Had an amazing weekend with Melanie in Harrisonburg, VA. She is awesome. She brought me all kinds of food, clothing and things to help me relax. She also helped me with getting new gear: new poles, socks, shoes and a down jacket. It was so hard to leave her but I have to finish this.
It was a easy 3.4 miles to High Top hut. On the way there was an amazing view. I stayed there for an hour or so and relaxed in the sun.
Day 102 - 21.4 miles
Had a great day with several wildlife encounters. The 1st was a young buck with small horns. He was not afraid of me at all.
The second was a doe that came right up to the shelter I was eating lunch at.
The third was with a black bear. He must have been about 200lbs about 20ft away. At one point he had enough and false charged at me and huffed. It scared me pretty good. So I left him alone after that.
I was resting at an overlook and my buddy Matt came walking down the trail. I hadn't seen him since Harpers Ferry. We hiked down to Black Rock Hut. At the hut Hi-5, Ice Man Dan and This Is It came up late to the shelter. I haven't seen him since Green Lake, NJ.
Day 103 - 20.6 miles
Had a good day hiking with lots of ups and downs.
These are the markers in Shenandoah for the AT. Usually there are engravings on the metal that tell you what trail your on.
This tree was beautiful. It must have been over 100 years old.
We finished all 103.2 miles of Shenandoah National Park. We hiked into Waynesboro, VA got a motel room and headed straight for Ming Garden. This is an "all you can eat" buffet. I think any one that saw how much we ate would have been sick.
Day 104 - 20.9 miles
We all left Waynesboro, VA around 11 am. Had a few steep climbs but had a few good views.
Got some trail magic from "The Energizer Bunny". He was helping his daughter slack pack northbound. Headed up to an outlook and saw this little guy.
Day 105 - 20.4
Today was a hard day. It was cold and rainy all day. We still had some good views.
Liam posing
First we had a 1,000 ft climb then a 2,000 ft decline. After that we had to go up The Priest which was a 3,000 ft incline over 4 miles! It was tough. Traditionally all hikers confess when they get to The Priest shelter.... "Please forgive me for all the TP I have stolen from hotels and my gluttony at Ming Garden."
View from The Priest.
Day 106 - 20.8
It was a cold rainy morning. We got a late start. It was a tough day in the cold and wind. We found some apple trees and feasted for 30 minutes or so. Matt went up one of the trees to knock down some good ones for us.
It was a hard day again. The rain and the cold wind made it miserable. I rolled my ankle bad again today but it's doing better now.
This was in a field that the AT passed through.
Day 108 - 24.8
10-13-14
Happy Birthday to my amazing Mom, Brenda. Thanks for everything, love you!
We had a good day today. Left the hotel room and hit the trail. The weather was still not looking to good for us. We went over the longest foot-use only bridge on the AT.
Thunder Ridge overlook.
This area was called the guillotine. When I walked up to this I thought to myself, "Is this a trap?"
First bit of sunlight we have seen for a few days.
Today was a good day.
Day 109 - 20.8 miles
Only 735 miles left. At this point I have completed 2/3 of the AT.
We stayed at a cool shelter last night. It's a 20 person shelter with a loft.
It was very windy today but only rained early this morning. Had good views today and crossed over the Blue Ridge Parkway a few times.
Heading for Daleville tomorrow to resupply and get a shower.
Day 110 - 11.2 miles
It stormed all night with wind gusts up to 50mph. This morning the rain stopped us from starting early.
On the way to Daleville, VA we saw blues skys and sunshine! The first in 6 days. The AT goes directly through a cow pasture before town and I got some good pictures.
Day 111 - Zero!!! Rest/eat/sleep
Total miles- 1,461.3
Miles left - 724.0
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