I started an hour later than I had planned because I was up late the night before watching election results come in (another disadvantage of this part of the country, Eastern Standard Time!). I started moving at 8:30am and was greeted by what seems to be pretty typical AT terrain, a rocky trail among the trees with a stream running down the middle! This section has quite a few stream crossings of various sizes, some with bridges, others just require some rock and log hoping, with a wet toe here and there being almost inevitable. The side trails to various points of interest are marked with blue blazes on the trees and the main AT is marked with white blazes. The blazes seem overly frequent during the day, but were definitely appreciated for their visibility when I was finishing my hike by headlamp. There were few if any rock cairns because the terrain is rocky enough that they would not be very visible, as well as getting hidden by leaves in the fall. While you are never actually in isolated wilderness, you do have some sense of remoteness because you are typically surrounded by hills and/or trees on all sides. There is probably a farm or road or something within half a mile in any direction, but you usually can't see it. I've read the AT described as a "tunnel of trees" and that's pretty true of the part I was on, though it made the two sections I did pass with a view stand out more.
I have been running more lately and wanted to run at least the easy sections on this trip, but my knee decided it was a good day to act up so less than a third of the way in I settled for hiking the rest. On the plus side since it was a weekday I only saw a couple solo hikers and pairs, then one group of six. Some sections of the trail are very rocky, but most were packed dirt with occasional rocks here and there. Some sections of the AT are apparently pretty much all rocks and roots, so while this requires a little attention, it wasn't too bad overall. The AT also has a system of sleeping shelters along the whole length, which I was curious to see. This section has two, so I took the minor detour to look at the Sam Moore shelter and see what this weird system is like. The structure was actually pretty nice, with a single large sleeping platform, as well as nearby fire pit, table, and latrine. The AT map I brought with me says it is intended to accommodate six people. Other shelters are apparently larger and vary in design, though I didn't check out the other one along my route because I had a lot of miles to cover. The hills were fairly moderate for the most part, some had switchbacks and only a couple short spots were something you would actually call steep. Since I was going south to start it wasn't until after I had finished the roller coaster section that I passed the sign that said:
HIKER WARNING
YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENTER THE ROLLER COASTER
BUILT AND MAINTAINED BY THE TRAILBOSS AND HIS CREW OF VOLUNTEERS
HAVE A GREAT RIDE and WE WILL SEE YOU AT THE BLACKBURN TRAIL CENTER
This certainly seems a little over dramatic and not sign worthy, but at least it gives a shoutout to the noble volunteers. Anyway, the last section had a couple more stream crossings and was pretty soggy in places before finally reaching Ashby Gap, where the AT crosses Highway 50. I had some lunch, took my phone off airplane mode to check the news and see if anything particularly ridiculous had happened in the last several hours, and started back the way I came. The return was uneventful and I finished the last part by headlamp, reaching my car about 7pm. Overall a nice day and a good introduction to hiking in this part of the country.
Stats: 29mi, 10h50m, 7,300ft gain/loss
Route map:
Sign at the Snickers Gap trailhead
Typical trail terrain
A view along the trail with some fall color
One of many stream crossings, most don't have nice bridges
Definitely not slightly staged for contrast
Helpful sign
The Sam Moore shelter
Inside view
