After the destructive November 22 ice storm in the central district of the Shenandoah National Park, the Potomac and Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) mobilized its trail maintenance crews, along with volunteers from hiking clubs across the mid-Atlantic, to help clear the trails of debris and blow-downs.

On December 9, our trail crew, led by Jim Tomlin, PATC overseer for the Great North Mountain area, cleared 3.1 miles of the Appalachian Trail, as well as the length of the popular Passamaquoddy Trail, which runs on the west side of Stony Man Mountain.

Volunteer trail maintenance is the cornerstone of the upkeep of our National Parks and Forests.

This was the stormy weekend in early October when a Nor'easter spun up the East Coast. So when I told some friends I was planning on going backpacking for the weekend, they politely asked me if I might have 'gone off my meds'. And as I was driving through sheets of rain on I81 Saturday, I began to see their point.

 Luckily, when I arrived at the trail head in WV, and met up with Mike from midatlantichikes.com who was leading a backpack that weekend, the storm had passed!

I tagged along with Mike and his group for the first day, then parted ways and hiked the 10 miles up the Cranberry River Valley solo. The valley had exploded in oranges, reds, and yellows. My gamble paid off

Check out the Cranberry River Hike here...