Mar 2nd
Miles Hiked: 7.5 miles
Miles Hiked: 7.5 miles
We managed to escape the Balt/DC area before the Thursday evening rush and arrived at the Blackburn Trail Center by a bit after 4pm. Chris, former caretaker of the Center, agreed by phone to give us a trail shuttle down to the 4h Center and was waiting when we rolled up. Glad i kept his card from a year ago when he gave us a ride.
On the ride to our starting point 43 trail miles south, Chris told us how the rollercoaster section was built years ago to replace a lengthy roadwalk on the windy narrow road we were driving. Ugh...while not everyone likes the Rollercoaster section of the trail....it has to be better than a roadwalk.
Later on our hike we learned that Chris knew his stuff...he helped create the Rollercoaster (something he didnt mention to us during the drive). Chris is now retired and lives in Harpers Ferrry, but he is still involved in the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Its folks like him and many others clubs and people that keep this great resource, the AT, maintained and available for us all.
We were dropped at the 4h center at 5:30 pm, climbed up the familiar Blue blaze trail to the AT, and started hiking North.
With 7.5 miles to the first shelter, we came expecting mulitple hours in the dark. Night hiking is actually quite enjoyable. Even with a late start, you can often put in nearly a full dat of miles, and still get to sleep well before midnight. As section hikers, it helps us to get 4 days of hiking out of a 3 day weekend.
This section of trail is in a very developed area, at times it feels like you are hiking through backyards. But the trail was smooth, the climbs were not absurdly steep, and we rolled into the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter by a bit after 10pm. It wasnt that late, so we had the option of going an addition 5.5 miles to Manassas Gap shelter. But the Denton shelter looked very nice, so we dropped our bags and called it a night.
Before we turned in, we met "Overload", an AT hiker who would accompany us for the rest of the trip.
On the ride to our starting point 43 trail miles south, Chris told us how the rollercoaster section was built years ago to replace a lengthy roadwalk on the windy narrow road we were driving. Ugh...while not everyone likes the Rollercoaster section of the trail....it has to be better than a roadwalk.
Later on our hike we learned that Chris knew his stuff...he helped create the Rollercoaster (something he didnt mention to us during the drive). Chris is now retired and lives in Harpers Ferrry, but he is still involved in the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Its folks like him and many others clubs and people that keep this great resource, the AT, maintained and available for us all.
We were dropped at the 4h center at 5:30 pm, climbed up the familiar Blue blaze trail to the AT, and started hiking North.
With 7.5 miles to the first shelter, we came expecting mulitple hours in the dark. Night hiking is actually quite enjoyable. Even with a late start, you can often put in nearly a full dat of miles, and still get to sleep well before midnight. As section hikers, it helps us to get 4 days of hiking out of a 3 day weekend.
This section of trail is in a very developed area, at times it feels like you are hiking through backyards. But the trail was smooth, the climbs were not absurdly steep, and we rolled into the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter by a bit after 10pm. It wasnt that late, so we had the option of going an addition 5.5 miles to Manassas Gap shelter. But the Denton shelter looked very nice, so we dropped our bags and called it a night.
Before we turned in, we met "Overload", an AT hiker who would accompany us for the rest of the trip.
A big thank you to Chris and all the others who have contributed to building and maintaining the trails. Your efforts have created opportunities for countless others to enjoy the outdoors.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great day. I love hearing about all the people you meet!
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