TJ aka Teej
09-22-2003, 17:41
Update: Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel swept across the A.T. in the mid-Atlantic region late Thursday night into early Friday morning, leaving numerous downed trees and other storm-related damage. It appeared from maps in The Washington Post that the center of the storm went over the Blue Ridge directly across Big Meadows in the middle of Shenandoah National Park, so ATC expects — but has not totally confirmed — significant blowdowns roughly from Daleville, Va., north through Maryland.
In Virginia, Shenandoah National Park remains closed, with two exceptions: A.T. thru-hikers and volunteer trail maintainers. Numerous downed trees have been reported along the A.T. in northern Virginia, with the section of Trail between Loudoun Heights and Keys Gap reported to be particularly hard hit.
In West Virginia, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is now open, but the C&O Canal towpath in Maryland remains closed, restricting access to and from Harpers Ferry for A.T. hikers. Until the towpath is opened, A.T. hikers must detour around Harpers Ferry along the shoulder of U.S. 340. When approaching Harpers Ferry from the south, instead of crossing the Shenandoah Bridge to the left, follow U.S. 340 to the right, crossing the Potomac River on the U.S. 340 bridge. Use Keeptryst Road — first right turn after the bridge — to connect to the A.T. just north of the C&O towpath exit. Southbound hikers can access Keeptryst Road about one mile south of Weverton Cliffs. Please be careful! U.S. 340 carries extremely heavy traffic in both directions at almost any hour.
In Maryland, in addition to the C&O Canal closure numerous downed trees have been reported along South Mountain, with major damage reported near the Dahlgren Back Pack Campground just south of Turners Gap.
Volunteers from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) — which maintains the A.T. from southern Pennsylvania south through Shenandoah National Park—are already hard at work clearing the damage. We'll post updates in Trail Conditions as available. If you have updates from a recent hiking or Trail-maintaining trip, please let us know. If you would like to help, please contact the local maintaining clubs so work can be coordinated; it's very important not to go it alone. ATC headquarters lost power for only 12 hours, so we are open at our usual hours for assistance.
September 22, 2003
Check source: http://www.appalachiantrail.org/trailnews/index.html
for hyper links, photo, ect.
Hurricane Isabel swept across the A.T. in the mid-Atlantic region late Thursday night into early Friday morning, leaving numerous downed trees and other storm-related damage. It appeared from maps in The Washington Post that the center of the storm went over the Blue Ridge directly across Big Meadows in the middle of Shenandoah National Park, so ATC expects — but has not totally confirmed — significant blowdowns roughly from Daleville, Va., north through Maryland.
In Virginia, Shenandoah National Park remains closed, with two exceptions: A.T. thru-hikers and volunteer trail maintainers. Numerous downed trees have been reported along the A.T. in northern Virginia, with the section of Trail between Loudoun Heights and Keys Gap reported to be particularly hard hit.
In West Virginia, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is now open, but the C&O Canal towpath in Maryland remains closed, restricting access to and from Harpers Ferry for A.T. hikers. Until the towpath is opened, A.T. hikers must detour around Harpers Ferry along the shoulder of U.S. 340. When approaching Harpers Ferry from the south, instead of crossing the Shenandoah Bridge to the left, follow U.S. 340 to the right, crossing the Potomac River on the U.S. 340 bridge. Use Keeptryst Road — first right turn after the bridge — to connect to the A.T. just north of the C&O towpath exit. Southbound hikers can access Keeptryst Road about one mile south of Weverton Cliffs. Please be careful! U.S. 340 carries extremely heavy traffic in both directions at almost any hour.
In Maryland, in addition to the C&O Canal closure numerous downed trees have been reported along South Mountain, with major damage reported near the Dahlgren Back Pack Campground just south of Turners Gap.
Volunteers from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) — which maintains the A.T. from southern Pennsylvania south through Shenandoah National Park—are already hard at work clearing the damage. We'll post updates in Trail Conditions as available. If you have updates from a recent hiking or Trail-maintaining trip, please let us know. If you would like to help, please contact the local maintaining clubs so work can be coordinated; it's very important not to go it alone. ATC headquarters lost power for only 12 hours, so we are open at our usual hours for assistance.
September 22, 2003
Check source: http://www.appalachiantrail.org/trailnews/index.html
for hyper links, photo, ect.