carouselambra
04-30-2018, 21:13
Last week I section hiked the area between Swift Run Gap and Harpers Ferry. Here is a synopsis and highlights for future hikers:
I used the Mountain Home Cabbin in Front Royal, VA as my base and was pleased. I like good communication and the owners Scott and Lisa were great to work with. The French toast breakfast was also very good. Scott has thru-hiked the trail. I stayed there on Friday and the following Tuesday night.
On Saturday I was shuttled to Harpers Ferry by Mark Cusic (304-433-0028). Once again, very good communication and a fair price. Mark has thru-hiked the trail. He is based out of Harpers Ferry.
With it being spring and with the recent rain, water was everywhere it was supposed to be and there was seasonal water available also.
Saturday: AT HQ to Blackburn AT Center
There is a seasonal stream running a few hundred yards south of Keys Gap. This was a nice find and a good place to stop for lunch. Mary, the host at the Blackburn AT Center, was very nice. I slept on the porch, used the outlet to charge my phone, and on Sunday morning ate breakfast sitting in the Adirondack chairs as the sun came up. The trail on this day was pretty smooth.
Sunday: Blackburn AT Center to Morgan Mill Stream campsite
The roller coaster was as advertised, including the sections that were very rocky and that slowed down my progress. I stopped at the Bears Den for lunch. It was closed, but it was nice to have tap water and sit on the benches. I do not recommend the Morgan Mill Stream campsite as there are no level places to camp and most of it is quite sloped. If you can make it, I recommend the Sam Moore shelter or the Rod Hollow shelter over this campsite.
Monday: Morgan Mill Stream campsite to Manassas Gap shelter
This was a great day of hiking in beautiful weather. I thoroughly enjoyed the Sky Meadows area. My original plan was to stop at the Dick’s Dome/Whiskey Hollow shelter, but with the Tuesday forecast for cold/wind/rain, I stretched the day out to the Manassas Gap shelter. This was a pretty smooth track and made the miles doable for me. Good shelter with easy water access. There were several good campsites on the short walk from the trail to the shelter.
Tuesday: Manassas Gap shelter to Mountain Home Cabbin
As predicted, the rain started at about sunup and continued most of the day. I stopped at the Jim and Molly Denton shelter for a break and made it back to the Mountain Home Cabbin by 12:30pm. After a quick shower, I shuttled two hikers that I stayed with at the Manassas Gap shelter, a hiker staying at the Cabbin, and two thru-hikers hitchhiking into town. A thru-hiker came into the Cabbin in the afternoon after walking 26+ miles from the Pass Mountain hut. He was ultra-light and I don’t think he had dry clothes so he had to make the trek. That night we went into town for dinner. I resupplied out of my vehicle and took the hikers at the Cabbin and picked up the ones I had met the day before to resupply at Martins.
Wednesday: Mountain Home Cabbin to Swift Run Gap to Big Meadows campground
Once again shuttled by Mark Cusic. I spent most of the day waking “Into the Mystic”. I stopped for lunch at the Lewis Mountain campground. The frost-free pump near the campground host spot was running. I took the short walk up to the campground store. The gentleman at the store was a thru-hiker and let me have a free cup of coffee. I thought about camping near the spring prior to Big Meadows as there was an old roadbed that would make a good camp spot. I wasn’t sure if camping was allowed so I just ponied up the $20 and stayed at the Big Meadows campground. The bear vault, tap water, and bathroom made it an easy completion of the day. The trail was for the most part very smooth and made for easy walking.
Thursday: Big Meadows campground to Pass Mountain Hut
I decided to stretch this to a long day (for me) to position me to easily make it into Front Royal on Saturday. I underestimated the terrain in this area. A large part of the walk was along the ridge line across rocks that were in place to prevent erosion. Great views almost all the day, but I had to slow down to keep from twisting my ankles/knees. The rocky portion is from about a mile or two north of Big Meadows to Thornton Gap. At Skyland I ran into a fellow Raleigh hiker and Whiteblaze poster that I had conversed with through messages. It was good to meet him and he was staying at the Pass Mountain hut as well. The Pinnacle picnic area had a frost free pump that was running . It was tempting to stop at the Byrds Nest #3 hut, but I decided to push on. The Pass Mountain hut had good water, is truly .2 off the trail, and has a few good campsites. I tented as it looked like there were going to be some late arrivals to the shelter and I was tired. Good people and conversation at the shelter prior to retiring for the evening.
Friday: Pass Mountain Hut to Gravel Springs Hut
This was a very easy and smooth walk, especially after the rougher terrain the day before. To keep from getting to the shelter too early, I hung out at some of the high points where I had cell coverage, calling home, work, checking email, etc.. The Elkwallow Wayside was a little disappointing in that there was nowhere to sit inside. It was cold, windy, and in the clouds outside so we had to sit on the floor inside the door. The shelter ended up being full (9 people) and there were at least six tents up. Easy water and a few good tent sites. It was a good experience with the variety of hikers, including three thrus. A very large fire was built and it was good fellowship. I had thought about walking past the shelter to cut down on the distance the following day, but there did not appear to be good camping sites three to five miles out. I was glad I stayed at the shelter and enjoyed the experience.
Saturday: Gravel Springs Hut to Mountain Home Cabbin
Easy walk back to Front Royal, mostly downhill on a smooth “heads up” track. Stopped for lunch at the Tom Floyd wayside. I was glad I had some water so I did not have to make the trek down to the spring. I
All in all a good experience and allowed me to complete my bucket list goal of section hiking the Virginia portion of the AT.
I used the Mountain Home Cabbin in Front Royal, VA as my base and was pleased. I like good communication and the owners Scott and Lisa were great to work with. The French toast breakfast was also very good. Scott has thru-hiked the trail. I stayed there on Friday and the following Tuesday night.
On Saturday I was shuttled to Harpers Ferry by Mark Cusic (304-433-0028). Once again, very good communication and a fair price. Mark has thru-hiked the trail. He is based out of Harpers Ferry.
With it being spring and with the recent rain, water was everywhere it was supposed to be and there was seasonal water available also.
Saturday: AT HQ to Blackburn AT Center
There is a seasonal stream running a few hundred yards south of Keys Gap. This was a nice find and a good place to stop for lunch. Mary, the host at the Blackburn AT Center, was very nice. I slept on the porch, used the outlet to charge my phone, and on Sunday morning ate breakfast sitting in the Adirondack chairs as the sun came up. The trail on this day was pretty smooth.
Sunday: Blackburn AT Center to Morgan Mill Stream campsite
The roller coaster was as advertised, including the sections that were very rocky and that slowed down my progress. I stopped at the Bears Den for lunch. It was closed, but it was nice to have tap water and sit on the benches. I do not recommend the Morgan Mill Stream campsite as there are no level places to camp and most of it is quite sloped. If you can make it, I recommend the Sam Moore shelter or the Rod Hollow shelter over this campsite.
Monday: Morgan Mill Stream campsite to Manassas Gap shelter
This was a great day of hiking in beautiful weather. I thoroughly enjoyed the Sky Meadows area. My original plan was to stop at the Dick’s Dome/Whiskey Hollow shelter, but with the Tuesday forecast for cold/wind/rain, I stretched the day out to the Manassas Gap shelter. This was a pretty smooth track and made the miles doable for me. Good shelter with easy water access. There were several good campsites on the short walk from the trail to the shelter.
Tuesday: Manassas Gap shelter to Mountain Home Cabbin
As predicted, the rain started at about sunup and continued most of the day. I stopped at the Jim and Molly Denton shelter for a break and made it back to the Mountain Home Cabbin by 12:30pm. After a quick shower, I shuttled two hikers that I stayed with at the Manassas Gap shelter, a hiker staying at the Cabbin, and two thru-hikers hitchhiking into town. A thru-hiker came into the Cabbin in the afternoon after walking 26+ miles from the Pass Mountain hut. He was ultra-light and I don’t think he had dry clothes so he had to make the trek. That night we went into town for dinner. I resupplied out of my vehicle and took the hikers at the Cabbin and picked up the ones I had met the day before to resupply at Martins.
Wednesday: Mountain Home Cabbin to Swift Run Gap to Big Meadows campground
Once again shuttled by Mark Cusic. I spent most of the day waking “Into the Mystic”. I stopped for lunch at the Lewis Mountain campground. The frost-free pump near the campground host spot was running. I took the short walk up to the campground store. The gentleman at the store was a thru-hiker and let me have a free cup of coffee. I thought about camping near the spring prior to Big Meadows as there was an old roadbed that would make a good camp spot. I wasn’t sure if camping was allowed so I just ponied up the $20 and stayed at the Big Meadows campground. The bear vault, tap water, and bathroom made it an easy completion of the day. The trail was for the most part very smooth and made for easy walking.
Thursday: Big Meadows campground to Pass Mountain Hut
I decided to stretch this to a long day (for me) to position me to easily make it into Front Royal on Saturday. I underestimated the terrain in this area. A large part of the walk was along the ridge line across rocks that were in place to prevent erosion. Great views almost all the day, but I had to slow down to keep from twisting my ankles/knees. The rocky portion is from about a mile or two north of Big Meadows to Thornton Gap. At Skyland I ran into a fellow Raleigh hiker and Whiteblaze poster that I had conversed with through messages. It was good to meet him and he was staying at the Pass Mountain hut as well. The Pinnacle picnic area had a frost free pump that was running . It was tempting to stop at the Byrds Nest #3 hut, but I decided to push on. The Pass Mountain hut had good water, is truly .2 off the trail, and has a few good campsites. I tented as it looked like there were going to be some late arrivals to the shelter and I was tired. Good people and conversation at the shelter prior to retiring for the evening.
Friday: Pass Mountain Hut to Gravel Springs Hut
This was a very easy and smooth walk, especially after the rougher terrain the day before. To keep from getting to the shelter too early, I hung out at some of the high points where I had cell coverage, calling home, work, checking email, etc.. The Elkwallow Wayside was a little disappointing in that there was nowhere to sit inside. It was cold, windy, and in the clouds outside so we had to sit on the floor inside the door. The shelter ended up being full (9 people) and there were at least six tents up. Easy water and a few good tent sites. It was a good experience with the variety of hikers, including three thrus. A very large fire was built and it was good fellowship. I had thought about walking past the shelter to cut down on the distance the following day, but there did not appear to be good camping sites three to five miles out. I was glad I stayed at the shelter and enjoyed the experience.
Saturday: Gravel Springs Hut to Mountain Home Cabbin
Easy walk back to Front Royal, mostly downhill on a smooth “heads up” track. Stopped for lunch at the Tom Floyd wayside. I was glad I had some water so I did not have to make the trek down to the spring. I
All in all a good experience and allowed me to complete my bucket list goal of section hiking the Virginia portion of the AT.