I’m not sure this qualifies as a true S24O as I really didn’t start from home and I’m not entirely sure when it ended. In any case, I had a speaking engagement in Waynesboro, VA (about 3 hours from Virginia Beach) on Friday and I was certainly not going to drive 6 hours for a 20 minute presentation and not take advantage of being within minutes of the Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park.

The conference concluded on Saturday morning so I headed over to the Rockfish Gap Entrance Station and took the leisurely drive up the Skyline Drive to the Loft Mountain Campground. After setting up the tent, I did a easy hike that basically circled the campground using a short section of the Appalachian Trail.

I picked up some firewood from the campstore and headed back to the site where I threw a couple of burgers on the grill. As the evening set in, so too did the clouds and a light rain which basically lasted for the next 12 hours. Still a pleasant evening drinking a Manhattan (or two) and sitting around the fire.

Having spent quite a bit of time during the past week re-waterproofing the tent’s rainfly, I think I can say that it apparently worked – at least for a light rain. Not sure I’m ready to test it in a torrential downpour yet.

Sunday’s weather was pretty dreary so I packed up and decided to just continue up the Skyline Drive to its northern terminus at Front Royal. I had hoped to stop somewhere along the way for a short hike but the weather didn’t really cooperate. Not being in the mood to simply hit the Interstate and head straight home, I decided to head east to Annapolis where I could then come down the Eastern Shore for a much more leisurely drive. While in Annapolis, I decided to take a break from driving and get in my daily steps (and more!) with a walk around the perimeter of the United States Naval Academy.

All in all, a nice weekend.