#137 Big Meadows Campground to Pass Mountain Hut - Day 71: ATMM 927.2 to ATMM 954.6
.....after relaxing at the wayside overlook, I began wishing that lunch really could have lasted forever.
Shenandoah continues delivering one beautiful day after another.
Smooth and Cool Whip plan to hang around the campground for a while. They ask if I want to join them for the infamous breakfast at the lodge’s restaurant once Teal hikes in.
I’d love to, but they don’t know when she’ll be here, plus I have a big day ahead of me and need to get moving along soon. I slurp down my watery oatmeal and lukewarm coffee and take off.
The deer in the campground aren’t concerned about me passing within a few feet of them. In fact, I believe if they were standing directly on trail they’d make me walk around them.
On the back side of the campground, where I entered yesterday, a brief stop is in order to chat with the campers who shared the brownies with me last night. Secretly hoping I’d pass by them at the precise moment they lay out a large breakfast buffet, I find for the first time in my life I’m too early. They’re just now pulling their cookware and stoves from the storage tubs. D’oh!
Songbird and I come face to face along the trail in a spot where it’s difficult to maneuver around one another.
The trail is narrow and drops off sharply on my left and rises sharply up on my right. Being the gentlemanly thing to do, y’all know how etiquettely correct I am, I balance myself on the right side so she can safely pass. If I slip during this gentlemanly maneuver, it will be a gentle fall upwards. Had I chosen the left side and slipped, there’s no telling where I’d have ended up - probably waaaaay down there in the valley.
She thanks me for the safe passage then asks about my hike. I share a few quick stories then tell what I know about Big Meadows Lodge.
She’s SOBO hiking through Shenandoah National Park and woke up thinking about the big breakfast at the Lodge. She then tells me about the food at Skyland Resort & Restaurant, which is coming up for me in a few miles.
Hikers spend a lot of time thinking about and talking about real food, and taking every opportunity to grab some.
I enter Skyland Resort & Restaurant with Leap Frog and Batona (BAck TO NAture). We met on an overlook a few miles back and hike the last mile or so together.
It’s eleven a.m., the restaurant in the wayside doesn’t open until noon. My new friends are going to wait. I’m anxious to eat and get back on trail. The weather is far too perfect to sit still for long.
I walk inside the gift shop looking for something to eat but there’s nothing in there I don’t already have in my pack. I spot a Starbucks Coffee shop on the other side of the building, where for inflated prices I buy a sandwich, an apple, an orange, and a giant cinnamon bun recommended by the barista behind the counter, who says it will go nicely with my overpriced giant black coffee.
I always get a weird look from baristas at overpriced coffee shops when I order a boring black coffee instead a coffee whose title and ingredient list with add this n’ take away that requirements list is thiiiiis long.
I hand her a twenty-dollar bill and slide the change into my pocket.
Taking my Styrofoam trays full of goodies outside to the eating area that overlooks the valley far below, I sit at the table near the railing for maximum viewing pleasure. The warm sun and cool breeze, combined with the vibe of those who I share the deck with, make this stop a pleasure. Maybe I’ll stay here all day after all.
