Legs and Borders

Last day in Shenandoah National Park, I'll miss it's views and accessibility. First task in the morning was to climb the Mary's Rock, another very popular with tourists spot, I was there early enough to have it all to myself and I must say that it might have been my favourite place in Shenandoah, very charming place. From here I was heading towards last of the Wayside restaurants, this one was called Elkwallow, I've arrived there just before midday and had a good calorie boost of smash burger and fries. It was Saturday so many day hikers were scaling the variety of trails Shenandoah had to offer, I've met a couple of bird "nerds" (that's how they described themselves) sitting by the side of the trail trying to locate a bird they heard when they were here last time. They've guessed the names of the birds I've seen so far on the AT after a short description. I've updated my plans and...

Very nice day, I had way too many treats but money spend on food is never a bad idea while hiking. I've visited not one but two Wayside restaurants located conveniently along the trail. They were like a carrot on a stick that kept me moving forward from one point to the other. Shenandoah National Park continued and today I was going through some of it's main highlights: Little Stony Man Cliffs, Stony Man Mountain and The Pinnacle, all offering an outstanding panoramic views. Trail was busy with day hikers trying to catch those fine views as well while the weather allowed. And it mostly did, it only got a bit cloudy and windy in the late afternoon. As for the restaurants, I've visited Big Meadows Lodge for lunch and Skyland Resort for an afternoon snack, I've paid over 40$ in total for a burger, bag of Doritos, Starbucks latte (yes they had a Starbucks!) and a muffin. Very premium prices indeed and no hiker discounts in sight but it was worth it, ...

Pleasant day with fireworks at the end. It was the first sunny day in 84 hours, I've started it early but decided to stop at the Loft Mountain Campground which had a store, I had to wait an hour before it opened but it was OK. I've got a chicken burger and a coffee and carried on. The special thing about Shenandoah National Park was that every 10 or so miles it had a chain of restaurants and shops called "Waysides". They weren't cheap but an option to have anything else rather than trail food was tempting! There was also few tourist campsites with showers and toilets opened to the public. It made hiking Shenandoah way more civilized than any other stretch of AT so far, it was an interesting change but I don't think I would enjoy it for more than 100 miles as the amount of people and car traffic was taking away from nature side of things. During last resupply in Waynesboro I've updated my trail men...

"If a black bear attacks, always fight back" National Park Service The threat of rain was looming above for the entire day, I was checking weather forecast frequently and it would always get different (slightly better) results It looks like in the end I managed to hike out of this wet spell. Breakfast at the Quality Inn was served from 6:30 AM. I've packed everything before going to bed last night, so it was all ready for a hitchhike back to trail. There was plenty of hikers at the Inn, including one section hiker who announced that he will be shuttling people back when they are ready. Breakfast as far as things included in price are, was quite good. Yogurts, fresh fruit, coffee, toasts or waffles, biscuits and gravy and scrambled egg which might have been made from powder. After eating a considerable amount I've went over to Dale, the gentleman offering the rides and said that I can be ready in 5 minutes. By the time I've got my things he was already waiting in h...