Waynesboro VA, end of Shenandoah

7 1/2 days, just like 5 years ago, only much more rain. Familiar scenes.
Blogger still not posting photos, even after reinstalling.

Skyland resort

Sun and then mist, rain later, yogurt, chocolate chip cookie and hot tea, amidst the tourists. First northbounders, who report hearing that the norovirus is aleady striking the oncoming  herd in central VA. Oh well.

Front Royal

5 days, 54 miles, warm days, cool nights with slight showers. Meeting interesting people, many small coincidences:
Thru hiker #4, Wrong way, started Jan.2, wearing exact same shirt --his from hiker box, mine found in parking lot of Goodwill in Spokane, biking by.
Sarge, also 69, Vietnam instead of college, both of us with leg scars from having squamous cell cancers cut out. He struck an Ahab look, long white beard and a harpoon like walking stick.
Lone Bull, likewise 69, same Osprey pack but has congestive issues, still out hiking.
Tomorrow Shenandoah.
But tonight at same hostel Rodney and I stayed, 5 years ago the main house a wreck but today a deluxe BnB.

Bears Den hostel

2nd day on trail, breaking myself  in gradually. Repeating what Rodney and I did in 2014, without the snow we started in then.  Warming up, might be a thunderstorm tomorrow. Haven't met any northbounders yet, just too many scout troops out for the weekend.
Planning 5 days for the 55 miles to Front Royal.
Blogger won't let me post my photo at ATC HQ in Harper's Ferry for some reason. Have to try again when I have better WiFi connection.

3rd time's the charm

I'll be heading down to Harper's Ferry once again, aiming to hike south on the AT for about 3 weeks and hoping for an uncrowded trail at first. Once I run into the oncoming mass of northbound thru-hikers (and the "no-walk" norovirus that is the scourge of central VA about then) I will then skip out to Lynchburg VA and catch the train to Georgia. I will then start north around the beginning of May, maybe before the college graduates flock to Springer. This way I might be able to stay tucked in between the largest waves of hikers -- wishful thinking since the trail is always well trodden this time of year. I will hike up to where I got off the trail in VA, finishing the 1000 miles of the southern AT by the end of June. That will leave only the Mt. Washington to Katahdin section to do in September, completing my 3rd complete AT.

That's the plan, anyway. As I have learned, best laid plans rarely go the way you expect.

This time around I won't try for an active record of my travels, just the occasional postcard posting to mark the passage.

Another week on the trail, Manchester Center VT to Hanover NH

This is the stretch I skipped in fall 2015, when an incredible streak of perfect fall weather persuaded me to jump ahead and do the Whites and leave this for another time. Such as another nice run of sunny weather this year, at least for the first 5 days. Some wonderful sunsets and dark night skies, but didn't see the Orionids because the shelters and tent sites were mostly under trees. Besides, I went to bed early and it was cold enough not to want to go look for clearer views. As for the leaves, mostly past peak color, if there was that much this dry hot year. Still a great time to be on the trail.

Little Rock Pond

Got my first serious blister in 20 years, on the side of my left heel, from not keeping left boot laced up tight enough -- forgot that it was a hot spot this spring solved by stabilizing heel better. Then the last 3 days of rain, featuring heavy downpours and wind, knocking most remaining leaves down and jumping from August to November overnight. Everything stayed soggy, but oh the special joy of putting on my last clean and dry pair of socks that final day for the 15 miles into Hanover, even if they got damp fast, splashing across overflowing streams.

Stoney Brook Shelter

Bear Mt. NY to Salisbury CT, April 2017, a week on the AT

Back on the AT after 1 1/2 years. Last year was all about cyclo-touring, 5000 miles over 4 months, Washington, Oregon, Illinois to Ontario, then UK and Netherlands. Very nice trip.
Figured I was due for a trail refresher, so picked up where I left off 2 years ago to have surgery, knocking off an "easy" stretch of the AT. Easy if in hiking shape, not so much for me starting out with up and down NY. Two warm and wet days brought out the black flies and I pulled a tick off my last morning. Otherwise just right, though this 5 ft black snake was a surprise.

And Wiley Shelter had this nice amenity, the Dover Plains Little Library, courtesy of the real Dover Plains public library.

Ended in Salisbury with a nice big salad and great beer at the White Hart Inn, and stayed with the indomitable Maria McCabe, 81 year old Italian war bride, twice widowed and since then mothering AT hikers for the last 19 years.

And then back to the reality of hanging with my 5 month old grandson Peter Montgomery-Baecher.