Day 3 - Oh Shenandoah!

"HYOH"

Day 3 started with an intentionally late departure. We had run ourselves into the ground the day before, and decided to take it as easy as possible. 

We are learning to let go of the notion of "miles" and "schedules". This is hard to do, but the more we do it, the more enjoyable our trip becomes.

On the Appalachian Trail (AT) there are many acronyms and sayings people use.

"FKT" - fastest known hike, these are people who have the fastest time on the major trails in the world

"Thru Hiker"- these are people who are attempting to walk the entire trail, about 2,200 mi. It takes them months to do this

"LASH" - long ass section hike. This is what ChuckWagon and I are doing. These people try and tackle the AT in sections.

"NOBO/SOBO" - The AT runs north and south. If you're northbound you are "NOBO", and southbound is "SOBO".

"HYOH" - hike your own hike. This means don't worry about what's right and what's wrong with your hike. Just do what's best for you.

Some people walked the whole thing unassisted. 

Some people "slack-pack", when they pay somebody to drive their gear from point to point, and just carry what they need for the day. 

Slack packer "Jaws", who has his wife meet him everyday or so. He also goes for 30 plus hours straight without stopping. 

And some people stay in hotels 😊. Which is what we did for one night.

SNP

So far the Shenandoah National Park has been beautiful. There are large stretches through Meadows, lots of forests, lots of views, and tons of flowering trees along the way. It's been really gorgeous

Tomorrow we make for a place called Loft Mountain. It's 14 mi away. 

Our first obstacle is making it to Blackrock Shelter which is 8 mi away with just the 2 liters of water we have left. We were told when we left the Calf Mountain Shelter that there was not much water between here and there. So we've been carrying an extra few liters. We're both down to 2 liters, but we're using about 1 l every 3 and 1/2 mi, so I think we'll make it just fine.

Once we get to Loft Mountain there's a large campground we want to check out. It has lots of facilities, and such. 

Happy Trails!