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: 4.52
Duration: 3:48
Ascent: 1594ft
PATC Difficulty: 120
Lee 333 Progress Summary:
Trails: 19 of 106
Trail Miles: 52.65 of 342.82 miles
Hiked Miles: 93.34 miles
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| My Track |
I've been recovering from a foot injury for few months and I can only get out to the Lee 333 every other weekend at the most. So it's been a while since I've made any progress. Today was a good trip. Sunny T-shirt weather and I got there early enough not to have to hike in the dark on my back.
The trailhead is a bit hard to spot. I drove right past it even though I was using the "ViewRanger" app. It was totally accurate. I turned the car around and found the trail head and then quickly spotted the boat launch parking lot across the street. I pulled into the empty lot and took a quick cat nap in the back of the car before heading out on the trail.
It was an uneventful hike, nice and quiet. I didn't see another person the whole trip. It might be that no one even drove past the parking lot while I was there (when I was awake anyway).
The trail starts out with a slight incline for quite a ways before getting into some more serious climbing. Since I haven't been hiking much over 3 or 4 miles per walk for the last several months with no significant climbing, this shorter trail was perfect to get me going again. The total elevation gain was almost 1600 feet so that was more than I bargained for. Four miles was about all I can do right now. I'll work on building myself up again. Not much else to say...see the pictures below...
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| Parking at the canoe/boat launch |
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| The trail head across the street from the boat launch |
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| Trailhead sign just a few steps from the road |
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| The only stream crossing on the Habron Gap trail. The stream is not on my maps so I don't know its name. It flows into the Shenandoah at the boat launch |
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| Looking down at the stream from the trail |
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| Easy walking...at first |
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| More easy walking |
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| The trail begins to climb |
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| Finally a few views to the east |
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| Another view to the east |
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| Looking back down the trail after part of the steeper section |
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| I had a hiking companion for a short time |
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| Looking down at the Shenandoah and trying to spot my car and the buildings across the river. I don't think these are the right buildings. The ones across from the boat launch were red. |
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| Now it's really gotten steeper |
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| Cell phones don't take the best close up pix |
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| Ahhhh, I made it to the ridge and the Massanutten Trail |
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| Two miles back to the car |
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| A nice place for lunch, the rock where my backpack is in this picture was a comfortable seat |
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| Another view to the east |
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| Not far from off the ridge I stopped to evaluate a fire ring. There's plenty of flat ground for camping here |
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| Casting a shadow on my return trip |
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| Moving from the evening shadow into the sunlight made a dramatic change in the lighting. |
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| Looking northward at the Shenandoah River |
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| Ten cones on one small branch |
