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Appalachian Trail
Massie Gap, Va. to Thomas Knob Shelter, Va. (near Mt.
Roger)
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| The plan was to drive to Massie Gap from the
Partnership shelter were we had been dropped off by the shuttle driver.
Of course the weather was perfect. There had been a rumor of rain possible
and a cold night, but the weather look fine leaving Massie Gap. |
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This time I have decided to listen to Slo-Bear and take an easy day,
hike up to Thomas Knob, then hike back to the car.
This is the map of the trip
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This is the layout of the elevation. >
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The trail was very different than the first day.
This area is called the Virginia highlands and if you look closely at the
picture you will see a wild pony laying in the field. Sometimes the trail
got very misty and foresty. Other times it was almost like rock climbing.
The views were awesome. |
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| We got to the Louis Shatfield shelter
very early in the afternoon. Which gave us the rest of the day to explore,
get water and just hang out. We met several people that day that was walking
through. Since it was friday afternoon, we met alot of people who were camping
for the weekend. Some of hikers pitched tents below us, and some stayed
at the sheler. I included a shot of the privy. It was a solared powered
privy! |
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Meeting the people on the trail is one of the
highlights of the trip. We ended up sharing the shelter with O-Tim and his
wife (I am sorry I cannot remember the her name). It turned out he had thru
hiked the entire trail twice, and was spending a few days taking her through
some of his favorite parts. He had many stories. One of the neat things
that happen was watching the expression on Linguini's face when he walked
through camp and someone yelled out his name. We had saw him yesterday about
60 miles north, and it really freak him out when we did this back track.
He could not stop because had to be in Damascus by Saturday (32 miles).
As you can tell from the picture, it was a little chilling! It got pretty
cold in the night, but Slo-Bear and I took the top part of the shelter so
it wasn't to bad. The next morning the sky was clear and beatiful. |
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The next morning we got up and cook a small breakfast
and said good bye to our shelter companions. We hiked back to the car and
headed for home. Since we were so close to Damascus, Slo-Bear took me through
the town to have a quick look. To the left is the picture of the sign, that
people see entering Damascus from the trail. To the right is a picture of
The Place, probably one of the best known hostels on the trail. |
(Click for larger view) |
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