With so many section hikers around, we were not the last to get out of the shelter. After last night’s experience, this will be the last night we stay in a shelter until we are through Shenandoah. What happened? Nothing, it’s just that they are called “Huts” in Shenandoah.
It was a surprisingly pleasant day for hiking. We didn’t actually get into Shenandoah maintained trails until we crossed a set of power lines. The transition was like night and day. I was relieved to see that our friend, Chris Jones, was on top of the trail maintenance. We had been told that the Shenandoahs would be the first time we could walk without watching our feet, allowing us to look around more.
The trails were great and did allow us the freedom to look around more. Now we should be able to spot those bears we’ve been searching for. We saw butterflies, turtles, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, deer tracks, but not a single damn bear. At one point I heard a big crashing in the woods behind me and I thought this was finally our time. I turned around just in time to see a big limb fall out of a tree.
The AT parallels Sky Line Drive all the way through the park and has numerous road crossings. I was a little concerned that we would always have the sound of traffic in the background, but that hasn’t been the case so far. It might be a different situation this weekend with Memorial Day coming up, but we hear that rain is expected all weekend so the crowds shouldn’t be bad.
We passed very few people. We did see Sebastian slack packing sobo and his knee was feeling much better. He will be rejoining the hiking world tomorrow. We talked to some other people that passed him after us and he saw a bear just after we left him.
We made it to the shelter by 4 and were trying to decide if we were going to push on or stay for the night. Chef came in and tried to convince us we could make it to the camp store before 7 to get some ice cream. It took us an hour to convince ourselves it wasn’t possible so we would just stay put for the night.
About 15 people filtered into the shelter over the next couple of hours and to the last person, every one of them saw a frigging bear today. Bunny and I made it a point to not talk today and to keep a little distance between us to no avail. Gnome said he was making noise and talking when he saw his. Everyone was willing to share their pictures with us.
A bear has been hanging out around this shelter. Gnome has decided to sleep on the upper level. I’ve already hung my bear bag, but I kept a peanut butter cup out to bait underneath the other person who is sleeping in the shelter. He’s a fast mover. He can safely absorb a bear mauling and recovery period AND still summit Katahdin before we do. Let’s hope bears like peanut butter as much as dogs do.
EFG