Virginia--1-2 week section hike options

[tawa]

Seeking information/suggestions on possible 1-2 week section hike this summer on the AT in Virginia. I have completed all miles north of Springer to Damascus and previously hike a few days from Woods Hole Hostel to Mountain Lake Road Crossing. Other than that its wide open.
Information on easier spots to get on and off the trail concerning shuttles and also slack packing and lodging/hostel accomodations would be much appreciated.
Realize it will be hot in July/August but still better than not being on the trail.

[johnnybgood]

Hike Shenandoah National Park, 101 miles of easy hiking with a well graded trail and many bail out options. This is a 5-7 day walk unless of course you want to go slow and enjoy the waysides every other day.

Lodges in the park are at Big Meadows, also at Skyland.

Water in the southern district might be tricky , although this spring has beem wet


If you have two weeks, I'd go to Harpers Ferry where shuttle options include the Teahorse Hostel among others.

The Northern Virginia 4h center, just outside the northern boundry of SNP is a grest place to leave your car for two weeks.
www.nova4h.com .

[Coffee]

I'll second Shenandoah National Park. I hiked the north district in late April and intended to do the South and Central shortly after but haven't been able to do so yet. It took me two days for the north district. I will say that it isn't really a wilderness trip and the Skyline Drive is visible and can be heard for much of the walk but that didn't bother me very much at all. The wayside made up for it.

[johnnybgood]

If going northbound to Harpers Ferry for two weeks, the start of your hike will be Rockfish Gap, not the nova4h center.
Park your car at the Inn at Afton, the building on the hill overlooking I-64. Fill out a free waiver form at the front desk

For shuttle information , use the trailer at the edge of the parking lot . They have a list of local shuttles and can answer questions about the park ,ie ; weather, information passed along from other hikers,etc

Hope this clears up things.

[Cookerhiker]

One other point about Shenandoah pertinent to your mention of slackpacking: with all the Skyline Drive crossings, you could conceivably slackpack the entire Park if you're willing to hitchhike. And summer should be an easy time to do so. You could base camp at Big Meadows or better yet, move your base camp as you head north. In other words, camp at Loft Mountain while hiking the southern district, Big Meadows for the central district and Matthews Arm for the north.

As an alternative to Shenandoah, I'd consider starting at Catawba at the Rt. 311 crossing west of Daleville and hike to Rockfish Gap (Waynesboro). The distance is 154 miles which you can cover in less than 2 weeks. On the first day, you reach the famous McAfee Knob. After Daleville comes the ascent to the Blue Ridge where you'll be paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way to Rockfish Gap. The crossings aren't as frequent as Shenandoah NP but they're frequent enough so you have more hitchhiking options. You'll hit the lowest point in VA at the James River Crossing but also get up over 4,000' in many places. Your first resupply can be in Daleville, after which resupply becomes a little more challenging. Glasgow and Buena Vista are both possibilities.