An Italian...guest: suggestions?

[Alberto99]

Hallo Friends!

I will be in DC area in August and wish to venture hiking the AT!

I'm an Italian guy, I live in the Alps and I'm well-trained hiking very often on the Dolomites and the like.

Any suggestions for a short hike (5-6 days)?

I'm thinking to start in Harper's Ferry and go to the south towards the Shenandoah Park, but I am not sure whether it is worth doing, maybe a circle trip would be better, or something else...


Thanks!

[kyhipo]

I would go north thru maryland to the pen mar,devils race course is a nice little hike.ask to get a shuttle at that park their I forgot the name.Thr outfitters their could also answer alot of your questions,as far as shuttles ect ect.ky

[bigcranky]

Buon giorno, Alberto, sta bene?

I like the Shenandoahs, and enjoyed hiking through them last summer. The trail is pleasant, the views are great, and you can get real food at several places where the trail passes one of the tourist places. The A.T. through the park was very well maintained when were there in June, 2005, but the trail just north of the park was overgrown. Not sure how far that continues, or how often the local club does trail maintenance through that area. The hike southbound from Harper's Ferry would be a good one, in my opinion.

Just don't expect really large mountains with glaciers and snow and all that. The Shenandoahs are in the 1000-1300-meter range, and the weather will be very warm in August. If you go, make sure to stop at the coffee shop (small restaurant or cafe) at Big Meadows for breakfast and order the pancakes with blackberry syrup. And they have pretty good coffee, too.

Enjoy the hike.

Arrivederla,

[bigcranky]

Let me add that with only 5 or 6 days to hike, you'd be better off starting at the north end of Shenandoah National Park and hiking south through the park. The A.T. is about 105 miles, so you can do most or all of it in that amount of time.

[the goat]

good advice so far. as others have suggested, i would do shenandoah, it's the prettiest area in my opinion that's close to DC. you can get there in an hour and a half. if you plan to hike the AT through the park, you can start at route 522 or route 211, and whenever you're finished, you can always hitch hike on skyline drive back to your vehicle (assuming you are leaving one where you start). have fun!

[mingo]

unless you just want to stay close to d.c., i wouldn't fool with the shenandoah. i'd go north to vermont or new hampshire or south to tennessee. hiking's better.

[Time To Fly 97]

This part of the AT is surprisingly flat. You can easily do high mileage days (20mi) if you want to. Shenendoahs are beautiful, but unchallenging - many nice park like settings (many times with food) you hike through - more wildlife than any other part of the AT because it is lower elevation. I saw a mountain lion on my thru-hike and many bears (tame, no threat at all).

You'll have a great time, but this is almost opposite the alps.

Congrats on the world cup! I changed to an Team Italy fan after Germany got beat. : )

TTF

[wilconow]

If you're limited to within like 2 hours of DC, you may not find the AT to be too challenging, or even scenic. An alternative is the Massanutten trail. 71 mile loop, 2 hours from DC.

http://www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails/trailNRT/Massanutten-VA.html

Best maps you can find are from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club

http://www.patc.net

It's not too high (nothing within 2 hours of DC really is), but very rugged scenic and quiet.

[Alberto99]

Thanks to everybody! :)

I will take into account your suggestions. If I have other questions I will write you again.

Have a nice hike!

ciao!

Alberto