Loft Mountain and Ivy Creek Spring - Appalachian Trail - Shenandoah National Park

This was a great hike in the Shenandoah National Park from the parking at Loft Mountain Wayside to Pinefield Hut and back. It is approximately 9.8 miles round trip and has a number of very nice viewpoints. This is one of the better short sections in SNP. I used the Frasier Discovery Trail to access the AT. It was a very nice uphill climb with an excellent viewpoint at the summit.   

As usual, I’ve posting some videos showing the trail, the shelter, legal campsites along this section of trail, and more importantly (to me) the springs. Ivy Creek Spring is very cool! 😊

The Pinefield Hut is a fairly standard 3 sided structure with an internal mezzanine and can sleep approximately 8…this night I think there was 11 crammed in there and a hammock.  There was a strong front forecast to come through overnight that drove most people into the shelter. I stayed in my ZPacks Duplex with no issue. It kept the driving rain and wind out! There is one privy at this location, a couple poles to hang food bags from. I did not see a food locker. The spring was pretty sad and barely flowing. The sign at the start of the blue blaze indicated there is trout in the stream which is open to fishing (with a valid license) – Nothing but rocks this time of year. LoL! Tent sites up the hill behind the Privy!

Map: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/2017_LoftMountain_RoadTrail-508.pdf

https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/SB_LoftMountainCampground-508.pdf

https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/images/SHEN-map-South.jpg

https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/maps.htm

A free permit is required to overnight in the park.  More information can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/campbc.htm

Watch my other hiking videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

My new trail name is now "Alpha Gal"!

I’d like to make a public service announcement to bring awareness to the tick borne illness called “Alpha Gal”.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy

This is a pretty serious allergy caused by the bite of the Lone Star Tick. Sometimes called Mammalian Meat Allergy (MMA), it has no cure.

This tick is present across the South and has spread to the Northeast. It is present in Shenandoah National Park and I was bitten by one (I removed it) and was later diagnosed with the allergy. In a nutshell, you become seriously allergic to red meat and dairy (anything that came from something with hair)! Beware of ticks, especially the white spotted ones, I never thought it would happen to me!

Pinefield Hut and Spring - Appalachian Trail - Shenandoah National Park

This was a great hike in the Shenandoah National Park, from the parking across from the Simmons Gap Ranger Station to Hightop Hut and back, and then flipped over to Pinefield Hut. It is approximately 17.3 miles round trip and has a couple persistent uphill sections of climb and a rewarding view just 0.5 miles south of Powell Gap. There are several soso tent sites between the two huts.   

As usual, I’ve posting some videos showing the trail, the shelter, legal campsites along this section of trail, and more importantly (to me) the springs. 😊

The Pinfield Hut is a fairly standard 3 sided structure with an internal mezzanine and can sleep approximately 8. There is one privy at this location, a couple poles to hang food bags from. I did not see a food locker. The spring was pretty sad and barely flowing. The sign at the start of the blue blaze indicated there is trout in the stream which is open to fishing (with a valid license) – Nothing but rocks this time of year. LoL! Tent sites up the hill behind the Privy!

Map: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/images/SHEN-map-South.jpg

https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/maps.htm

A free permit is required to overnight in the park.  More information can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/campbc.htm

Watch my other hiking videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

My new trail name is now "Alpha Gal"!

I’d like to make a public service announcement to bring awareness to the tick borne illness called “Alpha Gal”.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy

This is a pretty serious allergy caused by the bite of the Lone Star Tick. Sometimes called Mammalian Meat Allergy (MMA), it has no cure.

This tick is present across the South and has spread to the Northeast. It is present in Shenandoah National Park and I was bitten by one (I removed it) and was later diagnosed with the allergy. In a nutshell, you become seriously allergic to red meat and dairy (anything that came from something with hair)! Beware of ticks, especially the white spotted ones, I never thought it would happen to me!

Bass Fishing at St. Mary’s Lake

This started off as a quick trip down to St. Mary’s Lake to attempt to catch some fish. Rhino over at Bass Fishing SoMD has been tearing it up over at the lake and been posting some pretty cool YouTube vids. Check him out over at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsCD1fR9h7kLF1NsU0pETdA

Got there before sunrise and has a number of familiar characters paddle by. Not having a small boat myself, I was stuck on land at ‘the usual spots’. A friend of mine floated by on a two-person boat and I was able to thumb a ride out to the good spot! 😊

Turned out to be a fun day once the fish woke up. Jerk baits were the lure of choice.

Park information is located here: http://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/southern/stmarysriver.aspx

Watch my other hiking videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

Lewis Mountain Campground and Peak - Shenandoah National Park - Appalachian Trail

This was an easy hike to pick up some fragments of the AT between Bearfence Hut and Pocosin Cabin. I've now hiked a continuous path on the AT from the Mason Dixon Line at the Pennsylvania border to the HighTop Hut in the middle of Shenandoah National Park....twice because I hike as in-and-outs. That makes 321 miles. :)
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9iGmutJMjmWda6Gn1

This video was shot with an iPhone6 and the Zoom IQ7 microphone.
https://www.zoom-na.com/products/handy-recorder/zoom-iq7-professional-stereo-microphone-ios

https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-iQ7-Mid-Side-Microphone-Devices/dp/B00S9WNULM

Campground: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/Lewis_combined.pdf

Map: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/2017_SouthRiver_RoadTrail-508.pdf

A free permit is required to overnight in the park.  More information can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/campbc.htm

Watch my other hiking videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

My new trail name is now "Alpha Gal"!
I’d like to make a public service announcement to bring awareness to the tick borne illness called “Alpha Gal”.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy
This is a pretty serious allergy caused by the bite of the Lone Star Tick. Sometimes called Mammalian Meat Allergy (MMA), it has no cure.
This tick is present across the South and has spread to the Northeast. It is present in Shenandoah National Park and I was bitten by one (I removed it) and was later diagnosed with the allergy. In a nutshell, you become seriously allergic to red meat and dairy (anything that came from something with hair)! Beware of ticks, especially the white spotted ones, I never thought it would happen to me!

Get your Zen on!

South River Falls to Pocosin Cabin - Appalachian Trail VA. - Zoom IQ7

Skip to the second half of the video if you want to see the amazing South River Falls. These falls are in Shenandoah National Park. After hiking 7 miles on the AT, the steep 1.7 mile hike down to the base of the falls was a little tough. I was pooped on the way back up. The hike to the base of the falls is totally worth it. At 1.2 miles, there is a small viewpoint of the top of the falls from far away. It was rather disappointing. It's not obvious that there is a trail to the base of the falls. The sign in the parking lot does not mention it and there is no sign post until you pass the viewpoint as if you are doing the whole loop. The falls are slippery and dangerous - DO NOT CLIMB ON THE FALLS. There is no sign, and as you can see in the video, there was someone climbing on the falls when I arrived. I did manage to find a bushwhack route clockwise around to the upper part of the falls. Portions of it are a bit precarious. Go up there at your own risk. There is a deep pool at the bottom of the top section of falls. The person there before me swam in it and said they could not find the bottom! The beginning of the video is a short section of AT between South River Falls parking and Pocosin cabin. The spring at Pocosin was flowing, but barely. A few hundred feet downstream of the spring, the water flows under the service road. The flow was much stronger there! This video was shot with my new Zoom IQ7 stereo microphone. It works pretty good, although I almost lost it over the falls...  :( Another thing I've noted about the pattern is that it is optimized for the front of the phone, which means that the camera operator's voice is a bit off. I need to do some more testing to characterize this!
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rdPR5txnB654puBm2

https://www.zoom-na.com/products/handy-recorder/zoom-iq7-professional-stereo-microphone-ios

https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-iQ7-Mid-Side-Microphone-Devices/dp/B00S9WNULM

Map: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/2017_SouthRiver_RoadTrail-508.pdf

A free permit is required to overnight in the park.  More information can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/campbc.htm

Watch my other hiking videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa

My new trail name is now "Alpha Gal"!
I’d like to make a public service announcement to bring awareness to the tick borne illness called “Alpha Gal”.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy
This is a pretty serious allergy caused by the bite of the Lone Star Tick. Sometimes called Mammalian Meat Allergy (MMA), it has no cure.
This tick is present across the South and has spread to the Northeast. It is present in Shenandoah National Park and I was bitten by one (I removed it) and was later diagnosed with the allergy. In a nutshell, you become seriously allergic to red meat and dairy (anything that came from something with hair)! Beware of ticks, especially the white spotted ones, I never thought it would happen to me!