Day 7, Wednesday, July 27

He is out of the Shenandoah park and in Front Royal. He is on his own again after going about 14 miles. He is at a hostel and they will give him a ride to town. He was there by about 12:30 so he was going to have a shower and a nap before going into town to do his laundry, I bet that smells nice, and to have dinner. The hostel is airconditioned. Yeah!

Day 6, Tuesday, July 26,

Oh my, more deer and another bear. I just hope the bear isn't  hungry. He is still with 10%.  They were able again to stop at a wayside concession stand for lunch of burger, fries, and two gatorades. Tough life on the trail. But they did go 14.5 miles today to get to Gravel Springs shelter. The weather was great, a little cooler and is feeling really well.  Did get a rain at the end of the day which just made the night really humid. They were with another hiker in the hut who kept them up most of the night. His plans are to go on tomorrow with 10% so he can keep up with the miles and be able to reach Half way point.

Day 5, Monday, July 25

He went 14.5 miles today to Luray, VA.  But he had a hiking partner today. He was with 10%, he got his name because  he says he is going to take 10 years to hike the trail and do 10% a year. He is going to the same hostel.  They stopped at Skyline Resort store had two gatorades and an apple for a nice long rest. They decided to cut back during the heat of the day as it was extremely hot again. He felt good today but woke up with a bad rash on his legs, not sure if it is bug bites or poison. He did use hydrocortisone so hopefully it will help. They saw another bear and this time it was only about 25 feet  away. I have really lost count of how many he has seen.

Day 4, Sunday, July 24

Bruce was in the scorching heat again.  Someone told him the heat index was 109. So thankfully he has decided to cut back on the miles.  And he stopped at Big Meadows concession for lunch, 2 gatorades, and a nice long wreck. He made it to Rock Springs  hut in the heat but he was hoping for a good place to camp so he could use his bug net. But it was too rocky so he is in the hut for the night. He only made it about 13 miles today. He felt a lot better knowing he didn't have to get so many miles in each day. Two other north bounders showed up at the hut and they watched deer play. He was able to get on and make reservations at a hostel for tomorrow night.

Day 3, Saturday, July 23, 2016

I dropped him off on the trail around 9:00 this morning. It was really really hot, probably the hottest day of the summer so far. I hated leaving him in the heat but he was determined to keep going. I drove the four and a half drive back to Bristol. He finally called In the evening and was exhausted.  He made it to Lewis mountain campground. He was able to get a shower and had dinner at the campstore. But there were no empty spots so he ask another hiker to share his site. So he slept in the tent in the heat. He had a rough day with the heat.

Day 2, Friday, July 22, 2016

Day two brought more views and a beautiful vista. It was a clear warm day.

He went to black rock summit and I even joined him for lunch at the Loft Mt wayside. After I left him he thought he had a fellow hiker for part of the trail. He passed a big buck who was grazing to the side. He stopped to take his camera out of the plastic bag and the buck started following. I guess he thought the bag was a food wrapper. He followed on the trail for about a 1/4 mile and then realized he wasn't going to get any food. 

He went almost 20 miles and did not have a dry stitch of clothing when I picked him up. Again a wonderful smell back to the hotel. But tomorrow he is on his own for 7-10 days, Harper's Ferry Bound.

Day 1, Thursday, July 21, 2016

He is back on the trail. We drove to Waynesboro, Va from Bristol this morning and I dropped him off at the beginning of the Shenandoah park for a 15 mile hike. He will be in the park for the next 5-6 days as the trail is 105 miles in the park. It is off of Skyline Drive. He got started around 12:30 after his favorite lunch of Subway. It was hot and it was no fun having him back in the car for the 45 min drive back to the hotel. Being the wonderful wife I am, I'm helping him slack pack for a few days. Benefits,  he gets to get his trail legs over a few days, gets to sleep in a cool room in a soft bed, gets a shower, and clean clothes. The big news, he saw two bears at two different times on the trail today.