Fox Creek Loop, Virginia - Concerns

[HikingNazi]

Looking to do the Fox Creep Loop (52.4 miles using the AT and Iron Mountain Trails) as described in the AT Trail Guide near Mt. Rogers in a few weeks and I have some questions.

Parking at Virginia 603 at Fox Creek - Is it "safe"?

Water and Shelters - planning on staying at Old Orchard, Thomas Knob, Lost Mountain, Sandy Flats (IMT), and Cherry Tree (IMT) Shelters on this trip. Any water or shelter concerns? I plan on tenting each night but staying near the shelters for privy and water convenience.

Bears - Maybe a true noob question, but do I need to bear bag each night?

Thanks!

[10-K]

I don't have any specific feedback but the Iron Mt. Trail is really nice. The northern half is totally different than the southern half. Above Damascus, the IMT has shelters, water, and is very AT like.

South of Damascus there's little water, hiking SOBO is really tough and there are no shelters. It has a wild feel. And.. I did see a bear cub on the IMT south of Damascus!

I also lost my dog for almost 3 hours. I still get chills remembering that.

[HikingNazi]

I'll be on the northern half of the IMT, which was the old AT, which is why there are shelters and such.

I would freak out if I ever lost a dog!!!!

[Siestita]

"Bears - Maybe a true noob question, but do I need to bear bag each night?"

To me that's not a newbie question. Inquiring about bear behavior (or its absence) in particular places still makes sense to me, after having backpacked for forty years. There are some places in the Eastern USA with no bears, and others (perhaps still most of the AT) with bears present but still very wary of people. And there are areas with habituated "problem bears".

These days I sometimes sleep with my food, doing so in areas where bears, or at least habituated ones, are unlikely to be present. Or I hang my food on pre-installed cables or a metal bear pole. I regard the presence of a pole or cables as an indicator that problems have previously occurred in a particular area. And, sometimes, I store all of my food, soap, and toothpaste overnight in a bear canister. I originally purchased my canister to visit the Ansel Adams Wilderness in California's Sierra Nevada range, but that 'Bearvault' occasionally comes in handy for other places as well. Canisters are heavier to carry than cord for hanging food, but hanging can be difficult to accomplish correctly. Trees and limbs are not always located where you need them to be to help you hang your food well.

Over the years I've made five short trips, of just a few days each, centered in the Grayson Highlands Crest Zone adjoining Grayson Highlands State Park. I've slept with my food each time. I had no bear encounters during any of those trips. In August, 2012 I made a slightly more ambitious trip, from Grayson Highlands State Park to Damascus and back. I left my car at Grayson Highlands State Park, and made a loop using the Iron Mountain Trail, the AT, and short segments of other trails. Some pertinent details follow.

Heading south to Damascus I took with me my bear canister. Along the way I met several exceptionally well organized, considerate, and well behaved backpacking youth groups, teams sent out by an organization known as "Wilderness Trail Ministries". With a base camp near Troutdale, they have been sending groups out every summer for many years. I learned from their leaders that Wilderness Trails groups had not experienced any bear problems. Therefore, they neither hung nor canistered their food. Apparently the local bear population was both limited in size and still somewhat reclusive, at least during summer months.

So, based on what I had learned walking south, I left my canister, which weighs 2 1/2 lbs., behind in Damascus when I completed my walk northward along the AT to the State Park. But, if I ever section hike south from Damascus, along either the Iron Mountain Trail or the AT, I'll probably take the canister with me. The Watauga Lake Shelter, 39 miles southbound trail miles from Damascus, is currently closed because nuisance bear activity has been occurring there.

[bigcranky]

Fox Creek and Elk Garden had some vehicle issues several years ago, but I haven't heard about anything recent. We almost always park at Massey Gap in Grayson Highlands State Park. Costs a couple of bucks a day but has always been a safe spot.

Haven't been up there since early summer, so not sure about water, but it was a wet summer.

You can't tent at Thomas Knob, but there are a lot of good sites between Rhodendron Gap and TK Shelter. Really obvious. Great views. Haven't been to Cherry Tree in years, but I tented there a couple of times and it was fine. Lost Mountain has good tent sites.

I've never seen a bear up there, but I still usually hang.

[Siestita]

During two of my hikes in the Grayson Highlands I left my vehicle at the Fox Creek trail head, both times without incident. I later read, here on White Blaze, that some vehicle break ins had been taking place at Fox Creek. So, now I prefer to instead leave my car (for a small fee) in the more controlled environment of Grayson Highland's State Park's backpacker parking lot. That's conveniently located near Massie Gap. Another alternative, which I have not used yet, would be to leave the vehicle parked at the Headquarters of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. I once purchased there an excellent trail map of the Highlands/Crest Zone. Or, you could leave your car (again for a small fee) at the Hurricane Forest Service Campground. Other than perhaps the State Park, the spots that I've mentioned are not located along you proposed loop, but neither are they particular far from it.

[Lone Wolf]

Looking to do the Fox Creep Loop (52.4 miles using the AT and Iron Mountain Trails) as described in the AT Trail Guide near Mt. Rogers in a few weeks and I have some questions.

Parking at Virginia 603 at Fox Creek - Is it "safe"?

Water and Shelters - planning on staying at Old Orchard, Thomas Knob, Lost Mountain, Sandy Flats (IMT), and Cherry Tree (IMT) Shelters on this trip. Any water or shelter concerns? I plan on tenting each night but staying near the shelters for privy and water convenience.

Bears - Maybe a true noob question, but do I need to bear bag each night?

Thanks!

603 parking is safe nowadays. plenty of water at these shelters right now. i personally don't hang food. never have, never will. bears are hunted in this area

[July]

Please don't feed the Ponies. Or they will follow you, and we don't need that...

[Slo-go'en]

There isn't much room for tenting at Sandy Flats and don't be surprised if someone on a mountain bike comes by. Cherry tree is a neat old shelter which has been there forever. The couple of times I've done the IMT AT by-pass I was the only one at these shelters.

Keeping track of the trail can be a little tricky. I would suggest getting the Grayson Highland National Geographic map for reference.

[general]

There is water everywhere through there right now.

[Unisaw]

I just did a hike there last week. It poured, so there was water everywhere. Just to be extra safe, we parked at Grindstone Campground, just 1.9 miles from the Fox Creek parking area. We then hiked up the Mt. Rogers trail to connect with the AT just south of Thomas Knob shelter. Cost was $3 per car per night, but the peace of mind made it well worthwhile.