While hiking with Stella Arbelaéz Tascón, we stopped at the Gravel Springs Hut which is a shelter on the Appalachian Trail in Shanandoah State Park in Virginia. While Stella was hiking the trail alone a week before, events transpired here which resulted in her decision to take time off from the hike and stay in a hostel. The story is hers to tell, so I will not relate it here. She shared her story on an Appalachian Trail Community Forum and the comments from many hikers were both supportive and vicious. That one tread said so much about the human condition.
We returned to the shelter late in the day to do a painting. Stella was taking the opportunity to paint locations on the trail that she had not painted before because she was focused on making sure she met her mileage goals. With me around she could slow her role since I am an inexperienced hiker. The final days of the hike became about finding the perfect painting locations and I was very comfortable with that.
We did stay in a shelter almost identical to this one. We ate our dinner on the picnic table and set up our sleeping bags inside the shelter which had a nice wooden floor. After the sun set, the wilderness came alive with a cacophony of sounds. A young married couple was also at this site but they were camping at a site a short distance away. They had both been married previously and had children. Their Brady Bunch family had a baby sitter so that the couple could spend quality time alone.
During the night I became convinced that I heard a bear wandering behind the shelter. I wanted to wake Stella up, but thought better of it. The sound soon shuffled off into the woods. I had a bear bag to store my food and toiletries. Scent proof bags were used to store food and the bear bag was in a steal locker which no bear would be able to open. Bears have to know that only inexperienced hikers would leave food unattended. I think this was my third day of hiking, so I was now an expert thru hiker.