Kaptainkriz

This was a great hike in the Shenandoah National Park, from South River Picnic Area to Hightop Hut. It is approximately 13 miles round trip and has a couple persistent uphill sections of climb.
As usual, I’ve posting some videos showing the trail, the shelter, legal campsites along this section of trail, and more importantly (to me) the springs. 😊
The Hightop Hut is a fairly standard 3 sided structure with an internal mezzanine and can sleep approximately 8. There is one privy at this location, a couple poles to hang food bags from. I did not see a food locker. The spring was pretty good and flowing. The Hightop spring was also running slowly. There are several very good tent sites right nearby.

Map: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/2017_SouthRiver_RoadTrail-508.pdf

A free permit is required to overnight in the park. More information can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/campbc.htm

My new trail name is now "Alpha Gal"!
I’d like to make a public service announcement to bring awareness to the tick borne illness called “Alpha Gal”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy
This is a pretty serious allergy caused by the bite of the Lone Star Tick. Sometimes called Mammalian Meat Allergy (MMA), it has no cure.
This tick is present across the South and has spread to the Northeast. It is present in Shenandoah National Park and I was bitten by one (I removed it) and was later diagnosed with the allergy. In a nutshell, you become seriously allergic to red meat and dairy (anything that came from something with hair)! Beware of ticks, especially the white spotted ones, I never thought it would happen to me!