Link to Google Doc excel table with all trails

For the SNAP 500, which at its purest includes all trails, fire roads, and horse trails listed in the PATC Shenandoah National Park Guidebook AND on the backs of the 3 PATC maps for the Park, here is the Excel table (I assume that's how SNP got their figure of "over 500 miles of trails" in their brochure).  

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq1Ln8fJeURKdGt0S3Z6eWNHNUtXX1UxNjJkM093ZEE&usp=sharing

Having hiked almost all of them now, I would recommend eliminating some of them (Gas Pipeline Road and Indian Run Maintenance Hut Road in South District; Tanners Ridge Administrative Road in Central District for example).  I would not eliminate all the fire roads and horse trails (anything not maintained by PATC, in other words) because they provide much needed access in winter when the Drive is closed and because they often connect trails together.  More on this in a future posting. 

Finished AT in Central District plus Dry Run Falls Rd.

Today (3/28) I hiked in Central District in spite of lots of snow.  First I hiked the Dry Run Falls Fire Rd.  Had to park at S. River Picnic Area because the overlook is under construction.  Day was overcast with occasional sun peeking through and the temperature hovered around freezing.  I debated whether to take snowshoes or just hike in overboots and decided on the latter.   The snow was deep (4-5 inches) on the top half of the Dry Run Falls FR, then there was a stretch in the middle that seemed to have been flattened by snowshoes (and I saw a bootprint) but further down the snow seemed untouched.  Go figure.  Close to the top the trail passes a really nice rock formation and in the mid section it runs next to the Dry Run (which isn't dry).  I hiked as far as the SNP boundary (2 miles according to the back of the PATC map) then returned.   It's my policy not to walk on road roads even though the road beyond the park was still under snow.  It was hard work, even going downhill.  I had thought that it would be easier going uphill because I had already broken trail but this turned out to be largely illusory.  My stride is longer going downhill and as the day warmed a bit, the snow got mushier. 

I saw a couple cascades on the stream but must have missed the Dry  Run Falls.  Or maybe I didn't, according to the map.  Nothing particularly notable.

I then moved on to finish the final little segment of AT I lacked in the Central District (0.6 mi. from Slaughter Rd. to the Bear Fence Mt. Loop Trail).  This was slow going.  The snow was very deep (I'd say 6 inches) and the trail rose steadily the entire time.  I got snow in my boots.  Nonetheless the views were great.

I stopped in at the recently opened Big Meadow Visitors Center to get a gift.  Had to bag out early to go to an afternoon event.

Total miles:  5.2, one new trail

Finished North District!

I'm getting down to the wire at last.  On March 20, with Sky1ine Drive open only in North and Central Districts I picked up a few segments of AT in the Park.  It was a delightful day:  sunny, 30s, with a steady breeze.  In North District I parked at Beahm's Gap, took the sidetrail to the AT, then walked south as far as Pass Mt. Trail (2.2 miles plus a couple of tenths in sidetrail and pre roadcrossing AT).  The snow was crusty and about 2-3 inches deep.  I was unable to walk on top of the snow most of the time.  The trail climbs steadily to a shoulder (Pass Mt. Junior?) where there are some nice peekaboo views then up to the top.  It then descends moderately to the trail junction.  No one had broken trail since what must have been a recent light snow.  It was obvious that underneath the top snow layer someone had been on the trail. That was my last trail or trail segment to complete in the North District.  Yahoo! 

After returning to the car, I drove south to Milam Gap and walked south on the AT as far as the Laurel Prong Trail.  Someone had hiked northbound on the trail but that didn't make the walking any easier.  In fact in some ways it was better to avoid the previous foot prints and go for the virgin snow, which sometimes held me up.  As with the first trail, the snow was 2-3 inches deep but going up steeper pitches it got much deeper.  At some points I sank in as much as 6 inches.  The snow was brilliant in the bright sunlight, so brilliant, in fact, that it hurt my eyes.  To be sure of my footing I kept staring at the snow.  At one point, however, I looked up at the clouds and they were a brilliant pink.  This was, I think, because I had burned my eyes with the snow.  You can see from the pix that the clouds aren't pink.  After that point I tried to look at the trees and dark objects, watching the trail only with my peripheral vision. 

The mountain I was hiking up (nothing too steep) was Hazeltop.  What is it with the "Hazel's" in the Park?  I took a sidetrail to a lovely overlook to the west. 

Looking east from Hazeltop

Looking east from Hazeltop (Cat Knob?)

Looking west from overlook on Hazeltop

Looking west from overlook on Hazeltop

Then I went to Bootens Gap and hiked south as far as the Bearfence Mt. sidetrail.  By the time I started (2 pm) the snow was smooshy on this east-facing trail.  I encountered an interesting looking snapped tree across the trail.  Where the trail dipped low, I encountered dirt and mud.  But then, as it ascended toward Bearfence, the snow came back, got less slushy and footsteps in the snow became frozen and slippery.  Once again I opted to walk on the virgin snow.  When I reached the trail junction I decided it would be more pleasant to walk back on Skyline Drive.  The trail down to the road was icy where people had stepped before.  The walk back was great because the road has terrific views to the west. 

 Miles for the day 12.1; new trail miles 6.0. 

North District bits again

Last Friday, 3/15/13, en route to ATC's southern partnership meeting, I picked up a few shards of trail I lacked.  I finally located the Indian Run Maintenance Hut "service road" and hiked it.  I parked at Compton Gap, walked north on the AT 0.3 miles then took a right at the trail junction for the hut.  No one else had been there before but the snow was hard crust and it was easy walking.  The hut is great (it probably used to be used as a camping hut but no camping now).  En route back to the car, I ran into 5 NPS personnel with two trucks at the trail junction getting ready to do maintnenance work.

Returning to the car, I drove up to Elkwallow and hiked north on the trail 0.9 miles to the Range View Cabin access road and then returned.  The trail had been broken but the snow was still pretty strong so I could walk on top.  One downed tree close to the access road I photographed and sent to PATC.

Then I hiked south from the Elkwallow Picnic area to the Thornton River Trail.  By this time the snow had gotten softer and slipperier.  It was about 10:30 by this time.  The trail ascends steadily to the top of a ridge and then continues level for a while.

A few downed trees (photographed and sent in).  Not much notable on to report that section of AT.  When I got to the Thornton River Trail I looked at the map and decided just to hike down to Skyline Drive and walk back to the car on the road.  A lot less slipping and sliding.

Total mileage for the day:  6.7 of which 3.9 are original new miles and one new trail.  Some corrections have been made to the database.  The latest figures are 403 miles of side trails (including everything list on back of maps in NPS or in PATC SNP guidebook) plus 107.1 miles of AT.  So far I've hiked 454.4 miles and completed 153 trails (out of 172).




The biggest problem with finishing in the short term is the weather and snow which close Skyline Drive and make the hiking difficult. 

Little Bits in N. District

Not having a lot of time to burn 2/28, I pieced together a few odds and ends of trails in the N. District.  First I parked at Gravel Springs Gap and hiked on the AT as far as the link to the Keyser Run Fire Road.  It was a cold grey day with the temperature seeming to hover around freezing (the ground wasn't frozen).  A light dusting of snow covered the forest floor and made for some lovely scenes.

There was little noteworthy on the trail and I returned to the car fairly quickly.

I next drove up to the parking lot just beyond Hogback Overlook.  Walking north on the A.T. I passed over what I now know to be Sugarloaf (previously thought to be Hogback).  It was very cold and chill up there.

Once I got to the top of the rise, the trail turned to solid ice.  I made my way gingerly down to the junction with the Sugarloaf Trail then returned to the parking lot.  Because of the ice, I decided to throw my crampons in my pack for the next phase.



Walking south on the AT, I took the Overall Run/Tuscarora Trail.  That went down a LONG way.

I passed a very interesting footpring in the snow.  I think it might have been a cat.



I passed the Traces trail and stayed on the OR/T trail until hitting the Mathews Arm Trail at 2.3 miles.  As I descended the snow disappeared but the weather worsened.  It started snowing and frozen raining.  I picked up my pace thinking I didn't want to get caught in a snowstorm.  The Mathews Arm Trail ascended steadily and I passed by a few trails I had already hiked.  Finally I got to the Mathews Arm Campground and started a long pavement walk through the campground and up the road to Skyline Drive (I'd guess 1.5 miles).  At Skyline Drive I crossed over and took the Piney Branch Trail down to the A.T.  Then the AT lead me north to my parking area.

By the time I finished it was snowing steadily but lightly so I decided to pack it in for the day.  I had to get back early anyway.  En route north on Skyline Drive, I stopped at the pullout for the Hogback Spur trail (which I had a very hard time finding).  I sprinted up the 0.3 mile trail to the AT and returned to the car and drove home.  That completed 3 trails and 2 AT segments for me. 

Tromping through slush, mud, and water

Since Skyline Drive was closed today, March 11, 2013 (natch!), I decided to pick up some lowland trails that I was missing.  I started out on the Thornton River Trail to pick up the 0.7 miles of the Hull School Trail I had stupidly failed to hike the last time I was on the Thornton River Trail.  I parked along 612 in exactly the same spot as last time (no problem negotiating the road). 

As I said last time, the Thornton River is lovely.

The trail started out as just wet dirt, then became a combination of slush and stream.

There was no way to keep my feet dry.  Either I was walking in mud, or in water, or in slush.  By the time I reached the junction of the Hull School Trail and the Fork Mt. Trail (North District) the trail was all snow.

Since I was already near Sperryville I decided to go to the next trail south of there I was missing.  This happened to be the "Meadows Cabin Loop" (noted only on the map, not in the guidebook).  After parking on VA 648 just west of Syria, I walked up the cabin access road and turned left on the blue blazed trail.  Horses had already gone by but that didn't help the footing much.  The snow was even wetter here and undergirded with lots of mud.  It was wet and dirty going.  The trail goes uphill from the driveway.  At the first ridge, my predecessors had gone left while the blue blazed trail went right.  Later on I thought that perhaps that might have been the Doubletop Mt. Trail (within Rapidan WMA) but there was no sign or blazing.  After that point, I was making my own trail.  The snow was 4-6 inches deep (except where it had drifted deeper) and very very wet.  This made from some slipperiness.  The trail ascended to a height of land from which there were good views through the trees.  Then it descended back to the cabin.  Along the way I saw some very odd "footprints".  Basically an arrow.  Either this was a large bird or someone had a bizarre footprint trekking pole but there were no other footprints nearby.

I also so what I hope might have been a large cat print

If it was a dog, there were no signs of other human footprints anywhere.

Meadows Cabin Loop Trail, coming down hill

Meadows Loop Trail headed downhill

I saw another print that I thought might be a bear.

That print was about 4 inches long.

The Meadows Cabin is lovely.

That was it for the day.  My feet were soaking and there weren't any reasonable distance trails close by. 

Snowshoeing from Thornton Gap to Pass Mt. Hut

Thornton Gap parking

Snowshoe tracks go deep (but you can't see that)

Mary's Rock from AT north of Thornton Gap

I wasn't sure what to expect after the snowstorm on Tuesday.  In DC we had virtually no snow but the webcam from VDOT suggested that US 33 through Swift Run Gap might be clogged with snow.  So I threw the snowshoes and ski poles in the car and headed up to Thornton Gap.  Skyline Drive was closed (natch) but US 211 had been well plowed and there was plenty of room to park a car safely along the side.

I still needed to hike the 3.4 miles from the Gap up to Beahm's Gap for the SNAP 500 so I thought for sure I could do that on snowshoes.  HMMM.  The snow was at least 16 inches deep, wet, sticky, and HEAVY.  My feet sank in 8-10 inches with each step.  And it seemed to get heavier as the day went on.  Since I was alone, I was breaking trail all the time.  It was slow and arduous going.  I was sweating like a pig and taking off layer after layer.  By the time I got to the sidetrail to Pass Mt. Hut I was spent and my legs were starting to cramp and it took me almost 1 1/2 hours.  At that rate it would take me 4 hours to get to Beahm's Gap.  So I turned around after a mere 1.2 miles. Of course it was infinitely easier going back downhill on a prepared trail.  I met a lucky hiker (no snowshoes) strugglin up in my snowshoe path on the way down.

When I got to Skyline Drive I walked over to Panorama and onto the AT over there.  Both snowshoe and XC ski tracks led to the AT.  Unfortunately they also led to a pile of human feces, uncovered, right in the middle of the trail.  Have they no sense of propriety or hygiene?  At any rate, I needed to hike from that point down to US 211 so I turned right, giving the poop wide berth, and descended to the highway where I walked back to the car.  A very short but intensely energetic hike.