Austin / Trayfoot Mountains Backpacking

A week ago, November 18 to 20, I went backpacking for two nights in Shenandoah National Park, hiking about 22 miles over Austin, Furnace, and Trayfoot Mountains, and having a great trip. It took me a while to write my posts about the trip, and have set them up in the reverse order that things usually get posted in Blogger: i.e. oldest posts first instead of newest posts first. In that way, you can read about my trip in a chronological order. Here are my accounts of the trip to this remote part of Virginia: no showers, no bathrooms or toilets or outhouses, no beds, no TV or electricity, no campfires (not allowed) - but lots of fun!

Planning my trip - how did I decide to do this trip and get it planned out?
Preparing to hike for three days - How did I prepare for my trip, and would it be adequate to the task?
Packing my gear - it looked like an REI store and a grocery store exploded in my guest bedroom, but somehow, I got it all crammed into my Millet 60 pack
Trip Overview - where exactly are Austin and Trayfoot Mountain?
Day 1 of the trip - we cut out of work early, and hit the trail by 1PM, but would we find a decent place to camp before dark?
Day 2 of the trip - We climbed, climbed, and climbed some more. Then suddenly, it was all downhill from there.
Day 3 of the trip - It was an uphill hike to the spectacular Black Rocks, then an easy couple of miles back to car and civilization.