Day 62 – mile 962 to Little Hogback Mountain

Today was a lot more of the same as the other days in the park. The morning trails were quite rocky and tough on the feet. We heard and read some things that most of the tread in the park was smooth, but I’d say that’s only about 50% the case. We had a nice view of Skyline Drive from above at Little Stony Man Cliffs in the morning.

image

The ever present Skyline Drive from Little Stony Man Cliffs

We saw two bears today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. These guys are smallish and kind of cute and I might try to cuddle one tomorrow. I don’t know, perhaps that is not a good idea.

image

Slightly better picture of a bear in Shenandoah

If you want to see bears, come here. That’s 5 we’ve seen in the park in 4 days (plus the one right outside the park). We talked to a thru-hiker at the Wayside today who said he has seen 13 bears in his 4 days in the park. He almost got renamed to “Bear Bait.”
We grabbed some snacks and ice cream at Elkwallow Wayside, our last one. Those things are awesome for snack attacks. It’s a good thing they aren’t everywhere on the trail, as they are tourist priced and suck up a lot of time.

We made stealth camp near the Little Hogback Mountain views right before the storms of the evening hit us. It’s slowing down as I type this in the tarp. It was pretty hot all day so at least this is a little break.

Tomorrow we are hiking 15 miles and then heading into Front Royal to resupply and spend the night. This is our last stop in Virginia. Crazy!

Vital stats :
Miles hiked today – 24.6
Mood – getting antsy to finish up Virginia later this week
Physical state – sore feet from the “smooth” trails of Shenandoah, but fine
Smell – disgusting
Song stuck in my head – Coming Of Age by Foster The People

4 thoughts on “Day 62 – mile 962 to Little Hogback Mountain

  1. Mom - Tapey

    If I wrote here how proud I am to be your mom and Katie’s MIL, it would be too schmaltzy. But wait….I am your mom and Katie’s MIL and I am very, very proud of both of you! You are amazing!! Who cares about schmaltzy. Just a bit of motherly advice…do NOT try to hug the bears…no matter how cute they look…no bear hugs, please!! I hope it’s at least a bit cooler where you are than here today. It’s 90+ and nasty. Ugh. Your photos make me want to be on the trail…getting there after parking in the nearest lot…not after hiking 900+ miles! Stay safe and healthy. Sending cool thoughts, prayers and lots of love.

    Reply
  2. Mom and Dad Heiser no bears today

    Yikes, tigers and lions and bears! Oh My! Well one out of three isn’t at all bad. I agree with Mother Hnatow, do not hug bears of any size! Any way one sniff of hiker’s perfume and off they would trundle back to the smells of the forest primeval. Soon and very soon you will cross the official halfway. Marvellous accomplishment for both. No words to say how awesome an accomplishment that is. Great going! So proud of you both. Only in the mid 80’s here but muggy. Cool breezes, fair winds and God speed. Stay hydrated.

    Reply
  3. Joann Adams

    I figured your threat to cuddle a bear would get the moms on both sides of the aisle hot, hot,
    hot! Fortunately, I know Katie’s too sensible to allow any such nonsense. Keep your hands
    to yourself, man! (There’s a song for you!) Way to go, guys!

    Reply

Leave a Reply