[at-l] Hiking in West Virginia

[daveh at psknet.com (David Hicks)]

Check out the Allegheny Trail: http://www.aldha.org/alleghen.htm -- BTW (not 
to be confused with the Allegheny Highlands Trail, which runs from Cumberland, 
MD to Pittsburgh, PA.)

The 330-mile Allegheny Trail's northern terminus is on the West 
Virginia-Pennsylvania border near Bruceton Mills. Its southern terminus is at 
the Appalachian Trail on Peters Mountain, north of Pearisburg, Virginia. 
Which is on the New River.

The Allegheny Trail is divided into four sections, from north to south. 
Section 1 starts at the Pennsylvania line and ends at Blackwater Falls State 
Park. Section 2 starts at Blackwater Falls State Park and ends at the Cass 
Scenic Railroad. Section 3 goes from Cass to County Road 14 in Greenbrier 
County. Section 4 is incomplete, although two segments are open and available 
for backpacking. The trail is open from the southern terminus of section 3 to 
Interstate 64, where it breaks and picks up again at Laurel Branch in Monroe 
County, ending on Peters Mountain at the Appalachian Trail. Trail highlights 
include Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley State Park, the National 
Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cass Scenic Railroad, and Watoga State Park. The 
trail also crosses the Monongahela, George Washington and Jefferson National 
Forests, and it goes along the scenic Greenbrier River. The Allegheny Trail is 
marked by 2"x 6" yellow blazes. It is maintained by the volunteers of the West 
Virginia Scenic Trails Association.

Chainsaw


BTW -- Our own Chase is one of the thruhikers of this trail.

BTW2 -- Where are they coming from?   I assume that, "Stop and hike around the 
Grayson Highlands area prior to our arrival in WV" means you are coming from 
the south or south east.  If so, you are likely to be comingh up I-81 and will 
cross the AT somewhere in the area of Blane to Pearisburg.  There is good 
hiking in that area also -- albeit not "in" West Virginia, some is along the 
Virginia/West-by-God line.

BTW3 -- Also, check out http://www.nps.gov/rtca/whatwedo/projects/04pr-wv.html


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Charles Copeland" <charles@uswnet.com>
To: "'AT-list'" <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 3:19 PM
Subject: [at-l] Hiking in West Virginia


I'm taking my Venturing Crew to WV in June to raft the New River.  While
we're there, we want to spend 2-3 days hiking.  I've suggested the following
hikes to them:

1) Stop and hike around the Grayson Highlands area prior to our arrival in
WV.

2) Drive past the New River Gorge and continue to the Roaring Plains area
and hike there for a couple of days.

3) Hike along the Greenbrier River Trail

4) Hike a part of the American Discovery Trail.

All of these hikes, except the Greenbrier River Trail, are a long way from
the New River Gorge area we are rafting.  Do any of you know of any 2-3 day
hikes that are closer - besides stringing a bunch of short hikes together.
There seem to be *lots* of short trails near the gorge but not many long
trails.

Thanks,

Charles


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