"All around me a voice was sounding, this land was made for you and me..."

Day 40

Greenwood, VA 

It was an early(ish) start to the day as we tried to squeeze every last bit of adventure out of this fantastic odyssey we'd been on for the better part of six weeks. And so, after a quick breakfast, we set off north along Skyline Drive and deeper into the Shenandoah National Park for our last hike of the trip.

After an hour of twists and turns along the scenic drive, we pulled into the parking lot for the Doyles River Falls trailhead. I had initially scoped out a different hike for the day, one that was lauded as the hike to do in the southern portion of the Park. It would surely have been a push at 9 plus miles with multiple stream crossings but, fresh off of my successes at The Narrows and the Bright Angel Trail, I was wildly confident. Emphasis on the wild. When I suggested the Riprap Trail and read the AllTrails reviews aloud to Jon, he uncharacteristically asked me if I was sure I wanted to push it that hard. I told him I was up for it if he was (he was). And then I read the National Park Service warning about the trail being "extremely difficult" and that it should only be attempted by "very seasoned hikers."

And off to a rigorous (but manageable) four miles of Doyles River Falls it was.

It was a beautiful hike along the river with several waterfalls along the way. To keep it interesting for me, given my disappointment over having missed Riprap, Jon let me carry the leftover fried chicken that was to be our lunch along the trail; any black bears in the area would surely be attracted by the tantalizing smells coming from my bag and provide the element of adventure I'd been missing. Alas, my singing and clapping was just too much for them.

Four hours and one peeing-along-the-trail mishap later (definitely photographed, definitely not being posted), we returned to the parking lot and decided to squeeze in one more quick outing on our way back to the campground. Blackrock Summit was categorized by the National Park Service as "easiest" which, given the category's being defined as "suitable for those who enjoy walking," seemed like the right fit for the occasion.

Our forty-five minute "bonus" hike behind us and the daylight waning, we continued the drive south along Skyline Drive and back towards our campground in Greenwood. As luck would have it, though, we found ourselves at Riprap Overlook just as the sun was setting. The perfect punctuation mark on our brief time in the Shenandoah.