Jennings Creek to Thunder Ridge

I feel like the last several backpacking trips I've taken with my local hiking group have been cold and rainy, and this weekend was no exception. As dour as this sounds, however, the trip was a lot of fun and Sheri did an excellent job of organizing.

This is a 16-mile section of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, from Jennings Creek to Thunder Ridge. We met Friday evening after work and drove up to the NFS North Creek Campground, where we car-camped Friday night. We shuttled cars to the ending trailhead, so that rides would be waiting for us when we finished the hike.

Saturday morning we woke up early and trekked 11 miles. We camped at the Cornelius Creek Shelter that night. Normally, I prefer to stay in my tent rather than sleeping in the shelter. Supposedly mice run rampant in the shelters, even running over sleeping backpackers. I've never seen a shelter mouse (probably because I almost always stay in my tent!), but I prefer the softer ground and privacy my tent affords. I chose the shelter that night, however, because we were supposed to get rain that night and the prospect of packing up a wet tent in the morning didn't sound too appealing.

We woke up the next morning in the rain, and hiked the remaining six foggy miles out. We passed Guillotine Rock and the radar antenna at the top of Apple Orchard Mountain. Rick, Jim and I were antsy, so we got a head start. The only downside was that we were left waiting for the rest of our group for a long cold time at the end!