DCUL News and Updates

---

Upcoming Trips/Events

Thursday, June 18th — VMO: Loyalsock Trail (57 miles)

Friday, June 19th — MO: North Fork Mtn/Spruce Knob (~40 miles)

Friday, June 19th — MO: Dolly Sods (23 miles)

Friday, July 24th — MO: Dolly Sods (36 miles)

Monday, August 10th — IO/VMO: Isle Royale Loop (100+ miles)

Friday, September 4th — IO: “Back to School!” (Collegiate Loop, Colorado) (~160 Miles)

---

Author’s Message

Happy summer! The weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer so let us rejoice along the great Eastern Woodlands and get outside. Whether that be with DCUL or on your own solo trip, now is a great time to escape the heat of the city and disappear beneath the shade of our green canopy. If you haven’t already done so, please follow our instagram and facebook for trip reports and any club related news! Please enjoy this edition of the newsletter (especially our new advice column!).

---

Trip Report Highlight

Death March 2026: Come for the rocks, stay for the donuts…

By Emily

Last year, I did not conquer the Death March in good form or in any form at all. The blisters were legendary. So this year I was determined to succeed. I remembered that my first successful completion of the Four State Challenge was also my first time organizing it, so perhaps there was a strategy there. My task was clear.

By the time we (Ben, Maddie, Alyssa and myself) were driving out on Thursday afternoon, I was starting to worry about my choice to schedule the hike in mid-April, rather than the customary time of March. Not for myself – I don’t mind hiking in warm weather. But as it was close to 90 degrees that first day, I was afraid that more cold-loving hikers might soon be cursing my name.

We arrived at the trailhead, met up with Brian from Ohio, and started off in good spirits, crossing paths along the way with others who had started earlier. It was a beautiful evening despite the warm weather, with the first evening’s signature views of the Shenandoah River bends on the way down to Veach Gap. On the descent I enjoyed talking with Shane, who was determined to complete the Death March this year. (Alas, he would be deterred on Friday by a dental emergency! Fortunately his beloved “spousal unit” completed a swift extraction. Pun intended. Next year, Shane!)

When we arrived at the shelter, we were greeted with a sudden disturbance in the calm post-hiking energy of the warm evening. Four young guys were occupying the shelter area for what appeared to be some of their number’s first-ever camping trip. They were “having struggles,” as my four-year-old niece would say, and the mood was sour. The ringleader appeared to be a very earnest, bearded young gentleman in a flowered shirt who was the keeper of most of the group’s collective knowledge about how to survive an evening in the wild. He was nervously trying to wrangle his comrades into the various activities of tent-pitching, fire-building and food-cooking. There was a lot of rebelliousness in the ranks. I looked at the roaring fire in the fire pit with a large burning log that was half-sticking out of the pit and thought of Beth’s repeated warnings that there was a fire ban that evening. Ringleader was trying to get food prep going to stave off an even worse mood among his friends, but one person was much more interested in the elaborate preparations of other ingestible substances. Their tent site was off in the woods, yet they had managed to spread their stuff the entire width of the shelter and take up some bunks as well. Most DCULers had already retreated far into the woods to make camp and then have a decidedly more chill log-sit in a clearing that was well away from turbulent atmosphere of the shelter area. Only James opted to sleep in the shelter, declaring with a big smile on his face (I’m not making this up) that he was excited to observe their interactions after the manner of an anthropologist. He did have some great quotes to report the next day.

As we settled down for the night, a whippoorwill (yes, that is the correct spelling, even though it looks weird) started calling incessantly off in the trees. This would become a recurring theme over the weekend. I remembered my parents’ stories of living in rural Wisconsin when I was little and how my dad once threw a boot at a whippoorwill on the roof to get it to shut up. After a few minutes, I too wanted to chuck some footwear. Trail runners seemed insufficient for the job.

Veronica and I started before dawn on Friday morning to try to get in as many miles as possible before the hottest part of the day. As the sun came up over the ridge, I really started to appreciate my choice to do the hike in April. So many spring wildflowers were out to encourage us! Tiny irises, wild azaleas in different shades of pink, and lady’s slipper flanked the path. Throughout the weekend, whenever my energy was flagging as I struggled up a field of rocks, I’d come around a corner to find a cluster of azalea blossoms bouncing on the end of a branch, as if cheering me on.

After a morning of ridge-walking, Brian, Veronica, Logan, Ben, and I convened at the stream near Duncan Hollow Road for lunch and water-filtering, while Beth and others took a side excursion to Kennedy Peak. Veronica went to soak her feet in the stream and was particularly delighted by a crawfish that came to join her and nibble on her toes. (She insisted the crawfish must go in the trip report, so here he is!) Then, it was up the logging road section toward the inevitable suffering of Waterfall Mountain. Many of us were grateful to find that last year’s dense thicket of blowdowns along the trail just before the Waterfall had mercifully been cleared. Nevertheless, some still arrived in camp after the Waterfall ascent cursing and grumbling (okay, maybe only one person that I heard of), a sign that the most difficult part of the trail was alive and well. Chet arrived seemingly in a very cheerful mood, but more recently at a DCUL happy hour, he confessed to cursing and grumbling at a blowdown on the Waterfall that was particularly difficult to traverse and sent his sit pad rolling back downhill.

As we settled in for the night, we heard that poor Mocha, DCUL’s iconic Hiking Dachsund, was undone by the many rocks of Massanutten and would be sleeping at the foot of Waterfall with his support crew (Haigang, joined by Marika) before bailing the next morning. The “little dog with a much bigger opinion of himself,” as Haigang aptly describes him, will no doubt return to hike another day.

Saturday morning called for another early start, as those rocky ridges that break people’s spirits awaited. As Veronica and I ascended Short Mountain, we crossed paths with a trail runner who was six miles away from completing his second consecutive loop of Massanutten. Veronica commented that he looked fresher than we did! And yet, the morning passed, and eventually Michael’s gleaming red convertible came into view by the road in Edinburg Gap, with the promise of beer, Gatorade, chips and cookies. He didn’t forget the beloved pickles! (Or perhaps that was Jen’s doing.) We refreshed our weary feet and empty water bottles in Michael’s much-appreciated company.

Then it was time to tackle the ascent to Waonaze Peak, one of my personal least favorite parts of the hike, which combines both a steep ascent and the classic it-looks-like-a-bomb-made-of-rocks-went-off-here Massanutten landscape. But the beautiful azaleas cheered me on, and eventually I was on the ridge. It was a lovely afternoon, warm but not too hot, and just before the descent to the Little Fort campground, I stopped to relax on the bench below Woodstock Tower to take in the unusual view of the very steep downhill slope there, the ever-looping north fork of the Shenandoah River, and the farms on the valley floor.

Down at Little Fort campground, hikers finishing for the day were greeted by Michael and Jen, who had spent the afternoon faithfully rescuing and shuttling stranded hikers, including Alyssa, who arrived with harrowing tales of being almost run over by dirt bikers – not on the road crossings but on the trail itself! Fortunately, she escaped with just a few scratches. Eventually everyone hiking the full as well as the half loop converged on Little Fort, except Veronica and David O., who were intent on pressing on to Mudhole Gap. The rest of us questioned their judgment many times, but they claimed to have had an enjoyable evening as well. However, they didn’t get to enjoy the sausages cooked by Jen, abundant supplies of beer, and two kinds of brownies. Mark Via also showed up to offer his camp stove and an extremely gourmet potato salad. A good time was had by all before making our way to our tents, mostly scattered along the paths in the woods near the stream that Brian rightly described as “a labyrinth.”

I think Mark Via wins the DCUL Trail Magic Award of the Year (is that a thing? If not, it should be!), for getting up before 6 am in a cold drizzle to make… homemade donuts rolled in sugar on his camp stove! We huddled under a canopy to eat them along with his freshly perked coffee, which I savored after the two previous mornings of cold soaked instant coffee. The coffee and hot donuts gave us the caffeine, calories and motivation we need to start the last 15 miles. The chilly and drizzly morning warmed up just a bit, and eventually everyone arrived safely at the Signal Knob parking lot. For some, it was just another successful Death March completion of many, and for some of us it was a first! We celebrated with beer and lunch in Front Royal. Ben and I decided to order a giant s’mores brownie sundae dessert, which had an entire Hershey’s bar melting on the top of it, and as many as seven or eight DCULers ultimately descended upon it in an impromptu post-hike communion… it was gone in no time. A fitting end to a great weekend!

Also, thanks to Brian for classing up our act with badges! If you don’t have one yet, let me know and Brian or I will get one to you. Thanks to all hikers, drivers and trail-magickers who made it the best Death March yet!

---

DCUL Advice Column

Important questions answered by DCUL’s very own Spiderman (trail name). If you have any questions you would like answered, please send them to dcul.backpacking@gmail.com. Today we have two questions from the backpacking public.

Dear Spider-Man,

I went backpacking with my girlfriend and she refuses to wake up at 5:30am to start hiking! I told her these are “free” miles because it’s still dark. How should I handle this? Should I be concerned about our relationship? I’m not sure how I feel about being with someone who won’t accept things that are free (I am a very frugal person).

Dear Early Riser,

Your concern is understandable. As a wise man once said, “night miles are free miles. If you can’t see them, you can’t feel them.” This is not a theory. It is science, economics, and possibly religion.

I remember a DC UL trip on a 44-mile Catoctin Mountain loop where we started a 9-mile hike on a Friday, after work, at 8:30 p.m., in below freezing weather. We arrived at camp at 11:30 p.m. I didn’t feel a thing (until I was happily snuggled in my down quilt in my tent, warm from the 3-hour hike by headlamp I never felt). Free miles are the best miles!
So yes, your girlfriend’s reluctance raises questions. What is her plan — to hike the entire 44-mile loop in daylight, where she can see and feel every mile? Alarming. With proper night hiking, that loop becomes a much more reasonable 35-miles.

That said, relationships require compromise. Try explaining that a corny 5:30 a.m. wake-up call shouted cheerfully by a DC UL assistant organizer into the early morning darkness is not “annoying,” but “community building” and “funny.” If she still objects, do not dump her immediately. Take her on a DC UL trip. When she awakens early due to the positive peer pressure from a group of fun, cool backpackers, she may get hooked. If not, I’m afraid you may have a values mismatch.

---

Dear Spider-Man,

I matched with a guy on a dating app, but he says he’s a trail runner and that he’s never backpacked. Should I even give him a chance?

Dear Real Backpacker,

Proceed with caution. Increasingly, “trail runners” have been spotted on our backpacking trails. At first glance, they resemble ultra-ultralight backpackers, but closer inspection reveals key differences. Have you ever seen one pitch a tent? Boil water on an alcohol stove? Debate the ethics and wisdom of bear-bagging versus bear-cans versus just sleeping with food? Sure, the runners can cover a lot of miles quickly, but so can a squirrel. The real question is: can he carry shelter, food, rain gear, a sleeping quilt, and clothing sufficient for hiking and camping in changing weather? Can he do all this while carrying less than 15 pounds? If you like someone who dances through the woods in short shorts and returns to his car at the end of the day, never truly immersing himself in the wonders of nature, give him a chance. But if you are looking for a partner with overnight camping skills, strong calves, and a deep emotional attachment to carbon fiber tactical rain deflection devices, I think you know your answer.

---

Member Spotlight

Meet VM Ben

When and why did you join DCUL?

My first DCUL trip was November 2024 in Dolly Sods. I had attempted to join the previous month, but woke up the morning of the trip with COVID, which was a slight setback. I moved from Boston to DC in 2020 and hadn’t done much backpacking since then. As someone who can’t drive, a community of like-minded folks is fairly essential for getting out into the woods. I stumbled across the DCUL website one afternoon while doing some idle Googling and thought “these guys really know their stuff!” Big miles and they carpool? The dream.

What is your favorite trail in the Mid-Atlantic region?

I’ve really grown to love Dolly Sods. The amount of different, beautiful biomes that you get to see within a relatively small space feels pretty unmatched. I like the views, I love seeing that one beaver dam, and I even find the mud kind of endearing. It’s the suffering that makes the type 2 fun so much fun, after all.

You recently did the full Massanutten Loop for the first time, what’s one thing you were surprised about the trip? High and low point of the trip?

In 2025 I did the Halfanutten, which was fun, but completely destroyed my feet. In the parking lot after finishing I peeled off my shoes and while gazing upon the raw, fleshy horrors held within, I remarked to a nearby David O. that there was no way I would be able to do the full loop anytime soon. He told me that the Eastern half of the loop is actually quite easy and gentle, and that the Western half beats up your feet regardless of where you started. So now having done the full trip I was most surprised to learn that he wasn’t lying!

I thought the full loop was an absolute blast and I very much look forward to doing it again. I put an incredible amount of Leukotape on my feet/toes before setting said feet on trail, and that seemed to do the trick for the trip. The walking was nice, the campsites were nice (shoutout to the group of rowdy boys in the shelter our first night, I hope they survived their weekend), and the company was a delight. People say that Massanutten is harder than the 4-State Challenge and those people are crazy!

My low was waking up on Sunday and realizing that I had left my hiking shorts in my tent’s gutter and they were completely waterlogged. My high was 15 minutes later when I was eating fresh cooked donuts.

I know you just hiked a stretch of the Camino. How did that hiking experience compare to backpacking? Do you prefer one over the other?

My sister just graduated college and wanted to do a short Camino together, so we settled on the Camino Ingles in northern Spain. It was my first time traveling to Europe, which was exciting. I used it as an excuse to buy and try out some fastpacking gear for the summer, and I think I succeeded in having the lightest pack of all the pilgrims we saw. While our mileages were on the shorter side (our longest day was 18 miles), the DCUL rise-early-and-walk-fast mentality was helpful in securing us good spots in the public albergues (hostels). It was very nice being able to get great pastries and coffees along our routes, and I was particularly impressed with the quality of Spanish decaf (I’m now very good at ordering decaf in Spanish, but that’s the only Spanish I know). Much of the walk, at least for our Camino, was along rural roads, and I think my sister did get a bit sick of me complaining about the lack of forest trails. It was a neat experience staying in big group hostels and eating at restaurants every night, but I think I prefer the quiet of a campsite and the flavor of a Knorr after a full day of walking. So while I’d certainly do something like that again, I’m still a wilderness backpacker at heart!

Backpacking goals for 2026

My partner mentioned that she might be interested in doing the West Highland Way with me in Scotland, so that’s my biggest backpacking goal looking ahead to the next year (and we’ll have to train of course, so probably a few warm up LMs, and well well well suddenly she’s in DCUL). There was some chatter about doing a 50 mile variation of the 4-State Challenge this year, and enough time has passed since last November that that sounds like a great idea to me (I’m sure my backpacking “innie” will rue those words come the Fall). It’s not backpacking per se, but my primary outdoor physical recreation goal of the year is to run the Taco Bell 50k, and I will be trying to rope in as many DCUL people as possible. My most pressing goal is to watch Andor, however, as I promised Beth that I would have by the next time I see her, and she’s a prolific enough backpacker that I don’t think I can safely sign up for any trips before knocking that one out.

What does Ultralight mean to you?

Who doesn’t want a light pack? I think a lot more people would like backpacking if they didn’t have to carry around 30 pounds on their back. I think of Ultralight as a kind of optimization mentality. I like the feeling of carrying exactly what I need to live out in the woods for a weekend. And I like the puzzle of finding the best stuff to buy and then before a trip of working out which bits and bobs I’ll want to have along. Is this a chair trip? Will I need alpha pants? An umbrella? Powerbank? Puffy or no puffy? The collective gear psychosis also gives us all something to endlessly chatter about while we walk, so that’s a bonus.

Sheetz or Wawa?

Sheetz. I’m so loyal to DCUL I don’t think I’ve ever even set foot in a Wawa.

---

Guest Trip Report

By DCUL Member Brett M.

Trip report: DC Escape – Front Royal and 5 days on the AT

In need of a break from the city? Do this convenient, no-car-needed, multi-day trip on the Appalachian Trail

Catch the 4pm Amtrak train from Union Station to Harper’s Ferry on a Friday afternoon.

From Harper’s Ferry, camel up on water and get on the Appalachian Trail going south. Hike a mile or so until you’re outside of the Harper’s Ferry National Historic Site boundary and can legally camp. There are no designated tent sites but with a small tent you’ll be able to dust off some level ground and find a decent place for the night. I camped 200ft off-trail just south of Loudon Heights peak/hill. If you have time, I’d recommend doing the few extra miles to 4–Mile Campsite. Unfortunately, because my train was delayed I had a limited amount of daylight left for hiking.

If you have 2-3 days, hike the 50ish miles south to Front Royal. There are plenty of shelters and tent sites along the way. Personally I preferred the tent sites, but the shelters often have a spring/water-source (and a nice outhouse!) so they’re a worthy stop when needed.

The Blackburn Trail center is a nice place for a break. The caretaker, Fern, offers tea to hikers and the large screened-in porch serves as a nice rest area. Keep hiking and you’ll see the warning sign for the Roller Coaster, a rocky up-and-down 14-mile stretch of the AT. It’s not that bad. Eventually, the AT intersects with Rt. 522 and you can find numbers for local drivers (on the trail sign) to get a ride to Front Royal or call an Uber/Lyft. Front Royal is a friendly trail town. Go to Base Camp at Vibrissa Brewing for free showers, laundry, and 50% off beers for hikers. You’ll then be able to catch a $50 Uber/Lyft to the Vienna Metro and take the Metro back to DC.

If you’ve got more time, continue hiking south to Big Meadows or Thorton Gap. This was my original goal but injured feet led me to end early; I backtracked from Jenkin’s Gap to the 4H near the Tom Floyd shelter and then caught a ride to Front Royal. I’d like to go back to Front Royal for a day/weekend, it’s full of history and has a nice historic downtown.

Highlights:

• The AT shelters and Potomac Appalachian Trail Club support were great. Fern offering me tea and a taste of the fresh (and invasive) Garlic Mustard she had been pulling all morning was a nice surprise. And, although I didn’t stay in the shelters they seemed clean, handsomely designed, and well-cared-for.
• Running into James, another backpacker I had met on a DCUL backpacking trip a few weeks earlier.
• Awesome weather on Monday. Late April has to be the best time to visit the Shenandoah; blooming Trillium flowers, many different bird calls to listen to, and overall excellent cool temperatures for hiking (despite having two rain days!)
• My new tent, Tarpten Aeon Li. The design, the weight, the simplicity. One of the best equipment purchases I’ve made. And my DIY catfood can alcohol stove.
• The food. Following Andrew Skurka’s backpacking recipes; the Pesto Pasta w/ Salami, fresh Parmesan, pine nuts, and sun dried tomatoes was one of the best camping dinners I’ve ever made. I’ve learned that I much prefer assembling my own meals at home and will continue to do so over buying pre-assembled dehydrated ones.
• The King of England visiting Front Royal. Emerging from the woods and hearing everyone talking about “the King’s upcoming visit” at first seemed like a collective prank played upon unsuspecting hikers. Turns out King Charles III was actually visiting Front Royal later that week (https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/04/30/charles-camilla-front-royal-visit/ ).

---