Tuesday April 30, 21.0mi/33.8km

Campsite near Buzzard Hill VA (1000.2) to Four-mile tentsite WV (1021.2)

I accidentally got a late start this morning, and by the time I started hiking at 8:30am, it was already 75F/24C and humid. Ugh. And with the lower elevation, it really felt like a green tunnel.

I made slow progress all morning on the “roller coaster” a series of steep climbs and descents. I got to a road crossing at noon, and saw the trailhead information board. Some elementary school kids had put jokes up for hikers to read. Stuff like “I made a hiking playlist, I call it a trail mix. It has a lot of Eminem”. Amazing!

Across the street, I caught some trail magic! I hung out for awhile, and Oates and Groot (two other thrus) showed up as well.

After an hour of nice conversation, and some hot dogs, pop, and chips, I hiked on to finish the roller coaster. And then, I finally finished the Virginia section, and entered West Virginia! Woo-hoo, 4 states done!

There was one nice viewpoint all day, so I stopped and took a break there.

The rest of the afternoon was super flat trail up on a ridge, and it went by fast.

There were occasionally some view spots, but it was so humid, all I could see was a cloud.

What a shocking view. 🙂

I got to a campsite at 6:30pm, and quickly setup my tent as I could hear thunder in the distance. Tomorrow is Harpers Ferry, the “mental halfway point”!

Monday April 29, 23.5mi/37.8km

Denton shelter (976.7) to campsite near Buzzard Hill (1000.2) (VA)

There were only four hikers in this huge shelter last night!

I hiked out around 7:30, and it was a nice morning of meadows and forest.

History happened here!

After a couple of hours, I could hear a busy road. I crossed under the I-66 freeway, and took a break at the trailhead.

I met two thru-hikers, J3 and Shiner, from Arizona and Tennessee, respectively. They are two guys who met on trail and were so much fun to talk to. I finished my snack and started up the next climb. About a mile in, a dog came out of the woods and started following me!

After awhile, she let me get close enough to read her collar tags. I saw her name was Grace, and I called her owner. He was an older gentleman, who was down in the parking lot. So I turned around and walked south with Grace for awhile, and with the help of some other day hikers, got Grace back down the hill to her owner!

Back at the top of the hill, the forest suddenly became full of flowers.They are Trilliums!

Trilliums and Mayapples.

After this area, I ran into a guy who had just stumbled out of the woods. He was looking for morels (mushrooms) and now he couldn’t find his way back to his car. I showed him several maps, and walked with him until the correct side trail, where he turned off. The rest of the day had less people, as I entered Sky Meadows state park.

There was one more road crossing, highway 50. It was a familiar road, as our college XC team had run this road in 2004 as part of a transcontinental relay. (Google “RIT coast to coast run”, or check out Ryan Pancoast’s book.)

I ran into Turbo a few times throughout the afternoon, but no sign of the other thrus I have been hiking with recently. We entered a section called the Roller Coaster, which is 14 miles of many short but steep up/downs.

I hiked for another 5 miles, so I would have only 9 miles of roller coaster to do tomorrow, when the weather is hotter. I stopped at 6:30pm, at a nice flat spot and set up my tent. I think this is the first night I have camped alone in Virginia!

Sunday April 28, 23.6mi/38.0km

Range View cabin (953.1) to Denton shelter (976.7) (VA)

The day started early and went by quickly! We packed up our makeshift shelter, and we’re hiking by 7:30am. It was a cold-ish start to the morning, but quickly warmed to 60F/16C. The valleys had a cool undercast look.

Up at 3500ft, springtime is just starting…

Down below looks greener.

Looking down into the Shenandoah valley.

The last climb in Shenandoah Park was up Compton mountain, which had these cool volcanic columns. They looked just like the ones in Devils Postpile on the PCT!

And I finally saw a bear! Everyone else had seen one in the park.

Then the path started descending, and getting greener…

And greener…

Just before the road, there was a cooler with trail magic, from a local couple from Front Royal VA!

As the trail approached the road, there were more signs of manmade structures too.

At the trailhead, there was the usual trail information, but also some cute artwork from the local elementary school kids.

I stopped for a break and afternoon snack at a hostel, called the Mountain Home Cabbin. It was a very nice place, recently renovated, and with many kinds of snacks, ice cream, pizza, drinks for hikers to buy. It’s even a B&B too! From there, it was a quick 4 mile hike to the next shelter, which was a huge 10-person building.

I arrived at 7pm, and Turbo, Lightfoot, and Cedar were there. The temperature had already dropped to 50F, it’s a great sleeping night!

Saturday April 27, 23.4mi/37.7km

Rock Spring Shelter (929.7) to Range view cabin (953.1) (VA)

I woke up to a shelter full of people, apparently a couple more hikers arrived in the middle of the night. I left at 7:30am, and it was cold enough for gloves and a hat. The trail stayed on the edge of a steep ridge, so I had some views today.

After 4 miles, I got to the wayside cafe that served a breakfast buffet. My stomach was feeling a bit off, so I skipped it and had some cookies at a picnic table. There was a sign nearby, presumably for animals. But it also works for hikers!

The trail resumed from the picnic area in a confusing way. Blue AND white blaze?

After a few miles, the trail entered a more touristy part of the park. There were heaps of both views and tourists.

Apparently the Appalachian trail is only 2000 miles long? Haha!

At the next picnic area, someone had left a fork in the road… at a fork in the road! That had to be on purpose…

For two miles, the trail was packed full of people. Must be a weekend. Fortunately, the last 5 miles of the day was almost empty.

Flowers!

I think there was a bear here, though..

I stopped for dinner at the Elkwallow wayside Cafe, and Lightfoot was already there. Cedar showed up at dinner too, and we had salads and milkshakes and burgers. The last half mile to camp was a slog, with a full stomach. We made it to our planned camp spot, but there was a group of boy scouts there. They told us about a nearby locked cabin, and we camped on the porch to escape the rain forecast for tonight. Perfect!

Friday April 26, 23.9mi/38.4km

Hightop shelter (905.8) to Rock Spring Shelter (929.7) (VA)

I didn’t take many photos today, since it rained most of the afternoon. I got started at 8am, and the day started off in a cool fog.

Then, the sun came out for a couple of hours, and it was an enjoyable morning of hiking.

Around lunchtime, the sky turned cloudy, and 30 minutes later a heavy downpour started. I’m so happy to have my umbrella on days like today. Also, when the rain started, I was only 10 minutes from a campground, which had a store. So I bought a sandwich and ice cream, and sought refuge in there for an hour until the rain passed. Here is a video of the rain:

Rainy day in Shenandoah

Since I had sat for an hour, I was quite cold, and my ankle started to hurt again when I resumed hiking. There were a couple more light rain showers, and by 5pm the sky was just cloudy.

I got to the shelter at 6:30pm, a long day. At least the views were great!

The same group from last night is here, except Toast. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice weather!

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.

Wednesday April 24, 20.7mi/33.3km

Rockfish Gap/Waynesboro (863.7) to Blackrock Hut (884.4) (VA)

Wednesday April 24, 20.7mi/33.3km

Rockfish Gap/Waynesboro (863.7) to Blackrock Hut (884.4) (VA)

Lightfoot and I got a ride back to the trail from the hostel owner at 10am. The trail immediately enters Shenandoah National Park.

There was a big storm here a month ago, and there were trees down everywhere. The self registration kiosk for hikers was smashed beyond recognition. Skyline drive was even closed for 20 miles!

About a mile in, I passed by this random rock that someone has painted a message on.

It was a long struggle to get to the top of this climb, and each one after. I was feeling very tired, my ankles hurt, and I needed energy but I wasn’t hungry. The tractor seats were a nice touch on the summit though!

Every 3 or 4 miles, the trail would cross skyline drive, and there would be a view.

Apparently we must’ve been skirting some boundary line, because we entered the park… again.

I have walked by thousands of fallen logs that have been cut by trail maintenance crews. This log had a hollow center, with a giant black ratsnake living inside. That was a good way to wake up from my daze!

And of course, shenandoah is filled with too many deer, none of which are afraid of people. They just stand there in the trail.

I got to the shelter at 7pm, ate some crackers and water, and went to bed. Tomorrow will be better!

Tuesday April 23, 19.1mi/30.7km

Reeds Gap (844.6) to Rockfish Gap/Waynesboro (863.7) (VA)

We got up early for the 7am breakfast at the brewery. It was a ton of food for only $5!

One of the employees gave us a ride back to the trail at 8:30am. It was a nice sunny day to hike.

There were occasionally views, usually when the trail crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway.

From the top of Humpback mountain, the view south was pretty unusual – a ski resort in Virginia! I think it was called Wintergreen ski resort.

There was a side trail to a spot called Humback rocks, and it was totally worth the extra quarter mile.

The rest of the day was a casual descent to Rockfish Gap. The trail condition improved, and there were less rocks. And with the warm day, many more danger-noodles.

There was one stream crossing by a shelter, which was surprisingly not bridged, given its size. Rock hopping skills to the rescue!

There were a couple of random things in the final mile – an old cemetery, and a house ruins.

I got to Rockfish Gap at 3:30pm, and called a local trail angel for a ride. Waynesboro is a wonderful hiker friendly town, and the have a list at the trailhead of dozens of people who you can call for a ride.

Lightfoot showed up a few minutes later, and we rode into Waynesboro, directly to the Chinese buffet. The we did a resupply at the Kroger next door, and got a ride to Stanimal’s hostel. It was a nice place to relax. We watched movies, and I stayed up way too late. Tomorrow will be rough…

Monday April 22, 15.5mi/24.9km

Priest Mountain shelter (829.1) to Reeds Gap (844.6) (VA)

When I woke in the shelter at 7am, Early Bird and Cedar were already gone. Bob and I packed up and got moving at 7:30am. The descent down from the Priest Mountain was very rocky.

There were a couple of nice views on the way down.

We descended 3000ft/900m to the Tye River, and the river crossing had another cool swingbridge.

Then, the trail promptly climbed back up the same 3000ft/900m to another peak called Three Ridges. The morning was still cool, so it was a comfortable climb. And in another wilderness!

Halfway up the climb, there is a shortcut trail which saves about 4 miles. I didn’t see any footprints going that way.

There weren’t any views at the top of Three Ridges peak, but a mile later there was a viewpoint called Hanging Rock overlook. There were quite a few dayhikers around too.

In the trees below, you can see the green of spring creeping up the hillsides to the higher elevations. Cool!

I caught up to Cedar at the road at Reeds Gap, and we quickly got a hitch with a nice local woman. Driving a Subaru, of course! We made it down to the Devils Backbone brewery by 2pm, and had a big 2nd lunch.

Bob’s PCT friend, Shutter, also came out to visit from Charlottesville. They did the PCT together in 2017, and it was fun to hear how that trail had changed since I hiked it. Another hiker, Soulshine, also came to camp, he is doing a yo-yo on the AT this year (already hiked it once before), on his quest to be a 3x Triple crown hiker. Impressive. The 5 of us had some beers and snacks, and it was a fun chill evening. I went to bed early, there is a 7am hiker breakfast that is supposed to be legendary!