View Full Version : Ice Damage on A.T. in northern Virginia
A southbound hiker called us here at ATC in Harpers Ferry to report that the A.T. was just about impassible between Ashby Gap and the Sky Meadows State Park in northern Virginia, especially toward the top of the mountain, where the elevation is around 1800'. The Trail was littered with a mess of fallen limbs and twigs from trees covered in ice. It took him several hours to get a few miles after crossing Ashby Gap. I believe he turned around at Sky Meadows (or went out at that point), so he didn't have a report for south of Sky Meadows.
He noted the lower-elevation area around Rod Hollow Shelter (at about 800-900 feet) had no damage.
Other areas at similar elevations could also have damage.
If you go out on the Trail, don't forget to wear blaze orange! It's hunting season out there. More info at www.appalachiantrail.org/hunting (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hunting).
Laurie P.
ATC
Bears Den Hostel (at about 1300') reports lots of ice on the trees there, with a lot of small trees bowed over.
The following comes from a PATC member near the Front Royal area who lives very close to the Trail:
The problem is mostly overhanging branches that are ice covered and blocking the trail in many spots. There is also plenty of deadfall, but that can be dealt with once the ice melts. It was +17 at our house this morning (an improvement from Monday when it was +11), and the temps are predicted to be fairly level for the next week. In my opinion, there is no point in overseers getting out on their sections until there is substantial melting, which will only come from above freezing temps and bright sunlight.
Any PATC trail in the Blue Ridge (Blue Ridge, Massanuttens, Great North) above 1900’ in elevation is probably unhikeable, but lower elevations might still be OK. And since the storm came up from the south, it could have affected all of Virginia and North Carolina. This is just a guess, however.
I also saw a snowfall map that made it look as if parts of PA and MD could have been affected.
Laurie P.
Additional reports have come in that the Trail is a "real mess" in places, according to Chris "Trail Boss" Brunton. He was up at Blackburn Trail Center yesterday on the Virginia side but was so busy clearing the road and property with his wife (the chair of ATC) that they didn't make it to the top of the ridge where the A.T. is. He did receive reports from hikers who had been walking the A.T. On Thursday, Dick and I accessed the same area of A.T. via the West Virginia side. There was no ice until about 1500', where we encountered ice on one patch of road, which comes within about 100 feet of the ridge line. All of a sudden, close to the top of the ridge, the trees and every piece of vegetation was covered in thick ice. On the short stretch of the A.T. we scouted out (a few tenths), we saw trees with the crowns snapped, limbs sheared, and even trees split in half. We decided it wasn't productive to spent much time doing trail work, because the wood was so heavy while covered with ice and extremely hard to cut while frozen.
Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park is still closed, presumably due to ice and snow on the road and/or blowdowns. For the most current Skyline Drive Status, call 540-999-3500, choose Option 1, and then Option 1. You can also get updates by following Shenandoah National Park on Twitter or liking the park on Facebook.
The Potomac A.T. Club is just starting to assess its trails this weekend.
It would be best to stick to lower-elevation trails for a while. Trails may be partially blocked or impassible in places, starting anywhere between 1000-1500 feet or so. Conditions could be hazardous from downed limbs and trees on the ground. Overhead, melting ice can result in shards of ice and branches falling from above.
If you do venture out, be sure to be prepared for adverse conditions. It's easy to get lost when a lot of branches and tree crowns are down and bushes are splayed all over the place blocking blazes and the tread way. Take a map and wear lots of blaze orange. In addition to being visible to hunters, you want to be visible to your hiking partner amidst all the ice and branches. Please report conditions here and email
[email protected] and
[email protected].
Laurie P.
Just got this report from some PATC volunteers: "… walked through all elevations in Central Shenandoah National Park (SNP) yesterday (Cedar Run, summit of Hawskbill, couple miles of AT, White Oak Canyon) and encountered virtually no damage."
johnnybgood
11-30-2013, 12:06
Thanks for the continued updates Lauriep. Your dedication to the AT is truly appreciated.
Sounds like the central district of SNP dodged a bullet. Would be interested to hear how Shenandoah's northern district fared.
Studlintsean
11-30-2013, 12:30
I have brothers hiking from Thornton Gap to Linden right now and can try to get an update on that section tomorrow morning.
Thanks, johnnybgood and Studlintsean.
A few days ago the snowmap I looked at showed snow accumulation on the Blue Ridge in central and northern Virginia and along ridges to the west, but oddly, there was almost nothing in Shenandoah National Park. A strange phenomenon. I wish Weathercarrot were around to explain it.
Katherine Rindt posted on the PATC's Facebook page, "We got the section from Ashby Gap to Ovoka [Sky Meadows area] cleared on Friday. Hope to get part of Thompson Wildlife done today since there's no hunting." Her husband is Jon "Speedy" Rindt, PATC Supervisor of Trails and a 1996 thru-hiker. Love to see thru-hikers who become active in their local trail club! There are quite a few of them, but trail clubs can always use more!
Just got this report from Wayne L., the PATC district overseer for the north district of Shenandoah:
Spotty is right but little I am getting from the ND doesn't sound that bad. I will have a better idea next weekend when several overseers plan to visit their sections and report in--provided the Drive is open.
Studlintsean, did you hear anything from your brothers about this section? Feedback would be very helpful to trail maintainers, who haven't been able to access the park to assess or do work since the drive has been closed.
The overseers of the David Lesser Shelter said they talked to hikers who walked from Keys Gap to the shelter and there was no significant damage (but elevation there barely reaches 1500).
Studlintsean
12-02-2013, 10:39
Just got this report from Wayne L., the PATC district overseer for the north district of Shenandoah:
Spotty is right but little I am getting from the ND doesn't sound that bad. I will have a better idea next weekend when several overseers plan to visit their sections and report in--provided the Drive is open.
Studlintsean, did you hear anything from your brothers about this section? Feedback would be very helpful to trail maintainers, who haven't been able to access the park to assess or do work since the drive has been closed.
The overseers of the David Lesser Shelter said they talked to hikers who walked from Keys Gap to the shelter and there was no significant damage (but elevation there barely reaches 1500).
Laurie,
Sorry I didnt get back to you yesterday. I was traveling longer than expected with holiday traffic. I got a report and was told there were many places where the trail was blocked with smaller limbs (nothing larger than 3 inches) and a few places where there were larger trees down but the trail was passable. Based on the pictures I saw (see below) trail maintenance will be needed. Wish I could get out there this week or weekend to help. I hope this helps.
Sean
2511825119
Sean,
This is so helpful! I will pass this along to PATC and they will be most appreciative. If these shots are typical of the worst of it, the damage doesn't look too bad. Looks like maintainers might not have to lug chainsaws.
- Laurie