Hawksbill Summit Traverse

My original plan was for us to hike the Hawksbill Loop after completing the Stony Man-Little Stony Man Loop.  Two short hikes in one day seemed like a reasonable plan; it is something we have done many times before.  However, as we hiked the last segment of the first hike, the ascent back to the parking lot on the Furnace Springs Trail, Erwin started waffling.  He and I slept terribly last night, due to a large party checking into the rooms on both side of us around midnight and being *extremely* loud for several hours afterwards. Luckily Frankie slept through the entire thing.  I didn't care about being tired; how often am I in Shenandoah National Park!?  I was determined to enjoy it.  Erwin was very clear he didn't want to prevent me from squeezing in one more hike -- he would simply drop me off and read while I hiked.  That worked for me!

Stony Man - Little Stony Man Loop

Yesterday was our "big hike" day, leaving today for shorter adventures.  But first we had to take care of some important details, namely the Junior Ranger program.  Frankie had finished most of the required activities to earn his Junior Ranger badge yesterday, but wouldn't be able to officially swear in until he attended a ranger-led program.  There were a few to choose from, but one obvious choice for our boy -- the birds of prey program at Big Meadows.  Frankie's favorite animal is the peregrine falcon, so this was a no brainer.  Sometimes Erwin and I feel a bit disgruntled at having to schedule a whole day around infrequent programs.  But this program was actually pretty great.  We all enjoyed it. 

Marys Rock via the Pinnacle

Shenandoah National Park is the first stop on our road trip south.  Like our mid-west road trip last month, this journey was also designed around visiting one of Frankie's grandmothers: in this case Erwin's mom, who we hadn't seen since before COVID.  We wanted Frankie to get to see his grandmother without the risk of flying.  It is quite a long drive to her house in South Carolina, so to break up the driving, we planned one big stop on each the drive down and the drive back.  This would make the trip more manageable and enjoyable -- plus we'd get to see some really cool new places along the way!  The halfway point on the drive south is in Virginia, making Shenandoah an obvious on-the-way destination.  We booked lodging at the park concession at Skyland, and focused hike selection to the central portion of the park.  Marys Rock looked pretty amazing.