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dessertrat
05-29-2008, 00:06
I just went on a ten day trip, from Pine Knob north of Harper's Ferry to Shenandoah National Park (up Dickey Ridge Trail, joining with the AT, and beyond, then back down).

I didn't like SNP-- Skyline Drive seemed to permeate everything-- even when not in sight, it was within sound. I had thought of heading all the way through SNP to Waynesboro, but my ride back had fallen through, and I didn't like the SNP vibe, so I ended up heading back into the woods the way I came from, yellow blazed from Front Royal back up to Route 7, and then hiked back up to Pine Knob.

I was not disappointed. There is too much to write about here, but it was a great trip, and I enjoyed the No. Va. hike. I hear a lot of people say it's boring and that the "Roller Coaster" is too difficult. I think the Roller Coaster is overrated in terms of difficulty, and the hike is not boring. It is the "walk in the woods" imagined by Bill Bryson in his book. Nothing wrong with that.

I am tired, having done a lot of miles for someone not in peak shape, so that's all I'll write for now. My longest day was about 22 miles, and the shortest 7. The average I would guess was 14-15. I missed you all on white blaze, but the actual trail really was better. (Sorry).

rafe
05-29-2008, 00:13
I didn't like SNP-- Skyline Drive seemed to permeate everything-- even when not in sight, it was within sound.

The sound on the trail in SNP is an issue for sure... on Labor Day weekend, in particular. ;) Especially the *%^#&@! motorcycles. Still, I managed to enjoy the park. Good eats, anyway. :D

PS: Noise pollution is endemic on the AT, one of my major regrets. It's not a "peeve" since there's absolutely nothing that can be done about it at this point. It's just a regret. Paradise-lost kind of thing.

I walked the last three miles of SNP (near Rockfish Gap) on the Parkway itself, just to say I'd done it.

dessertrat
05-29-2008, 00:26
I had Memorial Day weekend, and too many pinheads on motorcycles. Maybe the winter will be better.

4eyedbuzzard
05-29-2008, 01:16
...PS: Noise pollution is endemic on the AT, one of my major regrets. It's not a "peeve" since there's absolutely nothing that can be done about it at this point. It's just a regret. Paradise-lost kind of thing...

Camped at Trapper John shelter (near Hanover, NH) two weekends ago - you could hear the music playing at a party down below about 3/4 mile.

With a few exceptions, it isn't a real wilderness - just an illusion. :(

sheepdog
05-29-2008, 08:18
A 22 mile day is a pretty serious walk. The nice thing about the SNP is there is lots of game animals around. I saw my first black bears while hiking the AT there. Glad you had a good trip.

chuckbuster
05-29-2008, 08:28
Dessertrat,
Thanks again for the aspirin Tues. morning at Blackburn. I didn't need a repeat of Sunday when I hiked from Dick's Dome to Bear's Den over the rollercoaster with a headache.

Chuckbuster
"Feed the mountain!"

Tipi Walter
05-29-2008, 08:33
I don't know how many times in my trip reports I brought up the subject of noise pollution on the trail and scribed long rants on the jet airplanes above and the hated bikers below. I know the Skyline is particularly bad as the trail weaves in and around it, but many sections of the AT suffer from ridge walking above and adjacent to whining traffic and roads below.

It's the dreaded Wheeled Tourists and their couch-potato fixation with all things rolling. Perhaps when gas reaches $10 a gallon they will quit their joy-riding jaunts but I doubt it.

I'm glad to see you went out for 10 days. Was it without resupply? If so, what was your pack weight with food and water??

DesertMTB
05-29-2008, 08:50
The motorcycle noise near Stecoah Gap over Memorial Day weekend was rediculous as well. A bunch of fattys on hogs.

4eyedbuzzard
05-29-2008, 09:02
I don't know how many times in my trip reports I brought up the subject of noise pollution on the trail and scribed long rants on the jet airplanes above and the hated bikers below. I know the Skyline is particularly bad as the trail weaves in and around it, but many sections of the AT suffer from ridge walking above and adjacent to whining traffic and roads below.

It's the dreaded Wheeled Tourists and their couch-potato fixation with all things rolling. Perhaps when gas reaches $10 a gallon they will quit their joy-riding jaunts but I doubt it.

I'm glad to see you went out for 10 days. Was it without resupply? If so, what was your pack weight with food and water??

Kind of a tough call as automobiles and many if not most of the roads especially below in the valleys pre-date the AT. Skyline Drive was completed after the AT, and followed and actually displaced some of the original routing of the AT, but only by a few years. No one likes the sound of autos while hiking/camping, but then again how many of us walk from our homes to the trailheads? :-? I guess we have to live with it, as it's too late to undo it.

rafe
05-29-2008, 09:05
I don't know how many times in my trip reports I brought up the subject of noise pollution on the trail and scribed long rants on the jet airplanes above and the hated bikers below. I know the Skyline is particularly bad as the trail weaves in and around it, but many sections of the AT suffer from ridge walking above and adjacent to whining traffic and roads below.

I mostly started noticing this while hiking south of New England. One stretch in particular -- just north of RPH Shelter -- drove me nuts. There's a four or five mile stretch where the AT parallels I-84. You can't see the traffic, but you can hear it, as if it's right next to you. I-84 is hilly in that section, so you get to hear the air brakes on the 18-wheelers after they crest the hill. It's a zoo.

I can think of two places on the AT where I got to listen to autos racing -- one in Connecticut near Falls Village, and one in MD just north of Harpers Ferry.

Cookerhiker
05-29-2008, 09:17
...I think the Roller Coaster is overrated in terms of difficulty, and the hike is not boring. ....


... Maybe the winter will be better.

Agree with both of those sentiments


I mostly started noticing this while hiking south of New England. One stretch in particular -- just north of RPH Shelter -- drove me nuts. There's a four or five mile stretch where the AT parallels I-84. You can't see the traffic, but you can hear it, as if it's right next to you. I-84 is hilly in that section, so you get to hear the air brakes on the 18-wheelers after they crest the hill. It's a zoo....

I remember that well. First NOBO out of RPH was the Taconic Parkway traffic noise - no trucks but loud enough. Then just when you're past it comes I-84.

Tipi Walter
05-29-2008, 09:49
No one likes the sound of autos while hiking/camping, but then again how many of us walk from our homes to the trailheads? :-? I guess we have to live with it, as it's too late to undo it.

The same human choice to create these roads and to develop vehicles that are loud could be the same choice to manufacture near-silent motorcycles and cars/trucks. I guess the oil-addicted drivers need the loud engines to validate their testosterone-starved dance with gasoline. So, the noise goes hand-in-hand with the consumption of gas, etc. Both support each other.

I believe there was a recent attempt on the Tail of the Dragon(Hiway 129)to limit the high speed chase(and the consequent high noise levels)by placing several state troopers at various intervals on the road. This irked the bikers and resulted in a slew of fines and tickets, and I believe it slowed them down a bit and muffled the usual screaming high-speed road they considered to be their own personal racetrack. If anyone has ever driven this stretch of road, they'll remember the high-speed zooming of the bikers and the fatalities, etc.

Another human choice is to build unneeded tourist roads, the Cherohala Skyway is a case in point. This pointless 45 mile hiway cuts through a large forest on the TN and NC state line and divides the Citico/Slickrock wilderness, the Benton MacKaye Trail and the Tellico River watershed and Bald River wilderness area. It was fought by the Sierra Club but the greedheads saw progress and development and potential tourist dollars and so here it sits, a paved raceway for motorcycles and high speed sport car clubs. It's not uncommon to see 10 miniCoopers fly by in a row. The motorcycles are the worst, though, and can be heard 4 miles in along the high ridge of the Citico/Slickrock(Bob Bald/Naked Ground/Hangover).

The solution could be to close these roads for bicycles and foot traffic/horses only and let them slowly return to nature. Why not? Progress can work both ways. Why can't we "develop" a scarred, paved-over landscape into a wilder, vehicle-free, roadless tract? It's all about human choice.

dessertrat
05-29-2008, 10:13
Dessertrat,
Thanks again for the aspirin Tues. morning at Blackburn. I didn't need a repeat of Sunday when I hiked from Dick's Dome to Bear's Den over the rollercoaster with a headache.

Chuckbuster
"Feed the mountain!"

No problem. Small world!:)

dessertrat
05-29-2008, 10:22
I'm glad to see you went out for 10 days. Was it without resupply? If so, what was your pack weight with food and water??

It was really not "out" for 10 days in that sense of the word. I stayed at a hotel in Harper's Ferry on my way south out of Pine Knob, and then at a hotel in Front Royal just before going into SNP, and resupplied a bit at the Bear's Den Hostel and in Front Royal. I don't think I was ever carrying more than five days of food. I carried a bit less, actually, because I knew that I would be eating one meal at the Bear's Den, and one in Front Royal when I got into town. I think my pack weight, with two liters of water (what I usually carry-- more than most people do) and food, was probably between 30 and 40 pounds depending upon food remaining, though I didn't weigh it. It may have been a bit more or less than that. It certainly felt "heavy" going up hills, though!

rafe
05-29-2008, 11:15
The motorcycles are the worst, though, and can be heard 4 miles in along the high ridge of the Citico/Slickrock(Bob Bald/Naked Ground/Hangover).

I guess you missed that thread last winter where Woodsy and I were going at it -- over the noise pollution created by snowmobiles.

My gripe is that the noise from even one of these machines carries for miles and miles. The same is true for motorized "personal watercraft" (aka jet-skis) and hawgs on the highways.

What's odd about this from my personal POV is that I'm somewhat hard-of-hearing. But probably because of that, I'm particularly irked by distracting background noises.

dessertrat
05-29-2008, 11:18
What's odd about this from my personal POV is that I'm somewhat hard-of-hearing. But probably because of that, I'm particularly irked by distracting background noises.

It's not so odd. I'm somewhat deaf in my left ear, but it has made me learn to listen carefully. I used to get annoyed with my ex-girlfriend, when she would turn the television up to high volumes. Hearing is active for some people, passive for others. Passive hearing means turning it up loud.

doggiebag
05-29-2008, 11:28
Overall - it sounds like you had a blast. 22 miles in this heat is pretty good. I'm with you regarding the roller coaster - its kinda fun because once you're in it you really don't have much of a choice but to go through the whole thing in one shot. At least the section between Bear's Den and the Rod Hollow Shelter.

dessertrat
05-29-2008, 12:00
Overall - it sounds like you had a blast. 22 miles in this heat is pretty good. I'm with you regarding the roller coaster - its kinda fun because once you're in it you really don't have much of a choice but to go through the whole thing in one shot. At least the section between Bear's Den and the Rod Hollow Shelter.

Which is exactly what I did-- Bear's Den to Rod Hollow.

The highlight of the trip, though, came on the last day, up near White Rocks in Maryland, when I came across a newborn fawn right next to the trail. I would have walked past it (that camoflage works) but it bleated at me. I've never heard the sort of noise a newborn fawn makes before. I took some photos and moved on. It's pretty certain that the doe heard me coming and moved away, and would come back later. (And even if not, that's nature).

4eyedbuzzard
05-29-2008, 12:15
The same human choice to create these roads and to develop vehicles that are loud could be the same choice to manufacture near-silent motorcycles and cars/trucks. I guess the oil-addicted drivers need the loud engines to validate their testosterone-starved dance with gasoline. So, the noise goes hand-in-hand with the consumption of gas, etc. Both support each other.

I believe there was a recent attempt on the Tail of the Dragon(Hiway 129)to limit the high speed chase(and the consequent high noise levels)by placing several state troopers at various intervals on the road. This irked the bikers and resulted in a slew of fines and tickets, and I believe it slowed them down a bit and muffled the usual screaming high-speed road they considered to be their own personal racetrack. If anyone has ever driven this stretch of road, they'll remember the high-speed zooming of the bikers and the fatalities, etc.

Another human choice is to build unneeded tourist roads, the Cherohala Skyway is a case in point. This pointless 45 mile hiway cuts through a large forest on the TN and NC state line and divides the Citico/Slickrock wilderness, the Benton MacKaye Trail and the Tellico River watershed and Bald River wilderness area. It was fought by the Sierra Club but the greedheads saw progress and development and potential tourist dollars and so here it sits, a paved raceway for motorcycles and high speed sport car clubs. It's not uncommon to see 10 miniCoopers fly by in a row. The motorcycles are the worst, though, and can be heard 4 miles in along the high ridge of the Citico/Slickrock(Bob Bald/Naked Ground/Hangover).

The solution could be to close these roads for bicycles and foot traffic/horses only and let them slowly return to nature. Why not? Progress can work both ways. Why can't we "develop" a scarred, paved-over landscape into a wilder, vehicle-free, roadless tract? It's all about human choice.

I agree with you to a great degree. But unfortunately we are definitely in the minority politically. As to the AT itself - most of it never really was a true wilderness, nor was it planned to be. Lets face it, it's rare when you are more than 5 miles from a road either paralleling or crossing the trail and usually you are even closer than that. Now there are parts that certainly are wilderness, at least in my mind, but a lot of it was planned as and lives up to providing only an illusion of wilderness within driving distance of major eastern population centers. What is left of the wilderness areas I'd like to see preserved, but I don't see abandoning existing development - what some might term regressing even though you and I might consider it progressing toward our desire - as a political option worthy of devoting much time to. Better to spend the time and money fighting the new development. Sometimes, as with your example of the Cherohala Skyway, we lose. Other times, such as with protecting the AT corridor in general, we win. Lots of competing interests, and the outcome isn't always going to go our way.

Grinder
05-29-2008, 12:43
Half full or half empty!!

It's your cup, look at it anyway you want.

I'm personally thankful the trail is there and I don't have to settle for "a walk in the park"


Miles of Smiles
Grinder

Chicken Feathers
05-29-2008, 13:11
about 2 years old $45.00

rafe
05-29-2008, 19:34
Speaking of strange sounds on the AT. There's some kinda race track just north of Harper's Ferry, apparently. So I'm strolling southward after a short break at Ed Garvey Shelter and I hear voices. I'm slightly deaf but these were loud. No humans in sight. I'm alone. Very strange. Took me a while before I realized it was the announcer on the PA at the race track. No idea where that track is, to this day... but I got to experience the event -- as a captive audience.

Cherokee Bill
05-29-2008, 19:41
:-? Well! Im dong the SNP at the end of June, going N-S. The plant will close for yearly maintenance, and at 61-yo, guess I better go while my health will allow :rolleyes:

Noise:mad: The older I get the more I HATE noise :rolleyes: But I have yet to do the SNP and it is next on the list. Hope to see some of you Whiteblaze folks while there :banana

Skidsteer
05-29-2008, 20:02
about 2 years old $45.00

Wrong forum perhaps?

Try the Selling used Gear forum (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=69).