Myroadtrips: Appalachian Trail Adventures Part II

After coming off of the C & O tow path, I headed up into the woods. My destination was the Ed Garvey shelter. It had rained fairly heavy the night before so most of the vegetation had some moisture on them. The path to go up to Weverton cliffs is a series of 16 switchbacks. A switchback is a part of the trail that turn 180 degrees. It send you the opposite way you just came. This is done since it is easier to walk up the side of a mountain gradually. A switchback looks like a sideways laying 'W'. I think the purpose of a switchback is to remind you of how out of shape you are. I was huffing and puffing making my way up to Weverton cliffs and had to stop several times to catch my breath.

Once I arrived at the junction of the AT and the blue blaze trail that leads to the lookout at Weverton cliffs, I met a fellow hiker taking a breather. It was Bob, a 70 year old, who recently lost his wife. I found out that he lives close to where I live. Bob attempted a thru hike that spring, but found out he wasn't physically up to the challenge and had some gear issues that prevented him from being successful. Now Bob does day trips on the AT, leaving his car then hiking in so far, then turning around and retracing his steps back to his vehicle. I invited Bob to go to the cliffs, but he declined. Too bad for him since the view of the cliffs was worth the hike down. Even with the cloudy conditions I could see back past Harpers Ferry and all along the river and surrounding mountains. The trail to the cliffs had the most rocks I had encountered so far. It was more rocks than dirt on the train. The rocks jutted out of the ground like the scales on an alligator's tail.

After coming back from the cliffs I met a bunch of day hikers that seemed to be in quite a hurry to get to the cliffs. The cliffs is a nice place for day hikers since they can park at the base of the trail and just walk up the steep part. That would save them from having to walk the 2 1/2 miles of the tow path to get to the cliffs.

I finally reached my destination, the Ed Garvey shelter. The shelter is quite a structure. The shelter was built in 2001 by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. The shelter was built in Bowie, Md and airlifted by helicopter to it's present location. It is a 2 story layout, with the upper level accessible by climbing the back stairs. It has plexiglass windows that let you look out over the forest. The site also contains a privy and spring for drinking water. The shelter contains a register that people who visit can write comments for the shelter and trail maintainers. The biggest complaint was the distance and layout of the trail to get water.

Weverton Cliffs