View Full Version : Info on the Iron Mountain Trail
Rueben the Cobbler
09-28-2014, 18:19
Anyone have any kind of info on this trail? I know the AT use to go on part of it. Thinking about hiking it in a few weeks.
Lone Wolf
09-28-2014, 18:35
the virginia portion is great. there's 3 shelters spread over 25 miles or so. fairly easy walkin', no views really.
I've hiked it from Cross Mt. Rd to the other end that Lone Wolf's talking about.
The segment of the IMT south of Damascus has a completely different vibe than the part north of Damascus. It's wilder and didn't seem to be as well maintained to me. It's also pretty dry - I remember 2 water sources through the entire 15 miles. It has metal mile markers in the ground every mile which is also pretty interesting. It's much more difficult hiking south out of Damascus than hiking north into Damascus from Cross Mt. Rd - I've hiked that section both ways.
North of Damascus it's a pretty easy walk as LW says. Shelters, water, etc.
If you take the IMT north out of Damascus it sucks! Two steps forward and one back. Better to take the AT and cut over. After that it's a nice trail and no crowds.
Slo-go'en
09-29-2014, 19:41
I've taken the Virginia creeper trail out of Damascus (skips going over a useless, PITA ridge) to where it meets up with the AT again, then cut over to the IMT via the Feather camp trail to Sandy Flats where there is a shelter. Then on the IMT proper to Cherry Tree shelter for the night, but stopping at Straight branch for lunch. The IMT eventually meets up with the AT near Hurricane shelter using a horse trail as a connector.
The southern end of the IMT is also interesting, but as noted by 10K, water (and therefore camping) is limited. There is a little near each end, but you have to look for it. I've done Iron Mt Shelter to Damascus in one shot using the IMT instead of the AT, but it was a very, very long day - over 20 miles. Getting lost and coming out 5 miles from town didn't help either!
But by using the AT, IMT and several other trails, you can do a really nice week or 10 day loop through there.