Day 71: 6/10/12

Miles today: 16.2
Total miles: 960.5

Today was my last day in Shenandoah. Kinda sad, I've really enjoyed it. Maybe I'll be back one day.
Saw two more bears today, little guys this time, probably 200-250 lbs each. They really are beautiful animals, these black bears. They don't have the grace that, say, the deer have, but they're fun to watch, slowly lumbering through the forest, turning around to look at you, then going back about their business.
The next few days we'll have Harper's Ferry, WV in our sights. Should be there by Thursday. It's the "psychological halfway point" of the AT.

Staying at Tom Floyd shelter.

Day 70: 6/9/12

Miles today: 18.1
Total miles: 944.3

Long day today. Not particularly mileage-wise, but it was a full day. Started the day with lots of elevation change, then climbed up to Mary's Rock, which had great views of Shenandoah. Met a few people at the top who took great interest in my thru-hike and asked lots of questions about it. It was flattering that someone was so fascinated.
Saw scores of day hikers today. Made sense; good weather, weekend, nat'l park.
At the end of the day we stopped at a wayside and had cheeseburgers and did a light resupply.
Found a good campsite just off the trail.

Camping near Elkwallow Wayside in Shenandoah Nat'l Park.

Day 69: 6/8/12

Miles today: 16.1
Total miles: 926.2

Saw another bear today, got a good look this time. Big sucker. I tried to take pictures but none of them really turned out (I know, I know, pics or it didn't happen). I didn't want to get any closer for a good shot since he didn't seem do be afraid of me. Maybe next time.
Lots of wildlife in general here in Shenandoah. Deer, bears, and some big birds that I thought were turkeys but others are calling peacocks, I dunno.

Staying at Skyland Resort (not as cool as it sounds).

Day 68: 6/7/12

Miles today: 20.6
Total miles: 910.1

Saw my first bear today. It was about 20 yards from me and must've heard me coming and took off into the woods. I didn't get a good look at it, but it was big, black, and furry. Definitely ursine.
Had a good hike today and put in some good miles. I met another guy from San Francisco this afternoon, the first I've met on the trail from SF.
At the end of the day about a mile from the shelter I came across a camp store (gotta love the resources of a national park). Packed out a few beers and headed to camp. Caught up with Socks and Wiseguy and some others I'd fallen behind. Lots of German speakers at the shelter tonight, Germans and Swiss. I've been practicing my German with them. I've spoken more German on the AT than I have since my visit to Germany 18 years ago.
My calf hurts. Took a liberal dose of ibuprofen.

Staying at Bearface Mountain shelter.

Day 67: 6/6/12

Miles today: 13.2
Total miles: 889.5

Early this morning around 4:00 or 5:00am a whippoorwill began going bonkers in the camp. If you're unfamiliar with the song of a whippoorwill I can tell you it is the most obnoxious and psychotic of all bird sounds. At one point I shouted in a half-asleep stupor "shut up," in hopes that the bird would be startled and fly off, but no luck. I'd attribute my being tired all day today to that noisy bird.
Got a late start, did my best to dry my tent, then got on the trail around 9:15 this morning. Put in a short 13 miles then decided to stop when I had some soreness in my left calf.

Staying at Pinefield Hut shelter.

Day 66: 6/5/12

Miles today: 20.0
Total miles: 876.3

Entered Shenandoah Nat'l Park today. This is some easy hiking. Very well-graded, nice and flat. It rained on and off throughout the day which was tough, but it could have been worse. The shelter was full tonight so I pitched my tent for the first time in awhile. It's raining, so I'm not thrilled about tenting but I've had a good run of not having to tear down a wet tent so I guess I was due.
There were plenty of non-thru-hikers at the shelter tonight, which was apparent by the conversations they carried on, ranging from politics to local current events and other fairly intelligent topics. Whereas the typical thru-hiker conversation might go like this: "Monkey hungry? Monkey want rest of spam?" "No, monkey already eat. Where water? Monkey thirsty. Monkey mad there no spring on trail today."

Camping near Blackrock Hut shelter.

Day 64: 6/3/12

Miles today: 0.0
Total miles: 856.3

Took the first of two zero days with my parents, did the usual town activities: outfitter, food resupply, saw a movie, ate in restaurants, slept in a bed, the whole bit. We'll have one more day off tomorrow then I'll get back on the trail, but for now it's great to have the time to visit and get some R&R.