Beginning Point: Front Royal, VA
Ending Point: Dick's Dome
Daily Mileage: 16 Miles
Total Miles: 9xx Miles
Weather: Surprise, hot and humid
Late last night I found out that my Grandma Micucci passed away. I've been thinking about her and my family all day... I always admired her independent spirit. Friends and family out there, I think of you often and miss you. Just wanted to let you know.
Brandon and Pushing Up Daisies from Weasel Creek outfitters met us at the motel and dropped us off at the trailhead - thanks for all your help, guys.
Around 5 miles into the morning hike, we arrived at Jim and Molly Shelter - one of the nicest I've seen on the trail. It had adirondeck seats on the porch, a covered eating pavilion, and a cistern shower fed by the nearby spring. Miss Maine and the New Orleans Kid were there and didn't feel like moving on just yet. We sat down for a snack and then pushed on.
We covered 8 miles easily and turned off the trail to a road into Linden so I could make some phone calls. Between the heat of the day and the speeding cars, it was the longest mile of the day by far. The soda, gatorade and candy bar helped my motivation which apparently is inversely related to the heat index. While I chatted with my sister Mandy, Stephan snoozed in a sitting position despite the heavy traffic on the road - he's a champion sleeper. Too bad sleeping isn't one of the olympic sports this summer.
We hitched a ride back to the trail and picked up where we left off. Soon we reached Manasses Shelter, reported to be home of copperhead rattlesnakes. The shelter register claimed no sight of the beasts in the last few days, however, just as I wrote "no snakes" in the log, lo and behold a snake! He looked at me with his beady eyes and flickered his tongue my way and then slithered down the roof beam and into the rain gutter. He continued moving to the opposite end of the shelter and I eventually got a full view of him: 4.5 feet long, black above with white belly and black crosshatching. I don't think he is poisonous, but I didn't want to stick around too long to find out.
We pushed on another 5 miles to Dick's Dome, and oddly shaped octagonal structure complete with a radio. The setting was so nice, a babbling brook in front of the shelter, a picnic table, and Inchworm and Kevin, and section hikers (and former thru-hikers). We had good dinner conversations with Inchworm and Kevin (aka Clutter '00) - so much so that we didn't want to push on as planned to a stealth camp spot a few miles ahead.
www.hikingat.com
__________________________________
Are you living the life you always dreamed?