I
Rangeley cruising the Appalachian Trail in Virginia
Roaming Rangeley Summer 2022
May 1, 2022
Elizabeth:
After almost two weeks apart from Gary and our 2yr. old Silver Lab, Rangeley, I arrived via plane, into Roanoke, VA last night.
Today was our first joint Trail Magic day of this trip. For those not familiar with the term Trail Magic, it is the food and drink one offers on the Appalachian Trail to those that are walking the over 2,100 miles, usual north bound, Georgia to Maine. We both love the hiking community on the AT and Gary appreciated a lot of Trail Magic provided by Trail Angels (those that offer rides, food and drink to the hikers) when he thru hiked in 2014.
Gary had bought RC Cola, which used to be popular when we were kids in Vermont and is a big hit with the thru hikers! It’s like the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer comeback in a soda. He also purchased bananas, apples, oranges, Gatorades, Cokes and orange soda. And we had brought individual snacks like Rice Crispy Treats and granola bars to give out. We headed to an Appalachian Trail road crossing on VA Route 621 and parked in the small dirt parking lot at the trailhead. Almost immediately we were joined by three, then a total of five thru hikers. They were ecstatic we had cold refreshments and fruit. One hiker was from Tucson, AZ, one from Alabama, PA and so on. Great chats and thanks before they continued north.
The best part, Rangeley had a stream to play in, with plenty of sticks, right at the remote parking lot. After the boys left, Gary and I hiked south to the Niday Shelter on the AT, a mile and a half away, and then hiked back the same trail to the car.
Trail magic in the middle of the Virginia woods. 
A cool trail side spider web with the morning dew. 
“Fairy Houses” along the trail… ground webs made by spiders 
Spiny pine cones 
The forest coming alive with the spring rains. AT white blaze on tree to right 
Rangeley sure loves his big sticks. On the AT 
and water of course 
This 10 footer was a bit heavy to carry! 
Cemetery head stone, 1830
We had a fun lunch at Wasena City Tap Room and Grill in Roanoke, VA while sipping a fabulous chocolate peanut butter stout named, “Sweet Baby Jesus” : ). Heading back to the hotel for a nap and a planning session for the upcoming 4 weeks of travel, before I fly back to Phoenix at the end of the month, was our last stop of the day.
May 2, 2022
Elizabeth:
We picked up our good friend Barbara Etherington in Lynchburg, VA. She is a humorous, loving 91 yr. old high school classmate of Gary’s parents. We have visited her several times in the past few years.
We took Barbara to do Trail Magic at Thunder Ridge Parking lot and Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, her favorite thing to do! Her husband, Ralph, now passed, thru-hiked the AT in 1990. When they hiked together their trail name was The Virginia Hams…they were avid Ham Radio enthusiasts back then. A pass time enjoyed by many and immortalized by the memorable Sally Fields and Burt Reynold’s classic movie “Smoky and the Bandit”!
Barbara’s son, living in Iowa, proposed to his wife at the nearby Thunder Hill Shelter and in speaking with him on the phone to let him know his mom was with us, out of her house and having a ball, he expressed his immense jealousy!
We fed and chatted with roughly 10 thru hikers. Hot dogs on a charcoal grill, baked goods (Seven Layer Bars our friend Sherry made…which is always a crowd pleaser!), cold drinks, fresh carrots, fruit and chips. Barbara, tearing up a few times as she lounged in a folding chair we brought for her, said it was the best day ever! She loved the winding scenic drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Saying we treasure sharing time with her is an understatement.
The lower elevations are in the 80’s, green and preparing for summer. We saw a fox, bright red Cardinals, a snake and squirrels galore! As we drove to over 4,000 ft, early spring was evident…no leaves on the trees yet, sparse spring flowers in the woods and cool temps of 70 degrees and sunny.
May 3, 2022
Elizabeth:
Today is Gary’s and my 36th Wedding Anniversary❣
Gary and I hiked in to the Thunder Hill Shelter, returned to Thunder Ridge Parking area and enjoyed a lovely steak cookout to celebrate our anniversary. We stopped at the James River Foot Bridge, also on the AT, and then headed back to visit Barbara, back at her independent living apartment in Lynchburg, before returning to the hotel.
Enjoy the picturesque scenery, people and Rangeley’s love of water and logs…ahhh, I mean sticks!!
G & E at Thunder Hill shelter. Gary stayed at this shelter both times he came through this area. 
Any amount of water is fun to play in. 
Nothing else matters : ) 
Rangeley sure loves the AT. 
Spring on the AT 
Wild violets 
Setting up for our anniversary steak cookout! 
Rangeley in the incredible ground cover, Spring! 
Blue Ridge Parkway view, VA 
Gary’s anniversary Trillium bouquet (still in the ground)
May 4, 2022
Elizabeth:
We drove through Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive – 3,680’ at its highest point that you can drive to. Just north of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Another gorgeous drive…when the skies are clear. This morning we were socked in with fog. Just before the Park’s entrance we pulled into a parking lot. Within moments, there were four very appreciative thru hikers enjoying our left-over snacks and cold drinks from yesterday’s Trail Magic! And, as we have experienced on numerous occasions, we met others traveling around the USA. A German couple were patiently awaiting the fog to lift before they too enjoyed Skyline Drive. Rangeley – on lead due to the closeness of a main road -was happy to greet each person as they gathered. A New Yorker popped out of her car, smiling, stating she was apologetically eves dropping on our conversations. We welcomed her and offered to have her join our party of smiling strangers all with the same goal…to soon experience a day of sunshine, great views and appreciation for the American land set aside for all in the world to enjoy.
Sure enough, about a half hour passed quickly and so did the fog. The hikers went on their way up the AT on foot and all three of us: the German couple, New Yorkers and our Arizona tagged car headed through the southern entrance of Shenandoah NP. We stopped at several overlooks taking scenic pictures and letting Rangeley curiously look over the fabulously hand laid stone walls serving as a natural barricade for humans and bracing support for the hills.
We still had a few cold drinks and hot dogs in the cooler so we set up in a semi remote parking lot just off the Skyline Drive and next to the AT. Three women, two section hikers doing about 100 miles and a thru hiker sat for over an hour with us enjoying the Trail Magic while Rangeley scoured the woods for sticks to play with.
We have been doing short hikes, each day, on the AT. Gary’s stories of his thru hiking adventures in 2014 and his several section hikes between 2012 and this year have allowed me to share some of his experiences as we stroll through these incredibly relaxing and enchanting forested AT trails.
May 5, 2022
Elizabeth:
At home, in Phoenix, today is Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican military victory over the French in 1862. Now-a-days, it’s an excuse to party! It doesn’t seem to be celebrated in VA and WV even though we stayed in a very Spanish speaking area last night.
We drove to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, about an hour away, to stop in at the ATC, Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Rangeley was welcomed with open arms. He greeted each tourist, day and/or thru hiker as they came in.
Gary has hiked through this historic town which sits at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers three times now.
Thru hikers stop at the ATC in Harpers Ferry, just over 1000 miles north from Springer Mountain Georgia where these long-distance hikers start. The hiker gets their photo taken and then writes on the picture, which is now digitally printed out right way, their start date back in GA, birth name and trail name. Gary’s trail name is “AZ” for Arizona. The photos are placed in an album chronologically and placed on book shelves by year. Unfortunately, I did not get to see Gary’s photos as the back room where the albums are archived is being renovated. Gary said it was an area you could rest, get drinks, look through the ages of photo albums and relax until you were ready to set out on foot for Mount Katahdin in Maine, some 1,200 miles further north.
Some hikers earn trail names by other hikers giving them the nickname. Our son Cooper walked 500 miles of the AT with Gary in 2018 and loved to build a fire every night so he was dubbed “Fuego”, fire in Spanish. The ATC volunteer told us her son’s thru hiking trail name was “No Pants”. He had washed his pants at the end of the day, hung them to dry in a tree and proceeded up the trail the next morning in his rain pants he had slept in. Oops, he forgot his hiking pants back on the tree! Turning around, even a few miles, when you’re walking over 2,000, is not a chosen option for most thru hikers. But the trail community provides. Another hiker picked up his pants and caught up to No Pants several days later.
Rangeley, Gary and I walked about 3/4 mile on the AT, from the ATC, down into the historic old town of Harpers Ferry for lunch. Dog friendly patios are easy to find in this active community. Distance bicyclists and hikers are common and locals are friendly to humans and canines alike.
After returning via walking up the road to the ATC, where we parked earlier in the day, we noticed a woman wearing a tee shirt from the Camino. The Camino de Santiago, walking trails in Spain. We have walked the Camino Frances three times (500 miles twice and 350 miles once) in 2015, 2016 and 2019. See links to our journals on this blog’s home page. The four of us chatted about our experiences and all thinking we would return to Spain in the near future.
We are leaving our Appalachian Trail adventures this evening and beginning our journey to Vermont to visit family. We will keep you all posted as we venture to VT, back to Ohio to our Amish friends, then up to Isle Royale National Park in MI, Voyageurs NP in MN and Glacier NP in MT. We’ll post the national park’s journals and pictures in our National Park section on this website’s home page:
http://www.GandEAdventures.com
We hope you are enjoying reading about our American road trip adventures. Whether your adventures are in a good book, to a beautiful park in your town, to visit a family member, reading our blog, driving, flying, bicycling or walking, Make it a Great adventure!
Live simply, love well, breathe, appreciate life.
Not all those who wander are lost.
J. R. R. TOLKIEN
About Us
Visitors will want to know who is on the other side of the page. Use this space to write about your business.
Gary and Elizabeth's Adventures 