Just a heads up– this loop is no walk in the park! The constant inclines and declines here are no joke (maybe 5-10% of the trail is actually level?!)! AT Thru-Hikers often include this as one of the toughest parts of the entire Appalachian Trail! Hiking Upward has the elevation gain of 3,960 feet, but I’ve read the actual change in elevation is about 7,000 feet! So I definitely recommend you be in decent shape (and bring lots of water or a water filter to fill up at the creeks!).
I did a backpacking trip to Three Ridges Wilderness the last weekend in April with three friends from Richmond. Even though it was only April, the weather was looking like it was going to be in the high 80s (thanks global warming?). We opted for the clockwise loop from Reeds Gap which meant taking the AT southbound first, then the Mau-Har Trail.
We were aiming to camp at either Harpers Creek or Campbell Creek depending on how we were feeling. We hit the campsites near Harpers Creek around 3pm, and upon seeing a boy scout troop and a couple other small groups were already setting up camp there, we decided to just fill up on water and get on our merry little way to Campbell Creek. It’s only about two miles further, but let me tell ya, you go straight up only to go straight down. We were all excited to reach the beautiful camp site and much greater solitude (only two other guys there).
Besides a mountain lion scare (tree stump, mountain lion, same thing), the evening was great– soothed our feet in the creek and made a lovely meal of freeze dried Pad Thai. Granted I’ve never had it when I wasn’t camping, but that stuff is dang good. When it came time to hit the hay, I was somewhat anxious as it was actually my first time sleeping in a tent by myself, but luckily the ten mile day knocked me right out (and only woke up once thinking about bears)!
As all backpackers know, you pass out early, and then wake up at the crack of dawn. By 7:30 we had already enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with coffee, packed up camp, and were on our way. The Mau-Har Trail was definitely tough with some rock scrambling and basically just all uphill. I prefer to just knock out uphill by going fast, so I told the group I would wait for them at Maupin Field Shelter.
I threw my pack down (is there any better feeling?!) and was immediately greeted by a dog. A few minutes later, three hikers showed up. They were all thru hikers on their way to Maine (we actually came across a handful while on the AT). I chatted with them while waiting for my friends and found out they were just daydreaming of heading to Devil’s Backbone Brewery. Long story short, my friends and I ended up packing three thru hikers and their dog in our cars and dropping them off at the brewery! We had already made plans to fill up Blue Ridge Brewery so we continued on our way there. Even with the detour, we still arrived at 11. We had no shame in ordering beers and burgers (veggie for me) as soon as we sat down. Bellies full and slightly sunburnt, we said our goodbyes high on our weekend in the woods explore the Three Ridges Wilderness in GWNF.
For more information on Three Ridges Wilderness, check out Hiking Upward. If you live in the DC/Virginia/Maryland and enjoy hiking, this is a great resource for your adventures!
