VA Appalachian Trail - Section 1 - Route 340 to Keys Gap

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/15/2018	5.6 miles	3 hours 21 minutes	572'	36:00

Map: Appalachian Trail Guide to Maryland and Northern Virginia
Parking: Keys Gap and Route 340
Directions: Northbound, Keys Gap to Route 340

We slept in today. My plan was for an active recovery day. It was damp in the morning but not raining. Today's hike was a mix of easy flat terrain and rocky sections. At the end of the day I noticed Trek was developing an abrasion on one of his feet, so I put a booty on it, and spread Musher's Secret on all of his feet. I check his feet after every hike and make sure they are okay. He never had a problem in rocky Pennsylvania, but on this trip he did have to wear one boot on some days.

We purposefully hiked slowly today, but I was still hiking faster than yesterday when I bonked. I was trying to take it easy today so that I do actually recover. I kept Trek on a leash as well, to limit his activity. His appetite is better now. I brought treats along on the hike as well. His favorite is chicken jerky.

We had a steep descent to the Shenandoah River. We crossed the river on a busy bridge with a pedestrian walkway. Trek hates these, but he didn't do too badly.

After arriving at our car we took a short drive to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (rather than adding the extra .4 miles or whatever it is to walk there). Ha! I was really trying to save my energy. We were greeted by a volunteer at the ATC who showed us around the building. The ATC headquarters here takes photos of every thru hiker that stops by on their hike. He told us section hikers get their photos taken too! So, we brought Trek in and the 3 of us had our photo taken in front of the ATC and our photo got added to their 2018 book of hikers. How cool! I love that Trek got to be included.

Tonight we struggled to find a place for dinner - lots of restaurants were closed on a Monday night. We ended up going downtown and found a pizza place.

Trailhead kiosk. PATC just does a great job.