Sunday, October 12, 2025. Up at 8:30. Windy and rainy and 50s.
Big storm last night. Rain and wind. We are decently sheltered from the worst of the wind coming in from the east by Hawks Bill cliffs. We can hear the wind roaring above us but it is not terrible where we are. However, we need to leave eventually and head north out of the shelter of the cliffs.
We decided to stay hunkered down a bit longer as radar shows a break in the rain about 10:00. It won’t get any warmer than it is now. We only have 4.4 miles to go and check-in isn’t until 4:00.
The temps went up more than I expected. It’s roughly 55, windy, foggy, light rain. The worst of the storm blew through in the night and stayed further offshore. Not a terrible hike but everything is wet. Looking forward to a shower, dry clothes, and to drying all our gear out.
Arrived at Skyland at 12:15. We will be taking a Nero day here and a late checkout tomorrow. Checked in but room will not be ready for an hour or two. Dumped our gear in the basement, put on a dry shirt, and got lunch at the restaurant.
Hung out and chatted with a nice older couple who live in Stanley, VA. That is right down in the valley from where we are. Also chatted with a group of 3 hikers on fall break from Michigan. They drove out here to hike Shenandoah for a few days. Had a very nice conversation with them and shared my blog address.
We got our room around 3:00. Ed and I both exploded all our gear in the room to dry things out. This is where a picture and a video are worth a thousand words.
YouTube video of pack explosion in Shenandoah
Once we got things dry or drying, we headed back to the Tap Room for dinner and drinks. The restaurant and bar were packed! Had a nice dinner, grabbed some beverages to go from the lodge store, settled into our room for the evening. The fog/clouds are insane this evening. I can’t imagine driving out there this evening.
Tomorrow is a little up in the air depending on the weather. It should clear up about mid-day. The tentative plan is to get late breakfast and hit the trail at 11:00.
Technical Notes:
- Snickers 220
- Zero sugar sausage 80
- Payday 240
- Lots of food on a Nero day…stopped counting
- Water liters .5
- Miles 4.16
- Time 1:48
- Up 853
- Down 781
- Calories consumed – lots on a Nero
- Calories burned 720
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