5:45 a.m. – Breakfast at the picnic table in front of the Hightop Hut: N has two very thin honey buns he finds at the bottom of his food bag (some would say “squashed” honey buns). X has kept a banana at the top of her food bag as she hangs it each night, but wishes she had eaten it two days ago when it wasn’t as bruised. Each top off the meal with an instant breakfast shake made with powdered whole milk. X adds Starbucks powdered coffee to hers for an expresso taste.

12:15 p.m. – Lunch at the Lewis Mountain Campstore. We settle for a meal of sodas, chips, string cheese, and microwaveable sandwiches selected from the cooler (plus a shared ice cream on a stick), but as we join Ranger IPA on the bench out front, we look with envy at his pop tart sandwich made with a large helping of peanut butter slabbed between two chocolate pop tarts. Some time before the top of the afternoon’s first climb, X concludes we’ve eaten way too much food with eight miles of hiking still to go…

4:45 p.m. – Large mileage reward at Big Meadows Wayside: Two of their Signature blackberry shakes. Ahhhhhh, tasty!

Until well past Hiker Midnight outside Luray on the Shenandoah River: After our friend Martha picks us up from the trail, she takes us to a wine tasting dinner at her cousin’s weekend retreat. We don’t make it through the complete list of wine tasting choices, but we do chow down on the grilled lamb, fresh veggies, and excellent Greek salad. Not exactly standard hiking fare…