Some more photos...

This rock above the trail is called "The Guillotine"

Sign in the Catawba General Store

Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Long ridge lines, graded trails, excellent views into the valley below.  Shenandoah provides some of the nicest hiking on the trail so far.  You can get more information about the park at http://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm

Friends Lynn & Cal together with their friend Tom drove up to join me for a few days.  It was nice to stay in a campground with hot showers, and to have some luxuries such as chairs to sit in during evenings.

One day two baby bear cubs and their mother came onto the trail right in front of me.  Since it is not safe to get too close, the picture is a bit fuzzy, but here is one of the cubs...

Also, finally caught up with Lady Jelly Bean and Fleegle.  We ended up hiking together for several days.

One day, Lady Jelly Bean Shakespeare wrote a poem about the Virginia Blues.  Since 23% of the trail is in Virginia, hikers sometimes feel they will never leave the state.  Perhaps you can zoom in and read her writing...

Mary's Point

19 September 2009

Took a short side hike to Mary's Point in Shenandoah National Park.  It was late afternoon, and the views were excellent.  Also there were another couple from the Washington, DC area, and a famIly with daughter.  We all said hello to each other, and the young girl said "Ni Hao".  Huh?  So, talked back to her in Chinese.  Then her (non-Chinese) parents also spoke in Chinese. Finally, the other couple also spoke in Chinese!

Turns out that the family adopted a girl from Hunan Provence.  Before visiting China, they took language lessons.  As for the DC couple, he had lived for several months in China.

And there we were on a mountaintop in the USA, with only the girl of Chinese nationality, but all speaking some of the language!

Here is our group photo:

The Remaking of a Hiker's Body

An earlier post talked about getting hiking legs.  After 1,300 miles, the body evolves further.  It focuses development on what is absolutely required for the task and little else.  This means shrinking from the waist up and growing from the waist down.  As before, the challenge is to feed enough fuel to the body to enable it to perform as needed.  Recent daily distances hiked include many over 20 miles and up to 26.6 miles.  My estimate is that 4,000 to 5,000 calories are needed - far more than can be carried.  Visits to town  become very important as they offer an opportunity to eat high fat and high calorie foods not easily carried on the trail.  Pizza and Milkshakes, here I come!

Front Royal, VA and the Birdhouse Collection

18 September 2009

Here is a collection of innovative birdhouses that are on a porch in Front Royal, VA.  You can see more at http://markandpatsadventures.shutterfly.com/

Harpers Ferry, WV reunion with Pat

14 September 2009

Sure was nice to see Pat after a long time apart. We stayed in a nice B&B overlooking the river, cooked a fantastic meal of steak, fresh corn, and salad, and had more than one celebratory drink.

The next day we visited the Appalachian Trail Conservancy office headquarters down the street. They have a registry of all long distance hikers. So now my photo is officially in their book. Number 43 southbound thru hiker this year, not too bad!

Although we delayed departure as long as possible, eventually it was time to part... before I changed my mind about continuing the hike (just joking).

Harpers Ferry, WV reunion with Pat

14 September 2009

Sure was nice to see Pat after a long time apart. We stayed in a nice B&B overlooking the river, cooked a fantastic meal of steak, fresh corn, and salad, and had more than one celebratory drink.

The next day we visited the Appalachian Trail Conservancy office headquarters down the street. They have a registry of all long distance hikers. So now my photo is officially in their book. Number 43 southbound thru hiker this year, not too bad!

Although we delayed departure as long as possible, eventually it was time to part... before I changed my mind about continuing the hike (just joking).