We made it out of the forest and headed toward Elkins, about 2 hours away. OF COURSE it was sunny the next morning. Can’t complain - I would rather be taking down sopping wet gear when it ISN’T RAINING.
Here is the first thing we saw when we drove away from the trailhead. These mountains are magic, they remind me of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.
We absolutely fell in love with Elkins. Super interesting: a very small town, half boarded up and half gentrified. It’s a college town, so there were lots of cool young folks around, but most of them were from the area. Everyone had thick, incredibly charming southern accents. An old guy walks into the donut shop - the girl behind the counter: “How’re yew today sir?” Old man: “Well, fit as a fiddle.” I could listen to these people talk all day. And everyone was SOOOO nice! Not a jerk on this whole trip.
ADORABLE kitties in a pet grooming store.
Cool owls on the top of this building:
Mmmmmmquestionable American flag pattern in the quilt store…
Teeny birdie on a truck:
Our hotel was THE BEST - The Tygart Hotel. We ended up staying 2 nights so we could dry our gear and recover from the last 3 days. I was feeling AWFUL from so much damp (and perhaps not drinking enough water.) How to dry all your wet gear in a small space:
We had dinner at a place called “CJ Maggies” which was like Fuddruckers, Carlos Sweeny’s, TGIFridays, and Bennigans all rolled up into one. I haven’t seen a kooky restaurant like this since the 1980’s. It was actually just what we needed after 6 days of dehydrated meals. And now we’re old folks who need glasses for the menu haha!
Fried green beans with Ranch dressing, of course.
View of those foggy mountains from our hotel.