Thursday April 25, 21.4mi/34.4km

Blackrock shelter (884.4) to Hightop shelter (905.8) (VA)

There were a few thru-hikers at the shelter last night – me, Bob, Lightfoot, Cedar, Turbo, Toast (Germany), and Recall. I think we have formed our own bubble!I got hiking at 8:30am, and it was a perfect weather morning on mostly nice trail.

View from Blackrock summit.

As usual, the trail kept criss-crossing Skyline drive. It was nice to regularly have tables and toilets.

We passed by many gaps (passes) today, this one was unfortunately named. Especially since it had an overflowing Porta-toilet nearby.The trail was easy, and the deer plentiful.

And then, all of a sudden, the trail was filled with fallen trees. The last two miles before lunch were slow going.

I got to the loft mountain campground, which had this cool amphitheater.

We ate lunch (salad, ice cream, juice) at the nearby Loft mountain wayside cafe. There was a short roadwalk after lunch, and we enjoyed the different terrain.

Back on the trail, there was a marker for 900 miles. Whoo!

More good views.

I rolled into camp at 5:30pm and got settled in. There was already a party of 4 there, so with our additional 7 thrus, we were 11 people! Rain is coming tonight, so almost everyone opted to sleep inside the shelter instead of camping.