Days 42 – 48 The Shenandoah’s

Day 42 Miles 834.8 – 843.8 (9)

Getting back on trail started slowly but enjoyably- our little nephews (ages 5 and 3) joined us for the first quarter mile alongside their mom and new baby brother, and we got to experience their joy as they explained to us where bears might be and collected interesting rocks.

Once we bid them farewell, we were back on trail, aiming to make it to a shelter up the way. We opted to take a blue blaze (the Mau-Har trail) which was gorgeous; it steeply followed a creek up the mountain, resulting in plenty of waterfalls and moss-covered rocks and logs. There were also some excellent swimming holes, although it was a little too chilly to warrant taking a dip. We made it to the shelter; after the short day, we were still eager to hike more, but given the scarcity of campsites up ahead and a desire to take it easier on ourselves, we decided to stay at the shelter and set up camp for the night.

Day 43 miles 843.8 – 864.6 (20.8)

It wasn’t long before we were back in town, as we pushed for a 20-mile day to make it into the town of Waynesboro. It was a cool day, great for hiking.

Waynesboro brands itself as the “friendliest hiker town.” Indeed, we had several folks offer to hitch us into town, and it was clear that the locals enjoyed having hikers around! We ended up getting a ride into town with a trail angel named Katz who had hiked the trail a few years back. We stayed in a budget motel and enjoyed a burger in the evening at a local eatery.

Day 44 miles 864.6 – 879.6 (15)

In the morning we walked to the Kroger in town. We packed out just a few days’ worth of food, knowing there were lots of waysides (restaurants) in the Shenandoah NP. We grabbed an early lunch at the Delly Up sandwich shop. We set out for a hitch and in just a few minutes caught a ride with a local sign maker who was “honored to help us out”. Hitching near trail towns restores my faith in humanity. 
The hike encompassed a few good viewpoints in the Shenandoah. We hiked fairly late and pitched a tent at a dispersed campsite.

Day 45 miles 879.6 – 893.9 (14.3)

As soon as we set off in the morning, Sassafras’s ankles started to bug her. The day slogged for us, by late afternoon we stopped at a camp store, where we relished in the ability to shower after only the 2nd day from town. We bought a small resupply of a few bars, cheese, and beverages. We charged phones while waiting for our laundry to finish. 

As we hiked out, it almost felt futile as we immediately were again drenched in sweat. In that last miles we startled and were ourselves startled by a rattlesnake laying across the trail. After a few moments it relaxed and went on its way. 

We decided to hike to a dispersed camp site, set up tent, and then hike down a blue blaze to the Loft Mountain Wayside (Shenandoah NP’s name for a restaurant) for dinner. We enjoyed the famous blackberry milkshakes and burgers.  

Day 46 Miles 893.9 – 910.4 (16.4)

Our best friend all day was the deer that we woke up too. We must have pitched where it normally beds for the night, since all night we could hear it and in the morning it kept hanging out no more than 10ft away.

After the deer, it was a relatively quiet day where we didn’t pass many hikers. We crossed mile 900! We set up at another dispersed site, and camped with a few more hikers. It was nice to have the human company, no offense to the deer.

Day 47 Miles 910.4 – 930.6 (20.2)

It was an easygoing morning, knowing we had two camp stores/waysides today. We covered the first 8 miles in time for an early lunch. The next 10 also passed fairly easily, as the day continued to heat up.

We arrived at Big Meadows late afternoon. Big Meadows is the largest wayside and a main area of the national park. We grabbed a milkshake and an early dinner.

We walked to the campground for a load of laundry, and I felt like hiker trash laying around waiting for the laundry to finish as all the car camper folk came for ice and firewood. Getting back on the trail, there was that perfect summer weekend camp vibes, with kids screaming, campfire smoke, hotdogs grilling, and some country music playing.

We hiked the final few miles to end the day at Rock Spring Hut, where we were surprised by the Trail Magic and hospitality of a ’23 thru-hiker named Swiss. She and her friends packed out cold drinks, lots of snacks, etc. to the rentable cabin just below the shelter.

We had a blast singing along to Celine Dion and Chris Stapleton, drinking cold beverages, cooking smores, playing Farkel, and watching the epic sunset with them and other hikers.

Day 48 Miles 930.6 – 944.7 (14.1)

We woke up around 8 and joined Swiss and friends for some hot coffee. We hiked the 14 miles for the day fairly quickly and were trying to catch a hitch into town by 3. We caught a ride with a Belgium woman on holiday touring the East Coast in a rental.

We treated ourselves to a nice historic hotel, the Mimslyn Inn. After a quick shower, we walked to a local brewery, grabbed 1st dinner at an Asian food place, and had 2nd dinner at the hotel’s speakeasy.