Free Spirit’s ( Al's )

Appalachian Trail Journal

I enjoyed a very good nights sleep with no snoring and no critters to disrupt my sleep. It was a sunny, beautiful, fog free morning - one of the first on this hike. I had breakfast, packed up and hit the trail. Topping the hill across the stream from the shelter I came upon a large burned out area of the forest that was recovering nicely. I was treated to a pretty view of the nearby hillsides and valley. A hiker earns good views and vistas as his reward for his effort. But the clouds, rain, fog, haze, - and now the leaves coming out - make the scarce good views an event to be truly cherished and appreciated. It was so sunny that I had to put sunscreen on to prevent sunburn; another rare event, at least on this hike. There was no shortage of water on this hike. It seemed all the springs were running well and there were frequent stream crossings.

Surveying the view from Bears Den Rocks.

I climbed to Bears Den Rocks and enjoyed the views then hid my pack in the brush and walked up to Bears Den Hostel. Wow. What a grand setting for a hostel. It was after 10:30 and the building was locked up, there was a car there but no one answered the door. Fannypack had told us how to get in and there was a note on the back door indicating how a hiker could make entry after hours. I needed water and the phone. Water was easy, but finding my way to the telephone took a little more exploring. I called home and moved my pickup date ahead from Saturday to Friday. I hated to leave this beautiful place and was sorely tempted to relax in a chair on the beautiful grounds, but I had to move on. Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and Maryland still lie ahead.

Bears Den Hostel.

Returning to my pack at Bears Den Rocks another hiker took my photo overlooking Shenandoah Valley. I descended and crossed the divided highway at Snicker's Gap (the gap named after a ferry operator, Edward Snicker, 1874, not the candy bar.) and began climbing and hiking the ridge dividing West Virginia and Virginia, with the trail running right along the border. It was a rocky switchback climb north from Snickers gap. The trail crossed a boulder lined stream where most of the water bubbles and runs beneath the rocks. I filtered water and had a lunch break there, then continued my steep climb through another burned out area.

A cute lizard scurried among the charred logs. At the cliff on top of Crescent Rocks were beautiful panoramic views of the area I had just hiked. Climbers are advised to avoid the cliffs in warm weather because of snakes. Good advice. There were lots of azaleas and wildflowers along the trail, despite the forest fire. Briefly descending, the trail crossed Devils Racecourse, an even larger boulder field with a stream running beneath it.

I bypassed the trail to Blackburn trail Center, another hiker advising me that the center was not yet open and the water was not turned on. It was a long and mostly pleasant walk along the ridge to the David Lesser Shelter. I picked up my pace in the last two miles, sensing that a change in the weather was imminent.

The shelter was very nice, almost equaling the famed hiker's Hilton, and I had it all to myself. It had one drawback, though - it was a terrible trudge ¼ mile steeply down the mountain for water. Here, my 2½-gallon Stearns water sack earned its keep. One filling would be enough for supper, a sponge bath, dishes, breakfast, and enough left to fill my quart Nalgene bottle. I enjoyed another good nights sleep, only interrupted by a brief thundershower overnight.

David Lesser Shelter

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