Rain Delay as Florence Passes Through Virginia

We were evacuated from Shenandoah National Park on Wednesday, Sept. 12, due to Hurricane Florence. We were able to get a ride out to Elkton, VA, where we were treated to a reunion with Cherrio (a hiker I met in 2015 in the 100-Mile Wilderness).  We had a blast with her eating lunch and shopping at thrift stores.

We decided that we would continue south to near Blacksburg, VA, to spend time with my longtime friend Libbie and her family. We were not happy to be off the trail; however, we have had a blast with Libbie.  Chilli and new friends went to the movies today and we were able to go to church yesterday, which was wonderful.

We will hit the trail tomorrow at Daleville, VA, since the rain seems to have passed for now. Shenandoah National Park is still closed, but it seems as though the rest of the trail seems fine. We are looking so forward to get back on the trail and get hiking.

I did decide to go back to my hammock, but not the Hennessy. I had a really bad experience with their customer service. I paid for two-day expedited delivery and they chose to use FedeEx instead of USPS and therefore it would have taken me five days to get my insulation system instead of the two days that I paid for. They were not very understanding or accommodating so I just canceled the order and bought a Blackbird Ridgerunner, which is a much better hammock. They had my order out in two days and I had it delivered on time. I would so totally recommend Warbonnet Outdoors.

Once we hit the trail we will have completed three-fourths of it with only about 730 miles left to complete. We have about six weeks or so left on the AT. It seems so surreal that we are so close to finishing!  I cannot wait for the leaves to begin changing and to hear the crunch of dried leaves under foot.