We have quietly become the couple that people say to us “At least you’re out here.” People are constantly asking us when we started the trail and we say “February 12, we hiked the approach trail. We are going slow to enjoy ourselves.”—“At least…”. I don’t understand why everyone has to make hiking a competition. I wish they would stop because I’m tired of being in last place. I keep reliving my 2nd grade playground experiences everyday.
We climbed to the top of Blackrock and got a phone signal. We had a message from Bob that he, Chris, and their wives, are heading down to the park this evening. They are going to spend the night at Big Meadows Lodge and then pick us up in the morning to spend some time with them.
Coming down the mountain, we ran into a couple that asked us if we were thru-hikers. Go’el and Firebird were interested in some of the details of how we do things. Go’el has been out for up to a couple of weeks at a time but isn’t quite up for a thru-hike yet. I think it’s just a matter of time for him.
Bunny had warned me about how bad the privy smelled at the shelter last night. I checked the map and saw that we had a public picnic area just 2.5 miles ahead, so I was up for some brown blazing today. Just prior to the picnic area, we see a sign warning of active bears in the area and what precautions to take. I let Bunny lead because I know how bad she wants to see one. We saw a fresh pile of bear poop in the trail. We were getting really excited. Bunny was in front again, I hear all kinds of movement in the woods and then Bunny screamed. This is why I carry an extra pair of underwear. It was just squirrels but Bunny can be wound tight at times.
We were walking at good pace because we were heading to Loft Mountain Camp Store for a few items before we headed on to Loft Mountain Wayside for some lunch. We met another gentleman out hiking who asked us how far we had come. I said “Georgia.” It turns out Don is 73 years old, about to turn 74. I honestly thought he was our age because he looked younger than me (but just about everyone does which is why I always point out Bunny is older because it’s not apparent). He tried to get someone to hike the AT with him this year, but none of his friends would go.
Don asked us what we would like right now. We said we were actually on our way to the wayside to grab a burger, fries, and a shake. He said he didn’t have anything to give us, but he’d like to buy that lunch for us. He then gave us the money for lunch. I am constantly amazed at the generosity of people we just meet along the way. I’m honestly not trying to look that pathetic, it’s just the way I look naturally.
The camp store has showers and laundry as well as backpacking food. I asked Bunny if she wanted to shower. I got one of the three responses a man never expects to hear from his wife. 3) We just showered 3 days ago and haven’t been sweating that bad. The other 2 responses being: 2) we just did laundry 5 days ago, they can wait another few days. And, 1) Can I have a squirt of your vagisil?
It was another 3 miles after the camp store to the wayside. We had our burgers, fries, shakes, and a pretzel compliments of Don. As we were headed back up to the trail, I told Bunny I was still hungry. We stopped at an overlook on Skyline Drive and a minivan with Texas plates pulled up and asked if we were thru-hikers. When we said yes, he offered us cold drinks and asked if we wanted any left over pizza. I told him honestly, any food left will quickly be consumed. Gnome walked up just as I said this and said he could help. Purple Haze (who is thru-hiking this year but is off for a couple of days while his wife, Andee is visiting) offered us a half a pizza and some garlic bread rolls along with sodas. This was enough to finish filling me up.
As soon as they took off, Gnome said the only thing that would make this any better was some cold beer. In comes Maui who thru-hiked last year. He pulled up in his Subaru, got out, and offered us some cold beer. His dog, Tug Boat, taste tested it for us and it passed inspection. We gladly accepted 2 beers each to go with the garlic bread rolls—we had a gourmet supper on hand.
Leaving with the beer reminded me of our first trail magic which involved beer and was the night we met Patches. Patches has left the trail for a wedding so we probably won’t be seeing her again. I saw a sobo coming towards us and asked her if she was thru-hiking. She said she was so I had to ask when she started—August 26. It was a long shot, but I followed up with did she know Patches. She knew a Patches. I got out my camera and Balto did know Patches. It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to paint it.
I’m thinking this pathetic face of mine has finally found its niche. I just need to hang out in National Park scenic overlooks with a backpack and wait for the magic to come to me.
We got to the shelter and threw the beers in the ice cold stream to super chill them while we took care of getting ready for bed. I think I’ll be able to skip the Benadryl tonight thanks to the beer and first full stomach in the last 3 days. I’m liking Shenandoah a lot.
The section of trail before we got our pizza was supposed to have bears in it. We had been warned by another sobo that he couldn’t chase the bears off the trail. When we came through, Bunny thought she saw a black stump with ears and called it a bear (possibly, I give it a 60% chance). Sebastian came into the hut later and said he had to wait 20 minutes for the bears to get off the trail and let him pass. The bear drought of 2018 continues.
EFG