Shendoah

Jessica and I love pretty places and being outdoors, so when our Fulbright friend, Niki, said she and her husband would be in Shenandoah National Park and we were welcome to come along, we jumped at the chance, and timing couldn’t have been more perfect!

Driving in from Monticello, on the small curving road through the park, we saw beautiful sweeping views of valleys and countryside around us. We also saw a mother turkey escorting her six chicks into hiding away from the road. Along one of the small rock walls that blocks cars from tumbling off the ridge, as we approached, a young bear popped his head up. We stopped and mama bear put her paws on the wall, glaring at us. Before they disappeared down the side of the ridge, baby bear once again stole a glance at the strange creatures just across the road. It was such a neat moment and a very special sighting!

Niki and Andy chose a great spot in the Loft Mountain campsite, one that sits high on the ridge, surrounded by dense forest. Deer commonly roam just around the tents, even bedding down just feet from where we are sleeping. Taking a short stroll from our campsite gave us beautiful views of the sunset, although, both nights were hazy and didn’t allow for much color change. No matter what, though, there is a magical, calming peace that comes at that time of day. 

On Saturday, Andy chose a hike for us to do that would be about six miles long and we set off on an adventure... taking a wrong turn just as we exited the camp ground... Jess and I have gotten lost and taken wrong turns many times on our journeys together. Despite having maps, sometimes hiking trails are difficult to decipher, and Jess and I were thrilled that it is not just us who struggle. About 3 miles later we ended up somewhere we knew, but we didn’t mean to be.

From there, Andy was kind enough to hike the mile up the hill to drive us to the trail head we intended to visit. We set off downhill to see some waterfalls. Not too far into our walk, a family who had set off just a few minutes before us passed us, heading uphill saying there was a bear up ahead. Sure, the wise person would also turn around with them, but our reaction was, “That’s awesome! Where is it?” Niki has been coming to this park once a year every year for nearly twenty years and has never seen a bear. Andy saw a bear on Friday, Jess and I both saw one just as we entered the park, the couple we had overheard at the store were visiting for the first time and they had just seen one, as had the hiker talking to them. Niki felt left out, and it was time for her to see a bear. When I was in Glacier, I heard multiple people talk about times when they had scared off black bears, and I had an odd desire to scare off a bear (not a mama bear, mind you!) thinking that would be very empowering. So of course, we walked on toward the bear. Just a little way down the trail, she was spotted off in the undergrowth a good twenty yards from us. She could have cared less that we were there and barely even lifted her head, but when I said something, she did wander away from us, so we’ll say that both Niki and I were contented.

The hike down was beautiful. I had no idea how green and how dense the forests would be here. There is so much undergrowth and tall trees that block out the sun, that you just seem to be surrounded by green. The forest was so dense though, that when it begin to rain at times, we could hear the drips of rain on the leaves, but only rarely did we feel it hit our skin.  Despite all the green, once you’ve seen one bear, your mind begins to see every black spot in the forest, whether an old stump or a rock, as a bear. It was fun rather than terrifying to always see the possibility of another bear, although trust me when I say that had a bear surprised me on the path, you would have heard me scream from wherever you stand now. Although I’m confident bears spotted us, we did not spot another bear on our hike.

Our trek continued downhill, which is always nice, except for when you remember that the car is back up and the more down you do will mean the more up you’ll need to do later... The waterfalls though were incredible. Dramatic decreases in altitude meant stunning cascades of water over slick rocks. Dogs and children played in the pools created at many different waterfalls. At one waterfall, the sound was so loud, we could barely hear one another, and the air created by the waterfall in such a valley was breathtaking. After hours of hiking in warm humidity, the strikingly cool air was a relief, and an incredible pleasure.

Rather than go back the way we came, we looked at the map and decided just a little bit longer of a trail would make a nice loop. Didn’t Gilligan just mean to take a three hour tour?

We made it to one parking lot, although, it was not the one where our car was. Niki had recently hurt her knee and all of the up we had just done had her in a lot of pain, so she and I remained at the parking lot while Jessica and Andy hiked several more miles to retrieve the car. Unfortunately, resting in the parking lot was not an option as the relentless bugs annoyed you if you remained still, so we walked laps in the parking lot for over an hour.

At the end of the day, we had walked for at least six hours, and my Fitbit said I had done over 16 miles. After lazy days of summer, and some days in the car where hitting 10,000 steps was a challenge, I hit over 40,000 steps. Yep, this is how Jess and I often “vacation.”

We took incredibly refreshing showers at the camp store, purchased victory drinks and something called Mystical Fire. Perfectly aware that this three dollar packet was probably a waste of money, we just couldn’t resist something that said it would change the colors of the flame of your fire. After cooking our dinner and our s’mores over the fire, we tossed the packet in. At first it did very little, but then, for an hour at least, we watched flames of blue and green dance over the logs. Campfires to me are already mesmerizing, but when you add color to them, well, the result is truly mystical. We all worried about what sorts of toxins we were putting in the air, but after reading online and remembering that this was sold inside a National Park, it seems that the contents, once burned off, are perfectly safe. So, if you are one who frequently has campfires, I’d encourage you to find Mystical Fire. Don’t worry, like everything else, it can be found on Amazon!

On our way out of the park today, Jessica and I drove north on Skyline Drive, the ridge road that goes from north to south in the park.  The windy road has many overlooks and viewpoints allowing visitors to catch glimpses of the valleys that stretch far and wide.  Much of our journey today, however was in the clouds, where all that we could see ahead, behind and around us was white.  The clouds would break, every now and then, without warning, giving us the gifts of beautiful glimpses of green.  At one such time, we saw that ever-evident sign of wildlife: people.  It is a truth universally acknowledged, that when in a National Park, and there is a crowd of vehicles, there, too, will be an animal.  So, we stopped to join the crowd and were treated to an amazing site: a mama bear and her twins just yards off the road.  They were not bothered by us at all, but kept at their digging, picking, playing and pretending to climb.  I'm thankful for glimpses of moments of nature, and thankful that while we can catch these glimpses, we don't disturb them.  Just one more reason to be grateful for National Parks!