Appalachian Trail Harpers Ferry to Front Royal

dynamicmoves

dynamicmoves

Joined
Jan 6, 2011
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Ironhidedraco and I took a little trip a few days ago. Our intention was to hike down to Georgia. Didn't go so well, but the 50 mile backpacking trip was still great.

This was about a mile away, made me a little nervous about not buying crampons.
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Ironhidedraco trying to cross it. He surprised both of us by not falling on his face or through the ice. In fact, the only person to fall through the ice was me :grumpy:. Happened on the third day. Spyderco Mule in M4 on his belt there.
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I crossed with style, BK15 on my belt there.
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Our first camp. Hammock and tent. Was after a 1.9 mile hike that was all uphill.
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So we got back on the trail and started walking. Pretty easy to follow with all the footprints, didn't even bother looking for blazes on the trail for a long while.
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After seven miles we hit a shelter.
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The inside of the shelter, somebody got in the way...
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About a quarter mile away from the shelter was a spring. Which was good considering we were almost out of water. We boiled some water with my Jetboil.
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We decided to walk on an extra three miles to the next shelter. We hit Buzzard rock along the way. This time I was in the way.
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Ha! There isn't always snow.
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Third day, we hit Crescent rock, ate lunch. Good place to eat lunch.
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I wanted to get a photo of the cliffs. We were on top. This was my solution.
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I took a panorama, but I don't think it resizes well. Here's a direct link.
http://imageshack.com/a/img31/6739/kaw5.jpg

It's the road part of the trail. We also ended up passing a few highways, it was like frogger.
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Had a bit of a night hike. We stopped at Bears Den Hostel, but they wanted to charge, and I wanted to be cheap. So we walked an extra 3 miles to the next shelter.
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Check it out, a cellar.
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Some bridge we ate lunch at.
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Yeah, it's a little disgusting.
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We hit the top of some mountain.
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The fourth night shelter.
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And the morning. I thought all our water had frozen. It wasn't frozen solid though.
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Blaze on a tree.
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Sky Meadows State Park.
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The spring at a shelter we stopped for lunch at.
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Second night hike of the trip.
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Last morning I woke up to this. Second time I regretting not getting crampons.
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Everything was covered in ice.
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Also was foggy.
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Then we hit US 522, and got a ride to Front Royal, where we decided to call it, and probably for good reason. We ended up eating at China Jade, great food. And that about sums up the trip.
 
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Good stuff! I'm jealous. There's nothing quite like getting out into the woods and away from the madness. Thanks for posting your trip. :)
 
Great photos. If you're hiking for more than a couple of days on the AT and you are carrying crampons, you're doing it wrong ;). Not that I wouldn't have wanted them, too. Thanks for bringing us along.
 
gytheran said:
Good stuff! I'm jealous. There's nothing quite like getting out into the woods and away from the madness. Thanks for posting your trip. :)
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Thanks for the kind words, it was really neat to get away from all the normal noises, except when we went past roads and buzzing powerlines.
granitestateofmind said:
Great photos. If you're hiking for more than a couple of days on the AT and you are carrying crampons, you're doing it wrong ;). Not that I wouldn't have wanted them, too. Thanks for bringing us along.
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Live and learn huh.
Guyon said:
Great panoramic shot!
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Thanks, would have taken more but I forgot about them. Was more focused on staying warm anyways.
 
shelters in that area are much nicer than the rough trail sites. If you ever get the chance you need to hit the sawtooth section, and from Fontana Dam over Smokemont . I realize tents and bivys are no no, but the hard to reach shelters are trashed, and full of rats. 3 full turns on the AP from Nov. 1- March. Packs get lighter each time.. I have gone 6 days w/o a soul in site, and I have wigged out before also, Happened 1 time for no reason, but it was zero fun. That was near Fontana dam nc. I think Altitude plays with you and not enough fluid intake. Summertime, AP just has too much going on. Did you take the ferry across the river, or were you that far. I have found lots of things in shelters, once a sig .380 with uncle mike holster like new. But I must have left it there ? GREAT PHOTOS. sig shoots fine, scared like heck on carry out.
 
Looks like you guys had a decent time of it! I've not made it quite that far north yet, on the trail. Thanks for posting the photos and report up!

u.w.
 
Thanks for sharing - nice images! Makes me miss the days (1995-2000) when I lived in GA and hit the AT many times every year (anywhere from an over-nighter to a 2-week jaunt). But I always went when it was a bit warmer out!
 
treeshaker said:
shelters in that area are much nicer than the rough trail sites. If you ever get the chance you need to hit the sawtooth section, and from Fontana Dam over Smokemont . I realize tents and bivys are no no, but the hard to reach shelters are trashed, and full of rats. 3 full turns on the AP from Nov. 1- March. Packs get lighter each time.. I have gone 6 days w/o a soul in site, and I have wigged out before also, Happened 1 time for no reason, but it was zero fun. That was near Fontana dam nc. I think Altitude plays with you and not enough fluid intake. Summertime, AP just has too much going on. Did you take the ferry across the river, or were you that far. I have found lots of things in shelters, once a sig .380 with uncle mike holster like new. But I must have left it there ? GREAT PHOTOS. sig shoots fine, scared like heck on carry out.
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Found a condom in one of the shelters. Made good use of the brooms.
The Warrior said:
Looks like fun man. I need to get back out.
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It sure was, thanks.

link2derek said:
Thanks for sharing - nice images! Makes me miss the days (1995-2000) when I lived in GA and hit the AT many times every year (anywhere from an over-nighter to a 2-week jaunt). But I always went when it was a bit warmer out!
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Something about winter camping that I like. Don't know what it is...
 
Very nice. I know it is a stupid question, but what things did you consider absolutely essential for your trip, equipment and clothing? What the heck is a crampon? I know planning had to be a big part of it.
 
dynamicmoves said:
Found a condom in one of the shelters. Made good use of the brooms.

It sure was, thanks.


Something about winter camping that I like. Don't know what it is...
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Well, the shelters aren't crowded, and there are no bugs to deal with -- those are two possibilities -- LOL!
 
cbach8tw said:
Very nice. I know it is a stupid question, but what things did you consider absolutely essential for your trip, equipment and clothing? What the heck is a crampon? I know planning had to be a big part of it.
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So I kind of forgot about this thread till now, but I do want to answer questions.
What did I consider essential? Warm clothing that didn't contain cotton, boots that didn't give me blisters, water purification, good sleeping bag, liner, stove, food, first aid kit, and a way to navigate. In our case it was a map and a compass.

Oh, and a way to keep myself dry when it rained. That one is huge. It certainly deserves its own line.
 
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