It was windy and there was a chill in the air this morning. I started out the day hiking in a long sleeve shirt. As I descended to lower elevation, it warmed up quickly.
I noticed the faint scent of a skunk yesterday evening. It is the first time on my hike that I have smelled a skunk. It made me wonder if skunks live north of the James River. Hmmmm. The faint scent of a skunk brings back fond memories of vacations in the Smokies and on the Blue Ridge Parkway as a child and also as an adult. 🙂
Today’s hike crossed over the Blue Ridge Parkway a number of times. I enjoyed the view from the Thunder Ridge Overlook. Later in the morning, I hiked out of the woods to a mountain top that had a water tower painted like a big soccer ball. Pretty surreal! I also hiked through a rock feature called the Guillotine.
The highlight of my day was at mile 25 when I met up with my good friend Martha. She is going to hike in and meet me at the end of each day and camp with me for the next 4 days. It is so good to see her and catch up in person. She is the awesome friend that mails me all my food resupply boxes. She totally rocks!