Little Stony Man has a magnificent view. In the light of dawn, the forest rolls away like a huge green carpet from this cluster of rocks on the west slope of the Blue Ridge. It drops a thousand feet to a valley of tiny houses and open fields with long morning shadows. The sight is breathtaking, one made even better by how long it took me to get there.

In two days I hiked 26 miles of the Appalachian Trail through the Shenandoah National Park. On this last day of my trip, I was reveling in the adventure of it all. I thought to myself that Virginians don’t know how lucky they are when it comes to this historic trail, which stretches more than 2,100 miles from Georgia to Maine. Not only does the state have the largest piece — 547 miles — but perhaps the most scenic as well. The 101 miles of trail in Shenandoah cling to the Blue Ridge, a wrinkle of the Appalachian Mountains, which means good views and gentle terrain.

If you want an outdoor experience beyond the KOA, consider this: You can see nature in a hike on the Appalachian Trail in a way you can’t duplicate at any campground. Shenandoah averages about 1.7 million visitors a year. Sometimes the campgrounds and popular day-hike trails feel crowded. But the backcountry never does. Just 43,500 people — barely 2.5 percent of park visitors — sought the free permits for backcountry camping last year. Shenandoah is nearly 300 square miles. If you want to get away from the crowd, this is where to go.

As long as you don’t mind sharing the woods with bears. Shenandoah is thought to have one of the world’s highest populations of black bear. These are shy creatures who would rather avoid humans but nonetheless can be dangerous. I went in hoping to see a bear and did on the first day, while on a flat stretch of trail near Lewis Mountain. Luckily, it saw me first and apparently wasn’t impressed. The bear crashed through the underbrush about 30 yards ahead, looked at me once over its shoulder and was gone.

In spite of the bears there is a certain pampered quality to a hike in Shenandoah, which makes it more accessible to moderately experienced backpackers like me. The Appalachian Trail conveniently runs past all the park’s campgrounds with their stores and restaurants and fresh water. The trail itself is lovingly cared for by volunteers from the Vienna-based Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, which also maintains eight sturdy shelters for hikers spending at least three nights in the park. Getting to the park isn’t hard; interstate highways pass close to both the north and south entrances. It’s less than two hours from Richmond to the south entrance of the park near Waynesboro and just more than an hour from Northern Virginia to the park’s north entrance at Front Royal.

The park’s layout makes it simple to customize a hike. The Skyline Drive and Appalachian Trail follow similar paths and cross frequently so it’s easy to pick a section to hike and to get a ride home afterward. But don’t underestimate the challenge. The right footwear and a light pack are essential. And be a fair judge of your own stamina. I underestimated how tough the trail would be on my feet. And I carried too much food, another common mistake.

I timed my hike for mid-May, when many of the through-hikers trying to do the whole trail in one season are traveling north through Virginia. By the time these hikers reach Shenandoah they’ve gone more than 800 miles in about eight weeks and are a breed apart. At the Bearfence Hut my first night I met Mountain Man — trail nicknames are the norm — a soft spoken, 50ish fellow from Florida. Late that night a 20-year-old hiker named Trail Bum showed up, fresh from a free meal offered him at a nearby campground by four women "about my Mom’s age," he told us. "Man, I love that campground," he said.

Every hut has a journal where hikers can leave messages — funny, simple, bizarre. Like a woman nicknamed Jackrabbit, who hiked north to south 1,000 miles, barefoot, with a companion until last November. They got to Virginia and put on shoes. "It was an ice storm that did us in," she wrote. "We both agreed it was not fun anymore."

It was still fun when my hike ended at Thornton Gap after 35 miles. That’s not much compared to the miles logged by through-hikers, but for a spring weekend it was just right.

For more information contact:
Shenandoah National Park
(540) 999-3500