Day 19 - Saturday, March 6, 2021

Happy Birthday Erin 🎉🎈🎁!  



We are continuing hiking in the Shenandoah National Park from Beahms Gap Overlook (947.4 NoBo) to Skyland stables (934.0 NoBo) for a total of 13.4 miles. 

It was cold and blustery again but 🌞.  The temperature was 22° at the trail head.  Winds were gusting to 25-30 mph;  another bitter cold start.  We began hiking at 9:15 am. 

The trails are covered with snow packed frozen ice due to the elevation. Today’s hike took us to nearly to 4000 ft. We had our ice cleats on most of the day; we felt we were on a glacier mountain.  



Views from the trail looking west... spectacular. 



The trail was busy today with many day and section hikers. Most were having difficulties due to the ice on the trail but not us. Our ice cleats performed as expected and we navigated the trail effortlessly. 


Then we came upon this in the mountainside adjacent to the trail. Yes, it is a bear den! I told Jim to go over and get a better look.... he replies “I don’t think so, let Johnboy do it”. Now there is a story behind this... as I mentioned before, Jim and I are lifetime friends meeting over 50 years ago when my family began camping at his family owned campground. Fast forward a few year ahead  - we’re now 19-20. One of the other campers had a younger boy, around 15 and this youngster, John Jr. in which we nicknamed “Johnboy”, liked hanging around us. I’m not sure that it was because we impressed him or because “Johnboy” always tried to bum a cigarette off Jim? Yes, Jim did smoke back then but since has given it up. So anyways, to  make a long story short - anytime we wanted something done... it was always “let Johnboy do it”! 😉  He got me, perfect answer!



Overlook at “Mary’s Rock”.



“Mary’s Rock” from Route 211.





 “The Thinker”.





Another section of ice covered trail.



Chatting with some hikers, socially distancing, at Byrds Nest #3 Hut.  One of the people where from Cortland, NY.




One last spectacular view...

We finished hiking at 4:15 pm. High temperature for the day was 41°. 

Till next time... Happy Hiking  🥾 

😋

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