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View Full Version : Advice needed, 4 week section ending in Maryland



Kylescott
12-03-2012, 02:16
Greetings everyone,

I am mostly looking for suggestions on where to start our hike.My fiancé and I would like to do about 4 weeks of backpacking for our honeymoon. We have plans to meet her family at Deep Creek Lake, MD in late July and are considering finishing the hike there.

I've noticed the AT crosses with the C&O Canal at Harpers Ferry. From here we can hike to Cumberland and I'm hoping a little research will yield a trail to take us the last 30 miles west.

So the question is do we start in Pennsylvania and hike south to Harpers Ferry or start in Virginia and hike north? I'm looking for as much advice and as many opinions as possible on this question AND my plan as a whole.

Thanks for your time!

SCRUB HIKER
12-03-2012, 03:39
Someone has asked this before (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?81115-Harpers-Ferry-area-in-August)--i.e. "I'm going to end at Harpers Ferry, do I come at it from the north or the south?" Most people, myself included, said hike from the Virginia side before the thread drifted off to other topics. I think Virginia is way sweeter than Pennsylvania, and that's not just my home-state bias. Since you have nearly a month, you could do most to all of Virginia (550 miles Damascus-H.F.) if you and your fiancee are fit and motivated. If you started at Pearisburg (the trail goes through town), it would be a more leisurely 100 mile-per-week pace. Depends on what you want to do and how fit you two are.

I have no idea personally about the canal trail, but there are a lot of people on here who will know about it and have suggestions.

Cookerhiker
12-03-2012, 09:51
From Harpers Ferry to Cumberland via the C&O Canal is 120 miles - ultra flat, hardpacked miles. So while it may seem easy in that you're not hiking up & down, the flat surface can put a strain on your feet. You might want to consider taking the daily AMTRAK train to Cumberland which leaves Harpers Ferry at 5:16 PM - schedule here (http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/289/52/Capitol-Limited-Schedule-050712,0.pdf).

If you decide to hike the Canal, there are frequent campsites with water, picnic tables, and privies plus you come to trail towns at Shepherdstown, Williamsport, and Hancock.

Once in Cumberland, you can not hike to Deep Creek Lake via trails the entire way. There are scattered trails in the State Forests which will help somewhat but you'll still need shuttles and/or hitches and/or roadwalks. For example, you can take an Allegany County bus to Frostburg (or hike there 16 miles via the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail), make your way to the northern terminus of the Savage Mountain trail, and hike south along the Savage Mountain ridge or better yet, pick up the Meadow Mountain trail further west. But you'll still need rides or be willing to road walk. There's a pretty good map of Savage River State Forest available from the MD DNR - check here (http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/savageriverforest.asp). If you can print or order the map, you can plan out most of the way to Deep Creek. But it all strikes me as quite time-consuming. How far are your relatives willing to drive to pick you up? Cumberland is about an hour from Deep Creek Lake.

Re. the AT portion, I'd hike from the south but if you need public transportation to the starting point, the north would be easier. Starting at Bear Mountain, NY, it's 380 miles to Harpers ferry. Further back from Pawling, NY, it's 423 miles and from Pawling, the hike starts out easier than it does from Bear Mountain. You can get a trail from NYC to Pawling. From Delaware Water Gap, it's 270 miles. If you take Scrub Hiker's suggestion to start at Pearisburg, you can fly to Roanoke or take AMTRAK to Covington, Va and get a shuttle from Don Raines aka Ratfaceraines here on WB.

Best wishes to you on your wedding and your hike. And BTW, Deep Creek Lake is a treat. It's a bit touristy but one nice thing is the lake itself is at 2,000' elevation - high by Eastern standards. Unlike most of the mid-Atlantic, the nights are cool and pleasant. Nearly all of Garrett County, MD's westernmost county, is on a plateau making winters cold & snowy and summers cool & delightful.

FarmerChef
12-03-2012, 12:18
+1 on starting south of HF and hiking north, especially considering you are on your honeymoon. I have started in HF and hiked both north and south for 500 miles in each direction and there are great aspects to both. But having done both, if I was to take my wife (who hikes with me as it is) on a 1 month hike, we would definitely do Virginia again hands down over PA, NJ and NY. Southern VA has some of the most challenging climbs north of the Smokies and south of the Whites as well as some of the "easiest" trail in Shenandoah National Park. It is also more "wild" than the northern route if you're looking to get away from it all. Plus, if you start in Pearisburg or further north outside of Roanoke you would have plenty of time to blue blaze some of the interesting side trails, points of interest and vistas along the way.

On the northern side, if you did start in Pawling, you will frequently pass through towns and have lots of deli opportunities if you're interested in going that route. The rocks in PA can be killer on your feet but there are some nice views and interesting towns to pass through. Either direction can be a great hike.

RED-DOG
12-03-2012, 12:44
4 weeks is ample time to do a great hike if it was me i would start lets say Pearisburg VA or maybe even Damascus, and hike north until i got to my stopping point in MD. VA is for lovers you know, that to me would be a great honeymoon hike, i don't think i would make my newly wed bride suffer the PA rocks. Go have lots of fun and enjoy your hike. RED-DOG

jbwood5
12-03-2012, 12:53
I hit quite a bit of mud the year I passed through the Southern Part of PA. There were some field crossings that were a quagmuire. VA is pretty nice as mentioned.

ratfaceraines
12-18-2012, 20:48
i suggest you highly consider va. as the hike you make. starting around the town of pearisburg. just south of p'burg would be woodshole hostel. as you make your way north you'll come to dragon's tooth, then the town of catawba(with the best food on the trail---the homeplace). next you'll come to mcafees' knob(the most photographed site on the trail), followed by tinker cliffs. if i can answer any questions---feel free to call anytime, don raines 540-921-7433(RIDE)

map man
12-18-2012, 21:22
Here's a link to a map that shows the high risk areas for lyme disease:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/lyme-disease-map-pinpoints-areas_n_1256859.html

I know there are lots of other considerations, but this map would tend to favor hiking the section south of Harpers Ferry.

joshuasdad
12-19-2012, 08:50
One thought. I know very little about the Tuscarora Trail, but it is a western alternative to the AT that has connections to the AT in PA and VA. You might want to look into it, as it crosses the Potomac much closer to Cumberland than Harpers Ferry.

Cookerhiker
12-19-2012, 09:12
One thought. I know very little about the Tuscarora Trail, but it is a western alternative to the AT that has connections to the AT in PA and VA. You might want to look into it, as it crosses the Potomac much closer to Cumberland than Harpers Ferry.

Yes, the Tuscarora crosses the Potomac near Hancock roughly half-way between Harpers Ferry & Cumberland but if he hikes it, he loses the option of taking the AMTRAK train to Cumberland. Some of the Tuscarora is on road walks but if he really intends to literally hike to Deep Creek Lake, he'll deal with a lot more.

flemdawg1
12-19-2012, 13:32
You 2 have backpacked together before right? 4 weeks is a heck of a long BP trip for 2 people especially if they are of different hiking temperments.

fins1838
12-19-2012, 15:41
Deep Creek is an awful long way west on I70 to I68. The Washington Monument or Annapolis Rocks is near I70 footbridge. If someones picking you up there. But I wouldn't know how to hike the AT to Deep Creek. Would definetly start in Va. Central Pa. is nothing but a rock hop for what seemed a long time. (Around the Port Clinton area)

excuses
12-19-2012, 23:12
he's talking about late june to july hiking. water is getting scarce either direction. Pa. might be slightly cooler. that isn't saying much though. have a great hike and life!

Cookerhiker
12-20-2012, 11:59
he's talking about late june to july hiking. water is getting scarce either direction. Pa. might be slightly cooler. that isn't saying much though. have a great hike and life!

Actually, I think coming from Virginia would be slightly cooler because the elevation is higher. The only reason I cited for coming from the north was the better availability of public transportation to get to the starting trailhead.

He's young and from San Francisco - I wonder if he's experienced East Coast mid-summer humidity?:eek: