travel light, wake early, walk far
It had all of the traditional ingredients: a returning Massanutten finisher (me), a first-time finisher (Max!), a Halfassanutten participant (Sophie), a Mininuttener (Sharon), a trail injury sacrifice (Chris), a new variant finisher we will call the Markanutten (Mark, duh), and lots of trail magic.
The trail was well maintained. While there were some blowdowns, they seemed to be easy to pass. And we even saw some trail maintainers on Sunday too.
The creepy fog of the night before got even worse the next morning. It was like a delightful version of Apocalypse Now, in which swirling mist and shadows greeted our every move.
This event continues to be one of my favorite DC UL traditions--I enjoy seeing those who return each year and those who are experiencing it for the first time.
Saturday afternoon the group ran into Crusher, Ashley and their friends providing trail magic. Hot apple cider, two types of cookies, Zucchini bread, Irish Soda bread, clementines and beer were all served.
DC UL Backpacking 