Post #18 Labor Day Blues

During Labor Day weekend, my two oldest kids, Corina and Jordan, along with their spouses, met me in Shenandoah National Park for a couple days of camping and relaxing.  Neither had planned a camping outing before and it was fun to hear how they figured out what to bring,  Each couple brought their dog which added some spice to the weekend.  Big Meadows campground in SNP had everything we needed.  I took the opportunity to take a shower, charge my phone and battery block, and do my laundry; it’s always a highlight of my week.  It was hard to imagine that the adults before me used to bring so much life to our home and I am always impressed by how they have matured.  Our time together went by too quickly and before I knew it we were saying our goodbyes.

  Labor Day is the most melancholy of holidays for me.  Labor Day seems to mark the end of summer.  We already have three hours less daylight than we had in June.  The summer tourists that we complain about all head home, camps close for the year, parks empty out, seaside communities and their boardwalk shops look abandoned.  And I am left behind to reflect: I usually think about how I didn’t go camping, bike riding, or paddling enough.  Or how I didn’t eat enough ice cream from Donnelly’s, or enough s’mores or mountain pies.  But this year, after Corina and Tony dropped me off at the trailhead, I mainly thought about how I miss my family. I was feeling lonely.  I was so glad when “Lufa” showed up at the shelter that evening and I didn’t have to spend the night alone.

As I was sitting in my hammock the next morning, eating my cereal, I got a surprise when I looked up and saw a bear 40 feet away. Fortunately it was walking away from me when I yelled at it, just to let it know who was boss. As I watched it saunter away, I saw that there were two more bears silently walking away. Unfortunately, I was unable to get my phone turned on in time to capture them on ……? What DO we capture images on nowadays- bits and bytes or memory cards? I am always grateful to see wildlife that I seldom have the opportunity to see. The previous day, when Tony and Corina were taking me to the trailhead, we got to see a bear run across the road. What a way to start the day! And wouldn’t you know it, I sited another bear later in the afternoon of that same day.

  Luffa, a fellow Flip Flopper, caught up to me late on Tuesday morning and we had an early lunch along with “Feather”, a LASHer, at the Elk Wallow wayside.  The waysides in SNP are a combination gift store, grocery store, camp store and snack bar.  In the park, every two or three days the AT goes near one of the waysides and I get an opportunity to eat something that is not trail food.  So I plan my meals and re-supplies around when I’ll be at a wayside. 

  In the predawn hour, when the cicadas have quieted, I have heard coyotes and barred owls.  I have seen several fearless deer and a flock of turkeys that fled when I got within 50 yards of them.

  Thanks to the work the Civilian Conservation Corp did in the 1930s, the AT in SNP is well graded with lots of switchbacks to keep the trail from becoming too steep.  This 100 mile section provides some of the nicest hiking of the entire AT.  Because of this, I’ve been able to average about 15 miles of hiking per day.  

  Due to a nighttime rain storm, hours of hiking in the fog, mist, drizzle, and rain showers, plus good old Southeast humidity, I’ve had to deal with damp clothes and gear.  I often manage to get my gear dry by evening only to have it be damp by morning due to the humidity.  

I bade farewell to SNP at noon on Monday, and am spending the night at a hostel in Waynesboro, VA. My hike through the Blue Ridge mountains continues.