Tag Archives: beagle gap

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AT-VA Turk Gap to Beagle Gap

I left off telling the story of our hiking weekend back in March to attend my dad’s funeral.  It has been hard getting back to writing on the blog since then.  I wasn’t particularly close to my dad, but he was an enigmatic force and all things “Albert” could have a lasting affect on all who knew him. Alzheimer’s paired with old age got him in the end…but what a life he led!

One thing I had in common with him was his love for the woods.  So it is back to the woods we go!

Earlier in the weekend, Shenandoah National Park had been closed due to snow and ice.  It had opened AFTER we had started hiking on the previous day hiking AT – VA Rockfish Gap to Beagle Gap .  What a difference a day made!

Driving to Turk Gap we dodged an army of squirrels intent on licking up something that was on the road, possibly salt.  The road was clear, the sky was blue, and the snow was still pristine in many spots.  Evidence of other hikers was there, but still lovely!

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Capital Cheezy Shot at the Trail Head 😀

This section took us down, down, down to a lovely stream valley, then up, up, up Calf Mountain.  In the snow.  Trudge, trudge, trudge…it was kicking my butt!  I was making my best effort to love winter, but honestly, after this weekend I didn’t care to see another flake of snow for a looooonnnnnnggg time!!

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This gorgeous view was the first road crossing at an overlook.  Regardless of how I feel hiking in snow today, I absolutely go all gaga for this kind of view!

I waited so long to write up this section on the blog that is is now long past winter and warm weather has arrived.  And I use the definition of warm from the Mid-Atlantic weather dictionary…hot, muggy, and what the hell happened to Spring???

So, it is with a bit wistful yearning that I revisit this section. 😀

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Climbing Calf Mountain … hiking friends helpful on this snowy climb! However, the snow had been melting all day. Out in the distance there are snow free mountains!

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After that climb I AM NOT hiking down 0.3 miles to take a gander at the Calf Mountain Shelter. Just no.

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Hallefrickenlujah!!!!! The summit of Calf Mountain! YES, YES, YES!!! Now where is my damn sticker?

After the Summit of Calf Mountain, it was pretty smooth sailing, thankfully!  One more lesser summit on Little Calf Mountain, then down the field to the cars closing out out our hiking weekend.

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Summit of LIttle Calf Mountain-JUST LOOK AT THE SKY!!!

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View from Little Calf Summit – A very nice closer! Well done Appalachian Trail, well done indeed!

Three great hikes with four great gals! Hike On!

 

 

 

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AT – VA Rockfish Gap to Beagle Gap

March 24, still not spring!

The hiking weekend to kick off my spring break…ha!  The house we rented in Staunton, Virginia is lovely and made a great place to plan out alternative hikes…or as I like to think of them, plan B, C, D…

After the hike at Trimble Mountain, we knew that the chances of Shenandoah National Park being open in the morning were pretty close to ZERO.  Throw the maps out on the table and discuss a few possibilities.  None of them were as appealing as hiking the AT, which was Plan A.  We had already used up Plan B at Trimble Mountain, so we went with Plan C, an out and back on the AT starting at Rockfish Gap.  We would hike to McCormick Gap and back…about 7.5 miles.  In the deep snow that would be enough!

Yes, a plan!  We parked at the old HoJo’s at Rockfish Gap and made our way over to the south entrance and cut-off to the AT where we donned our microspikes and headed up into the woods.  Another gorgeous day!

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We were lucky several had passed this way before us packing down the snow a bit on the trail.  It was still icy, so microspikes had been a good call!  We trudged uphill, taking occasional breaks to catch our breath, let the heart rates return to normal, and to generally take in the quiet, snow-laden forest that surrounded us.  Until the crow saw us…he chattered non-stop, either saying hello or get the heck out of my territory… not sure which, but he was quite animated!

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Then I heard it. The hum, the slap of melted snow runoff on moving tires, Skyline Drive must have been opened.  At first one car, then silence.  As we neared McCormick Gap, the number of cars on the drive had picked up considerably…the word was out!

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We stopped for a break at McCormick Gap and made a decision to continue to Beagle Gap and hitch a ride back to Rockfish for the car.  The Hiking Weekend Adventure was in full throttle!

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I was excited!  Reaching the top of the mountain there are several communication towers and oddly enough, tractor seats.  I had seen them many times in pictures and looked forward to breaking there and having a sit-down before descending to Beagle Gap.  It was everything I expected and we all took a nice rest in those tractor chairs!

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The sun was trying to make its way out of the clouds.  Lola pointed out that a rainbow had formed around it.  I looked up, and up, and back, and up, and then…oh gawd…I was falling out of the chair! All I could think was, not today, please, not today, the ground is wet, the ground is muddy…no, no, no, this would NOT happen to me today!  I struggled to keep myself in the chair by one-arming myself off the ground, believe me, not a particularly ballerina moment in my life! 😀  But ladies and gents, it worked!

I arrived at Beagle Gap, high and dry…AAROOOOO!  Hike On!