Date: 5/20/04
Starting Location: Pass Mt. Hut
Destination: Compton Gap Trail
Miles: 22.7
Total Miles: 959.7
My last day in Shenandoah, and it ended with no bear sightings, one last Mountain Blackberry milkshake at Elkwallow, and an entire day of walking in cloud mist. Pushed on to stay the night at Terrapin Station Hostel, which has only been open since last year. Run by Grateful Greenpeace Guy, a great host and hiker friend, it was a nice little place to have a shower and laundry with a clean bunkroom with air mattresses and a common area to watch some tv—something I haven’t done in quite awhile. For a change, it was a quiet hostel—only 5 of us in for the night. Great to end such a long wet day in a place like this—it always seems more satisfying when you’ve walked in rain like today. Well, only 50 more miles to get to that 1000-mile mark that we’ve all been looking forward to and the halfway point that waits not far beyond.
Oh, I almost forgot. For those of you following along, here’s the final tally of “Mountain Man’s Shenandoah Speedway Wildlife Scorecard” as I stop to take one final look back on my time here in Shenandoah National Park:
Fantexcellentasterrificuliciously attractive hiker girls: 1
(that’s fantastic, fabulous, excellent, terrific, and delicious all rolled into one)
Black bears: 1
So, after all that we ended in a deadlock. Those numbers are pretty discouraging. Hoping for improvement in a new state. Hey, “Virginia Is For Lovers”……I guess