Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Loft Mountain - Shenandoah National Park

 Note to self: a no generator area is quiet only if you are not the first site in the no generator area right next to the generator area.  

This was leaf peeping at it’s finest.  The Shenandoah Parkway was just radiant with colors.  Our site was a tad funky.  A pull through site with the door toward the road.  We put our chairs around back, got some wood had a lovely fire (I bought two bundles of wood, but Deb wanted to save one for the next night).  

We are seasoned campers and usually discuss logistics at dinner.  Deb has picked a hike that has a vertical drop of 1,200 ft, and the hike starts a mile away from the campground with another 500 drop to get to the trailhead.  Checkout is 12:00. So the plan is to drive to the trailhead and start there...good choice.  After dropping the 1,200 ft, visiting two waterfalls on the way, we have a choice...return the way we came or continue to follow the stream as it flows down through the valley.  Returning the way we came is a 3.5 mile hike.  Continuing on is an 8 mile hike.  We chose to defer the climb and opted for the 8 miles.  Deb marvels at my stamina.  She doesn’t know that she has to stop to catch her breath about two steps sooner than I do.

There is something quite exhilarating about returning to your vehicle with the feeling that you might not have been able to make it even another fifty feet.

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