Riding the storm out

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At times it feels as if Andy and I have nothing exciting to report from the trail. Truthfully we have been in a bit of a rut since we entered the state of Pennsylvania. Since then we have focused on hiking consistent days for the sake of making it to Georgia in one piece. This plan carried us through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and northern Virginia but something was missing. Though the miles were easily attainable, Andy and I struggled to make it through each day. Each mile seemed like an effort not worth enduring. I was worried that maybe we had gone too hard at the beginning of the trail and burned ourselves out. Burdened by doubt and slow miles, we have been in need of something to lift our spirits.
Luckily we were in good spirits as we left Front Royal, VA with a full re-supply to hike through the Shenandoah National Park. A mere 3 miles from town we arrived at the shelter on the northern border of the park to find 5 thru-hikers heading to Georgia. This was the first round of ME>GA hikers we have encountered because they started heading south in June or July, months before we started our hike. It was fun to meet some new hikers and to hear their experiences from the trail.
But with so many hikers at one shelter, we were forced to sleep on the deck under the stars. At the time this didn't seem like a bad plan as it was a warm, clear night. Then around 3:30am we were awaked by a ringing cell phone and sprinkles of rain. Instead of trying to wedge ourselves into the shelter to continue sleeping, we decided to start hiking into the park.
The scattered sprinkles didn't amount to much and we ended up hiking 38 miles due to the early start on the day. It was a fantastic day of blue skies with the fall foliage coloring the valley in vibrant shades of yellow and orange. Because we were in a national park, the hunters we had grown comfortable with were replaced by tourists enjoying the beautiful weekend. The shelters and nearly all the campsites in the park were filled to capacity. And because our blaze-orange gear has become standard issue, we continued to wear it through the park even though it is a strict no hunting zone. As another weird reversal of circumstances, the safety gear actually made many of the other trail users uncomfortable. People offered us uneasy looks and one woman actually blamed her dog's rowdy behavior on the orange hats. The park as a whole was an odd experience after weeks on a nearly abandoned trail.
Inspired by our first big day in weeks, we hammered out a 45 mile day which seemed to go faster than many of the 25 mile days we had been struggling to complete. I guess we were in need of a challenge, something to revitalize our desire to hike on. After these two big days we were just 20 miles from Waynesboro, VA, our next scheduled re-supply.
We ended up hiking the SNP in three days rather than the five we had planned on. This little victory was just what we needed. In those three days we hiked stronger than we had in weeks and to top it off, the weather was absolutely gorgeous.
The excitement we felt after our strong hike through the park has passed as today we resume our daily routine. A slow-moving system has settled over the state of Virginia, bringing severe rain and wind. For hours now we have listened to rain pound on the metal roof of the shelter but at least we are warm and dry. Just as we were on the verge of regaining our ambition to hike, this storm has smothered any hope of hitting the trail today.
Once we are able to start hiking again, the rest of the trail should pass rather quickly. We are less than 850 miles from Springer Mtn, GA. As we continue to get closer to our end goal, the miles will become easier and easier. For now all we can do is hope that the rain will pass.

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Comments

[Inga]

Hello from Berlin!
Hey Adam and Andy, I found your blog on the internet today. Wow! What a trip! It is really exciting to read about you and your adventures, but especially to see your pictures..I think I might have recognized you but you both do look very different (compared to the last time I saw you - about 15 years ago!). I'm looking forward to following your blog. Good luck for everything and have a great time! Best, Inga P.S. Hello to everybody else from the family who might read this!