Day 72: Busy Day

Day: 72 Miles: 23.2 Trip: 934.2 Started: Lewis Mtn Cabins Destination: Byrds Nest #3 Hut

Long day today.  It was nice to start in the campground, I walked over to the camp store and had some microwave fair for breakfast which is just a little better than the normal honey bun or cereal bar.  We all kind of left at different times.  Lentil was still asleep as was B-Rocket.  I got started pretty early so I could have enough time to stop at one of the Wayside pit stops for lunch.

It was really great weather today and the trail was pretty smooth for the most part.  One stretch of trail really reminded me of "The Green Tunnel" everybody keeps talking about.  The green tunnel is a term used by hikers who have gotten bored by the endless monotony of the terrain.  I for one have not had this set in, but the picture here would be my definition of it.

It is memorial day weekend and the day hikers and tourists are out in full force for the holiday weekend.  I had a bit of an ego boost when I passed by a ranger guided tour.  The ranger recognized me (or smelled me coming) as a through hiker and had them all clear the trail as I went by.  I stopped for a quick second and answered a few questions and then politely moved on.  It was a nice little ego boost late in the day.  Some other hikers I have talked to get annoyed at the questions about thru-hiking but I really don't mind it.  Most questions are about logistics and gear and the answers come pretty easy now. 

At about mile 930 I finally saw a bear!  I was told that it would be hard to get through the Shenandoah park without seeing a bear and I was starting to think I might be the exception.  He was sitting on the trail about 200'  feet in front of me when I first saw him.  We saw each other at about the same time and he jumped up and headed deeper into the woods.  He stopped long enough for me to get a quick picture before I gave him his space and moved on.  I can check that  one off the list now!  All in all a great day of hiking.