ECT- Mount Rogers Area, VA- Nov. 15-17

“i mentioned this before and it is time to get it going. there is an outing being planned for november 15, 16, 17 somewhere in the mount rogers/grayson highlands area in southwest virginia. no set trails yet but i will be setting up a couple of different itenaries. one will have longer miles than the other, but end up camping in the same area. the area offers miles of open balds, high rock outcroppings, hardwood forest and dense spruce/fir forest. mount rogers is also the highest point in virginia. we could also head to the rhodedendrun gap area, set a base camp and day hike from there. there are possibilities for 3-30 mile (and most any distance in between) loops from this area.

walkindude, put it on your calendar. rad, i will keep you posted also.

anyone that is interested and wants to get in on any e-mailings that may come about, my email is mccracdb_1@msn.com”

“I don't have a November trip yet, so this could be it!”

“I was just thinkin the other day how I would like to check this area out so iffin the creek don't rise I'm in on this one.My last two TT outings have been riddled with problems.Last October the Shining Rocks trip almost froze and the 3rd Annual Linville Gorge trip I screwed all up! Keep me posted!”

“well spam i am, i am spam. it will be good to see you again. hope you can make it. shall i bring the tortillas or eggs?”

“Now I'm sorry I moved to NH and I'll be missing this trip. Mount Rogers was my first TT trip way back in June '99.”

“Y'all might get a yankee or 2 interested in this. My interest is peaked.”

“friday:

park in the lot where the AT crosses sr 603 (right near the fox creek horse camp). sr 603 is a paved road. hike south on the AT to old orchard shelter (1.7 miles). make camp. there is plenty of tent sites. open field and wooded. spring for water. late arrivals can make the easy uphill hike to the shelter in the dark or camp near the trail head (there are plenty of campsite at/near the fox creek horse camp) and hike up to the shelter area in the morning. early arrivals can explore the many other trails near the shelter (old orchard trail, old orchard spur trail, lewis fork trail). the old orchard shelter is on the edge of the lewis fork wilderness area.

saturday:

many options available. i plan on taking the AT south to the rhododendron gap area (about 10 miles). this will take you by the scales, down into grayson highlands state park, and up by (or over if you wish) wilburn ridge and the fat mans squeeze. many expansive views from the balds and rock cliffs of wilburn ridge, pine mountain and walking across the highlands. other options of less miles would be 1) to take the AT south to the pine mountain trail, then the pine mountain trail to the rhododendron gap area. this would be about 4 miles total and allow for you to explore the rocks and cliffs wilburn ridge by taking the wilburn ridge trail or make a 2.5 mile round trip to virginia's high point atop mount rogers, without your pack. 2)combine the old orchard, lewis fork and cliffside trails in any combination to get between 3-5 miles to the rhododendron gap area and take some day hikes from there.

sunday:

i plan on continueing south on the AT to the mount rogers trail, taking the mount rogers trail down to the fairwood valley trail, then taking the fair wood valley trail to the AT across the road from the cars. this will be 8-9 miles and will include a side trip to the top of mount rogers. those wishing for lower miles can take a route not covered the day before (lewis fork trail, pine mountain trail, cliffside trail, AT) to loop back to the vehicles without having to backtrack over any trail already covered. these routes could range from 5-7 miles.

anyone coming in on saturday that would like to get to the high country quickly could park at the massie gap parking area in grayson highlands state park and hike 3+- miles to the rhododendron gap area, this will take you up over the balds and rocks of the wilburn ridge area to meet up with the group on saturday night. there is a small fee to park at the trail head in the state park ($2?).”

“I'm there dude!!”

“I thought YOU were "The Dude"?”

“I'm the Walkindude!
I can see all the world!

-Anthrax-
Among the Living”

“i heard that all of the bugs in the whole wide world are gonna be there, that weekend!!! and it's gonna be 107 degrees during the day and -48 degrees at night!!!”

“I'l just be there at night.”

“so will the bugs. ALL OF THEM!!!”

“That sounds like a plan. I think I'll be making this trip.”

“They make Polor Fleece for bugs now?!?!”

“Darn! Wrong dates for me (no vac. left). Have a good time!!”

“Okay I checked my email this morning only to find out that I have a seminar on the 15-16 of November. Now I got to see what I can do to get out of it!”

“Play dumb?”

“Root for Navy!”

“temps for that weekend.

average high - 50 deg.
average low - 33 deg.

these temps are for the village of whitetop, which is at about 3500 ft. the camps at rhododendron gap are around 5500 ft.”

“Now I like those temps!!”

“he means celsius.”

“Is this a guy's only trip or can this blonde Texas gal tag along too? I bring all my own gear and only share a tent if the temps go below freezing.

Tex”

“Your welcom under my tarp but if I bring the bivy you'll have to shack up with somebody else.”

“This sounds like a great trip. Only problem is I have been planning another Nov. hike (for which the dates have not been determined) and I probably can't do both. But I will keep this one in mind.”

“Thanks, WD, but I hope not to have to "shack up". It has to be pretty dern cold for me to need to shack up with someone. LOL

Sleeping under a tarp would be a new experience for me!

Tex”

“This trip sounds great! and I don't have anything scheduled for Nov as of yet.”

“hey baume, is that village you mentioned a good point to use for drive time?
haven't seen any Virginia AT yet.”

“mapquest says 7.5 hrs from cincy to whitetop. is it farther or closer? i guess i "could" figure it out myself”

“you could probably knock at least 1/2 hour off of that, probably an hour. jerbear has driven it from akron more than once. maybe he will post something here about that.”

“It says about 7.5 hrs for me too, but I'm betting it will only take about 6.

This is from north Alabama, BTW.”

“check how long to marion or wytheville. then subtract 1/2 hour.

i would say around 6.5 hrs from cincy.”

“How many people will the Old Orchard Shelter hold?
Where do you plan to camp on Saturday?”

“Old Orchard shelter will house 4-6 people depending on how good of friends they are, if I remember correctly. A breezy night will let you know there's not much chinking between logs in that shelter but it does have a scenic view out the shelter front.

Anyone with an idea/interest for a couple more days added on to this trip to entice someone from farther away?”

“yep, that's the one, and it has a beautiful new privy.

i wish i could get more time off for this one cow patty, but i don't think it will be possible.

saturday night will be somewhere around rhododendron gap. following the AT south from where pine mountain trail and wilburn ridge trail intersect it, it is about a mile more to the thomas knob shelter. there are unlimited campsites between the two. i'm not sure but i don't think you are allowed to tent camp in the immediate area around the thomas knob shelter. the thomas knob shelter is two stories and will hold at least 16 by my memory. maybe more. there is a spring in rhododendron gap and a spring near the thomas knob shelter. the thomas knob shelter is about 3/4 mile from the high point on mount rogers. it also has a privy nearby. no campfires allowed at the thomas knob shelter if that matters to anyone.”

“I had forgotten about that!

I do recall that the water source for the Old Orchard shelter area is a beautious lil spring.

And agree that the Thomas Knob shelter will house 16-20 people.

Baume 66 - Hmmm, I'm thinking & will mull this over a bit.”

“One of the guys in my office may want to come on this trip. Depends on what his hunting trip dates are.”

“come one, come all!”

“6.5? im so there. i was gonna come when i thought it was 8. gonna be nice and cold and windy up there, isn't it?
no tent camping? you guys better not be holdin in the gas til the end of the day.”

“akron-dayton, it's all the same from richmond.”

“I have this on my radar screen. Where could I fly into..anyone driving by a major airport that could pick me up on the way?

If the logistics work out and I can get from Texas to there, I'll come.

Please keep me posted. Thanks!

Tex”

“Tex, sheesh, with 5.5 weeks of vacation and an unlimited airline budget, is there any trip you're NOT going on????

Virginia, Maine, Florida.....

;)”

“Wahhooo! Looks good to me and TWB! As of right now we're in unless anything unforseen happens.

baume66, keep me in the loop with plans for this one.

Tex- Raleigh Durham (where we live) is a major airport. grayson Highlands is about a three and a half hour drive for us. We'll be glad to pick you up, take you there and put you up before and after as needed!”

“Fyi, A crew of us were there over Labor Day. The spring at Rhododendron Gap is flowing nicely. The crowds were tremendous at Thomas Knob...tents everywhere and a big party going on. My guess would be that in Nov. the whole area would be fairly empty. The Pine Mtn. trail is very nice...lotsa views and easy hiking. Wilburn Ridge is a must see...nothing like the Southern Appalachians, more like the north. Btw, the weather is truly unpredictable there...I've seen it snow one day and be 60 degrees the next. Y'all have a blast!!”

“If some of us get there early enough on Friday, We could set up a shuttle at Va 600 or Whitetop Mountain Road.
It'll be nice to finally meet you Pamster!!”

“This one looks good for us as well. Just keep us posted and we'll see you there.”

“Does this mean Virginians will shoot me with the shotguns if I stand on top the highest moutain?”

“As of now I'm planning on making this trip. Maybe us folks in North AL can ride up together.”

“Sounds like a plan, MDS!”

“it's still crowded in november. boy scouts, girl scouts, locals... you name it. they're all there!”