We kept trekking along through beautiful Virginia. There were many awesome campsites throughout the state, one of the memorable ones was in a grassy meadow next to a nice tree swing. We also got to camp in the yard of Devil's Backbone Brewery for a night where we were invited to a hiker only $5 breakfast feast! The kindness of people we've come across on the trail is really great.
Mile 858 landed us in Waynesboro, Virginia which has been one of the friendliest hiker towns on the trail so far. When we got to the road crossing, there was a list of "trail angels" and their phone numbers. These are people who have volunteered to pick up hikers and bring them wherever they want in the town, free of charge. We called a nice lady who picked us up and brought us straight to Ming's Chinese Buffet: a hiker favorite. All you can eat of basically every food you could ever want, a dream for a person burning over 5000 calories per day! As you can imagine, we spent a good amount of time here until we couldn't eat another bite. Then, we walked to the free campsite for hikers in town and spent the night there, hanging out with other hikers. We planned to leave the next day but decided to take a zero to wait for our friend Alpine to catch up... And went to Ming's again... How could we resist? Skipping this day of hiking made us miss out on a classic hiker tradition on the summer solstice: hike naked day. We did hear about many hikers who celebrated this tradition but we fortunately didn't have to witness any of it!
The next day led us straight into Shenandoah National Park. This was a park built to mirror the Western tradition and excitement of national parks. It's main focus was being able to view the attractions without even having to leave the car via the Skyline Drive. So, each day we crossed the famous parkway many times which made this park seem much less wild than the rest of the trail. However, it was still a beautiful section filled with tons of wildlife and some great views. We saw a few more bears here! Another perk of being in the park was the multiple camp stores and restaraunts we passed each day. The famous blackberry ice cream in Shenandoah was not to be missed and we got to try it in cobbler and milkshake form! Yum...
The park lasted about 100 miles and 8 days. This section of the trail as well as a couple hundred miles before and after it was maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. This organization really took care of their section; the shelters were large with varnished floors, separate cooking tables and gazebos, porches, and some even had showers! We really enjoyed this section of the trail with its nice upkeep. However, there was one part of it that some hikers might not have coined their favorite... The dreaded Roller Coaster. Sounds fun, right? It depends on ones idea of fun... This roller coaster is not what you think. The sign at the start reads "Warning: you are about to enter the roller coaster!! Built and maintained by the 'Trail Boss' and his merry crew of volunteers. Have a great ride and we will see you at the Blackburn AT Center (if you survive)." It is a series of 13.5 miles of steep ascents and descents. We thought it might not be so bad until we realized it was one of the hottest days of the year and it was a bit more challenging than we thought. Teton and Alpine took off their shirts at one point to ring out the pool of sweat that had accumulated in them. It was a really challenging but rewarding day as when we got to the AT center (a free shelter/bunk house ran by the PATC) there was a hiker feed going on. Salad, BBQ chicken, rice, pistahchio ice cream and cake. Such a delicious feast to end a hard day! This group of people also played live string music by candlelight, we had a relaxing evening.
10 miles later we finally exited our longest state of the trail and entered West Virginia!
No Virginia Blues for us! What a beautiful state. Check back to read about the other states we've been to since then!
Virginia is a US state situated in South Atlantic region. I am a tourists and traveling is my passion. After visit your blog I am planning to visit there after my washington dc bus tours. Your shared experience will be helpful for my next tour. Le me suggest the most feasible time to visit there. Do suggest me the other attraction near the park. I am waiting for your reply.
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