Duties of an RATC hike leader
Overnight hike guidelines
Official sign-up sheet
Mike Vaughn's Top Ten Day Hikes in Virginia
Hiking Upward
This is an outstanding
website that contains detailed descriptions of over 100 trails in Virginia and
West Virginia. The site was created by a group of avid hikers. There are
detailed, printable trail maps for each hike along
with a trail profile and driving directions to the trail head. Hikes on the site
include Dragon’s Tooth, Devil’s Marbleyard, and Dolly Sods.
midatlantichikes.com
This site has maps for dozens of
trails in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.
Trails in our area include the Apple Orchard Falls/Cornelius Creek Loop and the
A.T./Mar Hau trail loop. This site also has a great section on the types of
plants and animals that are seen along the Appalachian Trail.
backpacker.com
Backpacker magazine has hundreds
of trail maps, profiles, and hike descriptions on its
web site for hikes in every state. There are extensive
maps for day and overnight hikes for the entire length of the Appalachian Trail.
Virginia trails on the site include Rock Castle Gorge
and Mount Rogers.
Appalachian Trail Conservancy online store
Can purchase individual trail maps and guidebook by state or can purchase complete set of maps/guidebooks for the trail. The 113 mile section of the A.T. that is maintained by the RATC is displayed on Virginia A.T. maps three through five.Microsoft Terraserver
Source for online USGS topos and aerial imagery
National Geographic Society online map store
Can purchase trail and topographic maps. The 113 mile of the A.T. that
is maintained by the RATC is displayed on maps 787, 788, and 789. These
maps show more of area surrounding the trail than the ATC’s trail maps.
Jefferson
National Forest map information
Can order National Forest maps by phone or by mail. Free hike
description brochures are available for download.
The Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club maintains 120 miles of the trail. To encourage members to hike our section of the trail we have set up an award program. To receive the award, a specially designed patch, the hiker must complete all 120 miles. The hiker must have been a member of the RATC at the time they hiked each segment of the trail. Hikes can be done on your own or on a scheduled club hike.
Year Member 1999 Fred Coughlan 2003 Kenny Garrett Laura Montague 2005 Lois Smith 2006 Larry Austin Vicky Herrala Dave Miller 2007 H.R. Blankenship Carl Cornett John Miller Mike Rieley 2008 Mike Vaughn
You can keep track of the segments you have hiked on the chart below. The honor system applies. As you complete each segment, check it off. You can keep this chart in a resealable plastic bag in your hiking pack. There is no time limit to the program. When completed, mail to: RATC, PO Box 12282, Roanoke VA 24024-2282. We will send you a RATC 113-Mile patch. (Please note, over the years the section of the A.T. maintained by our club has grown from 113 miles to 120 miles due to trail relocations, etc.).
________________________
Hiker Name
________________________
Date Completed
RATC Maintained Section Landmarks
Check-Off
113 Milepost
(South to North)
Trail Landmark
Elevation
Elevation Gain/(Loss)
0
Va. Route 611 (Start of southern section of trail maintained by RATC),parking
2,820
2.4
Summit – Brushy Mountain
3,101
300
3.1
Jenny Knob Shelter
2,800
(300)
4.3
Va. Route 608, Lickskillet Hollow, parking
2,200
(600)
7.6
Summit – Brushy Mountain
2,900
700
9.8
Kimberling Creek suspension bridge, VA Route 606, parking
2,090
(800)
11.7
Junction, Dismal Creek Falls Trail
2,320
200
15.6
Ribble Trail, south junction , parking
2,400
100
17.5
Wapiti Shelter
2,640
200
21.7
Ribble Trail, north junction
3,800
1,200
21.9
USFS 103, Big Horse Gap, parking
3,800
0
23.5
Sugar Run Gap, Va. Route 663
3,450
(350)
25.7
Doc’s Knob Shelter
3,555
100
31.4
Angel’s Rest, Pearis Mountain (scenic overlook)
3,550
0
33.4
Va. Route 634, parking
2,200
(1,500)
34.4
U.S. 460, Pearisburg (Break in A.T. section maintained by RATC*
1,600
(400)
34.4
Pine Swamp Branch Shelter (Start of northern section of trail maintained by RATC)
2,530
36.8
Va. Route 635, Stony Creek , parking
2,450
(100)
38.3
Bailey Gap Shelter
3,525
1,100
42.0
Va. Route 613, Salt Sulphur Turnpike, parking
3,950
400
42.2
Wind Rock (scenic overlook)
4,100
100
45.9
War Spur Shelter
2,340
(1,800)
46.7
USFS 156, Johns Creek Valley, parking
2,080
(250)
48.7
Va. Route 601, Rocky Gap, parking
3,250
1,100
51.7
Laurel Creek Shelter
2,720
(500)
54.1
Va. Route 42, Sinking Creek Valley, parking
2,200
(500)
55.0
Va. Route 630, Sinking Creek, parking
2,100
(100)
58.2
Sarver Hollow Shelter
3,000
900
61.8
Summit – Sinking Creek Mountain
3,450
(550)
64.2
Niday Shelter
1,800
(1,650)
65.5
Va. Route 621, Craig Creek Valley, parking
1,540
(250)
69.3
Audie Murphy Monument
3,100
1,500
73.1
Va. Route 620, Trout Creek, parking
1,525
(1,600)
74.3
Pickle Branch Shelter
1,845
300
78.5
Dragons Tooth (scenic overlook)
3,020
1,200
79.5
Lost Spectacles Gap
2,550
(450)
80.0
Rawies Rest (scenic overlook)
2,350
(200)
81.0
Va. Route 624, parking
1,810
(500)
82.6
Va. Route 785
1,790
0
86.9
Va. Route 311, parking
1,990
200
87.9
John’s Spring Shelter
1,980
0
88.9
Catawba Mountain Shelter
2,580
600
90.9
McAfee Knob (scenic overlook)
3,197
600
91.5
Pig Farm campsite
3,000
(200)
91.6
Campbell Shelter
2,580
(400)
94.7
Brickey’s Gap
2,250
(300)
96.0
Tinker Cliffs (scenic overlook)
3,000
750
97.0
Scorched Earth Gap, Andy Layne Trail
2,600
(400)
97.6
Lamberts Meadow Shelter
2,080
(500)
97.9
Lamberts Meadow Campsite
2,000
(100)
101.9
Angels Gap
1,800
(200)
103.0
Hay Rock (scenic overlook)
1,900
100
106.5
Tinker Creek
1,165
(700)
107.0
U.S. Route 220, Daleville, parking
1,350
200
108.2
Va. Route 779
1,400
50
108.3
U.S. Route 11, Troutville, parking
1,300
(100)
108.9
Va. Route 652, Mountain Pass Road
1,450
150
111.8
Fullhardt Knob Shelter
2,670
1,200
114.6
USFS 191, Salt Pond Road
2,260
(500)
115.2
Curry Creek
1,680
(600)
117.8
Wilson Creek Shelter
1,830
150
120.2
USFS 186, BRP, Black Horse Gap, parking
2,402
600
*The 20 mile section of trail from U.S. Route 460 to Pine Swamp Shelter is maintained by the Virginia Tech Outing Club.
We have added a list of hikes for the 113 miles of the A.T. that the club maintains. There are a total of 14 hikes listed. There are descriptions of the hikes, directions to the trailhead, as well as maps for most of the hikes. Please print out the document to help you keep track of your hikes on our section of trail.