MO W1: Secret Agent Mission (Mau-Har to Spy Rock) ~28 Miles

Every DCUL trip helps one appreciate the world. On this trip, let’s save the world! Our mission, if we accept it, is to defeat an evil mastermind, code named “the Priest,” take on the feared “Three Ridges Gang,” and climb “Spy Rock,” where we will need to break the Priest’s secret code to save the planet. Oh, and MI6 tells me the Priest may have already infiltrated our crew. So, we’ll have to accomplish our mission without each of us being eliminated by a double agent. How is that for a weekend! (Anyone “eliminated” continues on the hike as “non player characters.” This is a great backpacking trip even without the “secret mission.”)

The Mission: Backpack the Mau-Har / AT loop, climb the Priest Mountain, climb Spy Rock, attempt to crack the code, and return down Crabtree Falls.

Friday we'll meet at Vienna at 6pm and drive to the Crabtree Falls trailhead after stopping at Sheetz for dinner. We'll leave some cars and drive a quick 5 mins to the Priest trailhead. Friday night we'll camp less than a mile from our cars.

Saturday morning we'll hike the Mau-Har loop before attacking the Priest—Central Virginia’s steepest climb—3,000 feet in 4.3 miles. We’ll continue on to the Priest Shelter, eat dinner, and sip our martinis. Naturally, they will be shaken, not stirred!

Sunday we'll summit Spy Rock, crack the code, get the girl, and save the planet. We’ll descend Crabtree Falls to our cars. Survivors will have a victory breakfast at Kathy’s in Staunton before we return to Vienna.

Splits are 1 / 21 / 6.

This trip is open to Members, but physically, this is a tough hike. It is really on the Veteran Member-side. On Saturday we’ll have a TON of elevation gain—8,434!!!! If you don’t work out regularly, or can’t get back in shape by March, this is not the trip for you. However, don’t miss the fun! Just sign up for the parallel lower milage trip posted by Mark R for the same weekend—where you have the same chance to save the planet.

DCUL'ers have maps!

• PATC Map #12
• NatGeo Map #789
• Caltopo: https://caltopo.com/m/APNLG (Note: I marked the base of Spy Rock as our Saturday night campsite. However, we’ll camp at the Priest Shelter, instead. Camp at the shelter! This will save us from a 700 foot high water carry at the end of a tough day).

----------------THE IMPORTANT WARNINGS-------------------
Early March weather can be an X-factor. If the forecast calls for sustained daytime temperatures below freezing I may postpone the trip.

As per our carpool policy, riders should plan to pay drivers $0.10/mile.

Oh, and I’m just a co-participant on this trip, not a guide or an expert. I’ve been hiking with DCUL since 2017 but have no special training, such as organizational, medical, or navigational. If you sign up and can’t come, please let me know—don’t ghost. You are officially on the trip if you both RSVP on Meetup and meet me at the Metro. Otherwise, you are doing your own trip until you make physical contact with me and I recognize you as a co-participant. I’m open to questions.

By RSVPing to this trip or any other DC UL trip, you agree to these guidelines and to DC UL's waiver liability terms (https://www.meetup.com/DC-UL-Backpacking/pages/Liability_Waiver/)

COVID-19 policy: https://dculbackpacking.com/about/covid-19-guidelines/

Dues: Members and above, don't forget to pay your annual dues. You can check if you need to pay dues by seeing if the current year is listed next to your name in your DC UL profile. To pay your dues via PayPal, use this link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/DCULKaran/15 ($10 annual dues plus a $5 suggested donation to City Kids Wilderness Project.)