Parking and shuttles in Pearisburg, VA area?

[Berry Belle]

My husband and I are planning a section hike at the end of September. We'll be hiking in the area between VA 606 (Trent's Store) and VA 635 (Stoney Creek Valley Rd). We hike slowly and this 45 mile stretch will take us about 6 days. Pearisburg is right about where we would normally be ready to make camp on Day 3 (if we hike northbound) or Day 2 (if southbound.)

1. Are there any potential places for camping on the outskirts of Pearisburg, or should we just plan on a night in town? Is the Rendezvous Motel as close to the trail as it looks on the map? Is it comfortable and cheap? Do they do shuttles?

2. The map shows a grocery store near the trail. Any info on it?

3. We're thinking we want to hike northbound so that the 11-mile dry ridge at the northern end will come at the end of our hike, when we're acclimated and carrying less weight. Any reason why this might not be the best plan? If we stay at the Rendevous, we could maybe leave our car there, or somewhere in Pearisburg--would it be safer there? Then maybe we would need two shorter shuttles, one to Trent's at the beginning and one to Stoney Creek Valley Road the morning of Day 4. We've never used shuttles, and I'm nervous about relying on them. But we're now about 5 hours and many gallons from home and we hate to take 2 cars. Comments?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[RevLee]

Don't miss the Woods Hole Hostel just south of Pearisburg. They are wonderful hosts, serve great meals, and can set you up with shuttles.

[bflorac]

I agree about Woods Hole Hostel. Neville & Michael will make you feel at home. If you what a little more upscale than the Bunkhouse but then again it is a great bunkhouse. Food is great and served family style. And while you are there, get a massage! You can also park there and they will shuttle you to and anywhere you might need to go. One stop shop for everything you might need for your hike. The trail is less than a mile from there. They can even arrange for slack packing if you want to go back to the hostel for a few nights in row. www.woodsholehostel.com (http://www.woodsholehostel.com).

I did the first part of your section earlier this year. The hike from Trent's is nice. Do take the detour to Dismal Falls. When you get to Wapita Shelter, be sure to get water as there is little past that till either Woods Hole or Doc's Knob Shelter. We hiked from Trent's to Woods Hole in one day but based on what you will be doing, that would be two days. The hike up Sugar Run Mtn (just past Wapita is an old logging road but don't let that fool you. There are very little in the way of switch backs and goes straight up. But, once you get to the top it is flat and be sure to take in the views. There are two out crops before Wood's Hole. Going north, the second of the two is better.

[Berry Belle]

Not sure Woods Hole will work for us. They didn't seem to be very interested in doing a shuttle, just gave me the number of someone I'd already tried to contact without success. And it would be a longer haul for us from Woods Hole into Pearisburg. And once in Pearisburg, we'll need a place to stay, and so far I haven't found any place to pitch a tent at the edge of town.

This morning I called the Rendezvous Motel in Pearisburg. The guy (Jerry) was very helpful. He can shuttle us to Trent's for $40 and to Rt. 635 for $30. His rooms are $44 for two people and we would have privacy and a TV--things we miss when staying in bunkhouses or B&Bs.

So the current plan is to drive 5 hours from home to the Groundhog Trail and hike up with water to cache near the AT intersection (round trip just under 4 miles). Camp at one of the USFS campgrounds and head in to Pearisburg in the morning to meet up with Jerry and get shuttled to Trent's. Walk to Pearisburg and stay at the Rendezvous. Shuttle to Rt. 635. Walk to Pearisburg and drive home.

If the weather is lousy, we might detour to Woods Hole and use the bunkhouse. But this is supposed to be a camping trip...:-?

[kolokolo]

I think your plan sounds like a good one. Jerry shuttled me down to Atkins in June, and I left my car at the Rendezvous for 4 days with no problem.

Trent's is about .4 miles from where the trail crosses 606. I stopped there for a cheeseburger, and man it was great.

Have a great hike!

[Berry Belle]

Got sidelined by an injury and postponed this trip until a week ago. Everything worked out great. Jerry shuttled us to Trent's. We hiked back to Pearisburg, staying at Wapiti and Doc's Knob shelters. Hated to miss the Woods Hole, but we didn't really need a night in a hostel and since we were hiking around 8 miles a day, it wasn't really where we needed it.

We did need lodgings in Pearisburg, and we stayed at the Rendevous since Jerry was shuttling us. That worked out fine for us, but if we hadn't had a car, Food Lion would have felt like a long way away. A lot of people walked down the road that you cross when coming down from Angel's Rest. It goes to the Holiday Lodge, right across from Food Lion. The Holiday also looks very slightly more upscale than the Rendezvous.

The Rendezvous was quiet and respectable, but very basic, with no carpet, curtains, or pictures on the wall. A good place to take off muddy boots and hang up wet clothing. In the morning, Jerry shuttled us to Stoney Creek Road. Instead of planting water via the Groundhog Trail, we each carried 2 extra 48 oz. foldable water containers from the last watering hole on Pine Swamp Branch. We camped on the ridge and did fine getting to the next spring, just before Rice Field Shelter.

It was entertaining to have people overtake us on the NOBO leg of the trip, and then meet them again as we hiked SOBO. A little confusing for everyone, including us, but this strategy worked well for us, and we'll use it again if we end up with another town in the middle of a section hike.

[Not Sunshine]

You're technique is genius! Using the town as the middle and flipflopping around it. I'll surely use this technique in the future! :D

[Berry Belle]

You're technique is genius! Using the town as the middle and flipflopping around it. I'll surely use this technique in the future! :D

Depending on the section, 2 shuttles might cost more than one. Trent's to Stony Creek Road is an unusual shuttle, and remote at the Stoney Creek Road end, so the cost was about the same. We normally take 5-6 day trips without the flipflop. This time we would have ended up in a poor quality, illegal campsite on the edge of Pearisburg, and it just made better sense to get a room in town and get shuttled to both ends of the hike. This plan would work well for a longer section where you would need to resupply in town anyway.

When we were doing AT sections that were closer to home, we drove 2 vehicles, dropped one off and walked back to it. We're a little gun shy when it comes to using shuttles, because of something that happened in Maine years ago. We had arranged for a guy to pick us up at Pleasant Pond and drive us back to our car after our hike. When we got to Maine, we learned that he'd had to schedule an urgent medical appointment on the day he was supposed to shuttle us. He agreed to drive us to Pleasant Pond immediately, so we could hike in the opposite direction and just walk back to our car. On the way to Pleasant Pond, we realized we weren't on the right road....he was taking us to Pierce Pond! If we'd carried through with the original plan, we would have been waiting at Pleasant Pond while he waited at Pierce Pond, with no bars on any of our phones. :eek: Now we ALWAYS make sure to walk back to our car.

[ratfaceraines]

My husband and I are planning a section hike at the end of September. We'll be hiking in the area between VA 606 (Trent's Store) and VA 635 (Stoney Creek Valley Rd). We hike slowly and this 45 mile stretch will take us about 6 days. Pearisburg is right about where we would normally be ready to make camp on Day 3 (if we hike northbound) or Day 2 (if southbound.)

1. Are there any potential places for camping on the outskirts of Pearisburg, or should we just plan on a night in town? Is the Rendezvous Motel as close to the trail as it looks on the map? Is it comfortable and cheap? Do they do shuttles?

2. The map shows a grocery store near the trail. Any info on it?

3. We're thinking we want to hike northbound so that the 11-mile dry ridge at the northern end will come at the end of our hike, when we're acclimated and carrying less weight. Any reason why this might not be the best plan? If we stay at the Rendevous, we could maybe leave our car there, or somewhere in Pearisburg--would it be safer there? Then maybe we would need two shorter shuttles, one to Trent's at the beginning and one to Stoney Creek Valley Road the morning of Day 4. We've never used shuttles, and I'm nervous about relying on them. But we're now about 5 hours and many gallons from home and we hate to take 2 cars. Comments?

Thanks for any suggestions!
i'd be happy to assist any hiker with info or shuttles in the pearisburg area. anytime, anywhere. don raines, 540-921-7433(RIDE)

[Berry Belle]

Thanks! For this trip, we ended up staying at the Rendezvous and having Jerry shuttle us. Next time around, we'll need a shuttle between Trent's Store and somewhere south of that. Maybe in October, maybe next spring. How far in advance should I call to make arrangements?

[ratfaceraines]

call anytime to go anywhere

[Snowdog]

I used Don's shuttle service in June 2012. He was awesome. Flexible and friendly. Highly Recommend!
J. Morris

[Berry Belle]

Thanks! Nice to hear positive comments about something I'm contemplating.