G Money (aka Sweet Cheeks) and I awoke rather early and made our way back to the wayside. We ate breakfast and washed in the bathroom. Tarrying a bit, we socialized with other hikers about the events of the previous night, particularly the behavior of the park ranger. Although I didn't partake, Memphis made man-mosas (beer and orange juice), and they seemed rather interesting. Eventually, we made our way back to the trail.
After hiking for some time , we met Coonskin and his girlfriend, Patch. Coonskin was a SoBo hiker in 2012, and today was Patch's first experience with hiking. We all sat for a while, chatting and exchanging stories. Then, we made our way to Gravel Springs Hut.
At Gravel Springs Hut, we encountered the same ridge runner from our experience at Rock Spring Hut. She was cordial and exchanged pleasantries with us, but shortly after she departed, two park SUVs descended the fire road. Three rangers exited the vehicles, clutching their guns. Sufficed to say, it was rather unnerving, as we did not know why they were there.
The rangers surrounded us, and I immediately recognized one from the night before. Clearly, he also recognized me, as well, because he addressed me first. Apparently, the ridge runner had caught another hiker, Step Up, bathing naked in a stream. The rangers spoke with him, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were all in some sort of trouble. The rangers remained around us, and as they spoke with Step Up, I got the impression that we were all being detained.
Before their departure, the rangers performed a permit check. And, as Stuart Curtain, the overly officious ranger from the previous night, walked away I could hear him ask another ranger, "Did you see anything else?"
Convinced that the park had become a rather unfriendly environment, at least for thru-hikers, we all resolved to exit Shenandoah by nightfall. G Money (aka Sweet Cheeks) and I made camp near the Tom Floyd Wayside, actually a shelter and just outside the park boundary.
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