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!