We somehow managed not to get poison ivy even though it was everywhere at the campsite we chose last night. We only had a few miles to walk to get to the Loft Mountain wayside (the same one we ate at yesterday on our way to the trail) so we knew we could look forward to some coffee and food. Because this was my dad’s last day on the trail, we wanted to make some good miles today. We had a pick-up time of 4 pm, because we were driving to D.C. and wanted to be able to get settled in.

At Loft Moutain we met a hiker named Jogle, who is from England and is hiking the entire trail. He is having a great time, and is getting a great look at America this way. Everything is so much cheaper here than in England, he says.

We did a lot of walking on the Skyline Drive today, partly because we could make better time on it. We had an arbitrary goal set for ourselves of reaching Swift Run Gap, which marks the end of the southern district of SNP and, more importantly, would mean I wouldn’t need to carry that map when I get back on the trail.

Late in the day we climbed Little Roundtop Mountain. It was not a bad climb, and in no way did it resemble that rocky slope with the same name at Gettysburg. I don’t know what this mountain was named for, and I could not find a Big Roundtop on the map, although there was a Big Flattop Mountain.

We got rained on pretty good, which left our feet soaking wet and not in very good shape for doing big miles. The rain finally stopped and we were able to dry out some, but the next thunderhead was on its way. By 4 pm, my mom called and said she would be a little late. We decided to stop at a pullout that had a little information board with a roof on it, so we could take shelter under it. When she showed up, she had a car full of trail magic, including chicken strips with buffalo sauce, fruit, cheese, soda and all sorts of other things. It was a prodigous trip to D.C. for me, as I ate the whole way.

Map