Day 1 - Shenandoah and Charlottesville, VA

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.  You step onto the road, if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept to” 

J.R.R. Tolkien in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

And we're off.  333 miles are complete.  Today brought me to familiar territory in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  This was actually my third time hitting up the Shenandoah and my 4th time to Charlottesville, VA.  Shenandoah is small park in comparison to the behemoths of the West.  It is most notable for Skyline Drive, a 105 mile roadway along at the ridge of the mountains with multiple outlooks.  In the past I've camped here, but today we just used Skyline Drive as a detour towards Charlottesville.  

My dad and I met up with Shriver (Nick to those who prefer to be on a first name basis).  Shriver and I met over 10 years ago when we pledged Sig Rho at Ursinus College.  Since pledging we've gone on a number of trips together, most notably to Glacier National Park and Olympic National Park.  He moved down to Charlottesville last year with his girlfriend, Amy, who is doing a GI fellowship at UVA.  The two graciously offered their place to stay for the first night of the trip.  Shriver will also be joining me on Leg 3 and 4 of the trip (California and the Northwest).  

Of course no first day could go without a few setbacks.  After meeting up with Shriver at Big Meadows we headed for a short a 2.1 mile in and out hike to the highest point in the park, Hawksbill Mountain at 4,051 feet.  My dad decided to stay back and take a nap in the car while listening to the radio.  Unfortunately, my 5 year old car battery did not tolerate this and decided it was time to quit.  We managed to find some help, got a jump and headed to the Sears in Charlottesville for a battery change.  Though this may seem like a bad omen, we were fortunate enough that this happened where temperatures we only 90 degrees and not the 130 degrees that Death Valley could potentially throw at us.  

After the car troubles were put aside, we had a nice night, hitting up two of the local bars, the Whiskey Jar and Skybar.  We had some good southern food, hush puppies and fried okra at the Whiskey Jar and the local IPA, Wild Wolf.  Additionally we picked up some extra tools for camping, courtesy of Shriver, a coffee press, an axe and a portable frisbee golf net (all the essentials of camping).  Tomorrow, dad and I head into new territory in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.  

STATS:

Day 1

Miles Driven: 333

Hours in Car: 8 hrs

Miles Hiked: 2.1

Car Issues: 1

Total States: 4 (PA, MD, WV, VA)