VMO W1: “No Games” (Mau-Har to Spy Rock) ~28 Miles
Details
I love the Mau-Har AT loop/Priest Mountain/Spy Rock trek in the Blue Ridge! The last time I posted this trek I added a “James Bond” theme to it and layered on a game of Assassin. It was fun and very popular. However, the game distracted me from the hike a bit. I’d like to redo this trip without the game. My goal is to have more fun and no games! Anyone else in for this?
Here is the fun Trip Report from the “Spy Mission” version of this trip: https://dculbackpacking.com/2024/03/13/trip-report-secret-agent-mission-mau-har-at-loop-the-priest-spy-rock-crabtree-falls-march-1-3-2024-29-miles/
Friday we'll meet at Vienna at 4pm 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. (Maybe we’ll hike the loop counterclockwise this year). We’ll continue on to the Priest Shelter for the night.
Sunday we'll summit Spy Rock and descend Crabtree Falls to our cars. We’ll have a victory breakfast at Kathy’s in Staunton before we return to Vienna.
Splits are 1 / 21 / 6.
This trip is marked Veteran Members Only (“VMO”). However, I’ll consider a Member on a case-by-case basis if I’m convinced you can keep up with the fast crew I expect for this one. Despite the total hiking distance being less than 30 miles, this is a tough hike. On Saturday we’ll have a TON of elevation gain—8,434!!!! If you don’t work out regularly, this is not the trip for you.
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-------------------
End of November 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://dculbackpacking.com/about/liability-waiver/)
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