Miles: 883.7 | A slow, deliberate day through the Shenandoahs, shaped by groggy mornings, quieter miles, and a needed reset. We talk honestly about burnout and decide to focus on consistency over pushing big days. An afternoon nap works wonders, easing the slump and restoring some balance. The day ends calmly at Blackrock Hut—familiar faces, older gear stories, and forest stillness—until a curious bear wanders through camp in the middle of the night, a sharp reminder that even here, rest is never entirely uninterrupted.
I awoke at 4:45am to someone’s alarm going off in the shelter. That group that came in late, apparently, decided to get up early. They packed up loudly and ate breakfast right above our heads at the picnic table. Someone tried shushing them. They responded with, “Wow, how mature.” I tried to stay out of it. I was so groggy from the melatonin. I didn’t have the energy. Eventually they left. The risk you take sleeping in a shelter is experiencing disturbances and annoyances. I'm to the point where I won't stay in many more shelters. It was easier in February when there were less people out.
I fell back to sleep and got up again around 7am. Miles and I packed our stuff.
We walked slowly through the Shenandoahs. The scenery was better this day. We talked about how we could get out of this slump. Mostly how I could get out of this slump. We decided maybe we should be more consistent. Doing manageable but consistent miles for a bit, around 15, and then working our way up to bigger days. Taking less zeros.
We arrived at the next shelter where the Woo Crew was taking a lunch break and Twinkie was set up for the night. It was only 2:30pm. In the Shenandoahs you are supposed to camp at shelters, so other campsites aren’t marked on maps and stealth camps can be harder to find. The majority of water sources are at the shelters, too. The Woo Crew was planning on going to the next shelter after this one. We strongly contemplated it, but realized a 26 Mile day might be a bit much for us right now.
We set up our tents and I went and took a nap. After my nap, I felt MUCH better. The Woo Crew had left to finish their 26 mile day. Twinkie and an older section hiker, who didn’t have a trail name, remained. I ate dinner with them. The section hiker showed us his large, external frame pack and some of this older gear. It was cool to see what was once considered ‘state of the art’ that hikers now scoff at and call ‘too heavy’.
After dinner, I enlisted Miles to help me hang my bear bag on the bear pole. I was too short to reach it. Swimmer and his son showed up after dinner along with a couple of weekend hikers. I went to bed around 9pm as the sun set. The weekend hikers stayed up talking til 11pm. They, obviously, were not adjusted to forest time. Out here we call 9pm hiker midnight because it’s usually dark out and most hikers are going to sleep by then. I tried to ignore them. Eventually, I took a melatonin and fell asleep.
Late in the night, around 3am by my watch, I heard a loud noise. The sound of tree limbs falling. I rolled over and looked out my tent. I had left my vestibule open for air flow and I could easily see most of camp and the shelter.
In the moonlight I saw a big, dark animal walking near the shelter. I snapped around and grabbed my glasses from behind me. My sleeping pad crinkled the whole time, damn Therm-A-Rest! I nervously slipped my glasses on and looked out my tent.
Across camp by the bear pole I saw a small bear trying to climb a tree near the bear pole. It swung its arm at the bear pole but it was too far away. It tried a couple more times and then got bored. Down the tree it went, taking a few limbs with it.
It noisily ambled across camp and down the hill toward the spring. Just about 30ft from my tent the bear passed by. No one made a sound. Usually you want to be loud to scare bears away, but I wasn’t sure if I was the only one awake and I was nervous. Thankfully, this bear was just looking for food, not humans.
1. My tent
2. Time to read + nap
3. The sight of familiar faces