The predicted rain started about 6:00 a.m. and by the time Martha delivered us back to Thornton Gap, everything was wet from the steady shower. Our focus was on keeping our shoes dry for as long as possible (which turned out to be less than half an hour), and get in the day’s miles as soon as possible. Without the distraction of the usual great Shenandoah scenery, it was easy to do.

The opportunity for one more blackberry shake at the Elkwallow Wayside was a tremendous incentive, and pretty well soaked and sweaty, we ducked off the trail in (for us) record time. We met the fast moving Pace Car heading out as we were heading in. He was the only northbound hiker we met all day (add the half dozen folks we met going south, and it was a lonesome day on the AT). You do not always appreciate what a wonderful thing a warm restroom is, but as we dried off, this morning we certainly did. We added two grilled ham and cheese sandwiches to our shake order, and inhaled more than ate them. Our spirits were revived, even more so as the rain let up as soon as we were back on the Trail.

We had a major highlight when a small bear cub scampered across the trail and started climbing a tree just ahead of us. Quite nimble, he climbed and looked, climbed and looked, climbed and looked. We were extremely wary of his momma being nearby, which kept us from getting great photos, but the cub was all we saw.

After a second break at Gravel Springs Hut, the sun came out for our climbs over South and North Marshall Mountains, and we had the day’s only views. However, as we approached Jenkins Gap, waves of fog started rolling back over the Skyline Drive.

The Shenandoah area has a large number of active trail angels. (We’ve mentioned Bill Gallagher before as a prime example. We need to reaffirm that by saying how when we had a major gear malfunction [meaning an item you can’t go for 24 hours without] one call to Bill and he picked up our replacement at the Waynesboro outfitter and delivered it to us at Big Meadows! Bill, we’re forever in your debt…) But today our friend Martha went well beyond the fifth or sixth extra mile, by coming out to pick us up again and take us back to her home for a spaghetti dinner. As we sat watching the rain return, falling harder than it had in the morning, we realized we were two lucky Troverts. Tomorrow we leave this wonderful park with truly amazing memories of our time in Shenandoah. Thanks for all the support, Martha.