A.T. Hike to Manassas Gap Shelter

 Sunday, September 6, 2020

Hi Blog!

Happy Labor Day Weekend! While Matt, Weina and William enjoy some beach time at the Jersey Shore, we have the weekend to ourselves. We started on Saturday with a campfire barbecue complete with fire roasted corn, coleslaw and ribs. We got a great tip for a delicious BBQ sauce from the Enterprise associate that checked us in when we returned our rental car on Friday. He suggested we mix Jamaican Jerk seasoning with some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce. The result was amazing!

On Sunday, we started the day by putting together a crockpot gumbo. With the gumbo on a slow simmer and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in our packs, we drove back up to the Appalachian Trail to hike north from the same trailhead we hiked last Sunday. 

Here we are at the trailhead:

The trail stated with a bridge over a small tributary of Goose Creek.

We stopped in the middle of the bridge to watch the sun dance on the babbling brook.

A good hike would not be complete without a few "fun guys."

As we hiked up the ridge, we passed several sections of old rock wall that were once used by farmers who grazed cattle along the ridge.

The Appalachian Trail often follows old forest road. When it does, it makes for nice, wide, level hiking. It's a nice break from walking on rocks!

After two miles, we entered the G.R. Thompson State Wildlife Management Area. We noticed the yellow blazes that marked the boundary and ventured off trail to see if we could follow the old boundary trail. However, the forest did not want to give up its secrets. The dense brush made difficult hiking, so we returned to the AT.

One of the most popular activities in the Thompson WMA is viewing wildflowers where the higher elevations make remarkable displays. Even now, at the send of Summer, we are treated with colorful displays.

We reached the junction with the Ted Lake Trail. We had planned to hike three miles out and three miles back. However, when we saw how close we were to the Manassas Gap Shelter, we decided to make that our lunch spot and turnaround.

Here is our first look at the Manassas Gap Shelter.

This shelter was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps around 1933. Like many of the shelters along the Trail, the Manassas Gap Shelter resided on private land for many decades. Built from chestnut logs, the shelter is a simple lean-to with three walls. Until the 1980s there were also bunks across the back of the structure, but these were removed in the 1980s during a restoration of the shelter. Here, Kathy takes a well deserved rest after a hike well hiked.

 

While Kathy rested, Dave explored. He found the shelter trail journal. Unfortunately, the old journal was replaced with a new version that only started on September 1st. The first entry reads as follows:

"Welcome to the Manassas Gap Shelter, one of the oldest shelters on the AT. This section of trail between Linden and Paris is the oldest piece of the AT south of the Susquehanna River. It was first begun by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) volunteers in the late 1920s.  Copperheads live in the rocks just beyond the picnic table and like to hang out in the fire pit, so keep an eye out for them while you're here."

A covered spring is just downslope from the shelter.

Water is the most important resource thru-hikers must learn to manage on the Appalachian Trail. Shelters and popular campsites are also usually positioned within reach of a water source. Guidebooks, apps, and some maps will mark the locations of viable water sources for hikers to take advantage of. It is highly recommended that all hikers carry with them some form of water treatment method. These typically come in the form of a filter or chemical treatment. We always like to hike with all the water we need, so unless we are backpacking, we don't bring our water filter.

Because of the high number of thru-hikers that use the shelter, a privy is located nearby.

After munching our lunch, we returned to the trail. Our hike back to the trailhead was mostly downhill. We met a number of afternoon hikers taking advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend. 

Now it was time to head home and enjoy a big bowl of gumbo!

Tomorrow, we hope to celebrate the 28th anniversary of our first date with hoagies from Wawa and some cool jazz. While we won't be able to attend the Chads Ford Winery Jazz Fest, we did learn that the Detroit Jazz Fest is streaming online tomorrow. If you care to join us, just click the link.