Date: 2016-11-16
From: Reeds Gap

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We¢re back on the trail again after 5 days of mostly relaxation in Washington, DC. We saw a couple of movies: Arrival ¢ which was OK, but seems like an update of Close Encounters of 3rd Kind; and Inferno ¢ that we liked much more, fast-paced, action-oriented, puzzle-solving like the other Dan Brown creations. OK, back to the hiking.We wrapped up Shenandoah last week and now we decided to move south. We considered doing the sections north of Shenandoah to Harpers Ferry, but we¢re having TG in Alabama and it seemed to make sense to work on the southern connection. We decided to pick up where we left off at Rockfish Gap. These sections are becoming familiar territory to us. Counting the practice hikes we did back in 2013, this makes the 4th time in 4 years that we¢ve done pieces of the AT north and south of Rockfish Gap. We¢re still doing it with one car, so we have to find places where a reasonable road crosses the AT with decent parking accommodations. The Skyline Drive in Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge Parkway offer plenty of options, since the AT crosses these roads often. Today we started early, leaving DC about 6 am and heading straight for the AT. Our general flow today was north, so starting at Reeds Gap, the first several miles were sprinkled with some rocks, but generally benign. Then the trail opened up to several good views of the valley: Rock Point Overlook and then Cedar Cliffs. From there the trail crossed the parkway and started a 3-mile climb up Humpback Mountain. The pitch varied, with several smaller peaks along the way, and the steeper climbs were usually rocky. At one point near the top of Humpback the AT opened up and crossed a rock outcrop with good views to the south. The Priest was visible in the distance and the guide suggested that Wintergreen ski areas were also visible ¢ but the sun was too bright to make them out clearly. After crossing Humpback, the trail began a long (3.5 mile) descent. The upper sections near the summit were quite rocky and the heavy layer of fallen leaves made them slippery. The last several miles of descent were more moderate with plenty of switchbacks. North of Humpback the trail climbed a bit and then continued the descent down to Wolfe shelter. This shelter is memorable, there is a stream in front of the shelter with a stone bench. I¢ve taken several photos here before and one year we met the shelter maintainer, a very nice fellow. This time we didn¢t see anyone in the shelter and the water level in the stream was much lower than before. Beyond the shelter there is a climb and then about 3 miles to Rockfish Gap. The only notable feature is the remnants of a house ¢ a chimney and pieces of a foundation. The weather was very cooperative today. We started in the low 40¢s with some wind on the northwest sides and plenty of sunshine. The conditions are predicted to hold until the weekend when a cold front moves through with some rain and winds, and temps dipping into the low 30¢s and even lower at higher elevations. We are considering taking a zero when the front & rain pass through and perhaps heading south to start our TG break.