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albertfan5
07-30-2013, 08:12
Hi all,

New to the board here and was hoping to get everyone's opinions on a trip to Shenandoah and then to Monangahela the first week of October. We have 6 or 7 nights and are looking to do around 3 nights in each park. There are three of us and we are all three experienced backpackers looking to cover 10-15 miles per day (with a few breaks for fishing when possible!). I've heard the central and southern parts of Shenandoah offer the most solitude and best fishing so we were looking to do a trip in that section. For Monangahela, I've heard Dolly Sods is beautiful but don't know too much about that park yet. Also, we will have two cars so we could do a loop or take a shuttle back to the car. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Thanks

Alleghanian Orogeny
07-30-2013, 08:39
Hi Albertfan,

I think distinguishing between a National Park and a National Forest may help with your planning. Shenandoah is a National Park and is administered by the US Department of the Interior. Monongahela is a National Forest and is administered by the US Department of Agriculture's National Forest Service. The usage rules pertaining to vehicle use, camping, fishing, and most any activity one can think of differ widely between National Parks and National Forests.

I used to live in Wolftown, VA, on the east side of the Shenandoah National Park. The headwaters of the Rapidan River near there are the location of Camp Hoover, where President Hoover used to fly fish. I'm not much familiar with trout waters in the southern section of Shenandoah National Park but they perhaps include Moorman's River and nearby waters. I'm frankly a little puzzled that SNP would be considered a fishing destination inasmuch as the Park occupies the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and fishable waters are largely restricted to the lower edges on the Piedmont side and the Shenandoah Valley side of the main ridgeline of the Park.

As to Monongahela National Forest, I think Dolly Sods is a designated wilderness area within the NF unit. Wilderness areas are not NPs but have similar restrictions as to activities. The NF as a whole is "multi-use" so hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, and vehicular recreation are all allowed in designated places. If I were headed for that NF in October, I'd make myself aware of WV hunting laws and would want to avoid being afield during deer season.

AO

albertfan5
07-30-2013, 09:30
Hi AO,

Thanks for the information. I know there are definitely some more activities allowed in Monongahela since it's a National Forest. I checked the WV DNR site and it looks like the only thing in-season during the time we would be there would be deer and bear for archery only which still makes me somewhat reluctant to go backpacking during an open hunting season. I believe you are correct about Dolly Sods being a designated wilderness area so I will have to follow up to see if hunting is allowed in the wilderness areas.

For Shenandoah, I guess I should clarify that our main goal is to do some good hiking and try to avoid crowds if at all possible. If there is some good fishing along the way that would be great but this was not intended to a fishing trip.

Thanks again!

Alleghanian Orogeny
07-31-2013, 09:07
Albertfan,

While I haven't hiked more than a few miles in SNP, I have spent lots and lots of time on trails associated with and in the vicinity of the Parkway in NC. I thus expect it may be hard to avoid crowds in SNP during early October. Hopefully some WB'ers with more knowledge of SNP trails can chime in.

The challenge, as I imagine it, would be to get far enough from the Skyline Drive such that day hikers on the trails and motorcycles on the Skyline Drive don't encroach on your experience on the AT. The AT and Skyline Drive are never far from one another throughout SNP. By comparison, it is increasingly rare to hike BRP trails down in NC without the near-constant roar of bikes along the BRP, particularly on September and October weekends.

AO

albertfan5
08-02-2013, 14:14
I figured it would be a pretty busy time of year; but that was the only time we could all get off work. Any tips to avoid crowds?

Studlintsean
08-02-2013, 14:27
I figured it would be a pretty busy time of year; but that was the only time we could all get off work. Any tips to avoid crowds?


Try to stick to the weekdays to avoid the most of thecrowds. Their are a few people here with serious experience in SNP and can probably give you a listing of trails to hike and not to hike in order to miss the crowds. I did a hike in the Northern section of SNP last October and saw a group of 5 or 6 section hikers one night and no one the other nights. If you get the chance, try to do a sunrise or sunset hike up Oldrag. I did the sunrise hike last year starting around 4 AM and it was awesome.

Meriadoc
08-02-2013, 14:28
I figured it would be a pretty busy time of year; but that was the only time we could all get off work. Any tips to avoid crowds?
Hop over to Massanutten Mountain. It's a 71 mile loop with multiple exits. Duncan Knob and Strickler Knob have good views, if there are people you will find them at those two and Signal Knob. Overall, Massanutten is less popular than SNP. If you do go to Massanutten, I recommend camping one night on top of Duncan's ridge, just before the summit scramble. You have to pack in water but there are a few really nice sites there.