Farewell, Shennies
Right now, I’m at a Super 8 Motel in Front Royal, Virginia. Today is Thursday, June 13. And being here is a wonderful thing, even though my room smells terrible for some reason. I haven't stayed in any sort of developed structure for a week now, since S. dropped me off at Rockfish Gap. This morning, I woke up at the Gravel Springs shelter, and I’d had a bit of difficulty sleeping. Apparently, my sleeping pad has a hole in it. By the time I got up this morning, I was basically laying on the ground, rather than a nice pillowy air mattress. I’d had to get up a few times over the course of the night to reinflate it, too. I suspect the culprit was the very rocky campsite I set my tent up on.
Gravel Springs shelter is relatively old, and it's on the side of a hill, so a lot of the tent sites have been sort of carved out of the side of the mountain, rather than, you know, when I was at the campsite the night before, there was a nice grassy meadow with a really flat spot to set up my tent. And that was a lovely place, versus this manufactured tent site that was very small and very rocky. I blame all the jagged rocks. And the fact that I got myself a new tent. I guess I have to have a patch somewhere to keep my trail name legit.
Anyway, I got up early and left by a little bit before 7 o’clock, because I had a very important appointment to make, which was with the 2:15 free trolley from the trailhead into Front Royal, a few miles away. I had 13.5 miles to cover, so I figured that leaving at 7 o’clock should give me plenty of time, and ultimately, it did.
I started hiking with a tremendous sense of purpose, but overall, the day was somewhat boring, I have to say. There just really weren't any dramatic views or particularly interesting features. But I will say that I made great time, and even though it was pretty hot out, I made it to the trolley pickup spot about an hour earlier than I was expecting. So that was great.
Really, the only noteworthy component of today’s hike was that I left the Shenandoah National Park. Not just noteworthy, but unfortunate. Hiking in the park has really been delightful. And since so many people hike there, the trail was well maintained and relatively flat. Plus, you have all the waysides with tables and real food and resupply opportunities and plumbing and all the other nice conveniences that are generally not available on the AT. So boo, hiss to being done with the Shenandoahs.
The free trolley dropped me off right at the Super 8, which was very kind of them. Immediately after I checked in and got to my room, I started trying to diagnose where the air was leaking out of my sleeping mat. S. suggested that I dunk the whole thing in the bathtub to find it, which was a bit more difficult than it might sound. Nonetheless, I was able to locate the leak and patch it, and it seems to be holding for now.
The other important activity was showering, which felt great. Next was the grocery store, which was just a few blocks away, to resupply with enough to get me to Harpers Ferry. I ended up buying what I thought I needed and spent over a hundred bucks for four days’ worth of food. That was a bit discouraging, but I think the hiker hunger has finally kicked in, so I’ve got to buy things that are going to keep me going and that I actually want to eat.
After the grocery store, I walked over to Vibrissa Beer for some dinner and some beers. I should probably say that the other way around — for some beers and some dinner. I didn’t see any other hikers there, which was a bit surprising. Vibrissa does a great job of accommodating hikers. They actually offer laundry facilities, so you can walk in, get a beer, and do your laundry for free, which is exceptionally nice of them. I didn’t do any laundry, because I’ll be seeing S. in Harper’s Ferry in just a few days, and I can do it then.
Vibrissa has a German helles that they won a silver medal for at the GABF, and I ordered a pint of it right away. [Wife note: It’s called Park Pass.] It was delicious. And then I had several of their other offerings. They’re smart — they have half pours — so I was able to sample several of their beers without overdoing it.
I’d gotten myself a turkey wrap at the grocery store and inhaled it, because I hadn’t wanted to show up at the brewery ravenous and start drinking on an empty stomach, but that meant I wasn’t actually all that hungry anymore. But I eventually ordered some chicken wings and then some crispy tofu bites, which were great. Sitting at the bar was a reasonably social experience. There were some locals there with me, and in talking with them, I found out that Martin’s, the grocery store I’d gone to, is notoriously expensive. When I mentioned that I’d done some resupply shopping there, one of them said, “Oh, then you definitely got ripped off.” That actually made me feel a little bit better about the price tag, not so much with respect to how much I’d spent in total but more in the sense that I didn’t overbuy — I got what I legitimately needed — but was just overcharged for it. So theoretically, it shouldn’t always be so pricey.
Now I'm back in the room, and I need to sort all my food and take things out of their boxes and bags and package them better so I can fit everything into my backpack. It was nice to do a 13.5 mile day and still have the afternoon to do a resupply, figure out some equipment issues, and go to a brewery. Sleeping in a real bed tonight is going to be awesome, too.
Tomorrow, I'll probably hit the trail a little bit later than normal, because I don't have a ton of miles to do before I hit Harper’s Ferry. I've got five days to cover that distance, so I think I can get away with a nero tomorrow. I'll eat breakfast here at the hotel, finish organizing my gear, and check out at around 11 and try to hook up with the free trolley back to the trail. We'll see if that works out as planned.
