It's been an action-packed two weeks since my last post, but I'll try to sum up.
We had excellent weather for Hike Naked Day, and Becky and I both enjoyed the feeling of warn sun and cool mountain breezes on our bare skin... Becky for a few minutes, but me for the whole day :-) I did wrap my neon tie-dye rainbow sarong around me so that I didn't surprise-naked anyone. Then we slept at a very pretty shelter by a stream and sang beside the campfire. And Hotspot showed up! It was a happy reunion!
We walked the few miles into Waynesboro with Hotspot the next morning. The first thing we did when we got to Rockfish Gap was devour many hotdogs and kettle corn from a roadside stand. Then we were picked up by a trail angel who took us by the outfitter and the post office so I could pick up my packages (thank you mommy, daddy, and Quinn!!!).
I really wanted to go to Monticello, the Thomas Jefferson homestead, to see the famous gardens. I found a couchsurfer to host us in Charlottesville, and one of the people who works at the outfitter offered to drive us there. He took the scenic route to Charlottesville, past beautiful farms, and he even took a detour to show us the UVA campus. The campus was designed by Jefferson, and among it's notable alumni is Edgar Allan Poe, whose dorm room is on display and is decorated with a taxidermy raven.
He dropped us off in downtown Charlottesville on "the mall," which is a lively pedestrian way with many interesting shops, restaurants with outdoor seating, and public art. Becky and I had dinner and people-watched while we waited to meet our couchsurfing host. It was SO strange to see clean, relaxed people wearing attractive clothing and carrying small bags! When the waitress told us the specials, I actually almost drooled. I even ordered a cocktail. It was wonderful. Then we caught some live music in a bar. It was basically just some white dudes jamming, but the front man played the electric fiddle, which was cool. Also, Cville is the hometown of
Dave Matthews Band, so it felt right to get in the spirit and support some local talent.
In the morning, our host made us organic kale/carrot/raw milk/berry/etc. smoothies in his Vitamix and dropped us off at a coffee shop, where we had lattes and waffles while we waited for Hotspot and his friend with a car to pick us up to go to Monticello. I really, really love eating food.
It was the most beautiful day possible to tour Monticello. I learned quite a bit about Thomas Jefferson and American history, but I was mostly interested in his gardens. He was an avid gardener who constantly sought new varieties. He even planted a sugar maple tree to make maple sugar, but he learned that Virginia doesn't have the right climate. I was deliriously happy walking among the trees and flowers and vegetables. One very cool thing that happened was that since I have been walking among American wildflowers for the past few months, I was able to help the tour guide explain the details about when and how they bloom in the local forests. People were very impressed :-)
In the evening, Hotspot and his friend went back to Waynesboro, and Becky and I took our host out to dinner, and we ate more glorious food. I ate prosciutto and melon.
The next day, we got a ride back to the AT trailhead, and we hiked into Shenandoah National Park for our last day of hiking together. It was a hot day, but some nice person had set up trail magic in the form of a cooler of water, right when we needed it. Yay trail magic! There was a creepy homeless person in the shelter we wanted to sleep in, but fortunately (or unfortunately) in Shenandoah, you're always near the road, so we hitch hiked 13 miles down to the next shelter and stayed there instead. It was sad when Becky had to leave the next morning, but we really did have a wonderful week :-)
I went back to where we'd hitched the night before and started hiking on my own again. I immediately got back to 18-22 mile days, and instead of shelters, I mainly slept in my hammock. I'll just give a broad idea of what hiking Shenandoah National Park is like: easy trails, relatively few views from the trail (they're all on Skyline Drive), dozens and dozens of road crossings, very poor camping options, background road noise all the time, constant temptation of $15 meals from the roadside "waysides" (which are meant to be motor tourist traps), and abundant wildlife. I saw 12 bears in Shenandoah. Additionally, I saw dozens of deer, rabbits, squirrels, a skunk, 4 types of snakes, toads, salamanders, turtles... And I *swear* I saw a mountain lion. I know there had been no confirmed sightings in the east since 1970, but there have been over 100 reported sightings, and mountain lion scat has been identified. It was running away when I saw it, so mainly I saw its tail and read haunches, but I know what I saw and my best guess as what it could have been is a cougar. It had the wrong shape to be a fox or a coyote, and the wrong size and color to be a bobcat.
In the middle of my Shenandoah experience, I decided to try to get into town if I could, to get a shower and a night in a real bed, so I sent a message to the only couchsurfer I could find in Elkton, VA. That's how I met Murdock and Jeanne Conley, who are bluegrass singing, motorcycle-ministering, Trail Angels! They picked me up at the road and brought me to their home, where I had a warm shower, a cozy bed, and laundry! They were the most gracious and generous hosts imaginable. We talked about mountains, music, God, and family. In the morning, Murdock took me to a special spring to fill up my water, and then he brought me back up to the trail.
On Sunday, I woke up really early and hiked 14 miles, without stopping, at a breakneck pace in order to get to the road crossing in Front Royal by noon... Because I had family meeting me!!! My mom and Lili were in DC for the weekend visiting Uncle Gordon and Aunt Rena and Daniel, and they all (including Blue) drove out to meet me for lunch!!! I have never seen my mother more excited about anything, which is really saying something. She was even brave enough to hug me and kiss me before I'd washed up in the restroom! And Blue, of course, thought I was the most appetizing thing he ever met, and he licked all the salt off my arms and legs and face. We ate cheeseburgers and ice cream for lunch. It was wonderful. After lunch, Gordon and Rena and Dan went home, and Lili and my mom and I sat at a shady picnic table for an hour before they had to go home, too, and I got back on the trail. I didn't even need to resupply my food because they brought me wonderful delicious things like plums and avocados and powdered hummus and real NY rye bread. Mmmmm.
For the next few days, hikers kept coming up to me and saying, "I met your mom!" Everyone was so happy, since she gave out Clif bars and protein bars to everyone she met while she waited for me at the trailhead :-)
The walk from Front Royal to Harpers Ferry was pretty normal for the AT. Notably, there are no longer wildflowers all over the trail, now that it's summer. Now the most interesting thing on the forest floor is the fungus! It's so damp and shady that a multitude of fungi grow abundantly everywhere. It's so rocky that you have to look at the ground most of the time, so it's a good thing there are interesting things to see on the ground.
The section before Harpers Ferry is called the Roller Coaster because it's 13.5 miles of steep hills. I walked that yesterday, and I can honestly say it was my hardest day since Georgia. I was so tired afterwards. I slept at a free hiker bunkhouse last night that's run by the local AT club, and this morning I walked the remaining 12 miles into Harpers Ferry. Just in time to catch fireworks tomorrow!
In case you saw my photo at the ATC center (the official AT halfway point), and you were wondering why I'm wearing knee braces and my hand is bandaged up -- I'm fine! The braces are for added support and I have had noticeably less discomfort since I started wearing them, and the bandage is for a cut on the palm of my hand where I slipped with a sharp knife. It's clean and covered and healing nicely. I am feeling VERY tired, but overall, still feeling great.
Photos: Hike Naked Day; happy hikers at the hotdog stand in Waynesboro; UVA campus; downtown Charlottesville; live music at The Southern; my decadent breakfast at the coffee shop; Monticello; sea kale in the Monticello garden; public art chalkboard; my amazing dinner in Cville; view of Elkton, VA; a Shenandoah sunset; a snake eating a frog; a bear in a tree; another sunset; poplar trees on the trail; the beginning of the Roller Coaster; the halfway point!
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