For my crew of lightweight and ultra-light backpackers at D.C. UL Backpacking, this 67.4-mile loop along the ridges of Massanutten Mountain, Virginia, occupies a special place in the lore we pass along around the campfire. Five years ago, when many of us were going light, Evan McCarthy, who founded our group, first dreamt it up as a long weekend trip. At the time, 67.4 miles in a weekend seemed almost a superhuman accomplishment! Now, our yearly walk-around has become a springtime ritual, a rite of passage to new backpackers, a way to fend off our mortality, a demonstration that we've not gotten too sluggish over the winter, and a fine test of our backpacking skills. It never ceases to astonish me that a loop of this quality is about an hour away from the crowded suburbs of the D.C. Metropolitan area.
Over the years, the mountain has thrown practically everything our way. One hot Memorial Day weekend, the long dry ridges took their toll, and several backpackers bowed out near Edinburgh Gap. Another year, a day-long deluge resulted in a catastrophic kilt failure. A year ago, we somehow convinced ourselves that a hang-gliding spot would make a great campground. We ended up cowboy-camped on the rocky footpath, staring up a preternaturally full moon. Recently, winter hung around for our springtime ritual. It was 10 degrees Fahrenheit on the first night in Veach Gap, then it blew snow on the treacherous descent off Signal Knob. We joked that it looked like we were on the Matterhorn. That was March 30th!
One of the reasons men and woman cherish mountains is because of the tales they tell about their adventures on them. For me, Massanutten Mountain is especially rich in these tales. It's a place that I can't help but be excited about, that I can't help but dream of doing again.
I am very happy to share this route with the Backpacking Light community. My hope is that next time I am out following the orange blazes of the Massanutten Trail, I'll meet a few backpackers who have been inspired to walk these ridges with me.
And if you would like to hit the trails with us, check out our Meetup group.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- A note from the Author
- Trip 5: I Like Big Ridges and I Cannot Lie
- HIKE OVERVIEW
- HOW TO REACH THE TRAILHEAD
- OVERNIGHT OPTIONS
- HIKE DESCRIPTION
- OTHER OPTIONS
- NEARBY
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- Author Bio
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# PHOTOS: 8
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Discussion
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Companion forum thread to:
The Massanutten Ridges of Virginia
Thanks for posting, Michael. I did the adjacent section of Shenandoah along the AT recently, starting at Front Royal, and really enjoyed the area a lot. We noticed your ridge across the valley. There really are plenty of big open views there.
Great article, Michael (and not just because of the undeserved shout out)! I miss those ridges and the superb DC UL camaraderie.
I visited Massanutten for the first time last year and was very impressed how beautiful an area it was given it's proximity to D.C. This is a great write-up that I'm sure your fellow East Coast backpackers will appreciate.
I was particularly impressed with your write up here because of how much info you got in here for everyone and the way it was laid out. Noting the campsites and details on the water situations, many possible alternate routes, as well as some general geographical info is much appreciated. Nice to see this level of effort in your article, looks like a fantastic hike!
The article and book encourage me to try it in 5-days.
Thx
JD
I am a PATC trail overseer in the southern Massenutten region which continues on south at the white conector trailand and would encourage anyone in the area to check this section out also. It ends in the region of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Has good water sources and a nice shelter at the south end. Order maps from the Potomac Appalachian Trail club.–Bigfoot15
Take note, also, that there is a brand new (2014) Map G for the Northern section of Massanutten Mountain.
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