Reported by John Shannon
As common on a day when Skyline Drive is closed, snow is on the ground, and the temperature is chill, the hike was a short, uphill hike to Furnace Mountain. Even with this hike well matched to conditions, only Brian Muszynski showed up. We decided to maintain tradition and hold a hike because two or more people showed up.
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Starting point on Madison Run
Fire Road |
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| Shenandoah Valley from trail |
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The highest spot of ground
on Furnace Mountain |
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At the trailhead, we saw three cars whose bumper stickers and license plates showed that the owners are probably AT and SNP hikers. As expected, the climb early on warmed us up, leading to removal of a layer of clothing. Particularly on Furnace Mountain summit, we heard a strong wind above us but felt it only occasionally.
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We had the food, where were the
people? |
After enjoying the sight of snow-covered country, we headed down. We saw fresh footprints of others who were on the trail and saw that others had headed up Madison Fire Road. We stopped under a rocky overhang for lunch with enough hot chocolate, ginger cake, and pumpkin spice cake for many more than two people.
Although we may have seen distant snow showers in the forecast, we also saw bright sunshine during our short hiking day.
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Massanutten Mountain from
Furnace Mountain summit |
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| From Furnace Mountain summit |
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