It was more like a half day of hiking, but we weren’t in any rush to get out of town. To line up the restaurants and stores in Shenandoah National Park for the rest of the week, and not run afoul of the park’s many backcountry regulations, we decided on a short day today and will try for a long day tomorrow. The weather was perfect for walking and we enjoyed our leisurely pace. We got our tent set up so early we had time for a nap in the afternoon sunshine, plus X had time to try out her new toy, a Steri-pen to speed up our mid-day water purifying. After three liters done, so far so good.

The shelter is a ways off the AT, but has a great water source and level tent sites framed with wooden timbers. It looks like a pretty sunset, but we don’t think either of us will be awake to see it… Life on The Trail is sweet.