Two and a half days into Shenandoah here, I might as well have been dropped into another world. It's incredible here; I'm never far from something. Sometimes that something is a campground, or maybe it's a restaurant (where I am right now), or maybe, usually it's Skyline Drive, a road that the AT criss-crosses every few miles. This place is a tourism mecca.
It's actually pretty strange. After hiking 900+ miles over mountains and through 3 (almost 4) states, I kinda forgot that most people's experience of "nature" is in spaces like this. But what's weird is that all of the organization here: signs saying "campground" or "overlook" and roads and RV parks make it seem almost fake. When everything is pointed out and made so easily accessible I think it loses some of its natural beauty.
That said, I cannot deny that Shenandoah is super pretty. There are not a lot of mountain views like the Smokies. Rather, the terrain and plants and landscapes are flat out fun to hike through. I never know if the trail will be going through a rocky field or a fern meadow or a spruce forest. But it's always very pretty. And what's more, the slopes are gentle, which is a plus!
I just ate lunch at one of the several restaurants less than a mile from the trail, at Big Meadows. At the pace I'm going, I'll be through the National Park in about 2.5 more days. Not too shabby!
-Scribbles (aka Ted)
2:17 p.m. 5/17/2015
2:17 p.m. 5/17/2015
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