front royal, va to whiskey hollow shelter

i slept pretty well last night. it was a little strange being in bed with rocket, i was worried all my tossing and turning would keep him up, but he said he slept solidly.

we hit the hotel free breakfast and then headed to get coffee and to the supermarket to get resupplied, then back to the hotel to pack up. we hit the outfitter, but it was a bust. they wouldn’t swap darn tough socks, and they didn’t have any hiking umbrellas. from there we hit another coffee shop where we got lunch. i called magz and while we were talking rocket conversed with a patron who decided to shuttle us back to the trail.

back on trail, i called magz and we chatted until she had a meeting she had to attend. hiking was pretty good today. the weather called for thunderstorms, and it threatened to a few times, but ultimately, we stayed dry.

rocket and i pulled ahead and stopped at a shelter for lunch that had a separate gazebo for eating, a front porch, horseshoes (the game) and a shower! it was a barrel on a. stand, so not heated, but pretty cool none the less.

after lunch rocket left first, and i followed. the trail was for the most part flat and we made good time. i tried calling magz a few times but service was spotty. i don’t understand how i can have 4/4 bars, hit the dialer and it instantly goes to 1/4 bars and doesn’t connect. i listened to some podcasts and some tunes and motored.

i got to camp around 18:00. the shelter was really nice. a faux timber frame with a covered porch, and maestro was there! the rest of the night was unremarkable. water, bath, dinner, journal, bed.

apparently i took no photos today.