Tom Floyd Shelter(962.7)-US 522/Front Royal(965.6) Virginia
2.9mi
Elevation chart courtesy of Guthook's AT Hiker app. He has apps for many trails including the PCT and CDT.
It was a nice night of sleep and we all got up easily and ready by 7am knowing that we only had 3mi to hike to the road to Front Royal, VA! It's been great hiking with the Kallin's this leg and we just get along really easily and it's fun. I'm still in shock that All In and Momma Bear are the exact same age as me. I couldn't possibly have kids old enough to hike or be a Momma Bear! No way! It just seems like that's adult stuff, ha! As we were getting ready to leave I leaned down to see a piece of what looked like foil wedged in a fallen log. I looked closer to see that it was a toy ring. I showed Cartwheel and we all watched as the giggly girl emerged in her and it was like she found a million dollars. Coincidentally, she lost a ring similar to that last year in the Shenandoahs so she was over the moon! Sorry, it blurred with her excitement, but it looks great.
It was a nice leisurely downhill hike in and we arranged a local shuttle from Mobile Mike who owns a local hostel to pick us up at 8:20am. For all you dog lovers that have been requesting pictures of Orion, I got a couple with him in there today. He loves it out here just as much as the kids and runs up and down the trail keeping tabs on everyone.
We checked in to the Quality Inn which is becoming my regular spot on this trail. I love the continental breakfast and speedy internet! We were checking in at 8:30am and realized it was still before the continental breakfast ended. Everyone is SUPER nice here and told us we could go in for the breakfast. It was great to get an unexpected meal so conveniently. We certainly put that waffle maker to use! We made sure we had neighboring rooms and I am very fortunate to have this night's hotel stay treated by my friends Corinna and Glenn. They made sure I had the best accommodations with a bonus whirlpool in my room! THANK YOU Corinna and Glen!
We all felt especially stinky this leg. I think it was the humidity and the two days at the beginning of the leg of rain and fog that really did us in. Once that happened, everything took on a mildew smell, whew! As soon as we finished eating, we did showers and laundry. Cartwheel wears two buffs (like on Survivor!) while they do laundry and she can really pull it off. Check her out in all her buff beauty!
I took the rest of the afternoon to catch up on blogging, emails, and phone calls. We went across the street to Baskin Robbins and all got ice cream and milkshakes. Then we ordered pizza and Skyped with my nephews again. This was quite the town stop as I also had a special guest meeting me in town for dinner. Terry is the mother of a 2011 PCTer that I'm friends with and we have been trying to overlap somehow for awhile. I'm so glad that it worked out. She even brought us all food for our resupplies and an amazing amount of fresh fruit that we just LOVED! We went out for pasta as I was craving tortellini and while we were there we saw High Loon who I've been seeing all leg. He plans to camp at the same place I do tomorrow night so I should see him more this leg. Just love the trail crossings!
It is now just after 8pm and I've caught up on everything so my reward is coming....that's right....SURVIVOR FINALE tonight! Plus, I can watch in the whirlpool! Yes, this hiking life is quite difficult, he, he...We've yet to decide our schedules for this leg as we each have different people we must meet at different times. At the most, we will hike together one more day. It's just been a great time with the Kallins and I think you'll all like keeping tabs on them on their blog after we split. They ROCK!