Days 70-72, May 19th-21st (Shenandoah National Park Part 2, exiting park, through mile 980)

Photos from our last two days in the park, and a few from outside.

WaterBoy found these in a meadow near the AT. A great way to reutilize tractor seats. You might think these are too low to really be of use, but remember hikers typically sit on the ground when they take a break.

CornDog and I came across this section of burn in the north half of the park. It was pretty extensive. What was surprising, even though the ground and base of trees suffered extensive burn damage, most of the upper part of the trees were green and lush.
It appears to be a recent fire. I found this article online.

https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/2024/03/26/rocky-branch-fire-at-shenandoah-national-park-march-26-update/73104357007

I have no idea what this is, but it photographed wonderfully. I’m researching.

Night car camping at Big Meadow. A simple meal of Ramen.

I ran into Cold Cut today at mile 895. I haven’t seen her since we left the NOC facility in Georgia. That was the day CornDog lost his pack, and her hiking companion, Last Call, had found it.

After exiting Shenandoah, I came across Honeysuckle. I actually smelled it before I saw it. Trail perfume.

Also, this little guy was running down the trail, towards me. I nabbed this photo right before he bolted.

Look to the upper right of the orange fungi (which is actually pretty cool in its own right). This frog was just sitting up there surrounded by little flies. He was having a little lunch, which I couldn’t photograph.

I believe the fungus is called Chicken of the Woods. I found this great online fungi identification resource.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?project_id=appalachian-fungal-diversity&place_id=any&verifiable=any

This is how you leave a message on the trail .

WaterBoy had his first bear sighting. This made me chuckle.

Just an all around good picture.

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