We made it a point to get up early when Hangman did just to counter-annoy the sobo couple. I was in no way quiet. Chad the Dad came storming into the hut and he was not his usual cheery self. I found out later that the people camping next to them were watching a stupid movie (Beavis and Butthead) and kept laughing until all hours of the night. They didn’t shut up until almost 10:30!
Chad introduced us to a new term today—“weedlings.” A weedling is defined as a 20 something (but can be younger) that gets constantly stoned, doesn’t talk in complete sentences, laugh at stupid shit that annoys people with intelligence, and are just annoying in general. In other words, today’s youth. Chad the Dad was not happy with the weedlings camped by them last night.
We had a surprisingly nice day. I have finally figured out the definition of flat and smooth in VA. On a typical day, we climb 2700’ up 3000’ down; that’s just a 300’ difference after 14 miles of hiking. 300’ over 14 miles is basically level. Therefore VIrginia is level. We’ve just been looking at it wrong.
There was a snake in trail today. I asked Spenders how he taught Murdock to ignores snakes. Murdock trained with chickens to learn how to sit/stay. A snake wandered into the pen and the chickens started to kill the snake. Spenders was able to save the snake’s life so he could use it as a training tool. Murdock now regards snakes as Spenders’ personal property. If he sees one, he returns to Spenders side which alerts him to its presence.
Chad the Dad had his 56th birthday today. We didn’t realize it until he finished his second beer at the Elkwallow Wayside. We all got milkshakes and then Shay stuck a candle in the cup. The family has a very busy week with Shay’s birthday, followed by Chad and Kelly’s anniversary, and rounded out with Chad’s birthday.
The plan (here we go with plans again) for Chad the Dad and Shay was to hike the length of Shenandoah together. We will be through the park tomorrow. We’ve really enjoyed spending time with the two of them. Because we are nearing the end, the four of us hiked the final few miles to the hut together. Shay pointed out that Shenandoah is neither flat nor straight. We have an outsider’s confirmation that people who keep saying that are all FOS. With all the “flat” walking we did this afternoon, I was afraid that we might have passed the direction post to the hut. Chad the Dad said that was impossible because Shay stops and leans on every post.
We finally arrived at the hut which was full of weedlings, so we all decided to camp. We chose a spot well away from the hut to try to avoid hearing the asinine chatter. It might have worked except they spilled over to our site. We had an ace in the hole, though. We were close enough to one of the worst smelling privies in the park so everyone eventually decided to move on rather than deal with the smell. The gamble that we are close enough to have a few bad smells but far enough away that the bugs head to the privy and leave us alone just may pay off.
EFG