Shenandoah National Park, VA
Hikes, overlooks, campfires — oh, my!
We began our hiking adventures at the Traces Trail (loop, 1.7 miles). Who’s scared of 1.7 miles? Well, we should have been. We took our hiking poles and strode confidently to the trailhead, only to be surprised by how challenging it was: steep, rocky, full of leaves which made the trail a bit slippery. But the trail was practically empty and the autumn colors gorgeous! We finished the short hike with a greater respect for the trails at the park.
For lunch we drove to an overlook, set up the hammock, and prepared bowls of veggie chili. The day was cold and windy, but the sun was out and the view expansive, so N. looked like the happiest of clams swinging on the hammock and eating his lunch. Our hammock was the star of the overlook, for as soon as people saw it, they smiled, gave N. a thumbs-up, or could not help striking up a conversation.
The burst of energy from lunch must have gone to our heads because we decided to do a bigger hike, approximately 5.7 miles, in a big loop that involved portions of the Elkwallow Trail, the Appalachian Trail (AT), Tuscorora-Overall Run Trail, and a portion of the Traces Trail which we had hiked just this morning. N. kept wondering aloud why there weren’t other hikers on the trail. Eventually we ran into an old and bearded man with a massive pack who looked like an AT through-hiker, and a trio with two dogs.
By the time we got back to our campsite, the sun was down; there was still plenty of light, but the temperature had dropped considerably, and the wind had picked up. What could be better than a campfire?
The camp host was close to us, and I had noticed earlier that he had several bundles of firewood in front of his very large RV. While I was making dinner, I asked that N. buy a bundle: we could then light a fire and generate a bit of heat while cooking dinner outside. Well, he came back empty-handed: those bundles were firewood for the personal use of the camp host! His own very-big-and-very-warm stash! He informed N. that we could buy our own several miles down the road.
So no campfire for us!