Hiking in Shenandoah National Park

Once I got to Waynesboro, VA on the southern end of the park I stopped at a walmart to stock up on trail food and gas. Shenandoah National Park (SNP) has one long road that goes the entire 100+ mile length of the park called Skyline Drive. I got on that Wednesday afternoon, and when I got to the fee station, it was thankfully a fee free day. I probably wouldn't have been able to go in otherwise, as at that point I was down to my last $60. I stopped at McCormick Gap overlook and watched as a storm moved across the valley. It was an incredible sight to witness, I could see the edge of the rain moving steadily closer and closer. Once the storm got to me it poured and hailed marble sized hail for about ten minutes before heading on. Once I got back on the road I saw a bear cub playing on the side of the road and stopped and watched him for a minute or two before he wandered into the forest and out of sight. I took these to be good signs. I stopped by Loft Mountain Campgrounds to check it out and get a trail map. While I was throwing all my trash in the dumpster a hiker came by and asked if I knew where the camp store was, and I offered to give him a ride there, even though it was less than a mile away. I also offered him a cold brew, which he gladly accepted. We talked for a bit, and he is on day 69 of his thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, which runs from Georgia all the way to Maine. As he got out of my car he thanked me and referred to the encounter as a bit of "trail magic", an unexpected and pleasant surprise from a stranger along the trail. We parted ways and I continued on Skyline Drive north, stopping at each of the many overlooks and taking in the sights. I arrived at Big Meadows later in the afternoon and set up my camper there and got a fire going.
I woke up the next morning and rode my bike around a little bit, and then rode up to the visitors center to plan where I was going to hike. The rangers helped me pick a route to take, and I ended up deciding to hike from Skyline Drive at Hawksbill to the base of Old Rag that day and set up camp there for two nights before going on to Corbin Cabin and setting up camp around there and hiking back on the fourth day (Saturday). The rangers also informed me that the park's 75th anniversary is this year, and the official celebration and re-dedication ceremony is Saturday, so I planned on coming back for that.
I hit the trail IN FLIP FLOPS around 2:30 and it was descended straight down into the valley below. I got about halfway down before I realized that I had dropped my map, and so I set down my pack and headed back up the mountain to find it. While going up I ran into some other day hikers who had seen my map and picked it up for me, they gave it back and I continued on my way. The trail passed by several waterfalls, and one of them was more like a waterslide and there were kids sliding down the rocks into the pool below. The trail was gorgeous, and nice and shaded and cool. Once reaching the bottom there was a parking lot for day hikers, and a fire road led off from this. I followed the fire road up another mountain towards where I planned to camp. I kept looking for a good place to camp right off the fire road but couldn't find one, so once I made it to a stream I walked through the woods looking for a flat spot to set up camp. While doing this I just about stepped on a large snake, and it made me loose my footing and fall a few yards down the mountain. After I couldn't find a suitable place, I decided to keep hiking and hadn't gone 100 yards when there was a beautiful campsite just off the road. Once there I got the tent pitched, bear bag set up, and started boiling water for ramen. After eating I set about making a fire in the fire pit, and stayed up watching the fire and making hemp bracelets until around 11 when I crawled into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.
I woke up the next morning and hung around camp for a little bit before setting off on a day hike to the summit of Old Rag, which is only about 8 miles round trip. I just brought some water bottles with me, and no pack or anything of the sort. The trail continued down the fire road I had followed the day before until it came to a trail leading up to the summit. The trail almost immediately began heading straight up, switching back and forth as it climbed up the mountain. At one point it reached a false summit which was where the rock scramble began. The rock scramble was about a mile or more of boulders and granite that you don't so much as hike across as climb across. I had lots of fun on this part, and took my time scampering up and down the boulders. This part of the hike was the only part where I wore actual shoes instead of flip flops, and this proved to be a wise choice, as granite can be extremely rough on bear feet. Once I reached the top I sat up there for a while just taking in the view before heading down the other trail back to camp. This trail was much steeper than the other one, but didn't have the rock scramble. Along the way it passed by a day use shelter called Byrds Nest 1, and I stopped there to pee, and while I was peeing a fawn and its mother stepped into the clearing near me. I watched them for a while before other hikers came up and scared them off. I got back to camp around 4 and ate some food and took a nice little nap. I woke up from the nap and sat around camp listening to Phish on my iPod and making necklaces until dark.
I woke up the next morning a little bit before 7 and took my time breaking camp and doing yoga and I hit the trail around 8 or so. Maybe 15 minutes on the trail I was going across a stream on a log, and when I looked downstream there was a bear only twenty yards away tearing up a stump looking for grubs. I sat down on the log and the bear acknowledged my presence with a grunt and continued rooting for grubs. The bear allowed me to watch him for a good thirty minutes before lumbering off into the forest. It was a truly magical experience, and I felt honored that the bear let me watch so close to him for so long. I continued on the small trail, and it was quite different from the trails the previous days. I could tell that this trail didn't see nearly as many visitors as the other ones. While walking along enjoying the forest sounds I heard something up ahead, and a few seconds later a much bigger black bear stepped out of the brush and into the trail maybe 5 yards ahead of me. He was just as surprised as I was and hightailed it out of there. I didn't realize it, but bears can run FAST!!! He was gone almost as soon as he was there. As I continued on the Indian Run trail I saw several garter snakes lying across the trail, and caught one and played with him for a while before releasing him. I got to Corbin's Cabin around noon, and this was the area I had planned to camp in. The cabin is set up for use by the volunteers who keep up the trails, and it remains locked. I decided that I would rather keep on than stop so early in the day, so I hung out around the cabin for more than an hour letting my shirt and bag dry and getting clean water. I explored the area around the cabin a bit and saw all sorts of remnants of the civil war, including long stone walls used as bunkers and the ruins of an old homestead. I hit the trail up the mountain towards Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail. The trail up the mountain was extremely steep and had had numerous switchbacks, but as I went up in elevation I could feel the humidity lessen, which was a huge blessing.
Once I reached the top I crossed Skyline Drive to the AT and began hiking south towards my car. The AT had incredible views of the valley on the other side of the mountain, and I could see hawks circling below me. While on the trail I ran across the same guy I had picked up a few days earlier and I stopped and talked to him and his group for a while, and they told me that I should not miss the side hike up to the top of Stoney Man, which was just a mile or so south of me. I got to the Stoney Man trailhead where there was a sign saying that that point is the highest point of the AT in the park. I hiked up to the top, but didn't stay too long, even though the view was incredible. On the trail up and down I saw LOTS of deer up close, and they all let me stop and watch them from only a few yards away. One doe I was watching saw another doe come into view and they stared each other down for a bit before they started chasing each other. They ran within arms length of me and then disappeared into the forest. Once I got back on the AT it ran through Skyland and I stopped there to fill up on fresh water and as I was walking through the parking lot I found out the only drawback to wearing flip flops to hike in. Bees can sting the bottom of your foot. Somehow a bee managed to fly between my flip flop and foot while I was mid stride, and when my foot struck the ground the bee stung the bottom of my foot. The pain only lasted for a little while before it was gone. I got back to my car sometime after 6 and right as I was crossing the road to my car a buck came out and stayed in the clearing for almost 30 minutes while I watched him. He would disappear into the woods for a while when another car came by and then reappear as soon as they were gone. It was a great way to end my hike, and all told I think I did around 40 miles. Probably 20 or more just the last day, and the whole time I was in flip flops. Doing the trail in this footgear made me realize a new goal of mine, I have always had thru-hiking the AT on my bucket list, but now I have made it my goal to do the entire trail in flip flops. Just to say I did it.