Janurary 21, 2018 - Finished Sherman Gap Trail

Picture of the day

    This blog chronicles the hikes I've completed in the "Lee 333 Challenge". I haven't set a challenge deadline because I can't dedicate myself 100% to it. However, if the SNAP500 (or SHEN500) can be done in one year, I don't see any reason why a dedicated enthusiast couldn't complete the "Lee 333" in under a year also.

Today's Hike:     
     Distance: 5.14 mi
     Duration: 4:17
     Ascent: 1794ft
     PATC Difficulty: 136

Lee 333 Progress Summary:
     Trails: 11 of 115
     Trail Miles:  34.36 of 342.45 miles
     Hiked Miles:  55.42 mi

Today's Track

    Today's trip took me from the Sherman Gap trailhead on Panhandle road up to the Massasnutten Trail on the ridge and then following the Massasnutten trail north to where the Sherman Gap trail heads down the western slope, from there I returned to the car the way I'd come.

 

Trying to stitch together 2 panoramic shots, didn't really work that well.

Trailhead on Panhandle Road

     There was no parking area, I just pulled off the road as far as I could.

Trail starts out flat and easy to navigate

Here you can see the ridge and Sherman Gap

Looking back east you can make out the south fork of the Shenandoah River

The trail slowly begins to wind up hill

Now, the climbing begins...

Looking back you can appreciate the incline better then looking ahead.

and on it goes... up, up and ...

...up

Ah, now I could see Sherman's Gap ahead.

As the trail approaches the Gap it becomes rocky...

and still more rocky

A view back towards the Shenandoah valley.

...more climbing...

Getting some altitude now...

The final few yards before the ridge (gap).

Intersection with the Massasnutten Trail

     Once I reached the ridge and the Massasnutten trail, I turned north and continued to the point where the Sherman Gap trail heads down the western slope of the ridge. 

The first Sherman Gap trail intersection with the Massasnutten Trail

The car is back down there somewhere.

The second intersection of the Massasnutten trail and the Sherman Gap trail

     Here is my destination for the day, the point where Massasnutten trail and the Sherman Gap trail parts ways and Sherman Gap Trail heads down the western slope of the ridge. I spent about 30 minutes here having lunch and resting before heading back to the car.

View from my lunch spot.