I'm finally starting to get over my pleurisy and I have been dying to "get out there" so yesterday morning I did a little research on line and found the AT-Loudoun Heights Loop hike in WV-VA-MD. This 12.1 mile hike starts at the Appalachian Trail at the Keys Gap trailhead, goes north and loops around Harpers Ferry, WV, then joins the AT again and retraces south back to the Keys Gap trailhead.
"Perfect day hike" I thought. It was a little long for my first exercise in over a month but I would walk slowly, take breaks, and enjoy being out. I planned on the hike taking 6 hours - 2 miles per hour.
I brought a daypack with an internal frame that also holds a big
Nalgene reservoir
. I had a lot of snacks and some jerky for protein. I brought my
Columbia sandals with me as well. These sandals have a super-grippy Vibram sole and they are great for hiking. They give good traction. You don't get blisters of hot spots because your feet get plenty of air. You can cross creeks and rivers by just walking through them.
I started out on the trail along an old wire fence.
On the AT at Keys Gap WV 7-5-08
and then the trail left the fence and headed deeper into some forest. The trail was very rocky and at some points the trail looked like someone came by and dumped large 1-2 foot wide rocks all over the trail. I believe that for the first four miles I stepped on rock more than I stepped on dirt.
At one point the trail entered a meadow that was a clearing for large high-tension power lines. I've never been under power lines like this before and I could hear the electricity humming and crackling very loudly. It was kind of eerie. I passed the power lines again when I was returning to Keys Gap. Here is a shot of the power lines each time:
A long Day
After four miles the AT joins the Loudoun Heights Loop Trail.
Which Way?
I turned left and continued to follow the AT on a series of switchbacks down a very steep hill. I crossed a road and continued the steep descent. Here and there stone steps were placed on the trail to aid the descent.
Rock Stairs Compliments of PATC
The trail finally came to the bridge on Route 340 that crosses the Shenandoah River. I walked on the side of the bridge and made an immediate right toward Harpers Ferry. As soon as I made the right there was a small trail entry blazed white that went up a steep embankment and climbed to the bluffs above Harpers Ferry. At the top of the bluff I took a blue-blazed side trail that led me through the Storer University campus to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters. This is the organization that owns all of the Appalachian Trail land and maintains the trail.
ATC HQ
Here I got a drink, talked to some SOBO backpackers, and read a little about the history of the Appalachian Trail. Then I followed the blue blazes back to the AT and promptly came to Jefferson Rock.
Jefferson Rock
Jefferson Rock sits high above Harpers Ferry and from here you have an excellent view of the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Thomas Jefferson was so impressed with the view from this rock that he wrote "this scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic". See
http://www.nps.gov/archive/hafe/jeffrock.htm for more of Thomas Jefferson's dramatic description of this view.
The View From Jefferson Rock
This is the Potomac river as seen from Jefferson Rock.
The trail then goes down into historic Harpers Ferry. There are actually white AT blazes along the street. I've never noticed them before. Once through the town you walk along an old iron railroad bridge to cross the Potomac. On the other side of the bridge is Maryland and the C&O Canal towpath. The AT follows the towpath for about a mile to MD 340. Here you leave the towpath and climb up to 340. The 340 bridge has a very narrow walkway and you use this to cross the Potomac again, into Virginia. The trail has you follow 340 against traffic on the left hand side for about a quarter mile. Then there is a small path with a sign that says "Loudoun Heights Trail".
The Loudon Heights trail is blazed blue and it begins climbing immediately. Through a series of steep switchbacks it climbs 300 feet to a rock outcropping across the rivers from Harpers Ferry and 600 feet above sea-level.
The MD 340 Bridge Across the Potomac
Harpers Ferry seen from Loudoun Heights
After leaving the bluff, the trail continues climbing up to 1200 feet and follows this ridge line back to the Appalachian Trail where I initially turned left. When I got to this point I was completely exhausted. I felt like I couldn't walk anymore. I checked my GPS and the trip computer said I had gone 13.7 miles. It sure felt like it, but the whole loop was only supposed to be 12.1 miles and I had 4 to go.
I took the last four miles very slowly, walking easily. The sun was getting low in the sky and the trail was starting to darken. I passed four tents set up on this leg of the Appalachian Trail- through hikers who were stopping for the night after another hard but rewarding day on the trail.
When I made it back to the car I checked the trip computer on my GPS again. 17.8 miles. I was hoping, (or not actually) that my GPS was inaccurate and measuring mileage shorter than it really was, but the GPS, the sign that said 4 miles, and the guidebook were all right about this distance. It sure felt like I had walked nearly 18 miles. The trip took me 7 and a half hours and the GPS said I averaged 3.1 mph when I was moving. I went farther and faster than I set out to do, and I have been very sick for the past month.
I want to do this loop again sometime soon, but hit the Loudon Heights early in the morning. As it was I was shooting into harsh sunlight and a lot of haze and my pictures toward Harpers Ferry were very bad. In the morning the sun would be to my back shining onto Harpers Ferry instead of above it shining into my lens. I really want to see the view from there at peak color in the fall...
