Easiest 100 miles
With all the talk about the hardest 100 miles of trail I was wondering where the easiest 100 miles is? Is there a 100 mile stretch that doesn't have a "strenuous" section?
Thomas
Somewhere in Virginia ...
'Slogger
The more I learn ...the more I realize I don't know.
The trail in West Virginia, Maryland and southern Pennsylvania (from the southern border through the Cumberland Valley) has less severe ups and downs than just about anywhere else on the trail and the worst of the rocks, from what I hear, don't come until you get to the rest of Pennsylvania. That stretch I'm describing is about 128 miles long. But even that section will have some "strenuous" climbs -- just not as many.
Last edited by map man; 01-26-2008 at 17:34.
SNP of course
Copy that.Originally Posted by Lone Wolf
I thought there were mountains in SNP?
Kirby
I guess you can call them mountains, but they are graded really well and nothing too steep. SNP is about 100 miles in lenght, there are other sections that are flat, but not at this lenght. Then there are other areas that have about the same elevation gain as SNP, but with a lot of rocks/roots/mud to contend with. That's why SNP gets my vote.
The 100 miles we walk between the fridge, the bathroom, and the cyber trail on the puter.
nobody said there weren't mountains there
what a crock o' *hit
There are stretches of the Trail that are easier than Shenandoah National Park, but that wasn't the question. The longest "easy" 100-mile stretch of the Trail is certainly SNP, as Wolf and several others have pointed out.
After that, Harpers Ferry to Boiling Springs is pretty mild; so are New Jersey and New York; so are Connecticut/Massachusetts.
What about Maryland through Front Royal into SNP?
Nope. Parts of Northern Virginia (the famous "roller coaster" section for example) are actually quite strenuous for many folks. In fact, for most folks, this is about the toughest part of Virginia.
SNP leaped to my mind also. Very mellow grades, and they feel almost level after 850 of AT. Combine this with no need to carry more than a day or two worth of food due to campstores and waysides, and it is an easy walk in the park, quite literally.
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
Port CLinton to DWG.
For my money, it's Pennsylvania. Typical hike: 700 feet up, 10 miles of dead flat, 700 back down. Rinse and repeat.
You forgot: Ibuprofen with breakfast, walk up rocks, ibuprofen with morning snack, walk along rocks, ibu w/lunch, walk gingerly down rocky slope. Bruise and repeat.
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
Eastern PA. No contest.
How "crowded" is the SNP? I am a few hours away & was considering a fall trip there with a friend.
The Southern Section is less crowded than the rest, since it is further away from DC. Actually most of the northern section isn't too bad either, since there aren't as many grand overlooks there. It's the Central section, especially around Big Meadows where there are loads of people. You have a bunch of campgrounds, big overlooks with drive up parking, the lodge, etc.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
