MO: W1: Tuscarora Trail Section 1, 28 miles

Description borrowed and lightly edited from Michael Martin:

As many of you know, the Tuscarora Trail (TT) was conceived of in the 1960s (and completed in 1995) as rising population pressure in Northern Virginia and Maryland caused many to fear that the AT would need to be re-routed westward, through the Alleghenies. The TT thus traces a 250-mile course from Hogback Mountain in the northern Shenandoah to re-join the AT up near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It offers a wilder, more secluded, less frequently walked, and less well maintained trip through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

This trip should fall under the W1 winter rating system (https://www.meetup.com/DC-UL-Backpacking/pages/Winter_Rankings/).

For this first section, we'll be doing an MO trip that begins at the bottom of Little Devil Stair, ascends to the AT and Skyline Drive and follows Overall Run down to the western base of the park, crosses the South Fork of the Shenandoah, climbs the eastern Ridge of the Massanuttens, and stops at Little Crease Shelter in Veach Gap. Sunday, we'll wake and cross through Elizabeth Furnace and finishing at the Signal Knob parking lot.

This works out to be splits of ~19/~9 miles Saturday and Sunday. This will likely require some hiking in the dark Saturday night, please ensure you have your headlamp and fresh batteries.

Starting at Little Devil Stairs doesn't rely on Skyline Drive being open.
The weather will probably be fairly mild, we'll be staying at a shelter, and the hiking, while challenging, is not outrageously difficult, and we'll be near roads at all points.

We'll meet at Vienna at 7am, drive to Signal Knob, drop as many cars as possible and continue on to the trailhead at the base of Little Devil Stairs. (https://goo.gl/maps/HBM2MNFxcD52) This is a point to point hike and will require at least 2 cars to accomplish.

As with all winter trips, I will need to see a gear list for all participants. If I am not satisfied that you have appropriate gear, you can't go.

Hikers intending to undertake this particular venture should obtain PATC Maps G (N. Massanutten) and PATC Map 9 (N. Shenandoah) You should also consider buying the TT book for the southern section.

(This event could be cancelled if the weather turns particularly bad, as hiking 19 miles in a winter storm is ill advised.)

Trip sized limited to 10.