Today marked the beginning of the Shenandoah’s!

After signing  in at the self registration box and attaching  my permit to my pack, I was ready to go.

The trail pretty much went up and down small hills in the woods  all day long, occasionally crossing the Skyway near lookout points.

The tops of the hills were pretty flat and made for easy walking.

I saw a bunch of deer throughout the morning.  Can you spot the deer in the picture below?

At the top of one mountain, I found a bunch of tractor seats. Perfect place for a break!

Towards the late afternoon, the trail went near a small parking area and I met two section hikers, Clink and Goose. A husband and wife that drove two cars to the trail. They would leave one where they wanted to stop for the day, then drive to the start of the trail and hike back.

They were very nice and gave me  and two other hikers, water, oranges, beef jerky and chocolate covered peanuts!

It was a great break before hitting the trail for the final stretch to Black Rock Shelter, my 20 mile stopping point for the day.

I had just enough time to get water, eat dinner set up my hammock before it started raining.  A little thunder and lightening also, but it passed quickly.

Looking forward to tomorrow, there is supposed to be more lookout points/scenery than today.