VA AT hike #1, day 3

Start: Dicks Dome shelter
End: Front Royal Terrapin Station Hostel
Mileage: 19.0 (+0.7 in side trails)

I headed out from the shelter at 6:30am. It was much cooler and less humid than the last two days. I went by Manassas Shelter around 8:15am with a very nice piped spring for water. I took a half hour break around 11am at the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter (which was very nice!). After I hit US 522, I climbed for ~4 miles, finally ending within the SNP boundary. I took the Compton Gap side trail to the hostel.

Today was a much easier day than the past two. While the elevation gained was similar, it didn't feel like it. The weather was nicer; humidity less; and more breezy, especially as I climbed higher. I ate lots of food here at the hostel, did laundry, and showered. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, as I begin to hike through the Shenandoahs!

VA AT hike #1, day 2

Start: Bears Den Hostel
End: Dicks Dome shelter 
Mileage: 18.3 (+0.8 for water and side trails)

I woke up and ate breakfast with one of my hosts. She then took me to Bears Den where she hiked with me for a little while before turning around. The morning that followed was very difficult.

I was on the trail by 7am and it started raining by 7:30am and rained off and on for the next 4-5 hours. This made the humidity even worse than it already was. The actual temperature was around 88-90, but the felt temperature was much higher. It was hard to get my breath and I was climbing a lot. The humidity also made the bugs worse. Thankfully, the rain stopped by 1pm or so and the weather shifted. I escaped the Rollercoster amd headed up into Sky Meadows where I got my first breath of non-humid air in two days.

On my way down to the shelter, I passed by a spring that had dried up. So a local PATC member had brought water to the trail from a nearby parking lot. She had a cold Gatorade and offered it to me. The trail magic was very much appreciated. I arrived at the shelter at 4:50pm. Shortly after, Twanda and Jingle Butt (NOBO thru hikers) arrived and we shared the shelter for the night. We had good conversations about OITNB. Another NOBO thru hiker (Paperclip) tented nearby.