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  1. #41
    Registered User johnnybgood's Avatar
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    Shenandoah National Park will close noon Thursday.
    All backcountry hikers must leave the backcountry tomorrow in advance of what is sure to be deteriorating weather conditions. The Skyline Drive will close 10 am Thursday.
    Getting lost is a way to find yourself.

  2. #42
    Registered User liptackj's Avatar
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    With the huge amounts of rain the entire Appalachian Mountain range received this year, the soils are totally saturated. Any additional rain and even moderate winds will be bringing down trees left and right, roots and all. Look at what happened in NY earlier this summer when a strong front came through when the soils were similarly saturated. There were miles of the trail that were obliterated by blowdowns. The trail in that area was closed for weeks. Anyone out on the trail or in a tent when this storm hits landfall is at an increased risk. Better to be safe off the trail than putting your life on the line. The trail will still be out there when this monster passes.

  3. #43
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    I’ve been saying the same thing since yesterday afternoon.
    Blowdowns don’t get mentioned on TV.
    The Weather Service has also brought up the possibility of mud slides.
    It won’t be pretty out there for awhile.
    Wayne

  4. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    I’ve been saying the same thing since yesterday afternoon.
    Blowdowns don’t get mentioned on TV.
    The Weather Service has also brought up the possibility of mud slides.
    It won’t be pretty out there for awhile.
    Wayne
    Everybody wants to be Geraldo Rivera, +1

  5. #45
    GSMNP 900 Miler rmitchell's Avatar
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    September of 2009 I section hiked from Dick's Creek Gap to Amicalola Falls. Just after being dropped off it started to rain. Rained the entire trip. Later I heard that a rain gauge nearby registered 18 inches of rain in 3 days.

    This was before I had a cell phone and I didn't pay attention to the weather forecast. At times the trail was ankle deep in water for a hundred yards or more. Chipmunk holes had water gushing up like little fountains. I stopped trying to stay dry and just kept moving. Until I got to Neel's Gap I had no idea of the extent of the flooding. Not a hurricane, but people died in Atlanta

    A couple that I met at Neel's Gap said they had to wait a day to cross Stover Creek. By the time I got there it was a rock hop. Rain started again when I got to the falls. Water was over the pavement at the top of the falls. When I got to my truck the bed was completely full of water.

    The good thing was that most nights I had the shelters completely to my self. Had I known then what I know now I would have postponed the hike even though it would have been a year before I could have gone back.

    Hurricane Florence is a massive storm. If it stalls it could drop epic amounts of rain. Small streams could become a dangerous ford. There a lots of dead ash and hemlock trees just ready to fall.

    Sit this one out.

  6. #46

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    The latest European model has the storm tracking slightly South. So, it could be a wet weekend on the GA/NC bit of the trail...

    https://www.facebook.com/denisphilli...type=3&theater
    (trailname: Paul-from-Scotland)

  7. #47

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    This is crazy. So many people are affected. The trail will be devastated.

  8. #48
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    Feel bad for all the work the Maintainers have done. Can't imagine what the trail conditions will be like a week from now.

  9. #49
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    I am planning to hike GSMNP starting Oct 1st. Should I change any plans?

  10. #50
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    Would not be surprised if they close that down, as well as other trails, for perhaps weeks (?)...

  11. #51
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    We're headed to Vermont next week. Keeping our fingers crossed that the storm peters out well before it reaches New England.

  12. #52
    Registered User BuckeyeBill's Avatar
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    Definitely wishing everyone to be extremely careful in the coming days. I have lived through both hurricanes and nor'easters and wouldn't play in either one again. Wayne, only two more posts and I get a toaster.
    Blackheart

  13. #53
    Registered User scope's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TSWisla View Post
    I am planning to hike GSMNP starting Oct 1st. Should I change any plans?
    Not from a weather perspective, but do check the GSMNP site later next week to make sure there has been no damage where you're hiking or at shelters.

    p.s. numerous sites/shelters are closed now due to bear activity
    "I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
    - Kate Chopin

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  15. #55
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    Seeing the massive blowdown damage with gigantic uprooted trees everywhere in Lance Creek, etc., during our section hike this past May from Irma, I am heartsick at what's to come to the trail from this storm. Florida native, born and raised, and the amount of rainfall that's forecast from this storm is mind boggling. Anybody out there please stay aware, alert, and head off the trail if advised. Everybody in the path, be safe.

  16. #56
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    Below is SNP's latest press release on Hurricane Florence:

    Luray, Virginia: Shenandoah National Park will close at noon on Thursday, September 13 in anticipation of severe weather associated with Hurricane Florence. Meteorologists are forecasting a significant wind-rain event, particularly in Shenandoah’s higher elevations. Damaging winds combined with already saturated soil will make for hazardous conditions with trees toppling and branches falling.

    Shenandoah’s backcountry will be closed to overnight camping as of Wednesday, September 12. Staff have suspended issuing permits and are contacting those with permits to advise them of the closure.

    Skyline Drive will be closed to incoming traffic at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.

    Shenandoah’s concessioner, Delaware North, will close its properties including Big Meadows and Skyland lodges and visitors will be evacuated by noon on Thursday. For more information about the concessioner’s closures, please call 877-847-1919.

  17. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mountain Laurel View Post
    Seeing the massive blowdown damage with gigantic uprooted trees everywhere in Lance Creek, etc., during our section hike this past May from Irma, I am heartsick at what's to come to the trail from this storm. Florida native, born and raised, and the amount of rainfall that's forecast from this storm is mind boggling. Anybody out there please stay aware, alert, and head off the trail if advised. Everybody in the path, be safe.
    Ditto your advise. I'm also a Florida native and have ridden out (3) strong hurricanes with the eye passing over my house. I've also section hiked the AT with 6 days of straight rain and high wind and rather enjoyed battling the elements. Florence is a different animal with the amount of water that is about to be dumped on the trail and I would not be out there. Be safe everyone.

  18. #58
    GSMNP 900 Miler rmitchell's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ncwild View Post
    Feel bad for all the work the Maintainers have done. Can't imagine what the trail conditions will be like a week from now.
    Yeah. There are a half dozen or so large dead hemlocks on the section I help maintain. Too big to cut with hand tools and Park Service limits chain saw usage to certain timeframes.

    Every time out we try to guess which way they will fall.

    Wind this time will likely be from the east instead of the usual westerly .

  19. #59
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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  20. #60
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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