With my too-early arrival to camp yesterday, I took a little more time packing up and having breakfast this morning. I should be able to take a slower pace all day so I finish later in the day, rather than mid day like yesterday.
It was a cool and beautiful morning with blankets of fog in the valleys below.
I stopped by Harper’s Creek Shelter to check it out and have a rest. There were a bunch of tents set up together like a scout troop, but they must have been out on a day hike. A beautiful creek with a series of falls ran just in front of the shelter. I decided to go ahead and get out the ook set and make lunch. I usually only eat hot food at breakfast and dinner but the site was peaceful and comfortable—and I wasn’t in a big hurry.
Probably because it was Saturday, and also because of the better weather, I ran into more people today. There were also a number of road crossings with parking areas for the trail. A few people said they were from Charlottesville which is just a short drive away. After lunch I crossed a road with about 20 cars parked at the trailhead across the street. I noticed a small black dog up by the cars. He had shaggy hair and almost looked like a tiny bear. I didn’t see people nearby and he didn’t seem to be wearing a collar. I walked down the row of cars and two people were getting out of a car. I asked but he wasn’t theirs. By this time he was down beside the road so I went back the way I came to get closer. As I reached the road he was already across. I could see him better and he looked pretty dirty. I called him but he got scared and ran away. There were a couple houses nearby so I hoped he belonged to one of them.
He looked like a tiny bear at first… 
Just after the road I entered The Priest Wilderness Area. The Priest Mountain, just ahead, had been a presence on the horizon all morning, and is a 3100 foot ascent from the Tye River Bridge below it. I took several breaks on the way up all the while wondering how long it would take to get back in good shape for the rest of the trail.
I arrived to the Priest Shelter around 5pm which was just what I was hoping for—just enough time to set up, get water, cook dinner, and get settled before dark. With 43 more miles to Glasgow, Virginia, I hope to reach there in three days—or at least before my food runs low. Glasgow is the first town fairly close to the trail. There is a good hostel there. And the town provides free camping to hikers, including laundry and shower facilities. I do want to stay the night in Glasgow but haven’t settled on where to stay.
Even though Priest Shelter looked unassuming I wasn’t taking any chances. After dinner I took up the log book and made my confession. This, I understand, is something of a tongue in cheek tradition with long distance hikers. Make your confession to The Priest. Unfortunately the logbook is newish so was mostly empty at this point.
And here are a few signs of spring I came across today.
