Shenandoah National Park - Maryland and Virginia

The drive from Maryland to Shenandoah National Park was nice and easy! I made it to a campsite outside the national park called Graves Mountain Farm. It was just an open field surrounded by the rolling hills and only one other camper! Although the campsite was a great place to set up, I realized that it was much farther from all the hikes I wanted to do than I had anticipated. The one hike I was very excited to do was Old Rag, but because of the distance and the length of hike, I decided it would have to get done on another trip. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving the little guy Dobby alone for that long. Another observation from this trip is that I had extremely high expectations of myself and everything that I would accomplish in just months. Because of this, I have had to remind myself that I can always come back and do more of the hikes that I missed out on before. I think that I was in a mentality that if I don’t do it now, I never will. 

On the first day, I decided to do the hike to Hawksbill Summit, and I could bring Dobby! It was a great trail and my bandanna kept the bugs out of my mouth, which was a plus. After some great views soaked in, we headed back to camp for the night. When I pulled into camp, the sun was setting and the day was cooling off. Out of nowhere, I started seeing tiny yellow flashes of light appear in the distance. I do partake in high cannabis consumption, so for a moment I just felt like my mind was playing tricks on me. As it continued, my thoughts gathered to finally realize I was witnessing fireflies for my first time! They are literally the coolest bugs, and I was devastated to hear they will soon no longer be around. I loved growing up in California, but I didn’t get to catch any fireflies in jars! I feel jipped.

The next day, I hiked the Rose River Trail, which had beautiful waterfalls and creeks to follow throughout. The water looked too perfect to pass up, so on the hike I noticed a couple of hikers leaving one of the waterholes after swimming, and I knew I needed to snatch up their spot so I could jump in. The water was cold, but man, it was worth it! After my hike, I made my way back to camp to run around with Dobby and admire the fireflies again. Even though it was a long drive to and from the park, I’m glad it was such a beautiful view for my entire way looking at the sun turn the clouds pink and orange. 

After a few days in Shenandoah, it is now time to make my way to the Great Smoky Mountains! 

DropBox link for pictures: Shenandoah and more