Guru Hikes

Intro

I felt revitalized after finishing the Four State Challenge and taking a few dearly needed days off. Getting back onto to Trail, I quickly entered my favorite section of the Appalachian Trail. From Shenandoah down to the Smokies, I had mostly beautiful fall weather, and it felt like I was passing an iconic part of the Trail every day.

Shenandoah and the Waysides

Entering Shenandoah, I filled out my trailside permit and started my ascent into the Park. I loved hiking through Shenandoah National Park. There were amazing viewpoints around every corner, and thanks to the Skyline Drive waysides, I barely had to carry any food! At the Skyland Resort, I spent more money on one meal than I had ever spent in my life, but it was resoundingly worth it. I even had two friends who lived close by come to see me in Shenandoah!

At a shelter in the Park, I met two older men who were doing a practice hike to see if they would be able to attempt a thru the next year. Upon seeing my dialed-in backpack, they asked me what they could do to make their life easier on the trail. I pointed out a large ukulele in a fully protective case that one of them was carrying along with a few other pointers. The next day I headed out early, but when I stopped in a wayside for lunch, the two men caught up and told me they had taken my advice to heart. They paid for my lunch and gave me the ukulele on the terms that I would learn to play it! I have the ukulele to this day, and I did learn to play it!

The Priest and Spy Rock

A few days after leaving Shenandoah National Park, I climbed for miles up The Priest in the rain. The Priest Shelter’s logbook is unique in terms of shelter logbooks in that it is called the confessional. It is a logbook where hikers can write their most egregious trail sins. The confessional was a fun read after such a long climb, including stories varying from taking a surface poop near the trail to an affair that occurred on the trail. I added my own story of having a breakdown in Massachusetts where I was having a difficult day after my grandmother’s funeral and destroyed a white blaze on a tree with my trekking pole.

The next day, a bit farther down the Trail, I came to Spy Rock and set my wet gear out to dry. The view was beautiful, and Spy Rock was a perfect place to hang out for an early morning break.

Glasgow, Va

A few days later, I witnessed a full inversion and watched the sun rise over a sea of clouds.

As I approached the James River Bridge–the longest footbridge of the AT–I hitched into Glasgow, VA. Glasgow was a very welcoming town with a hiker shelter (complete with electricity and a hot shower!) set up right behind the local pizza place. A great feature of the town was the dinosaurs scattered around, but unfortunately they have been taken down since. Little did I know, later in life I would be working just down the road at Natural Bridge State Park!

What’s Next

Up next: Virginia’s Triple Crown, paralleling the Parkway, and a good night off Trail! Thanks for reading!