Shenandoah Backpacking Day 1: Into the Backcountry

This picture scaresely captures the mixture of excitement and anxiety that we were feeling at this moment. Early Monday, June 24, 2024 Seningen and I departed the front country and were headed into the backcountry. It took no small amount of effort to get here. Training, nerves, deep conversations, and worried families led to this picture at our first backcountry trail marker. First steps out of our comfort zone.

It wasn’t long after our nervous departure that we were greeted with the first challenge that the Shenandoah Backcountry would have to offer- Furnace Mountain and Blackrock Peak. For the first morning with full packs in a non-training scenario, we are hit with an extreme uphill climb and we quickly realized that the mileage count by the National Park Service were not accurate.

As we made our climb up the side of Furnace Mountain, we came across our first fellow backpacker- no small amount of relief for two people who had been alone for a few hours nervous about the trail ahead. It was a lost Australian backpacker- Eric. He had wandered off the Appalachian Trail and was looking for a way into town. We showed him our map and had a conversation with him over lunch.

After climbing 4.8 miles up Furnace Mountain Trail and an additional 0.9 miles up the Trayfoot and Blackspur trails, we arrived at our second mountain peak in as many days. After hiking Old Rag the day before, this was our second mountain and we certainly felt the climb to Black Rock Peak. While the two days of climbing certainly left us a little tired we were boosted in our morale by stunning views and hikers from the front country and backpackers on the AT. We also got some service and checked in with home.

While the AT was the first accurate mileage count of the day, it also came with our very first bear encounter. As we prepared to cross skyline drive, Seningen spotted the black bear walking in the woods on the other side of the road. After yelling hey bear to announce our presence and drawing our bear spray just in case, we gave the bear a little time to mosey on out of our path. Here we are shortly afterward. It was at this point that Seningen took the lead in our game of situational awareness- loser of this game buys dinner after pick up. We talked for a while at this post, bear spray drawn, happy to have the first bear encounter under our belts.

Fresh from our bear encounter with newly named “Scout Jones”, we were met with another change in pace- downhill. Crossing over skyline drive, we followed Jones Run deep into the backcountry, past Jones Run Falls toward the confluence of the Jones and Doyle Rivers where we to set up our first camp. While it was downhill, again we contended with a longer than expected hike down. Each additional amount taking its toll.

When we did finally arrive in our site, we were quickly met with a lot of decisions that needed to be made. In our exhaustion and still jittery from our bear encounter, we proceeded to second guess every one of those decisions. As a result it took us much longer than it should of to set up camp, divide gear between the campsite and the bear site, and get dinner made. But ultimately the deed was done. That night we started a tradition of doing a “hotwash”. We went over everything that went well and everything that didn’t and wrote it down. We also talked through what break down should look like for the next day. After the hotwash we went to bed and despite some nerves, we actually slept through most of the night. A blessing that we didn’t appreciate until later in the trip.

Final Breakdown of Day 1:

Wildlife Encounters: 1- Black Bear Named “Scout Jones”

Expected Mileage: 7.8 Miles

Actual Mileage: 9.9 Miles

Highlight: The View from Blackrock Peak and Handling of first bear encounter.

Lowlight: Decision Fatigue and Bearnoia.

Teamwork Victories: Moral Support, Inventing the Situational Awareness Game, and Hotwashes.