After knocking off a 6.5 mile section this morning that I was supposed to do yesterday. It's time to hit the section of trail I was supposed to hike today. On the way to the trailhead, we were following a car with hiking and AT stickers on it. When we parked the woman who was driving came over to us. She was the kindest woman. Her name was Sharon Southall, the President of the Lebanon Valley Hiking Club in Pennsylvania. She was in the area hiking and came to check out the Settlers Museum that was here. We had a great time chatting about the trail with her. We had to park slightly away from the trail but the Settlers Museum had nice little signs pointing the way to the Appalachian Trail.
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I said good bye to Lynn. She went into the Settlers Museum to look around. I found the friendliest trail dog at the trailhead. The colors and markings around his head reminded me a lot of my old dog Snoopy.
This dog was obviously a stray. He was so friendly. He needed help. There was something wrong with one of his eyes. It was either severely infected or he was blind in that eye. He was walking with a limp and was very thin. We were instant friends. Where we live in Maine, we have a one dog limit, otherwise I may have been tempted to take him home. I wish I could at least call the humane society, but there wasn't much I could do. I wanted to feed him, but figured I would never get rid of him then. He still tried to follow me on the trail. I hated to do it, but I was forced to chase him away. On the slim chance that he did belong to someone, I didn't want him following me. If this dog got way out on the trail, he wouldn't have a chance. I later found out from Lynn that someone from the museum came over, took the dog, gave him a good meal, and called the humane society. I hope this extra friendly dog finds a good home.
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This wasn't the best day on the trail weather wise. It started to rain pretty good so I didn't take many pictures. There was no fence at this stile so I just walked around.
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I saw lots and lots of thru hikers as I neared the Chatfield Memorial Shelter.
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I had seen a notice earlier stating that the area would have a controlled burn. I found where they were talking about. It's amazing how they keep fire from spreading. One side of the trail was burned while the other wasn't. I probably followed this controlled burn for at least a mile.
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Closing in on Route 16 where I planned to meet Lynn.
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I met Lynn near the Mount Rogers Recreational Area Headquarters.
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I decided I had a little fuel left in the tank and kept hiking. She would meet me 4 more miles up the trail. Here's the visitor center.
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It's hard to read some of these signs. Four more miles to 601.
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Next I came to the Partnership Shelter. This was a very nice shelter. It even has a shower.
FYI - Thru hikers need a permit from the visitor center to use this shelter.
I met several more thru hikers on their way to spend the night at the shelter. I let them know that the shelter was just ahead, was real nice, and even had a shower. There's nothing like a shower (hot or cold) after a long day on the trail.
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Walking through some rhododendrons.
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I met Lynn as planned at 601. I originally had planned another 4 miles today, but I had to make up 6.5 miles from yesterday. Not that I have to keep a schedule, but I closed the gap to just 4 miles behind schedule which I hope to make up tomorrow.
