Victoria Logue - The Best of the Appalachian Trail: Day Hikes

Book list

Also by Victoria and Frank Logue

T HE B EST OF THE A PPALACHIAN T RAIL : O VERNIGHT H IKES

T HE A PPALACHIAN T RAIL H IKER

A PPALACHIAN T RAIL F UN B OOK

Also by Victoria Logue

H IKING AND B ACKPACKING : E SSENTIAL S KILLS TO A DVANCED T ECHNIQUES

G UIDE TO THE B LUE R IDGE P ARKWAY

Also by Leonard M. Adkins

T HE A PPALACHIAN T RAIL : A VI SITOR S C OMPANION

W ILDFLOWERS OF THE A PPALACHIAN T RAIL

W ALKING THE B LUE R IDGE :

A G UIDE TO THE T RAILS OF THE B LUE R IDGE P ARKWAY

50 H IKES IN S OUTHERN V IRGINIA :

F ROM THE C UMBERLAND G AP TO THE A TLANTIC O CEAN

50 H IKES IN N ORTHERN V IRGINIA : W ALKS , H IKES, AND B ACKPACKS

FROM THE A LLEGHENY M OUNTAINS TO THE C HESAPEAKE B AY

50 H IKES IN M ARYLAND : W ALKS , H IKES, AND B ACKPACKS FROM THE

A LLEGHENY P LATEAU TO THE A TLANTIC OCEAN

M ARYLAND : A N E XPLORER S G UIDE

A DVENTURE G UIDE TO V IRGINIA

T HE C ARIBBEAN : A W ALKING AND H IKING G UIDE

W ILDFLOWERS OF THE B LUE R IDGE AND G REAT S MOKY M OUNTAINS

The hikes in this book describe the route of the Appalachian Trail at the time of publication. The Trail is occasionally relocated and the route may differ at the time of your hike. Severe damage to the Trail caused by storms may impact your hike as well. If the white blazes differ from the hike described in this book,
follow the trail as it is marked. Neither the authors nor the publishers can guarantee your safety on the hikes described in this book. Use caution and your best judgment.

Note: Water sources are identified for hikers convenience, but this is not an endoresment of their purity.

All water should be treated before consuming.

1994, 2004 by Victoria and Frank Logue and Leonard M. Adkins

All rights reserved

Printed in Canada

Published by Menasha Ridge Press and The Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Second edition, second printing, 2007

Hiker cover shot by Ron Watts/Corbis

Text and design by Palace Press International

Cartography by Travis Bryant

Typesetting by Annie Long

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Logue, Victoria, 1961

The best of the Appalachian Trail: day hikes/Victoria and Frank Logue.2nd ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 10: 0-89732-527-3

ISBN 13: 978-0-89732-527-1

1. HikingAppalachian TrailGuidebooks. 2. Appalachian TrailGuidebooks.

I. Logue, Frank, 1963 II. Title.

GV199.42.A68L646 2004

796.510974--dc22 2004048

Menasha Ridge Press

P.O. Box 43673

Birmingham, AL 35243

www.menasharidge.com

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

P.O. Box 807

Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

www.appalachiantrail.org

In memory of Hulda Kramp Kelly: a great lady, a good friend, and the best grandmother a girl could have.Victoria

Dedicated to the thousands of volunteers, past, present, and future, who make our ramblings on the Appalachian Trail possible. Your efforts are appreciated and do not go unnoticed.Leonard

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

A BOOK IS NEVER THE WORK OF THE AUTHOR OR AUTHORS ALONE . W E WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK THE MANY PEOPLE WHO TOOK TIME OUT OF THEIR BUSY SCHEDULES TO ASSIST US .

L EONARD WOULD LIKE TO THANK : M ICHAEL A LPER , B ATONA H IKING C LUB ; N ANCY D. A NTHONY , N ATURAL B RIDGE A PPALACHIAN T RAIL C LUB ; J EFF B UEHLER , S USQUEHANNA A PPALACHIAN T RAIL C LUB ; V. C OLLINS C HEW , T ENNESSEE E ASTMAN H IKING C LUB ; K ITTY F ARLEY , M OUNT R OGERS A PPALACHIAN T RAIL C LUB ; D ORIS G OVE , S MOKY M OUNTAINS H IKING C LUB ; E DWARD F. K ENNA , JR., P HILADELPHIA T RAIL C LUB ; H OWARD M CDONALD , C AROLINA M OUNTAIN C LUB ; A NDREW N ORKIN , A MC W HITE M OUNTAINS T RAILS M ANAGER ; H ERBERT O GDEN , G REEN M OUNTAIN C LUB ; C HARLES P ERRY , R OANOKE A PPALACHIAN T RAIL C LUB ; B ILL R OGERS , T IDEWATER A PPALACHIAN T RAIL C LUB ; L EE S HEAFFER , P OTOMAC A PPALACHIAN T RAIL C LUB ; V AUGHN T HOMAS , P IEDMONT A PPALACHIAN T RAIL H IKERS ; M ELANIE W ERTZ , C UMBERLAND V ALLEY A PPALACHIAN T RAIL M ANAGEMENT A SSOCIATION THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE MANUSCRIPTS FOR ACCURACY . A NY ERRORS THAT MAY REMAIN ARE OURS AND NOT YOURS .

B RIAN B. K ING , ATC D IRECTOR OF P UBLIC A FFAIRS THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT THROUGH THE MANY YEARS .

D R . S TEPHEN L EWIS , C AROLINE C HARONKO , T ERRY C UMMING , AND S USIE S URFAS THANK YOU FOR THE MANY EXTRA YEARS OF TRAIL LIFE YOU HAVE GIVEN ME .

N ANCY A DKINS LOVE YOU FOREVER , M OM .

K ATHLEEN , J OHN , T IM, AND J AY Y ELENIC LOVE YOU TOO .

L AURIE WHO COULD EVER HAVE IMAGINED I WOULD FIND YOU? Y OU ARE MY PERFECT COMPANION THROUGH THE TRAILS OF LIFE .

F RANK AND V ICTORIA WOULD LIKE TO THANK : L EONARD, HEARTFELT THANKS FOR TAKING ON THE LIONS SHARE OF THIS PROJECT, WHICH MADE KEEPING THESE BOOKS UP-TO-DATE POSSIBLE .

I NTRODUCTION

R ED LEAVES RUSTLE IN THE WIND AND BREAK LOOSE FROM THEIR BRANCHES . T HE SOFT SOUND MADE BY THOUSANDS OF LEAVES AS THEY FALL ONTO THE ALREADY LITTERED FOREST FLOOR CAN BARELY BE HEARD OVER THE BURBLING, PATTERING, AND SPLASHING SOUNDS FROM L ITTLE B LACK B RANCH . T HE SMALL CREEK RUNS ALONGSIDE THE A PPALACHIAN T RAIL ON A HIKE FROM F OREST S ERVICE 10 TO L ITTLE R OCK P OND . W E WALK OVER TO THE STREAM TO SHOW OUR YOUNG DAUGHTER, G RIFFIN, THE WATER SHE COULD HEAR SPLASHING JUST OFF THE TRAIL . I N A WIDE, SHALLOW POOL, RED MAPLE LEAVES CIRCLE AROUND AND AROUND, CAUGHT IN AN EDDY . T HE WET LEAVES SEEM IRIDESCENT, LIT BY THE SUNLIGHT STREAMING THROUGH THE TREES ON THIS CRISP O CTOBER MORNING .

T HAT SHORT, EASY HIKE WAS THE PERFECT WAY TO SPEND THE MORNING . T HERE WAS PLENTY OF TIME FOR G RIFFIN TO GET DOWN AND WALK ON HER OWN, AND THE POND SURROUNDED BY V ERMONT S PEAK FOLIAGE WAS A TREMENDOUS SIGHT .

This book was written to introduce you to just that kind of experiencethe best day hikes on the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail.

H ISTORY OF THE A PPALACHIAN T RAIL

The idea for a trail running the length of the Appalachian Mountains was first considered in the early part of the twentieth century. The Appalachian Trail, as we know it, was the vision of Benton MacKaye (rhymes with sky) and others who had been thinking about the concept for more than ten years. In 1921, MacKaye took the initiative and launched the project through an article in The Journal of the American Institute of Architects.

In that first article, MacKaye wrote about the purpose of the Trail:

There would be a chance to catch a breath, to study the dynamic forces of nature and the possibilities of shifting to them the burdens now carried on the backs of men Industry would come to be seen in its true perspectives a means in life and not as an end in itself.

MacKayes original intent was to construct a trail from the highest peak in the North to the highest peak in the Southfrom Mount Washington (New Hampshire) to Mount Mitchell (North Carolina). He envisioned a fourfold plan including the trail, shelters, community camps, and food and farm camps. The camps never came about. And although MacKayes larger economic plan for the Appalachian Trail never gained support, his main purposean opportunity for American families to commune with natureis the reason for the trails continuing existence today.

Within a year after MacKayes article appeared in the architectural journal, the New YorkNew Jersey Trail Conference began work on a new trail with the goal of making it part of the Appalachian Trail. In the Hudson River Valley, the new Bear Mountain Bridge would connect a planned section in New England with Harriman State Park and eventually with Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania.