The winter of 2020/21 will go down as an outstanding winter hiking season!

Two things contributed to that: firstly, we live along the Appalachian Trail so have an abundance of great mountain hikes on our doorstep, and second, we had a decent amount of snowfall this winter.

I’m writing this in mid-March so my memory is a bit hazy now (pandemic days all blend into one) but I recall at least 3, perhaps 4 or even 5, snowstorms that each dropped 2 – 6 inches of snow.

Here are highlights of the best snowy walks:

16 December 2020: Snowy walk up Loudon Heights

10.5 miles / 1,828 ft height gain / 3 hrs 32 minutes

More shots on Instagram here, here and here.

23 December 2020: Harpers Ferry to David Lesser Memorial Shelter along AT

19 miles / 2,848 ft height gain / 7 hours 4 minutes

A long hike along the Appalachian trail with Lexi. Fantastic day out. Read the full write up here.

More photos on Instagram here.

22 January 2021: Beautiful scenery on the Stone Fort Loop

8.7 miles / 1,592 ft height gain / 2 hrs 37 minutes

Absolutely stunning early morning light on top of Maryland Heights on this loop.

More photos on Instagram here.

31 January 2021: Snowy Stone Fort Loop

10.5 miles / 1,683 ft height gain / 3 hrs 16 minutes

Lovely, long walk in the snow around the Stone Fort Loop. There was already one set of footprints on the trail, which was helpful along the top of the ridge where everything was white.

More photos on Instagram here.

7 February 2021: Walk in a winter wonderland around Virginius Island, Armory Trail and Nash Farm loop

7.7 miles / 856 ft height gain / 2 hrs 34 minutes

Beautiful winter walk around Harpers Ferry!

More photos on Instagram here.

14 February 2021: Loudon Heights to overlook

7.7 miles / 1,693 ft height gain / 2 hrs 39 minutes

Great winter hike up Loudon Heights. It was the most “mountainous” it’s felt, with big views, lots of hoar frost, icy conditions and lots of solitude. Reminded me of climbs in Scotland and the Alps.

More photos on Instagram here.

19 February 2021: Armory trail loop

4.7 miles / 511 ft height gain / 1 hr 41 minutes

This hike was memorable because I got to break trail through fresh snow for the whole Nash Farm section.

More photos on Instagram here.

22 February 2021: Winter hike around Stone Fort Loop plus all the extras

12.7 miles / 2,299 ft height gain / 4 hrs 25 minutes

The one and only hike where I needed the Yaktrax traction spikes on my boots. I wore them for the whole ascent and descent of the Stone Fort loop, where compacted snow was slippy.

This was an outstanding hike. I was enjoying being out alone on the mountain so much that I explored some of the side trails I’ve never been down before.

More photos on Instagram here. Videos here and here from the top of the ridge.

1 March 2021: Walk along the AT to the power lines break

9.5 miles / 1,706 ft height gain / 3 hrs 8 minutes

The snow was mostly gone, only lying thinly on the northern slopes above Chestnut Hill road but below the ridgeline.

The upper slopes of the mountain were misty and atmospheric, making for a memorable walk.

More photos on Instagram here. And a video of the conditions here.

---

So there you have it, nine outstanding and memorable winter hikes, mostly up the mountains surrounding Harpers Ferry.

Between these hikes were many other shorter loops around town and sledding trips with the kids.

I love winter! More of the same next year please. Time to get back into winter camping too, methinks…

Opportunities for long hikes have been rather limited this year, since our longest blocks of childcare since March have been about 6 hours. But for Christmas, we have the grandparents visiting and staying with us. So that meant we had a full day to go hiking.

We decided to do a return hike to Keys Gap and back, around 12 miles. I’d done the walk earlier this year in March.

It was 28 Farenheit when we left the house at 8am. Chilly! We had a flask of tea, a packed lunch and smiles on our faces.

We covered the ground to Keys Gap easily. First up was the junction, after 53 minutes, much slower than usual. We turned right at the junction, headed south on the AT.

Following the junction comes the Harpers Ferry National Park border sign, then the WV/Va State Line sign, then 4 mile camp and then the pylon clearing on the ridge, which offers great views to the valleys and mountains to the East and West.

It was cold on top of the ridge. The sun was anemic and the cold wind kept us moving along.

When we reached Keys Gap, looking at the AT map showing the next stage, Lex turned to me and said “Why don’t we keep going?”

“Yes, why not!”

We set a new goal of reaching David Lesser memorial hut, 3 miles further on, which would add 6 miles to our day.

Would my knees my survive?

The trail was less rocky and gradually rose from Keys Gap. An hour later and the sign popped up to tell us we’d arrived.

The shelter was fantastic. Well built. Clean, spacious, with a huge deck and view out the front. Certainly on the list for future adventures.

We stopped for lunch and a cup of tea. This marked the halfway point of our hike.

After our brief repast, we turned North on the A.T., towards home.

The afternoon light through the bare trees, with snow on the ground, was magical.

Crossing US 340 bridge in the evening light. We reached home just before dusk fell.

It was a wonderful day out with Lex!

It was a 19 mile hike, with 2,800ft height gain.

I suspect loop hikes are generally more preferable than out-and-back hikes, as you avoid covering the ground twice and you get to enjoy new scenery for the entire route.

However, out-and-back hikes have their own special charm.

You go as far as you dare, knowing that when you turn around you’re exactly half-way through.

You see all the same scenery, but from a different vantage point on the return leg. Inevitably, you’ll notice different details and appreciate the chance to take it all in for a second time.

You can mark your progress on the way home (negative splits anyone?). You’ll notice landmarks on your return that give you a refernce point for how far you’ve travelled and how much further you have to go.

Personally too, out-and-back hikes along the same route always invoke visions of the great Antarctic explorers, from Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen, to more modern explorers like Borge Ousland and Ben Saunders. These explorers set off from a base camp headed for the pole, before turning around and retracing their steps home. All of them wrestled with the question of when to turn around. They had to solve the equation of distance remaining versus supplies left. Could they reach the pole before food ran out on the return journey? In the words of Shackleton: “Better a live donkey than a dead lion”.

Luckily all I have to worry about is how tired, hungry and thirsty I’ll be at the end of a pleasant walk!

Here is a selection of photos from a 12-mile out-and-back hike along the Appalachian Trail from home to Keys Gap and back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first winter in Harpers Ferry was extraordinarily mild.

So much so that this was the only hike I did under winter conditions!

Route on Strava and a short video from the hike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you think it’s beautiful in summer, you should see this place in winter. It’s magical.