9/27, 28 Bye Shenandoah

Not much to say about the 27th... it was a sunday. I left in the morning as the private school kids were doing some excercises and looking for their pancake mix. Hiked until i got to a campground store and bought some food to supplement my lunch. all healthy stuff: ice cream, chips, oreos, and soda. It was a nice day, cool and blustery. When i got to the shelter there was a guy there who had hiked the trail last year, and he was great to talk to. He even made a roaring fire. There was one problem though, a rat at the shelter. It ran around all night making noise and when i woke up in the morning he had stolen my had and taken it to some back corner. A pack rat, but fortunately he left my pack alone. I really did not have much food left for him to take anyway.
So, today.... I hiked out of shenandoah national park. as soon as i got out the trail developed into "crappy trail". Pointless hills and it seemed like to get somewhere you had to go every direction except directly there. It was frustrating, and to make matters worse, right before i got to the road where i was finishing the day there was a downpour and a thunderstorm. Needless to say, i am glad to be in town and staying at a bed and breakfast. Tonight i will dine at an all you can eat chinese buffet, and then have ice cream. Tomorrow i will eat breakfast and lunch in town and then hike a long 5 miles to the first shelter. Colin is very close to me i have found out. I will go slow until he catches up...