Fourteen hikers including hike leader, Gabriel Garretson went on a moderate 7.7 mile circuit hike with 1500 feet of ascent and 4 streams crossings. We starting at Milam Gap, hiking south on the AT to the Hazeltop summit. We then took the Laurel Prong trail to Rapidan Camp where we had lunch. After lunch we returned to Milam Gap on the Mill Prong trail. In addition to Gabriel, the after Thanksgiving hiking group included CJ Woodburn, David Crowe, Debra Fisher, Ginny Barber, John Brandt, John Shannon, Marian Styles, Marie Moss, Nancy Handley, Neil McKinney, Patrick Cory, Suzanna Williams and Wanda Hamlin. The hike was cold and windy when we started, but we warmed up quickly, hiking the first 2 miles at a fast 3mph pace. The initial descent on the Laurel Prong trail provide provided excellent ridge views to the north. Everyone also enjoyed visiting historic Rapidan Camp and Big Rock Falls was impressive even with lower water levels. We also acknowledge three other hikers from Maryland (Cesar, Victor and Mags) that attempted to join our hike, but were 25 minutes late getting to the trailhead. They were only 5 minutes behind our group but we did not know that until after the hike was over. They did an alternative retrace hike on the AT.
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