The Appalachian Trail follows the entire length of Shenandoah National Park from south to north, covering 103 miles.  My journey through the park was made special by having my son, Logan, and son in-law, Julian, accompanying me on the trail for the first half of the park.  To top it off, my wife, Nancy, and daughter, Shelby, joined us in the midpoint of the park to stay in lodge.

For not having their “trail legs”, Logan and Julian did a great job, covering 57 miles in five days.  During their hike, they got the total experience: carrying a heavy pack, walking the “green tunnel”, tent camping, meeting other hikers, bugs, hiking in the rain, and of course, bear encounters.

Stealth Camping

Bear Bags Hung

Logan had a particular aversion to the insects, and would frequently make pronouncements like “Nothing is more sacred than the buglessness of the body.”  In contrast, I discovered that after over two months on the trail, I no longer notice the cloud of gnats around my head.

Logan shaking the bugs out of his tent

Logan coined a new hiking term, “trudge mode”, to describe walking uphill, heads down, without breaks – usually at the end of the day heading for camp.

Julian and Logan in “Trudge Mode”

The weather for hiking was generally good so we were treated to some good views.

View of sunset from Loft Mountain

Looking West

I did get some fiendish pleasure when it did rain, since the boys would not have gotten the “total experience” without having hiked in a rainstorm.

Hiking in the Rain

Not as a result of any careful planning, but by pure luck, we hiked up to Big Meadows Lodge about thirty minutes before the women arrived by car.  The lodge, completed in 1939, has a rustic charm. Our rooms were completely wood-paneled – floor, walls, and ceiling with “native wormy chestnut which is now virtually extinct” – according to the plaque.  (I was happy to see they had installed a robust smoke detector and sprinkler system to prevent us all from going up in smoke.)

Family Photo

Among the other charms of an 80-year-old hotel are a lack of soundproofing and porosity to rodents.  Nancy and my room was right over the lobby/common area.  We could hear all the goings-on in the hotel, and presumably vice versa.  One evening, Shelby was in the common room and texted Nancy in our room, “Did you just sneeze?”  Sure enough, she had.  We heard various reports of people with mice in their rooms.  I reported a mouse late one night to the front desk, assuming there really was not much that could be done.  The desk clerk disappeared for about twenty minutes and returned to hand me a mouse trap and a slice of Swiss cheese.  I give her an “E” for effort.

During Nancy and Shelby’s stay, it was rainy and foggy so we spent a lot of time in the common area playing games and puzzling, as well as taking in the house entertainment.

Puzzle Master

House Entertainment

When Logan saw that the evening performer was named David Gilmore, he had faint hopes that this could be a cover act for the David Gilmore, the famous lead guitarist for Pink Floyd.  When the first song was “My Girl”, his hopes were dashed.  The performer said he had strict instructions from the house to “play whatever you want.”  We ended up enjoying his set, with Nancy and Logan even getting in on the act.  As luck would have it, Nancy was walking in the door when the singer was asking for help on percussion.

Nancy the Percussionist

Logan showing his chops on tambourine

Shenandoah National Park is all about the bears.  There are images of bears on the signs, t-shirts, mugs, keychains- you name it.  The Shenandoah black bears are plentiful, and not a bit afraid of people, but anything but tame.  This seems to me like a bad combination. The park has done an admirable job of installing bear boxes at campsites and bear poles at shelters – all to keep the bears from associating people with food.  If you car camp, you have a bear box right by your picnic table.  Unfortunately, you have <insert your own adjective here> tourists who leave trash around, or even feed the bears.  Bears being such a focal point, my post would not be complete without a couple of bear stories.  All told, I had two bear encounters while hiking with the boys, and two more while hiking alone.

Logan, Julian, and I saw our first bear feeding very close to the trail. After a few minutes, three more hikers came up behind us – so we had strength in numbers.  The bear completely ignored us while we took a few pictures.  After waiting a while for the bear to move, we decided to all clack our trekking poles together to get the bear moving.  This appeared to just annoy the bear rather than scare him, so we waited him out and he eventually moved on.

Bear checking us out

Bear crossing the trail

I was hiking alone when I came upon my last bear – a pretty good sized one.  He was also near to the trail and I didn’t see him until I was way too close.  I backpedalled quickly and managed to fall flat on my back (fall number four for my hike).  After a while, an older lady hiker came up from behind.  We waited a while, but there would be no strength in numbers – we were on our own.  We clacked our sticks, yelled, and whistled but the bear stayed put.  I tried moving down the trail closer, but instead of moving away, the bear seemed to take a step towards me, so I beat a hasty retreat.  Dang you stubborn bear, out of our way!  After strategizing with my hiking parter, we decided to do a bypass.  Fortunately, there was no steep dropoff on the other side of the trail.  We bushwhacked down the mountain, over logs and around boulders, then back up to the trail beyond the bear.  Problem solved.  I will be quite happy if I see no more bears on the trail.

Bear 3 for Randy – An adolescent

Other flora and fauna from the park…

Black Vulture

Luna Moth

Cottontail Rabbit

Whitetail Deer

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I have gotten a few questions about my diet on the trail, so here is a rundown of what I eat on the trail and while in town.   This diet is still a work in progress as you will see.

Here is what I eat on a typical day on the trail.

Food for the Day

I start the day with a cup of Starbucks Via instant coffee and a couple pop tarts.  During my morning hike, I will eat a couple of candy or energy bars.  Around 1:00 PM, I take a lunch break.  For lunch, I have two “tuna tortillas” which consist of the contents of a tuna pouch double-wrapped in flour tortillas, plus a cup of coffee.  During my afternoon hike, I eat a couple more candy/energy bars.  For my evening meal, I will have a freeze-dried backpacker meal along with a cup of caffeine-free herbal tea.  Also, through the day, I will usually graze on some salty snack like Chex Mix.

I find backpacker meals to be tasty and nutritious, containing both meat and vegetables.  Unfortunately, these are not available in some trail towns, where the only shopping option might be the local Dollar General.  In these cases,  I buy Knorr Sides (Pasta Sides, Rice Sides, Asian Sides, etc.) to which I add a tuna pouch or canned chicken to get some protein.  I find the Knorr Sides to be neither tasty nor nutritious, but they do pack some calories.  They are also very cheap, ($2 versus $8 for a freeze-dried meal), which makes them popular with more thrift-conscious hikers.

I tallied up my daily intake on the trail and it comes to about 3100 calories.

• 2 pop tarts (420 calories)
• 1 energy bar (170 calories)
• 3 candy bars (720 calories)
• 4 tortillas (560 calories)
• 2 tuna packs (260 calories)
• 1 backpacker meal (740 calories)
• 1/4 bag Chex Mix (260 calories)
• 2 instant coffees (0 calories)
• 1 herbal tea (0 calories)
• 1 Crystal Light (10 calories)
• 1 daily multivitamin

If this sounds like mostly junk food, you are right.  On the trail, calorie density is king.  It isn’t practical to carry fruits and vegetables.  I read an article by some PhD nutritionist who maintained that the junk food is not harmful.  She said that when operating at a large calorie deficit, your body burns the bad stuff instead of storing it.  I hope she is right.

I have a fairy ultralight cooking setup which consists of a miniature propane stove, propane canister, 0.75 liter titanium pot, Bic lighter, collapsible cup, and spork.  The canister, stove, and lighter pack up inside the pot.

Cook Set – Deployed

Cook Set – Packed Up

I never cook anything in my pot.  I only boil water to pour into my dehydrated meal pouches or into my coffee cup.

While in town, I try to eat as much as possible.  I don’t have the “hiker hunger” such that I can snarf down a large pizza or half gallon of ice cream in one sitting.  I think that my stomach has shrunk somewhat from eating frequent but smaller meals and snacks on  the trail.  To adapt, while in town, I try to have restaurant meals, breakfast-lunch-dinner, and then “snack” in between meals.  After dinner, I might have a pint of ice cream.  Sometimes I buy a box of Frosted Mini-wheats and a half gallon of whole milk, and see how many bowls I can eat between breakfast and lunch.

Since the beginning of my hike, my weight has dropped from 177 to 154, so I am definitely operating at a calorie deficit.  While I feel I am still at a healthy weight, I need to slow the weight loss.  My strategy will be to carry more calories, and eat more in town.  Carrying more calories means packing more food or more calorie-dense food.  For example, many hikers carry plastic bottles of olive oil and add some to whatever they are eating.  (Olive oil is very calorie-dense at 250 cal/oz as compared to 130 cal/oz for most candy bars.)  To eat more in town, I may need to take more “zero days”.  I have taken only two zeros since I started on the trail, whereas the typical thru-hiker might take about one per week.

Along the Appalachian Trail, I occasionally run across historical tidbits.  There is evidence, usually made of stone, that people once lived and worked in the mountains.

Stone Fences on Humpback Mountain

W. J. Mayo Homeplace

The other day, I ran across this peculiar marker.

Marker on Bluff Mountain

It is pretty surprising that a 5-year would walk 7 miles.  What is more remarkable is that this plaque is only about 20 feet the survey marker at the mountain top.  For some reason, the child chose to climb to the top of the mountain.

I have passed four or five abandoned cemeteries during my hike.  While these are generally within a mile or so from the trail head, the Lowe Family Cemetery was unusual in that it was up on the mountain, four miles from town.  This was the most primitive cemetery I have ever seen.  There were about twenty headstones, consisting of jagged pieces of fieldstone.  Only one stone had any inscription.  These cemeteries always serve to remind me of our mortality.

Lowe Family Cemetery

Marker with Inscription

Some flora and fauna on the trail…

Spiderwort

Spiderwort – Up Close

Eastern Towhee

Great Spangled Fritillary

Great Spangled Fritillary

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I arrived at Bryant Ridge Shelter on the evening of Memorial Day.  I had been hustling to get there as it was starting to rain.  My trail guide said the shelter held up to 20 people, so I knew there would be room.  It was pleasant to find that the shelter was not just spacious, but beatifully designed and built as well.

Most AT shelters follow a relatively cookie-cutter design.  They have a wooden platform to hold six to eight hikers, walls side and back, and a rectangular slanted roof.  Usually, there is a picnic table for cooking and eating in good weather.  Architected for simplicity and utility, the Bryant Ridge Shelter is a palace by comparison.  It has two levels for sleeping plus a large porch area to cook and commune out of the weather.  There are pegs and hooks everywhere to hang up packs and gear.  Everything a hiker needs!

Exploring the upstairs, I found a plaque containing the poem tucked up under the eaves.  The next morning, as I hiked up out of the valley, it occurred to me what an extraordinarily fine memorial this is.  Sitting right on the AT and also accessible by a short side trail, this shelter must provide comfort to thousands of hikers.  Nelson, I don’t know your backstory or what you did in life, but you have the gratitude of this weary thru hiker.

A few days ago, I had my first sketchy water crossing. So far, I’ve had to trudge through several creeks with water up to my calves, but nothing dangerous.  My trail guide said, “Cross Wilson Creek by stepping across the rocks.”  On this day, Wilson Creek was a torrent of brown, boiling water.  It had rained hard about an hour earlier.  I searched up and downstream and finally found a log to cross.

Bridge across Wilson Creek

I tossed my trekking poles across javelin-style, then scooted partway across on my butt, and then the rest of the way on hands and knees like a wounded squirrel.

Back at the trail crossing, I found a hiking couple strategizing their crossing.  I directed them to my log and walked back there to offer assistance if needed.  Apparently, I am a male chauvinist, as I expected the woman to be the one needing the help.  As it turned out, her partner had some difficulty, but she scampered across like a real squirrel.

I resupplied and stayed at a hostel in the town of Glasgow, VA.  I love these small mountain towns.  With about 1000 residents, Glasgow is about half the size of my home town of Germantown, NY.  It has two small groceries and seemingly one of everything else (one restaurant, fire department, auto garage, rec park, post office, and so forth.)  Unlike Germantown which boasts a single red light, Glasgow has none.  They do have a dinosaur, though…

The weather of late has been foggy and overcast.  There has not been much to see from the overlooks, but the plants seem to like the damp weather.

View on Apple Orchard Mountain

Managed to survive “The Guillotine”

I was beginning to think that the rhododendrons were done blooming.  Most of the blooms had wilted or had fallen to the ground.  Yesterday, when the trail climbed back over 4000 feet elevation, I was pleased to find the rhododendrons were back in all their glory.  The photos don’t do them justice, but I can resist posting a few samples from my “rhododendron gallery”.

I see quite a few mockingbirds, but only in the pastures or in town, never in the forest.

Northern Mockingbird

Other flora and fauna…

Galax

Black Snake lounging in the shrubbery

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