VA,WV & Maryland- Part 3
Dates ........ Saturday April 22, 2000
Miles ........ 20.1 miles
From ........ VA- Shenandoah NP at Rockfish Gap
To ............. Black Rock Hut.
Weather ... Mostly cloudy but dry day, 50's
Dates ........ Saturday April 22, 2000
Miles ........ 20.1 miles
From ........ VA- Shenandoah NP at Rockfish Gap
To ............. Black Rock Hut.
Weather ... Mostly cloudy but dry day, 50's
We started the day with a hearty breakfast and said good-bye to Granddad, then shouldered our packs and hit the trail. Just over the highway the trail entered the woods and climbed. We were greeted with a huge sign that told us we had to hike down (and back up) ¼ mile to get self-service permits for Shenandoah. Why couldn't they locate the self-service permits on the trail? That done, we proceeded along the trail to Bear Den Mtn. (2885') with its array of antennae. The trail very closely parallels Skyline Drive (SD) and crosses it frequently throughout the entire Shenandoah National Park (SNP).
We hiked past Calf Mtn. Shelter because of the 0.6 mi in/out and lunched on a big rock overlooking SD. It wasn't long before we realized something was amiss. The sign informing us of the need to hike down for permits also hinted at damaged forests - it just didn't tell us HOW DEVASTED they were. Crossing from Rockfish Gap to SNP was like getting on another planet. Gone was the lush green undergrowth and the developing green canopy of the central VA forest. It was replaced with the dead brown of mid winter - only things were really DEAD. There was almost no green to be seen, save a few pine trees here and there. And the number of trees lying dead on the forest floor, or standing / leaning dead was staggering. No wonder they warned you NOT to be in the woods during periods of high wind. It was all too obvious that there was a real danger from falling branches and trees. We were dumfounded at the devastation of the forest.
 |
| Shenandoah National Park hillside; a dead forest |
Back on the trail, Brett and I were both hurting badly. Our pack weight was at maximum, near 42 pounds since we re-supplied. And, we were still not "broken in" to day long hiking. (Through hikers always say the first 3 weeks are the toughest - as the body gets used to the rugged regimen.) At one of the road crossings we accepted a ride for 4 miles then got back on the trail. Blackrock Hut (in SNP shelters are called huts) had three guys in it: Beetle, Ridge and Beetle's dad. Dad was meeting the through hikers for Easter and brought them steak and veggies in foil which they cooked on the open fire. They shared their Easter candy with us. We had supper, hung our food bags on the bear pole and turned in for the night.
 |
| "Free Spirit, Firefly, Beetle, his dad, Ridge" at Blackrock Hut. |
|
Sun
|
Mon
|
Tue
|
Wed
|
Thur
|
Fri
|
Sat
|
| 4/19/00 | 4/21/00 | 4/22/00 | ||||
| 4/30/00 | 5/01/00 | 5/02/00 | 5/03/00 | 5/04/00 | 5/05/00 |