Saturday morning, David, Daniel, Jen, Carrie, and I met up at Vienna to head out on our long-planned and much anticipated trip to the southern Shenandoah district. Almost immediately, we were improvising, as the route that Booty-less (Carrie) and I had so carefully planned weeks in advance relied on Skyline Drive being open. There was the smell of snow in the air, and even a whiff results in Skyline Drive being shut. We sallied forth anyway, heading to western base of the Shenandoah, where Paine Run flows from the mountains. The parking lot was dodgy, and a hunting dog barked at us warily, but there was no sign saying we couldn't park there ... so we did.
(Here, we used my brand-new scale to weigh everyone's packs. The results will remain confidential, but we had a lot of fun giving each other grief. Let's just say that we ranged from 24lbs total pack weight to 44lbs.)
We walked in along Paine Run, jumped a few creeks, and were soon off on the big climb of Trayfoot Mountain. Though there was no snow at the base, we weren't very high up before a coating of snow blanketed every tree, limb, and branch. It was a winter wonderland. From Trayfoot, we descended to Furnace Mountain and to the valley where SR 663 runs into the Austin Mountain Trail. We saw a lot more people than we would have guessed on these trails, but that pretty much stopped once we got up high the next day. As we started the climb up Austin Mountain, we encountered a local, who was very friendly, but had an accent like some of the folks on "Moonshiners." We almost needed subtitles. He did not tell us, "You're all gonna die up there!"
It was about 3:30pm or so when we turned west on the Rockytop Trail, and in one of those fortuitous moments of trail magic, we rounded the western face of Rockytop just in time for a purplish sunset over Shenandoan Valley--definitely one of the trip's highlights. For the last little bit of descent into Big Run, we affixed our head lamps. In the valley, we quickly found a pleasant campsite I remembered from a previous trip. Though it was cool (in the 20s), I guess, we enjoyed our dinners, our flasks of whisky and rye, and were soon off to bed.
On Sunday, I had planned for us to walk all the way back down to Riprap, but we were be-deviled by littles issues from the start. I didn't start us early enough; the weather had turned blustery, especially high up; and there was snow everywhere above 2,000 ft. or so. We made good enough time, but it was soon clear that a 23+ mile day was not in the offing.
Nevertheless, we climbed out of Big Run along the Brown Mountain Trail, pausing for the big views eastward at the rocky bluffs before the trail dips down and climbs again for Skyline Drive. Surely, Big Run to Skyline via Brown Mountain is one of the tougher climbs in the park? I'd guess Top Ten ... but we were fresh enough, so we made light work of it. From Skyline, we road walked about 0.5 miles to rejoin the AT, then headed south, visiting Ivy Creek, Loft Mountain, and the views along the way. It was cold up there, and I think we all wished that had a warmer piece of one item of clothing or another. For me, it was gloves.
We reached Doyle's Run and descended, enjoying the most beautiful waterfall course in Virginia, I think. At its base, we had one of those interesting decisions you get to make. I didn't want us to camp up high, as I knew it would be cold and windy, and I feared that if we climbed Jones Run, we'd be forced to camp high. I'd noticed that there was a widening of the topo lines where Jones Run and Doyles Run joined. Sure enough, we crossed the creek and found a pretty nice site there. I'm not entirely sure if this spot is legal--probably not, but it did seem to get used. I think people enjoyed making camp in the sunlight. Once the sun was gone, it got cold fast, especially with the wind blowing. Water was freezing fast. Unfortunately, no one took a thermometer reading that evening. The next morning we read 18*, but that felt warm, so I'm guessing low teens plus wind chill. Definintely a cool night.
(As an aside, my tarp and bivy set up with my 20* bag functioned great in these conditions. I was warm all night, with my down jacket stuffing the bivy like an enchilada. It *was* a long night.)
One benefit of my decision was that we enjoyed a perfect walking day on Sunday as we climbed Jones Run, saw a beautiful arena-like display of ice in the main waterfall there, quickly reached Blackrock and posed for lots of photos there (forthcoming, some of the photos of David are especially good), then walked leisurely down Paine Run to the cars. With the benefit of hindsight and improved knowledge of where that shelter is located, I probably should have pushed us on to the Blackrock Hut Sunday night. Had I done so, I feel certain that we would have woken and done the extended loop with Riprap and Wildcat. This is an ambitious loop, but it would be well within the range of a few determined ULers with 3-season gear and a long day. Probably, we'll go back and do it some time later. If so, Blackrock Hut is probably the ideal jumping off spot.
Hindsight is 20/20, and the loop we walked will be fine for my book.
David steered us to an excellent brew pub in Harrisonburg on the way home. We'll have to visit that place again.
Ah yes, the splits. Well, my handheld read 40.3 miles at the end, which I split out like 17.5 / 15 / 7.8. Booty-less (who is in some ways my better conscience) thinks that it should be 15.5 / 13.3 / 8.3 for a total of 37.1 (she's using Delorme's software plus the PATC book). I'll upload the GPX file tonight and see what Google Earth gives me--I bet it is a third option! I do kinda of yearn for the days when I'd just take a WAG at this kind of thing. Now, I have to try to be precise! Blah! I'll get the elevation profile off Google Earth tonight too.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who made this such a great trip. You were all tough when you needed to be tough, and fun all the time. One couldn't ask for better backpacking friends. Spring may have been in the air Friday, but it was all winter this weekend!
MM
To further muddy the waters ...
Google Earth (GE) records, based on my GPX file, 38 miles, with splits like 16.3 / 14.7 / 9.0.
But we know that GE captures linear distance, not terrain distance ... so the elevation gain / loss was 9,892 ft. / 9,892 ... Roughly 2 miles up, 2 miles down. That ought to be 42 miles, no? Or should a more sophisticated program calculate the angle?
I'll upload the KMZ file to the site, for anyone who cares.
MM
How were the water levels at Paine Run and Big Run?
Not high. Easily rock-hoppable, though we didn't cross Big Run except on the bridge, low down.
MM
Anyone go for a dip in the pool on Big Run (up the trail from your campsite I'd guess)? :)
Nope. Brian and Giuseppe weren't with us.
We saw great pools on Doyles and Jones Run too, but it was a wee bit nippy.
MM
[quote]
But we know that GE captures linear distance, not terrain distance ... so the elevation gain / loss was 9,892 ft. / 9,892 ... Roughly 2 miles up, 2 miles down. That ought to be 42 miles, no? Or should a more sophisticated program calculate the angle? [/quote]
The particularities of the angles will matter, but it will certainly be less than the additional 4 miles, unless you walked up and down ladders. If you just average the elevation over the distance (think, long, flat triangle), it barely changes the distance, but the way it usually ends up is that much of the elevation comes over short distances, which moves it more toward the ladder version.
Thanks, Joffrey, I follow your explanation.
It's too bad Google Earth doesn't capture this. Anyway, I have a new editor who has vowed to bring order to my map-making dilemmas, so perhaps I'll soon have some answers.
There were no ladders, but one wonders if the difference between the GPS reading (40.3) and GE (38) is precisely the difference between linear and terrain distance.
Your Google Earth Splits are very close to my Delorme splits after I uploaded and my gpx files to it and edited out the noise. They are also closer to the PATC book. Looking at how the gpx files line up with the trails in the software I am becoming increasingly convinced that the differences between the GPS readings in the field and the final splits in the software are due to variations in the GPS signals (how many satellites and how strong) when in valleys and under tree cover. The areas where the gpx track and topo map line up precisely are either on ridges or on Skyline Drive (it matches exactly on that half mile track). When we were walking in valleys or trekking downhill, you can see our path "wander" from the topo map trails. There were also many places in my gpx file where it seemed my gps took a rather drunken walk without me which, when added up, can add some distance.
This makes sense when I think back to my GIS days at USDA. We had to do a lot of rectifying of the data when we brought it back in from the field. We also carried a base station with us.
I know it's not what you want to hear :)
[quote]Thanks, Joffrey, I follow your explanation.
It's too bad Google Earth doesn't capture this. Anyway, I have a new editor who has vowed to bring order to my map-making dilemmas, so perhaps I'll soon have some answers.
There were no ladders, but one wonders if the difference between the GPS reading (40.3) and GE (38) is precisely the difference between linear and terrain distance.[/quote]
Oh no, you've convinced me. I too have noticed some of those things about the handheld data over the past few months. And, yes, the GE splits are closer to yours, though they do diverge in some interesting ways. Obviously, the handheld is not perfect. I usually used its data for reporting on DC UL, but have used Google Earth for the book.
I guess the problem, from my perspective, is how do we devise a standardized process for these maps and data so that we can produce acceptably accurate mileages for the book maps and chapters? Shenandoah is, in some ways, a poor example, as we have a lot more data there (like the PATC book and even Google Earth shows the trails). By contrast, even the Catoctin horse shoe shuttle was "wild"--I don't think GE or even Delorme showed the trails.
So ... The old way ... Take the GPS handheld's GPX file, upload it into GE, annotate it, and let Larry (the cartographer) scrub it when he makes his maps.
The proposed new way ... I guess this is (1) draw the line in Delorme, (2) annotate it there, (3) and send it to Larry? Part of the problem is that Larry has been experiencing conversion problems with the old system--I really don't know how to solve his issues.
It is interesting that both those systems got us within a few tenths of a mile of each other. A few tenths over 38-ish miles doesn't really matter. I suspect that's more accurate than the signs the NPS puts up.
Anyway, I'm just thinking outloud. I'm having a conversation with the press tomorrow morning: perhaps we'll arrive at a new conclusion.
See, you're convincing me, Booty-less!
MM