Shenandoah - 100 miles of the AT July 26th til . . . .

[jax_seeker_77]

I've been wanting to do a section of the AT this summer to immerse myself back into the world of backpacking after a lengthy sabbatical from backpacking. It will also be my first hammock trip. I will have a few weeks of practice with the hammock in the back yard at the new house I'll be moving to next week. I'm really looking forward to it. I plan on taking about 7 days to do the trip from the southern end of the park to the northern end.

I'm looking for any advice on the park. Any tips, tricks, things I need to see just off the trail etc. Oh, and if anyone will be in the area I'm not against the idea of having a meet up along the way.

[jax_seeker_77]

Anyone going to be in Shenandoah next week???

[gnomad]

I am in a similar boat, getting back into backpacking again. I spent 6 nights last year and a few this year in SNP. Everyone says it is easy in SNP to find places to hang, and I have certainly been able to find places. However, if you are not shelter adjacent, I would recommend looking at a topo map each day to pick a few possible stopping points. Having to be a certain distance from the road, park structures, etc limits you a little. The steep ridgeline limits you a good bit in spots. I just did a day hike last week of the 7 miles north of pinefield hut - there was poison ivy lining the trail pretty thick throughout. I haven't had a problem with that anywhere else though. Finally, there are a lot of dead standing trees - be careful. All that said, I have thoroughly loved my hikes and have eventually always found good spots to hang.

[outdoorsguy]

I'll be there in a few weeks... take a bunch of pics and write a trip report if you can. I'm coming from the south and looking at possibly doing a loop route. I always try to hang next to a creek, there's nothing like a quick dunk in cold water after a hot day on the trail.

[jax_seeker_77]

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep the shelter thing in mind. I was planning on staying near shelters on the trip so that should work out for me.

[Squid In The Woods]

Natural water sources are a little scarce towards the southern end. I picked up a lady on the side of the road with her dog who was hiking the entire park like you. She allotted herself 2 weeks but I believe was going at a slower pace.

There are water spigots at the camp grounds and picnic areas. The park is perfect for hangers because there isn't a whole lot of flat areas suitable for tents. Probably more so on the AT though. We were there a couple weeks ago near Browns Gap and saw two bears in two days. It was a nice sight but a reminder to be loud and sanitize your camp sight at night for sure. It was cooler by about 10 degrees in the mountains then it was driving in. I was a little worried about the blankets I brought for my wife and I but we were okay. It got down in the low 60s at night. The trails are well worn and very well marked with concrete posts. Shouldn't be a problem at all especially being on the AT. I'd recommend checking out Blackrock Summit when you get to that portion of the trail. It's not far off the AT and is a pretty nice view.

[Sweeper]

I did pretty much the same hike you are doing a few years back with the exception of going North-South. It was a nice week-long ramble, I stayed near shelters each night (my buddies stayed in the shelters). You'll find plenty of places to hang, no problems. I consider that one of the nicest hikes I've done on the AT outside of the Smokies. Deluxe walking! Having the ability to pull off the trail and get some light resupply was a neat bonus as well, we didn't have to carry as much stuff as we normally did for a 7 day hike. My trail name should be "bearless", as I've hiked all of GA, the GSMNP/NC and Southern VA/SNP and still have yet to see a bear. I am thinking that I'll probably see Sasquatch before I see a bear.

[jax_seeker_77]

I have to get the pics loaded and will share some later. Quick summary. I covered 60 miles +/- from monday morning until Thursday night before dropping off to take care of things I had been blowing off. (found some perspective on the trail) Met some great people along the way. One was a thru hiker Snus that started at the end of May and a couple of fellow educators (Vista and Myrtle) who were hiking all of Virginia. I had 5 bear encounters, with two close young bears, one bear at 100 yards and one 300+ pounder at 25 yards, and one bear at 20 feet (groaned at me but I couldn't see it through the thicket it was sitting in. I did yellow blaze/hitch to cover some of the mileage (8 miles) on a 20 mile day. I was woefully unprepared physically for the journey.

I am thinking about doing a 3 week trip next summer from Shenandoah going northbound starting in early July.