I spent the entire week in Virginia and did not visit a single Civil War site, battlefield, or museum. My boss owes me a raise in pay!  

Or maybe just an extra week in vacation..

Your priorities may not be in order there Bill, I am guessing you slept at some point during that week..  

Greg just may have you on that one, Bill!

Outside of the NPS 384 list, the Old Dominion has a bunch more little dust ups around the state, or, at least what is left of the state having lost a third of it during the Great Unpleasantness.

So, post that travelogue! Let's have some fun.

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Charles Heath wrote : So, post that travelogue! Let's have some fun.

I left King of Prussia about 4:00 PM on Monday and drove down to Harrisonburg, VA. I took the scenic route, PA Turnpike to Route #81 South. Visited a customer in beautiful Dayton, VA, a town that avoided the Burning. I then headed to Charlottesville, VA for another sales call. I took routes #81 & #64 for that trip. I then took route #29 down to Lynchburg. The new by-pass got me all messed up. Spent the night in a Day's Inn, which has always struck me funny as a name for a motel chain; since nobody spends their days there. I then took route #460 to Salem for another sales call. Got back on scenic route #81 and drove down to Marion, where I spent the night. Drove down to Chilhowie, which is the nearest "big" town to the Saltville Battle Sites. After my sales call in Chilhowie, I got back on route #81 and headed north. Made one last call in Williamsport, MD. (Charles, you need to get one of Miller's "Got wood?" T-shirts) Another three hours and I was back in King of Prussia. There are lots of Civil War sites along, or near, my route. Problem was, I had a bunch of appointments and the need to sleep.  

Well, at least you got to drive "up" the Shenandoah Valley (at least partways). I'll be near Harrisonburg come Sunday. We'll be spending part of our family 4th vacation at Massanutten, so I'll visit a battle site for you Would Port Republic be ok?
 You mentioned "beautiful" Dayton. I've rattled around the Shenandoah a fair bit, but I've never been there. I guess we'll just have to wander a few miles to see the town. Thanks for the tip!

Gregg Hensley
22nd NC, Co. K
The McDowell Boys  

--Last edited by Gregg Hensley on 2007-06-25 21:13:23 --

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Gregg Hensley wrote :   You mentioned "beautiful" Dayton. I've rattled around the Shenandoah a fair bit, but I've never been there. I guess we'll just have to wander a few miles to see the town. Thanks for the tip!

Gregg,

Dayton is just south of Harrisonburg on route #42. It's a nice little place that avoided getting burned out, mainly because Federal soldiers were quartered there. There's a little museum and a number of the "Civil War Trails" markers in town. If you are in the area, it's worth a visit.

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Bill wrote : I spent the entire week in Virginia and did not visit a single Civil War site, battlefield, or museum. My boss owes me a raise in pay!

Just so I don't go through this same unpleasantness (being in a CW area and not doing anything significant to the ACW), Hank and I are going to take a week and walk a portion of the Appalachian Trail (21st century) in August.  I haven't decided whether I want to do the Shenandoah area or the Smoky Mountain area. Other than the valleys, and Harper's Ferry (which I was at earlier this year), does the trail have any significant CW history areas that it crosses?

Linda.  

--Last edited by Linda Trent on 2007-06-26 07:25:47 --

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Linda Trent wrote :   Hank and I are going to take a week and walk a portion of the Appalachian Trail (21st century) in August.  I haven't decided whether I want to do the Shenandoah area or the Smoky Mountain area. Other than the valleys, and Harper's Ferry (which I was at earlier this year), does the trail have any significant CW history areas that it crosses?

Linda,

The Maryland portion of the Appalachian Trail goes by Antietam Battlefield and Gaps in the mountains where fighting took place prior to the Battle. I'm sure Charles Heath or Chris Anders could tell you how close these sites are to the trail.

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Antietam Battlefield and Gaps in the mountains

Cool!  Hank had two grandfathers at South Mountain -- opposing sides, of course.  The two chased each other throughout the war.  I hadn't thought about that area.  I'm still looking into all the modern gear ultralite sleeping bags, backpacks, jackets...  and people think reenacting's expensive?  

Linda.

I know exactly how you feel Linda. I've backpacked for 35 years, so I've seem trememdous changes in that type of gear. When I decided to become a reenactor, I looked at all my backpacking and camping gear and realized that it was useless for my new hobby. Now I have reenacting gear in one place and backpacking gear in another. Two piles of expensive gear.

As an experienced backpacker I can tell you that most of the same rules apply to that gear as to reenacting gear, i.e. buy the best gear that you can afford. With that said, I have found a couple of brands of gear that are high quality without the huge price tag (Eureka tents, for example). I would be happy to help with advice if you ask.

Go to the Appalachian Trail Conference website and look around. Also, I'd advise getting the guidebook for the section of the AT you decide to hike. It has water sources listed, which makes it worth the price just for that. I live in Western N.C. and am familiar with the Smokies and I'd advise looking at a section farther north. The Smokies are rugged, steep and have little historical interests (other than the old farmsteads). As far as scenery, one of my favorite sections is near Mt. Rogers in Va. You mentioned the Shenandoah...that would be a good choice also. I hope I've been of some help

Thanks again for the tip about Dayton, Bill. I'll check it out next week!

Gregg Hensley
The McDowell Boys

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As an experienced backpacker I can tell you that most of the same rules apply to that gear as to reenacting gear, i.e. buy the best gear that you can afford. With that said, I have found a couple of brands of gear that are high quality without the huge price tag (Eureka tents, for example). I would be happy to help with advice if you ask.

Thanks Gregg, my email is lindatrent@zoomnet.net I'd love to have someone help make suggestions.     A few weeks ago Hank asked me what lifelong dream I had that I wanted to fulfill, and I said hike for a week on the AT, no sooner said than we made kennel reservations for the house dog and cat, and are looking into a farm sitter.

Hank modern backpacks, but neither or us are familiar with the AT enough to know what to get for me -- up to now I just did day hikes, except for the 1857 camping trip.  So I have to start from the ground up.

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The Smokies are rugged, steep and have little historical interests (other than the old farmsteads).

I figured as much, they're also about a hundred miles further from where I live.   I'd like to do about 10 miles a day, counting on it being strenuous.  I was hoping to camp out under the stars campaign style so I wouldn't need the added weight of a tent, but always open to suggestions.  Wanna carry as much as I can on me, well... campaign style camping.  

Please contact me off list.

Thanks,

Linda.  

--Last edited by Linda Trent on 2007-06-27 09:45:52 --

"I want to see it before it is all gone." - You know the movie.

As teenagers, we hiked a good portion of the AT in chunks, although I haven't covered it all, and probably never will take off an entire summer to do it. All in all, it is a great experience. I remember Mt. Rogers fondly. I bet 30 years later, the trails are steeper than I recall.  

The AT from Harper's Ferry northward isn't bad at all. It cuts through Brownsville, Crampton's, Fox's, and Turner's Gaps and continues northward through some nice territory.

Linda,

Just got back from a three day AT trip with my Venture Crew. Make sure your legs are ready for it, I took them to one of the most level sections in GA and there were still some hills that were a bit tough especially on the approach trail. I'll send you a PM and we can discuss further off board.

Thanks!  Hank and I are going over to Lake Vesuvius on Thursday or Friday (depending upon the weather) and I'll get to carry his backpack up about a 10% grade.  We don't have long uphills, the longest we have around here is only about 3/4 of a mile in length.  Ohio has rolling hills, not mountains.  

Linda
lindatrent@zoomnet.net

 

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toptimlrd wrote : Linda, Just got back from a three day AT trip with my Venture Crew. Make sure your legs are ready for it, I took them to one of the most level sections in GA and there were still some hills that were a bit tough especially on the approach trail. I'll send you a PM and we can discuss further off board.

Speaking about the approach trail to the AT, GA State Parks has opened the Len Foote Hike Inn about 5 miles in along the approach trail. For those of you that are hikers, it is really nice! With this being a Civil War board, I thought that I would mention that Amicalola Falls State Park, where the approach trail begins was used as a mustering ground for troops during the Civil War.
Roy Queen

Hank and Linda,

So how did your hike go and what segment of the AT did you settle on?  

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Roy wrote :   Speaking about the approach trail to the AT, GA State Parks has opened the Len Foote Hike Inn about 5 miles in along the approach trail. For those of you that are hikers, it is really nice! With this being a Civil War board, I thought that I would mention that Amicalola Falls State Park, where the approach trail begins was used as a mustering ground for troops during the Civil War. Roy Queen

Roy,

My wife of 20 years and I met at North Georgia College and one of our favorite spots for dates was to picnic at Amacalola; been going there since I was about six years old. That approach trail is not an easy one either.

For what it's worth, I thought I was in decent enough shape after the training I did for the AT and the days spent on it. Either I quickly fell out of shape over the past four months or I wasn't nearly in the shape I thought I was in for I was seriously overwhelmed at Chikamauga this past weekend at the Living History, had to fall out towards the end of Saturday and Sunday. I can tell you it really gave me an appreciation for what the men went through in the period. Being an avid hiker I couldn't keep up for a couple of days and only hiking a few miles, these boys were no stranger to hiking 15 or 20 miles per day in that gear.

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Bill wrote : Hank and Linda,So how did your hike go and what segment of the AT did you settle on?

We settled on Thornton's Gap in the Shenandoah National Park.  It was great, though the fog was incredible.  It was cool to sit up on the mountains and watch the fog roll in and then dissipate, only to roll in again.

We drove out the Skyline Drive, our motel on the way home was in Laray, and we got cleaned up afterwards and drove back up the Skyline Drive to the Big Meadows Lodge for dinner.  I saw more wildlife on that drive than we did the entire three day hike!  Yup, the deer know that the driver's never read the rules, "Don't feed the wildlife!"  Instead, every car had to stop to photograph every deer.  The deer are so well tamed by the visitors that they all hang out up on the drive and only one token one stays back outside of the recreation area.

That one was not a happy camper because we camped in his area, apparently.  We never saw a bear, no signs of bear either.  I did get to see my token snake -- I HATE SNAKES -- even the itty bitty little ring necked thing that was racing down the hill.  The snake and I saw each other about the same time and I lead the way down the hill.

My gear was wonderful.  Mostly Golite stuff, and a Mountain Headwear sleeping bag (synthetic filled).  My clothes were only what I had on and a light weight jacket for chilly nights.  My gear consisted of my pack, sleeping bag, poncho/tarp, two more ground covers, a rope and some small bungie cords I used to attach my sleeping bag to my pack, and also to tie down my tarp.

My food consisted of everything I could eat cold.  Freeze dried, and dried fruits, nuts, Slim Jims, some Triscuts, a few Clif bars, two Sam's Club one liter bottles for water, some Katadyn water purification tablets in case we couldn't get water, and a few packets of grape and lemonade KoolAid to aid since I really don't like plain water, and a disposable camera. I had a few other unnecessary items that I carried that should I do this again, and I will!  I won't take with me.  No sense carrying stuff you don't use.  I'm glad I didn't get an ultralite stove because by the end of the day it was nice just to sit down and relax and eat my cold foods, and enjoy the scenery.  

All told, my gear weighed in around 8#, add water and I'm up to about 12#, and add my food and miscellaneous unused items and I went up to about 18# packing in on day one.  Of course the weight went down as I ate my food.  

The only item I decided I was in need of in order to get a better night's sleep was a bug bivy.  Tents are too heavy and too difficult to learn how to set up, but the bug bivy has the floor and the netting just like a tent only it's quick and easy to set up, with just one walking pole. Weight 1#.  So I'm betting next time around I'll be able to do it with just 15#, or at least that's my goal.

All in all, a great experience.  Had fun, saw cool rocks unlike the ones we have around here.

This is probably the longest off topic post I've done in years!

Linda.

Linda,

Sounds like you had a great time. The last time I was in the Shenendoah I saw plenty of bears and deer. I even walked up on a young bear on a trail, I think he was more scared of me than anything.

As to tents, there are some good tents that don't weigh much more than your bug bivy, you may also like the lightweight jungle hammocks as well.

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toptimlrd wrote :For what it's worth, I thought I was in decent enough shape after the training I did for the AT and the days spent on it. Either I quickly fell out of shape over the past four months or I wasn't nearly in the shape I thought I was in for I was seriously overwhelmed at Chikamauga this past weekend at the Living History

I wouldn't discount falling out of shape in four months. I've been surprised how different people are, as far as that goes. Once I get in shape for something, I can stay in shape for several months without doing it, but Linda's just the opposite--she needs to keep at it or she'll get out of shape quickly. We've wondered if it's a male-female thing, but it may just be a different body type thing.

What surprised me about the AT, at least this section, was how tame everything was. It was like a Disneyland version of the woods, just giving the illusion of being out in nature, but with running water and shelters and wildlife that acted like domesticated animals and a paved road always close by. I'm used to trails with just a little less hand-holding. In winter it would be a lot more challenging, as I'm sure the snow drifts pretty deep.

For summer though, the trail was placed in the most illogical area for a travel who needed water, so installing running water every few miles was almost a necessity. In real life, I would have followed the valley rather than the ridge, but of course, so would everyone else, which is why the valley has turned into a major highway with cities and the ridge is left to be turned into a trail in the woods.

On topic surprisingly enough, I've discovered that even modern backpacking using water purification has changed the way I look at reenacting. At Sept Storm, the first thing I thought when I saw the campsite was--there's no water! Why are we camping here instead of by that farm pond I saw way back there? Then of course I realized that the farm pond was out of bounds, and water would be trucked in. But if all those men and horses really did need to trek way over to that pond every time they needed water, it would have had a major impact on daily life.

I wonder how strategy at tacticals would change if water wasn't pre-positioned, and commanders had to deal with possibly conflicting demands of the terrain, both military strategic considerations plus water sources for the men either from wells which would be along roads or natural low areas.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net