Hello faithful readers!
Random view of the mountains in SNP
Things are starting to feel very real for me right now. Why? Because on May 12th through May 16th, I will be hiking a section of the A.T. in the Shenandoah National Park! (SNP) Yay!!! I had hoped to post more blog entries about my gear selections prior to announcing this, but that has not happened. Most of my free time has been spent researching, selecting and acquiring my gear – as well as planning the itinerary for this shakedown trip. Therefore, I have not had much time for writing new blog posts. I am certain that readers of this blog throughout the known Universe were in great anticipation of those gear-related posts, but they will have to wait. This shakedown trip is a major milestone in my adventure and it is approaching like a freight train! What is it they say about the light at the end of the tunnel? It’s the train – headed right back at you!!!
A waterfall in the SNP
The primary purpose of the trip is to become familiar with the gear which I’ve acquired. I have no intention of hitting the A.T. next March and not be familiar with my gear. That would provide WAY too much comic relief for the experienced crowd, at my expense, and we’re not going to have that. (hehehe – I’ll let others play that part) Also, I need to re-establish my “camping mojo.” Many moons ago, (was it another life???) a friend and I (hi Danny!) took many many many backpack/camping trips to a place called False Cape State Park. The hike in and out of camp was grueling, and the camping primitive. But we managed to attain a level of confidence (or maybe a level of delusion?) where we felt like we could handle anything. MacGyver had nothing on us. (yeah, ok – whatever) So yeah, I need to re-establish that comfort level of being outdoors for days on end.
The A.T. with a white blaze in the foreground
All of those trips we took were of the “out-and-back” variety. That means we’d hike 7-10 miles to camp, stay several nights, then hike out. I’ve never done a trip where each night would have camp in a different location. Also, the region we camped in was coastal – meaning FLAT. The A.T. is anything BUT flat. In fact, along the entire 2,200-ish miles of the A.T., the elevation change is equivalent to climbing Mount Everest 16 times. Yikes. So yeah, I need to get used to hiking with elevation change.
Typical section of the A.T. in the SNP
So I have come up with an itinerary that covers nearly 60 miles in 5 days. I’ve chosen daily milestones based on the location of shelters (known as “huts” in the SNP) and campgrounds. Note that, even though my milestones are based around shelter locations, I will not be staying in the shelters. (For new readers, see my “where shall I sleep?” post) Here is my detailed itinerary:
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Map of Shenandoah National Park. Skyline Drive is red, A.T. is dotted line
Day 0: Sunday May 11th, 2014: Drive up to SNP and stay Sunday night at a cabin which a work colleague (hi Jim!) has rented.
- Day 1: Monday May 12th, 2014: Jim will follow me to a parking lot located near the end of my hike where I will drop off my car. He will then drive me to Rockfish Gap – which is the southern end of the SNP – and drop me off. I will then hike from Rockfish Gap to Calf Mountain Shelter, a distance of 7.6 miles.
- Day 2: Tuesday May 13th, 2014: I will hike from Calf Mountain Shelter to Blackrock Hut, a distance of 13.0 miles.
- Day 3: Wednesday May 14th, 2014: I will hike from Blackrock Hut to Loft Mountain Campground. I will either camp in the campground proper, or outside the campground. This day will include a re-supply at a camp store and, perhaps more importantly, a HOT LUNCH consisting of a CHEESEBURGER at a nearby wayside. (wayside – fancy name for a restaurant in SNP) Total miles for the day, 10.9 miles.
- Day 4: Thursday May 15th, 2014: I will hike from Loft Mountain Campground to Hightop Hut, a distance of 15.3 miles. (biggest day yet!)
- Day 5: Friday May 16th, 2014: I will hike from Hightop Hut to Bearfence Mountain Hut, a distance of 12.4 miles. Actually, I will be hiking to my car which will be in a parking lot close to Bearfence Mountain Hut.
Once in my car, I will be heading to Waynseboro, VA. See, in some ways this shakedown trip is supposed to be a short simulation of my thru-hike. Therefore, I think it is totally reasonable that I should also simulate staying in a trail town. On the actual thru-hike, staying in trail towns is a way to recuperate, rest, load up on food, get a shower, do laundry and prepare for the next leg of the journey. Adding such a town visit at the end of this shakedown is not only reasonable – it’s necessary.
Cheers to my first true wandering journey in this endeavor. *raises glass*
Kelly
PS… Here is my itinerary in table form – it is a test to see how tables show up here in the blog.
| Start | End | Miles | |
| Day 1 | Rockfish Gap | Calf Mountain Shelter | 7.6 |
| Day 2 | Calf Mountain Shelter | Blackrock Hut | 13.0 |
| Day 3 | Blackrock Hut | Loft Mountain Campground | 10.9 (includes 4.8 round trip from campground to wayside) |
| Day 4 | Loft Mountain Campground | Hightop Hut | 15.3 |
| Day 5 | Hightop Hut | Bearfence Mountain Hut | 12.4 |
We’ll there’s no turning back now! Seeing the scenic views in the pictures you posted make me miss our hikes…. And just a little funny fact is I am actually wearing my train shirt right now….. But no oncoming trains are at the end of your tunnel!
*train approaching* Oh crap!!! *ducks out of sight and reach* Whew!!! Glad I didn’t get hit by that one. That was close!
Keeping on… Hiking on…
Ah, yes, False Cape. Just like a regular cape, but false! That hike in was the source for both my greatest hiking shame (Don’t remember precisely, but I think it took us about 12 hours or so,) and my greatest hiking pride. (Full pack 7-1/2 miles in 1H:45). Thinking back on it, I think the 12 hours included biking from your house 30 miles to get there because we couldn’t get a ride. We were then delayed when we got to the trail and I refused to bike anymore, forcing us to walk the bikes in).
Your memory has not failed you – that’s exactly how it went down! Also, your bike wouldn’t shift out of third gear as I seem to recall which forced a slower pace. We also both have written accounts of that trip, as well as our *extensive* audio log recordings. Those are probably best kept off of this blog. (Although that is an idea – a separate blog dedicated to our past false cape trips… that’d be pretty cool, if not humiliating. LOL)
Your plan looks good and a gear shakedown is a great idea. I wonder how many through hikers you’ll run into. It’s a little early for them to be in Shenandoah but there’s always a few. I finished my 108 mile section of GA and NC over spring break just a few weeks ago and I’m always tweaking my list of essential gear so I’m looking forward to hear how this goes for you. Oh, and make sure when you get to that wayside you get a blackberry milkshake. If you’ve never tried one they are fantastic when you’re backpacking and need to carb up. Enjoy!!
Hey Kim! I was thinking that the time should be right for the early NOBO bubble to passing through SNP – so maybe I’ll meet a few. Although, more likely, I’ll be being passed by a few. 🙂
I’m glad that your section hike from Amicalola to Winding Stair Gap last month went well – that’s awesome. One more segment to mark off.
Thanks for the milkshake suggestion – even though I don’t generally like shakes, I have a feeling it will taste wonderfully cold after a half day’s hike.
Good luck with your next section this month!
A shakedown hike is a great idea!
Remember, the Enterprise didn’t get a shakedown cruise in Star Trek The Motion Picture. The first time they went to warp, an engine problem caused an artificial wormhole. SHAKEDOWN BENEFIT 1: Making sure your equipment works as intended.
An asteroid got sucked into the wormhole along with the ship. Kirk ordered it to be destroyed with phasers, but Decker countermanded the order and had the asteroid destroyed by photon torpedo. The phasers wouldn’t have worked inside the wormhole because their power was tied to the warp drive, and Kirk didn’t know that. SHAKEDOWN BENEFIT 2: Learning the capabilities and limitations of your equipment
The asteroid was successfully destroyed, the wormhole dissipated, and everyone eventually lived happily ever after. But what if Decker hadn’t been so quick with the torpedoes? The Enterprise would have been destroyed, and all life on Earth would have been wiped out by V’Ger. SHAKEDOWN BENEFIT 3: Preventing the extinction of all life on Earth.