Fourteen hikers met hike leaders Andy Willgruber and Iva Gillet on a sunny and cool late winter Saturday. Our destination was the Appalachian Trail in the North District of Shenandoah National Park, a section not hiked in recent memory by our chapter, going from Panorama to Elkwallow Wayside. Four hikers- Dan Funkhouser, Ken Moss, Bill Holman and Dan Ralston- had racked up 8-1/2 miles with Iva the day before--and here they were, back for more! C.J. Woodburn was hiking with us for the first time. Four cars headed to the Panorama parking lot at Thornton Gap where we met Michael Seth. Lindsay Brown, who was doing a shorter "out and back" hike to Beahms Gap, returned our drivers to Panorama.
After crossing Rt. 211 on the AT, we began a steady uphill climb to Pass Mountain as our morning's work. "Casualties" from the previous day's hike tended to drift to the rear. A relatively early lunch spot was chosen due to the outstanding westward view and the plentiful rock seating on the flank of Pass Mountain. The only problem was that Dave Abdallah and Jodi Frederiksen were ahead of the group. John "Ridgerunner" Brandt happily volunteered to chase them down and reel them back. Lunch treats included chocolate (Bill), Girl Scout cookies (co-hike leader Andy Willgruber) and fabulous home-baked cookies (Iva).
The hike resumedth a fairly steep descent to Skyline Drive at Beahms Gap. At this point, Lindsay Brown, Neil McKinney and Don Davis returned from whence we came to Panorama. The rest of the hike was fairly gentle and did feature ridgetop views that Marie Moss enjoyed. Those hiking in front hiked the AT around the picnic area and to the Drive. John, Andy, Bill and Marian Styles took a slight detour at the end of the hike to tour the Elkwallow picnic area. The almost nine mile hike ended at Elkwallow Wayside. A much needed impromptu stretching session broke out. Dan had brought champagne for a toast (yes, real champagne), too! Iva, Dan R. and Michael had just completed all of the A.T. in the SNP. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
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