travel light, wake early, walk far
Roller Coaster warning. Credit: John Marier Over the three-day Martin Luther King weekend, eight DCUL backpackers (and one slack-packing dog) tackled the infamous Virginia Appalachian Trail (AT) "Roller Coaster" northbound from Manassas Gap to Snickerville Gap. This section of unrelenting climbs and descents is the area that most gives the AT in Virginia its reputation for "PUDS"... Continue Reading →
Some day hikers approached us from the opposite direction on this final DCUL backpacking trip of 2023. Mark (“Snake Jumper”) smiled broadly and greeted them more warmly than to most hikers one passes on the Appalachian Trail. They greeted each other by name, exchanged a few words, and wished each other a happy New Year.... Continue Reading →
Photo: View from Stoney Man Mountain Eight of us sat in a circle eating our dinners and planning our future. We had just completed hiking up White Oak Canyon to Stoney Man Mountain with 2,800 feet of elevation gain only to give it all up down Nicholson Hollow Trail. The short day of only 11... Continue Reading →
Ahhhh—a November amble through the Shenandoah National Park (“SNP”)! Piecing together a few trail loops, we DCUL hikers strode up and down the mountains from Pine Hill Gap to Buck Hollow to Mary’s Rock to Pass Mountain. Solid mileage. Short Fall days. Bracing autumn chill. Nearby forest fires fully contained. Three DCULers signed on for... Continue Reading →
DCUL triumphed at the 4-state challenge this year. 5 hikers started, and 5 hikers finished! And to make things intersting, David O and David U wrote the two halves of the trip report - without seeing what the other person wrote. Well, keep reading below to hear their perspectives! -Karan First Half Written by David... Continue Reading →
