Appalachian Trail 2010

Best of 501 to 1012.8

Alright, finally some time to do the best of #2! This is from Mile 501 on Pine Mtn to Harpers Ferry.

Best View:
-Chestnut Knob Shelter, Va: 561.8, elevation 4,409
-Rice Field Shelter, Va: 633.2, 3,375
-McAfee Knob: 703.0, 3,197
-Cold Mtn: 802.7, 4,022
-Rock Spring Hut, Shenandoah: 917.7, 3465
-Crescent Rock, WVa: 996.9, 1,312

Best Section:
-Va606 to Wapiti Shelter: Miles 602-609.8
-Hazeltop Mtn, Shenandoah: 909.7
-Sky Meadows State Park: 977.6

Best Food:
-The Barn: Atkins, Va. Cheap, very good hiker food. Right on trail.
-Exxon station at Atkins, Va.
-Ming Garden, Waynesboro, Va. Best Chinese buffet out there.
-Trents Grocery, Va: Cheap, cheap burgers….good pulloff for a burger.
-3 Little Pigs BBQ: Daleville, Va
-Big Meadows Wayside, Shenandoah: worth stopping in to resupply and get dinner before heading to the next shelter.
-Cannonball Deli, Harpers Ferry: affordable, good deli food.
-Secret Six Tavern, Harpers Ferry: lots of history, good view, good food.

Best Hostel:
-Woodshole, Pearisburg, Va. So much history with this hostel, excellent homemade food, very comfortable setting.
-Bears Den hostel, on the rollercoaster section of Va/WVa. Owned by the ATC, run by the PATC. Stopped for a rest, but one of the cleanest hostels I’d seen.

Best Non-Hostel:
-The Relax Inn, Atkins. Very much a low down motel, but the people are very friendly and it is on the trail.

Best Town:
-Waynesboro, Va. There are Trail Angels galore to shuttle you around and everything is in decent walking distance. Very friendly town.

Best Climb:
-Apple Orchard Mtn/Guillotine, 760.1/760.4

Crappy Climb:
-Audie Murphy Monument: 681.7, 3,100: just, up up up and up. ick.
-Johns Hollow Shelter to Rocky Row Trail: 777.6-779.6. was humid and practically straight up.
-Chimney Rocks/Three Ridges: 3190/3870, 828.1/829.4: A nearly 3,000′ elevation gain from the Tye River. Long, steep and annoying…not very well blazed either.
-Rollercoaster, Va/WVa: this really isn’t that big of a deal, it is just annoying.

Best Campsite/Shelter:
-Partnership Shelter: 527.3: You can order pizza and there is supposedly a shower. What more can you want?
-1/4 mile north of Jenkins Shelter in Va: You will cross a small stream and there is a campsite on a small little island. Worth camping here instead of the shelter.
-Seeley-Woodsworth, Va: 811.7: Just a pretty little site. Loved the lighting here.
-Blackburn Trail Center: 1001.6: Run by the PATC. If you catch it right the caretaker sometimes makes dinner for the hikers. The shelter is an enclosed cabin with bunks.

Best Outfitter:
-Harpers Ferry Outfitter
-Outdoor Trails in Daleville, Va.

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