APPALACHIA TRIP DAY 5

Appalachia Trip Day 5

 

225 miles

 

 

Breakfast was worth waiting for, delaying my start until 730.  No bear visits last night.  Enjoyed my stay in Montebello and learned a lot about hiking/backpacking the AP (Appalachian trail).

 

Was a brisk 46 degrees when I finished the last 27 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The sun was shining and the sky was blue.  All this fresh air I've been getting is suiting me very well!

 

As soon as the parkway ends, the Skyline Drive begins and runs for about 100 miles through the Shenandoah National Park.  It's just as beautiful as the parkway.  I really like the stretches of road where tall trees on both sides make a canopy overhead with only whisps of sunlight making the way through.

 

I saw two deer on the road this morning.  I missed one by only about a foot, a small one that let out a yell as I just missed it.  Whew!  I think the load pipes did indeed save a deer life today.

 

Just one tunnel today, named St Mary's Tunnel.  Lots more traffic today, probably because it is the weekend.  After the Skyline finished, I had a mere 45 miles to go, but it took 2 hours because of a wreck in a valley town with only the one road running through it and no way around.  The refreshed feeling left me as I sat out there in the hot sun in bumper to bumper traffic.  At least I was running ahead of time.

 

Tonight I'm staying in Hancock, MD at the River Run B & B.  It is next to an old canal which is next to the Potomac River.  The building used to be a whisky warehouse.  Sinclair and Sue are taking good care of me.  The guy in the room next to me is from Boston, is a Red Sox fan, and used to ride in iron butt races, so we're going to visit some this evening.