(Byrd's Nest #3 Hut (mile 941.2) - Stealth Campsite (mile 265.4))

I woke up at 6:45am. As I poked my head out of my tent, I discovered the sky was overcast and strongly hinted at rain. There was no water source at the hut, so full breakfast would have to wait. To tide me over, I ate an orange that was given to me yesterday morning by one of the Moms. It was delicious. I have really come to appreciate citrus on this hike, and this orange was orders of magnitude better than the little cuties that trail angels usually hand out.

I started hiking and quickly made it 1.5 miles to Mary's Rock, a really large set of cliffs described by Guthook as "dizzying." Certainly terrific views, but I would hesitate to say they were any more dizzying than most of the overlooks I have seen recently. Shenandoah has really blown me away with views. The park has offered some gorgeous hiking. Yesterday felt especially beautiful after Big Meadows Lodge. Tons of ridge hiking. Tons of overlooks. Good weather. Good vibes all around. I was also probably riding the high of blackberry ice cream pie and a full belly😂

Today, I am hoping to hike about 21-22 miles, which will put me about 10 miles outside Front Royal, where I am hoping to spend the night tomorrow. This plan could change. Apparently there is a free trolley that the city of Front Royal sends to the trail twice a day. I am not sure when the trolley arrives, but if it arrives at like 8am, then I definitely need to get closer than 10 miles. We shall see.

About a mile later, I encountered one of the coolest trees I have seen on trail. My tree id skills are not the best, but it gave me the impression of a large old (white?) oak. It lived right next to the trail, covered in burls. The tree extended a low branch to form an archway over the trail. The branch corkscrewed like some sort of elaborate bonsai, and my mind reeled with speculations as to the origins of such a dramatically odd feature. As I was admiring the tree, a rather large, tank-like beetle scuttled across the trail, pulling my attention from a macro-wonder to a micro-wonder. I spent a while photographing both.

After another mile, I reached Panorama Parking Area, which was the first water source of the day. I ate breakfast there with Delta and then we hiked 8.5 miles to Elkwallow Wayside. As we were approaching the wayside, the clouds began relieving themselves. We responded by pulling on our rain jackets, more so to keep warm than to keep dry. We were hoping the grill would be open, but alas, it was not. I settled for a prepackaged chicken ranch wrap, a full size bag of cool ranch Doritos, and a Neapolitan ice cream sandwich.

We ate lunch under a breezeway at the wayside with a few other hikers, including John, Kayla, and "Last Chance." After lunch, I used the phone in the Wayside to reserve a room for tomorrow night at the Super 8 in Front Royal. I also called the city visitor center to ask about the trolly to the trailhead. After much confusion, the lady told me the trolly completes a scheduled run to the trailhead at 9:45am. The rain eased up and Delta and I decided to hike another 12 miles to a stream where we hoped to find a stealth campsite.

We crossed Skyline Drive 5 times over the next 6 miles before reaching the next water source at Gravel Springs Hut. We filled our bottles and set out on the final 6.5 miles to our destination stream at mile 265.2. Along the way, we passed many fine views and had a close encounter with a single deer who seemed much more interested in tasty leaves than us.

We filled our water at the stream and then set out to find the closest stealth spot. About 0.2 miles later, we found an excellent campsite with space for four or more tents just off the trail. Delta and I were eating our dinner when John and Kayla arrived with Aurora. Just as the afternoon light was fading, a single deer strolled lazily through our campsite, seemingly unfazed by Aurora.

Tomorrow morning, Delta and I would make our way into Front Royal. We were about 3 miles from the Shenandoah park boundary and a little less than 7 miles from the road into Front Royal. We might be able to catch the town trolly, but the road would probably be an easy hitch, so we were not feeling pressure to arrive at 9:45am.