Location
Maryland,
US
West Virginia,
US
Distance
20.32 mi
Vertical Gain
3,894 ft
Description
GPS Track
activity_10967503241.gpx2.92 MB
FKTs
Male
Mixed-gender team
Female
Pat Wachter | 2h 44m 17s |
Colin Henderson | 3h 12m 6s |
Nikolette Cochran, Craig Moyse | 4h 45m 48s |
Peggy Richardson | 4h 58m 27s | |||
Holly Meyer | 5h 33m 29s |
Stacy DiFranco | 5h 59m 45s |
Comments
This is such a great route and a favorite for local trail runners to train for big mountain races or a fitness check leading up to a big race. I think the local running group HURT does or did an annual fat ass run on the route.
From an FKT perspective I don't know that it makes sense to take the AT through Harper's Ferry, it's definitely slower than taking the lower road and isn't required to hit the 3 peaks. I'm also curious how these routes are normally setup on this site concerning the start point. You could start anywhere? And if there is a requirement to return to the start point, or are you done after hitting the 3rd peak?
Hey there! Having just run the route, I figured I’d reply with my take on some of these questions. Obviously this is just my opinion, shouldn’t be taken as gospel.
1) Start Point - I agree with you on this that I think you could conceivably start this route anywhere. For me, it was most convenient to just start at the parking lot anyway, and that lot tends to fill up slower than the one by the train station. I do think it makes sense to have to return to where you started though, if for no other reason than it’s a short enough route that closing a 20mile loop shouldn’t be too big of an ask.Â
Â
2) AT - This is more of an emotional answer than a logical one, but the section of the AT thru Harpers Ferry is one of my favorites! I love the unique aspect of taking the trail right through the heart of a historic downtown, and I think it’s part of what gives this route some of its charm!Â
Â
other folks, please chime in and let us know what you think!
Hi there,Â
Just wanted to also add my two cents in about the route. I also agree, this could be started from anywhere. I started at the parking lot intentionally to run Loudon Heights first. This is arguably the toughest climb so getting it done first and then being able to get back to the car for aide was priority for me. Parking closer to town to complete Maryland Heights first didn't make sense for my day and starting a Weverton left me a long way out to then complete the other two climbs, that far from my car.Â
The reasoning behind doing the AT through Harper's Ferry was because, at the time, I was training for the 4 State Challenge and wanted to familiarize myself with the AT portion. This was one section I had not covered yet.Â
Â