Finished with Shenandoah Park

Sunday, October 14, 2012:

The Park was a zoo today.  Then I hiked alongside a Zoological Park.

Explanation:  The leaves are changing.  The weather was mild and sunny, and it was a Sunday.  So Shenandoah National Park was the place to be if you're a 'leaf-peeper'.  Skyline Drive was bumper-to-bumper.  All the overlooks were packed.  There was a line hundreds of vehicles long waiting to pay their $15 to get in the northern entrance station at Front Royal.

I beat the crowds, mostly, and hiked the last piece of AT in the morning and was out of the park by noon.

Vast grounds of the National Zoological Park

North of Shenandoah Park, after descending to VA 602 and going past the overgrown Possums Rest overlook (no significant view) and passing the very cute Tom Floyd Wayside shelter, the AT comes alongside the chain link fence that marks the boundary of the National Zoological Park and Research Center.  The trail follows this fence for miles - on both sides of US 522.

I got a late start today because of yesterday's family get-together in Delaware.  So I ended my hike at US 522 and covered just 6.6 miles of new trail today.  But that leaves only about 112 miles of trail left to cover.  I've definitely got "trails-end fever" now.

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Here's the map and photo link for today's hike:

AT Day 256 - Front Royal vicinity at EveryTrail
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