The Shenandoahs make eating easy.

Day 54 - 6/7/10
Got a good jump on the day because I was motivated by the prospect of
eats and treats. Not sure of the exact time I left though. I started
with a short uphill to the top of Hightop Mt. and then a long but easy
downhill section, the kind that thankfully doesn't kill your knees. As
I was on the downhill I passed a doe not even 10 ft. off the trail. At
first it was cool, but then I noticed how it seemed a bit confused,
lost even. It looked like it was a new mom, full of milk for nursing,
so I started getting worried that it had lost its young. Midnight, a
ridgerunner who stayed at Hightop shelter with me last night,
mentioned how some hikers had seen a fawn on the trail and decided it
was a good idea to pick it up and carry it. I started thinking the
deer I was seeing now was the Mom, and it upset me. Let's hope I was
just jumping to conclusions.

After that I really turned up the speed, and by 12 I had done 11.5
miles to this campground with a convenience store. I'm walking up to
it and I see some hikers already there eating ice cream (Kumquat,
Dodger, and a Brit Churchill), and another guy who's talking to them.
When I get close enough the guy asks, "You going to Maine?" I say yes
and then he pulls out $5 and says he wants to pay for my ice cream!
He'd done it for all the others as well. So I went in and bought
myself a pint of butter pecan, then went back out to the benches, gave
the guy the change (which he almost wouldn't take), then started to
enjoy. What an awesome treat. It was funny, as I was eating Churchill
said, "Isn't it just gorgeous?" but you have to imagine it with a
thick British accent. I told him that was the perfect way to describe
it. After the guy left more hikers showed up, and all were jealous
after hearing about our ice cream trail magic. I ended up getting some
more food, chips, a soda, and a homemade peanut butter cup.

After that "lunch" I continued on, miles just flying by. I think today
was an easier day because of the weather, which was finally not in the
high 80's, and the terrain hasn't been too tough. The weather was
actually ideal, with comfortable temps, but lots of clouds to shade
you from the heat. And nice breezes too. I even got a bit cold when I
had stopped to eat that ice cream. At one point as I was speeding
along I saw a trail maintainer working on his section. I stopped to
say hello, and to thank him for keeping the trail nice for all of us.
He was an odd fellow, especially the way he talked. It reminded me a
lot of Mr. Bean, sort of low and grumbly, and practically
indiscernible. He even looked a bit like him too.

I left and continued my pace, and decided since the Lodge I was
planning on getting dinner at would probably have outlets to charge my
phone, I could use it for a bit to listen to some music. It was really
nice to have tunes with me while I hiked for once, because you can
only sing songs in your head for so long before it gets boring and
repetitive. The music made the miles fly by, so I made it to the Lodge
by 4:30. Dodger was already there, and Hotfoot pulled in soon after
me. I looked at the dinner menu, whoa pricey!, so we all went
downstairs to the taproom instead for cheaper bar food and beers. I
didn't want to have to wait until 5:30 either, which is when the
upstairs diningroom opens. I was very happy with the burger I had,
chedder cheese and bacon, and the two Bluemoon drafts weren't bad
either. We had a good time eating, drinking and talking.

We left at 5:30, and I hung out upstairs in the loungeroom of the
lodge to let my food and beer digest. I still had a few more miles to
finish, and I didn't want to hike with a full stomach. The loungeroom
had these huge windows, from the floor to the ceiling, that allowed
for a really nice view down into the valley where all the little towns
are. I stayed until 6:00, and didn't get all situated and ready to
hike until 6:15.

I made it to the shelter, Rock Spring Hut, at close to 7:30. I don't
think I mentioned this yet, but in the Shenandoahs overnight shelters
are called huts. In Maine they're Lean-tos. There was a SOBO sectioner
at the hut, Slow Poke was his name, so I introduced myself and talked
to him. He said there was a bear around earlier, and as he was saying
that it actually showed up and started foraging only 50 yds. away near
some boulders. I'll be hanging up my food tonight for sure! Hotfoot
showed up a couple minutes after me, and when he heard of the bear he
decided to stay in the shelter as Slow Poke and I already had. No one
else showed up, which surprised me because it sounded like a lot of
others were planning on making it here. My guess is all the "gorgeous"
food slowed them down. Anyway, Hotfoot had a package of hotdogs left
over from his parents hiker feed/trail magic thing, so we started up a
fire and roasted a bunch of those. They were so good and salty.
Perfect way to end the night.

Tomorrow I'll be getting picked up by Evelyn, and then taking at least
1 (maybe 2) days off. Really looking forward to it, I haven't had one
since Damascus, and this will be even better because it's in a real
house and with friendly faces. Plus I finally get to see what Jen's
Mom sent in the maildrops! Can't wait.

Total miles: 918.4