INTO WAYNESBORO

AT Day 053: Tuesday May 30,  2023

Mile 853 + 11 miles /17.7 km

Total Distance Hiked: 864 miles/1390 km

Humpback Mountain – Paul Wolfe Shelter – Rockfish Gap – Quality Inn, Waynesboro

A: 1312 ft /400 m  D: 2969 ft /903 m

We camped just below the summit of Humpback Mountain in a small grove of trees. It would be a pleasant spot on a good day. Yesterday and today were not that day.  Just after we set up the tent the rain and distant thunder arrived and it continued to rain throughout the night.

We were disappointed to find the tent fly started to leak almost immediately and from similar locations. We had thought the seams were  disintegrating just in two spots but as the evening progressed it was evident that  the problem was the seam seals in the whole tent were slowly coming unstuck. It’s time that the Big Angnes Hilton gets rebadged to the Big Agnes Budget Inn – accommodation that’s seen better days, still perfectly functional in sunny weather but ripe for renovations or demolition. 

Hammer was on leaky roof watch overnight so I could catch up on last nights sleep.   I slept fitfully till about 3.30 when I was woken by what sounded like a bear snorting nearby. I woke Hammer, he assured me it was just the woods creaking. And he went back to sleep. I lay awake listening to raindrops from the trees dripping on the tent. Lying in a sodden tent with a sleeping bag that was wet in places and wet clothes to change into was a very unpleasant.   Although we were lucky that it was not overly cold. I got changed into my wet shirt hoping that body heat will dry it by the morning.  

The radar showed no more rain for today….. hooray I thought. That was until it started to rain at 5am and continued for the next four hours. Since the tent was sopping wet, we broke camp in the rain and hiked on. Leaving camp felt like a sliding doors moment from yesterday. Rain, fog and rocky undulating trail with no particular views, just wet green lush understory and tall trees that stretched towards the sky. We did pass remnants of a rock fence and at another location a chimney from demolished houses and also a family cemetery. Reminders of a time when thete was a community living here. Our constant companions on trail were  orange salamader, who must love this wet weather. We passed around 20 over the 11 miles to the trailhead at Rockfish Gap. We did not see any other hikers until the last mile when a couple of day hikers passed in the opposite direction. By this time the rain had stopped although it was still quite cold.

We got off trail at Rockfish Gap around 11am. It’s a huge confusing interchange of Interstate 64, US Highway 250 and the Blueridge Parkway which becomes Skyway Drive through Shenandoah National Park. 

From here we tried to hitch a ride to the nearby town of Waynesboro. We needed to resupply for the next 105 miles through Shenandoah National Park, do some laundry and generally dry out and recover  from the last three wet days. We waited for about 10 minutes when a car from a nearby  layby area called us over. He asked where we were going, when Hammer said Waynesboro, he smiled and said ‘you’re hitching in the wrong direction’. So he offered us a ride into town. On the short 4 mile drive into town we learnt that Eric was a truck driver and had just knocked off from work.  A genuinely nice person who was our trail angel today. We were feeling a bit feral after the last three days in the rain. 

Eric dropped us off at the motel and we were able to check in straight away. A hiker friendly place close to everything we needed nearby.  We were able to spread our sodden camping gear over the balcony to dry in the warning afternoon. Then have a fantastic long shower, do  our laundry at the motel, have a  pizza nearby and shop for our resupply across the road. Back to our room Hammer repacked our food and I caught up on the blog while drying out my pickled feet.  We are excited to start on the Shenandoah NP section of the AT, the weather promises to be sunny for the next five days.