides—variety of junk is better. They offered up the option of the other two legs of the hiker food trifecta: pizza or Mexican in the nearby town of Elkton, VA. As always, quantity over quality, but quality quantity is a winner. We had Mexican (chips and salsa for quantity). I was so excited to have fresh brewed iced tea that I drank over a gallon. Next up was a small resupply at Dollar General.
When we met these guys on the Camino last year, there was a third member of the group—Paul. Paul thought it more important to give the gift of vision to poor third world children than spend time with us (he was down in southern Mexico with a non-profit he and his wife started to distribute glasses to poor children). All three of these guys are truly generous and giving realizing they have been lucky and wanting to share their good fortune. Chris has been doing trail maintenance and magic in Shenandoah for over a quarter century. Bob also does work with a non-profit to help workers in transition (be it job training, financial assistance, job search, etc).
For a reward for helping to hose down two smelly hikers they had never met before, a carrot had been dangled for Toni and Dandie, an afternoon at a winery. The ladies headed to the winery while the guys took us back to the trail. We reminisced about our Camino experiences and talked about other members of our “family” that we have kept in touch with over the last year. Chris also gave us some history of the park.
Herbert Hoover had a presidential retreat on the edge of Shenandoah. He had 3 requirements for site selection: 1) close to Washington, 2) have a trout stream on it, and 3) be above 2500’ (to be cooler and have fewer bugs). Today, Hoover Camp has docents giving tours of the retreat during summer months. It’s only 2 miles off of the AT. The other interesting piece of park history is that Southern Gentleman pooled their resources to piece together the original park and present it to the US government as a form of reparations for the Civil War. The people evicted were mainly squatters. The land was owned by primarily 40 families and lumber companies. There is almost no old growth forest in Shenandoah. What we see today is second or third generation forests.
The iced tea proved to be too much liquid carrier for lunch so we had to make an emergency stop at Loft Wayside before being dropped back off. This gave us the opportunity to repack our gear in a shaded area with a picnic table as well as put our boots back on in comfort.
Chris and Bob then took us back to where they picked us up leaving us plenty of time to hike the 6 miles to the next shelter before the rain was supposed to start. There was even more trail magic at Simmons Gap. Snapchat, who hiked the trail last year, was there giving out drinks, fruit, chips, and candy. She had recently quit her job working for DOD (you could say she was in transition). Bob and Chris both offered her their cards to help her out and Chris was even aware of a position with PATC (Patomac Appalachian Trail Club) that she might be interested in. Magic begets magic.
In less than one mile back on the trail, we passed the 900 mile mark of our journey. With all the magic we had received today, we were hoping this might be the day to see a real walking bear. Bunny was going a little slow so I was out front a bit. This was just what it took to flush a few bears out for Bunny to catch a glimpse of. I had apparently scared a momma and two cubs without realizing it. By the time Bunny caught up, momma was getting the little ones out of the tree and skidaddling. She saw them, I didn’t. My drought continues.
We got to the Hut by 6 and Gnome was already there eating. There were several tents set up around the shelter but only Gnome was set up in the Hut. Very soon, another couple of section hikers, Matt and his daughter, Jessica, showed up. Matt was obviously a man of quality because he was wearing a Cubs hat. We got to talking and discovered he had been born in Decatur, IL—my home town. Only, he had gotten lucky and escaped by the third grade. They now lived in Charlotte, NC
We had eaten so much today and gotten so much food from Bob, Chris, and their lovely ladies that we just had a cold supper of popcorn, crackers and humus, followed by a little candy. We were tucked safely in bed before 9. It looked like a storm was coming and I wanted Bunny asleep and knocked out before any thunder started.
EFG