October 1st, 2018, Virginia
A few miles south of the Tom Floyd Wayside (shelter) I entered the Shenandoah National Park. There was an unmanned info board and box to fill out back country permits for hikers. I filled out the form and continued on. It was another clear and beautiful morning and, as I would find during the day, the Shenandoah National Park has some great trails.
This park runs along the Shenandoah Mountains with a ridge top road for cars and the AT generally running parallel on one side or the other. There are also a series of “waysides” with cafeterias, restaurants, short order grills, etc. Hikers can take short detours to these facilities, if desired. Today around lunchtime I arrived at the Elkwallow Wayside and picked up a bit more food. I hung out for a while at a picnic table and enjoyed the rest as I watched visitors come and go by car and motorcycle. It was a Monday so there wasn’t too much traffic on the main road, but the wayside had a good crowd for lunch.
Another thing I noticed on the park is the complete lack of fear in the deer population. I must have passed within 20 feet of a dozen does who usually just watched me pass. I even saw several bucks, although they would run about 40 feet away and watch from there. One was such an impressive male I had to get a picture. He just stood and watched as I got out the phone and took his picture.
I reached the hut, which is what the park calls the AT shelters, around 6pm. There were already a few people inside. I set up my hammock nearby.