I didn’t end up running yesterday. I’m going to Colorado in June and wanted to test out my camping in a National Park. I decided to head down to Shenandoah this weekend in Virginia. The weather isn’t supposed to be great, but I decided to go anyway. The drive to the campground was interesting. It was foggy about 80% of the time on Skyline Drive. I got some cool photos where it wasn’t foggy though.
It was warm when I started my run at 6 PM. The plan was to run to some falls near my
camping area. My camping site is
amazing, as it has a partial view of the mountain. Also, I’m about 10 feet from the Appalachian
Trail and can see hikers go right by. I
ended up wearing short sleeves and shorts.
I became a little chilly by the end, in the damp conditions.
I ran along some pavement first, to get out of the camping
area. That wasn’t much fun, but I wanted
to get to the falls as quickly as possible.
I ran past 5 deer on the campground entrance road.
I then got to the Dark Hollow Falls Trailhead. It was smooth downhill from the start. Lot of tourists were out there, mostly Asian
ones. It was smooth and easy to
start. Parts got a little rocky as I
descended the hollow. There was a
mixture of fog and sunshine peeking through.
This trail was cool and so was the waterfall at the
end. Since I was a little unsure how
long this loop was, I couldn’t stop too long to take things in. I didn’t want to be stuck there after dark. Now that I write in the dark, I’m glad I
wasn’t out there.
I almost took the Rose River Fire Road by mistake. I got on the right path though. This loop would take me to another
waterfall. This part was absolutely
amazing and almost one of the most perfect runs I ever did.
Everything just came together. The fog that seemed kind of crappy earlier
was perfect, mixed with the lush green plants and the running water along the
sides. There was a lot of uphill in this
section. You had hit the bottom already.
Perhaps the best part of this was that it was late in the
day. I was probably the last person on
this section of the trail. It was a
beautiful setting, but also total solitude.
I was completely at peace.
I stopped briefly at the falls to reflect. I realized I was probably its last visitor
for the day. The moment was just
perfect. I had to keep moving
though. I was around mile 4 and still
had daylight, but I had to be careful.
The trail was a fun singletrack for a bit, but then changed
to a fire road as it ascended. I figured
I had over 1,000 feet to climb now.
Since the surface was pretty smooth and had switchbacks, I ran here and
there. My body was tired though. I had not had dinner yet either.
It wasn’t too long and I successfully made it to Skyline
Drive. I was surprised at how quickly I
arrived there. I was around mile 5.
I then found the Appalachian Trail across the road. This was a perfect way to end the run. I headed on that, but still had some gradual
uphill. I climbed several hundred more
feet. I passed a couple walking their
dog. Then, I came up to my campsite,
tired and cold, but beyond thrilled.
This was such a simple run, but yet it was so amazing. I wish I had more daylight left, to take more
of it in. Of course if there was more
daylight, there might not be so much solitude.
This may be no Yosemite, but I did have somewhat of a John Muir moment at
least. I found such peace in the forest.
Tomorrow, I’m planning to run Old Rag. That is the most popular route in the
park. It will likely be crowded, a big
change from today. I’m hoping maybe some
fog and rain might keep people away. Of
course, I’m hoping that all clears for me at the summit, with the amazing
views. There is supposed to be a lot of
technical rock scrambling too. It should
be fun, even if it is crowded.
6.61 miles - 1:33:55 (14:13 pace) 1413 feet of elevation gain
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