info on trail

[wolf]

im planning a hike in may from rockfish gap to front royal,the ? is how is the trail and can i make good time hiking 13 miles a day,how are the inclines and drop offs, also how is h2o in may

[Lone Wolf]

Rockfish to Front Royal? You'll fly. Easy hiking. Good water all the way except at the end at Tom Floyd Wayside. Have fun.

[chris]

If you like, you can easily do 30 miles a day through this section. If you want to work a little, 35 a day is certainly do-able, but you'll need to get rolling by 6 and hike until 8ish.

Now, if that doesn't sound like much fun, the 13 a day is perfectly reasonable. Or unreasonable, depending on what you are looking for and what you are carrying and what sort of shape you are in. I met a large band thruhikers that were going from shelter to shelter in SNP and seemed to enjoy it. They'd get hiking around 10 and seemed to spend a lot of time sitting around the various waywides in the park, before reaching the shelter. I suppose they were smelling roses or something.

[A-Train]

Hiked this section in early may of 2003. Tons of water, all the springs at the shelters are flowing and there is always water at the waysides/restraunts/camp stores. Skyland/Big Meadows/Lewis Mtn/Elkwallow Waysides were all open the first week of May with Loft Mtn still stocking its shelves on 5/5. Panorama was closed for good that year, not sure about now.

As mentioned 13 miles/day is certainly doable. You might find yourself wanting a challenge one or two days with a 15-20 mile day but why rush. Its a beautiful section so take your time and enjoy. You'll be running into the beginning of the pack of NOBO's too, so definately have a tent.

There are a couple drop offs to the east, south of Skyland, but nothing dangerous. Great views of the valley, I was just back there this weekend. There are some climbs and drops on the AT, but most are 500 feet or less. Nothing that is gonna make you pant for too long. You'll feel like a million bucks by the 3rd day, enjoy!

[Skyline]

Panorama closed its restaurant for good in Oct. 2001. ARAMARK (the concessioner) operated a gift shop and sold snacks/soft drinks thru the '04 season. Up in the air for '05. Plans for the building are to turn it into a CCC-era museum, and expand SNP law enforcement offices.

Unless you have time constraints, may I suggest you add in a few side trails to your SNP hike? The A.T., often on or near the ridge and also Skyline Drive, is nice but the best of SNP is found in the hollows where the streams, waterfalls, and history are.

30 to 35 per day has been done thru SNP--but only by VERY strong hikers with thru-hike trail legs. A more common pace is the 10 to 15 mpd pace. That lets you go shelter-to-shelter if you want to. There are also commercial-type campgrounds at Loft Mt., Lewis Mt., and Big Meadows that are very close to the A.T.--plus Mathews Arm CG in the North District which is further away.

The longest stretch between shelters in SNP is just over 15 miles--too far for some and not far enough for others, but just right for many. There are ample stealth sites between shelters, near water, but you really need to look for them. I have a mental inventory of them, and often direct hikers on a one-to-one basis when I encounter them, but have been politely asked by more than one Park law enforcement Ranger to not publish them anywhere (would add to the places they'd need to patrol regularly and with the budget as it is, not enough staff). If you are planning a hike thru SNP and want some more specifics, just look me up in either the Handbook or Companion under "Thornton Gap/Luray" and I'll fill you in on a site or two or three that may make the logistics a little easier.

Skyline

[A-Train]

SPeaking of side trails, if you've got some extra time, try checking out the White Oak Canyon and Cedar Spring Trails near Skyland. You can make a 10 mile loop with the AT and you are scaling a waterfall the entire way up the WOC trail. Awesome stuff can happen when you leave the AT.

[Peaks]

SPeaking of side trails, if you've got some extra time, try checking out the White Oak Canyon and Cedar Spring Trails near Skyland. You can make a 10 mile loop with the AT and you are scaling a waterfall the entire way up the WOC trail. Awesome stuff can happen when you leave the AT.

The best hikes in Shenandoah National Park are off the ridge and off the AT.