May 28

The bear did not come back to bother us again. At least I think it didn't; I can't be sure because I was very asleep.

The day turned out to be rather interesting as we were to pass one of the main campgrounds in shenandoah - loft mountain. We were also going to pass our first shenandoah hut. The national park service calls shelters huts and pavilions shelters. Why? I have no idea.

At blackrock hut, there was a really interesting spring. A prodigious amount of water was gushing out of a 2" pipe into a small pool, but no river was formed. All the water immediately seeped back into the soil. It looked like it was breaking the laws of nature.

Also, I'm pretty sure Mike acts like bear attractant. We saw two bears on the other side of that spring. I think it was a mom and her cub. They looked at us from about fifty feet, and then they walked off.

The rest of the day was hot and on exposed ridgeline. Even so, it was interesting as it provided many overlooks. The trail passed 70 yards from a campstore with yuengling and Sam Adams summer ale. We stopped in. It also passed within half a mile of the waysides restaurant with blackberry milkshakes and fries. We stopped in.

Once we were back in the woods, we tented under a tree's canopy next to a river. It was a pleasant spot. After dinner we had a small fire in the fire pit. Pro tip: Use hand sanitizer if you don't have dry leaves.

Only trying to make it about 10 miles tomorrow.