Have you ever heard a Circadian Cricket? Think about the average run of the mill cricket with an orchestra of a thousand! That is what serenades me to sleep, night after night. They are the loudest little body creature God created. It’s an amazing symphony at natures best or worse, depending on how you like cricket noise.

The morning light is much slower to rise here in the south. When I was in Maine, dawn was 5am. Here in Virginia, maybe 6:15 or so. So when I woke up at 5am, there was no urgency to get moving. It’s still dark. My new on the trail time is 7am. It works well especially since the terrain is so much nicer. No more days of walking around mud, tripping over rocks and roots. It’s smooth sailing, down the trail.

I still get some elevation but it’s spread out over the day with more miles to allow for gradual ascents and descents. I was off to find water. No real prospects nearby. I ran into a Trail Runner group and they were little to no help. So I moved along. I met these bikers and they stopped, emptied their water bottles and helped me out! Go bikers. They were from NoVa – Northern Virginia. About an hour or two later, I saw a campsite with only a backpack but no hikers. Within a minute or two, I met Mitch and his girlfriend. They had fresh living water in their hands. Hallelujah, it was right around the bend.

Sure enough, there was a pipe coming out of the mountain. And it was flowing. I cameled up immediately, meaning I drank one liter in minutes. I then, filled up my two Smart Water bottles giving me two liters. At this rate, who knows when I’ll find water again. I sat for a bit, ate a bar of wholesome goodness and carried on.

I heard poles clicking from behind and turned to find Mitch. Ends up Mitch is hiking to Roanoke, close to where I’m planning to finish. Great. We walked and talked for most the morning. He’s a Grad Student from Phoenix and earned his P.A. License. He’ll be moving to Washington D.C. with his girlfriend of 5 years. She works in D.C. for the Health Administration and they met in South Africa when they were in the Peace Corp. Sounds like a power couple to me. This is his first solo long distance hike, but he has backpacked in many places with friends and family.

We stopped at the Ledges, and had our lunch. This is Mitch’s first full day on the trail so we talked about goals and what he planned to do. He’s a smart kid and had planned on stopping at the first shelter for a total of 10 miles. Good plan. We hung out for a bit and then walked to the Blue Blaze for Gravel Springs Hut & Shelter. I nodded him farewell but as always, this is a narrow strip of trail and we will meet again.

I met another Nobo Section Hiker today named Polonia. She’s from Poland and told me her name is the Spanish version of Poland. She’s been doing section hikes each year from Georgia north. This year she plans to finish in Front Royal. She must be my age or maybe a bit older and was quite perturbed. She stayed in the same shelter that Mitch plans to stay at, Gravel Springs, but he hammocks. Ends up that during the night, a mouse or a legend of mice stole her bandana. When she got up in the morning, it had vanished. When she saw my bandana, it all came back and she had to vent. I’d be furious! My bandana serves many purposes from mosquito abatement to sweat retention to cleaning and wiping my body down. But one of the most important aspects of my bandana is the prayers and messages of encouragement written by many of my friends and family. It’s my most treasured possession. I hope those mice are making good use of her bandana.

I continued south towards Elkwallow Wayside. It’s another five miles down the road and has a camp store and grill with a good selection of snacks, burgers, sandwiches, soda, beer, and ice cream. I arrived and ordered a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Onion Rings and a Blueberry Shake. Oh my, that hit the spot.

Now that I’m full with more than this gal really needed, I slowly got up and waddled down the trail. I had a little climb to get up to the Ridgeline, where I planned to camp for the night. I’m done with Shelters and after hearing about Polonia and her bandana, I’m going to stick to stealth camping.

I found a nice little place off the trail that will give me plenty of space to roam and options for my tent. Norman was quite happy and sprawled out as soon as we got settled. He doesn’t help much with camp set-up, but then he doesn’t really need to. I got this dialed and our camp is up and ready in less than five minutes. Now it’s time to rest and relax, thplan out our following day.

Another beautiful and wonderful day on the trail. Shenandoah’s are truly a splendid place to visit and hike. I expected much more people here being they say it one of those most visited National Parks on the East Coast. From talking to the locals, once you get into the park, deep inside the park, fewer people are here. The entrance both North and South see the gaggles of tourists. So here I am, all alone on this prime piece of real estate. Lucky for me. Just me and Norman and the thousand of crickets serenading me to sleep. Good night Norman, good night Lord, good night crickets, good night all…