Gravel Springs Hut to US 522, Front Royal

Gravel Springs Hut to US 522, Front Royal
Day 17 - Wednesday, April 15, 2015
9.9 Miles

When we woke at 6:30 it had stopped raining.  It was pretty cold last night, but we both slept better, in spite of hearing something rummaging around outside the shelter. 

We hiked until 3:30 when we reached US 522 where our shuttle driver was suppose to pick us up for a ride back to Harrisonburg.  We waited and waited and she didn’t show up.  We passed up an opportunity to ride with some other hikers into town, thinking she would be there momentarily since she had called and said she was on the way.  Finally, we did accept a ride with the next person who offered since apparently our driver was lost.  We rode into Front Royal with a nice lady who spoke with our driver on the phone and told her where to meet us.

We spent the night at the Comfort Inn in Harrisonburg. 

Pass Mountain Hut to Gravel Springs Hut

Pass Mountain Hut to Gravel Springs Hut
Day 16 - Tuesday, April 14, 2015
13.1 Miles

We left Pass Mountain Hut at 7:30 after a near sleepless night.  We had purchased some hard foam pads to put under us in the hammocks for warmth but they did not make good pads for the shelter floor – too hard.   It started raining in the wee hours of the morning and rained throughout the day. 

 We had lunch at 11:30 at Elkwallow Wayside Picnic area.  Too bad the Wayside was not open. 

The morning hike was fairly easy and the three peaks of Hogback Mountain were the only real challenge this afternoon.

At 3:00 we turned in to the .2 mile entrance path to Gravel Springs Shelter, fully drenched and cold from the all day rain.   It sure felt good to change into dry clothes and curl up in our fleece bag liner and finally get warm.  With no other people in the shelter, we were able to hang our wet clothes to let them drip dry.  Good thing no one else came in during the night, they would have seen clothes hanging everywhere.  Wait-up hung his hammock from the rafters, but I chose to sleep on the hard foam pad again on the floor.  The hammock is not working very well for us.  Can’t seem to get it hung right. 

 After a dinner of instant mashed potatoes and tuna with instant oatmeal for dessert, we went to bed with it still raining.