Shenandoah NP AT section

[rswanson]

I am planning on hiking the Shenandoah section of the AT over seven days, NOBO, during the second or third week of October. I did some searches on the subject but I still have more logistics questions:

1. Nighttime temps? What rating of bag to bring?
2. Will mid-October be too early for fall foliage here?
3. Can anyone recommend a good parking spots at each end of the park?
4. I'm planning on meeting a group of friends for the last 30 miles of the trail. Can someone recommend a good meeting spot, preferably a tenting area?
5. Besides Old Rag, are there any other must-see side trips here?

Thanks in advance, guys & gals!

[rswanson]

Oh, and any recommendations on a really good trail book for the area? Thanks!

[the goat]

I am planning on hiking the Shenandoah section of the AT over seven days, NOBO, during the second or third week of October. I did some searches on the subject but I still have more logistics questions:

1. Nighttime temps? What rating of bag to bring?
2. Will mid-October be too early for fall foliage here?
3. Can anyone recommend a good parking spots at each end of the park?
4. I'm planning on meeting a group of friends for the last 30 miles of the trail. Can someone recommend a good meeting spot, preferably a tenting area?
5. Besides Old Rag, are there any other must-see side trips here?

Thanks in advance, guys & gals!

1.) 10 - 20 degree bag should suffice, although i've seen single digits in october before.
2.) foliage usually has begun in the higher elev. areas in the middle of the month.
3.) at the northern end, there is a parking lot right on route 522 where the AT crosses; that, or the 4H center (call them first). (i can't remember the parking situation at rockfish gap in the south....)
4.) there are many camping/tenting areas along skyline drive, and the AT crosses it many times. (you can download a pdf map of the park from their website.)
5.) besides old rag, white oak canyon is pretty cool...lots of waterfalls....

[the goat]

Oh, and any recommendations on a really good trail book for the area? Thanks!

"Guide to Shenandoah National Park & Skyline Drive" by Henry Heatwole is one that i use.....

have good hike!

[wilconow]

Oh, and any recommendations on a really good trail book for the area? Thanks!

get the patc guide for the at in shenandoah
http://www.patc.net/store/PB120.htm

if you call tonight ill be working the phones!

[BlackCloud]

1. 20 degree bag is fine
2. Teen weekends of October are prime color
3. Parking is not a big problem - plenty of rangers around
4. There are easy meeting virtually places every mile - get the PATC guidebook and/or Trails Illustrated map
5. Whiteoak Canyon is hardest hiking in the park - but cool waterfalls; Hawksbill Mtn has great views & is just off the AT

[wilconow]

Whiteoak Canyon is hardest hiking in the park

disagree. brown mountain loop was much more difficult.

[rswanson]

I'm assuming Skyline Drive is a slow road route. On the park map it looks like Rt.340 is the quickest way to get from one end of the park to the next. Is this the case? How long is the drive north-south?

[jlb2012]

taking 340 its about 2 hours, taking SD its at least 3 hours unless you speed and get lucky (not recommended)

[rswanson]

Thanks for the replies so far. Another question- how crowded is the SNP AT mid-October? Are the shelters going to be packed?

[kncats]

The "official" average low in October is 39*. I'd take that with a grain of salt and be prepared for for mid-teens. If the leaves are turning the park will be very crowded on the weekends, but mostly along Skyline Drive, not so much so on th etrails. During the week it'll be pretty empty. I agree with BlackCloud - going down the White Oak Canyon trail and then back up Cedar Run is the hardest hiking we've done in the park. Great waterfalls on both trails. Best view we've seen is blue blaze trail up Bear Fence Mountain when the leaves have fallen. The hotel at Rockfish Gap will let you park in their lot for free. Just let them know at the front desk. http://www.ajheatwole.com/guide/ is the online version. Excellent guide, but mostly for the side trails.

[the goat]

5. Whiteoak Canyon is hardest hiking in the park - but cool waterfalls;

cool waterfalls indeed, but not even close to the "hardest hiking in the park".

[wilconow]

goat, what would you say is the most difficult trail in the park? I say the brown mountain loop, but there's a lot more i need to cover (especially in the south)

[jlb2012]

Leading Ridge Tr. can definately kick your butt but it is not a very popular trail since it is an out and back with no boundary access

wrt White Oak Canyon/Cedar Run - this can be a tough hike especially if you use the AT to connect the two instead of the Skyline-Big Meadows horse trail - even more of a kicker is to go up Hawksbill when connecting the AT to Cedar Run

Backpacking up Old Rag and then continuing on up Robertson Mtn. can be a bit of a kicker too.

Its been too long since I did the Brown Mtn loop but I vaguely recall the part where you go up Rocky Mtn. Run kicking my butt on a hot August day and my butt was dragging the last bit back up to the parking at the overlook.

[BlackCloud]

cool waterfalls indeed, but not even close to the "hardest hiking in the park".

Well it's been some time since my 3rd hike up Whiteoak Canyon trail, but each time seemed to be a doozy (3rd time in knee deep snow!)

Brown Mtn? Done that one twice & didn't consider that hard aside from the initial ascent from that iron bridge; but that was of short duration.

The guide to Skyline Drive and related hikes rates Whiteoak as a 7 (1-7); I don't know about Brown Mtn.

But to say not even close?

[wilconow]

This is something I should know but for some reason was completely drawing a blank when someone asked last night

You can camp anywhere in SNP along the AT with a permit, right? It's not like the GSMNP where you HAVE to stay at the shelters, right? I believe there are a few sections that are marked as no camping, and you can't get too close to the trail or stream..

The people on the phone were not hammockers.. I told them they would probably have problems finding good tentsites between the huts along the AT

They also asked about bears and I recommended they bearbag or stay at the huts and use the bearpoles


Thanks

[bigcranky]

You are not required to stay in the Huts (shelters), however, there are specific rules about exactly where you can camp. You need to be a specified distance from trails, roads, shelters, water, etc. All the info should be at their web site:

www.nps.gov/shen

[wilconow]

Thanks..

From my experience on the AT in the park, there seem to be very few good places to set up a tent anywhere a short distance from the trail. seems like the best advice would be to tell people to plan on the huts

[jlb2012]

The biggest problem with legal backcountry camping in SNP is Skyline Drive - to be legal you need to be more than 0.25 miles from SD which is somewhat difficult considering how close the AT is to SD

The other problem with backcountry camping and the AT in SNP is that the AT is mainly on the ridge line and as a result water sources are not overly common along the AT and where the water is easy to get (picnic and front country camping areas) its either illegal to camp or expensive to camp thus leaving the shelter sites as probably the best choice.

[wilconow]

thanks everyone. next time someone calls the patc with that question i will be better prepared!