Travis Tops Out on Dolly Sods
Marshall Travis conquers Dolly Sods on his American Discovery Trail hike, braving fierce winds and potential snow.
Marshall Travis is on top of the world a month into his American Discovery Trail cross-country thru-hike. Travis reached the Dolly Sods Wilderness in West Virginia at 9:30 a.m. this morning (March 10, 2024) after the 7-mile-long, 2,000-foot incline that is Public Road 75.
At just shy of 4,000 ft altitude, Dolly Sods is as high as he'll get until he reaches the Rocky Mountains. The view is breathtaking. And so are the challenges.
For Marshall, the wind chill was at 1 degree, and winds were gusting at plus 40 miles and hour this morning, according to OpenSnow.com - the weather app inside Gaia GPS.
Without cell service and iffy Wi-Fi (Red Creek Campground has Wi-Fi, but reports are not to count on it), it may be a day or so before we hear Marshall's thoughts. There's a 50-50 chance of a couple of inches of snow tonight.
We are reminded of Briana "Rocky Mount High" DeSanctis' Dolly Sods winter crossing in 2022 - which went from elation to frustration over a few hours in a series of videos. She woke up in her tent along Alder Run on Dolly Sods, buried in four inches of new snow!
Best wishes and good thoughts to Marshall!
Hike Your Hike - John.
Iowa
Segment 2 - Atlantic to Des Moines
In the Des Moines suburb of Windsor Heights, we have relocated the trail slightly from streets with no sidewalks to a route of continuous sidewalks and bike paths. We have also added 26 new Hiker Notes waypoints for services in the area.
West Virginia
Segment 3 - Philippi to Dolly Sods Wilderness
Added location of a successful stealth campsite, Marshall Travis.
Segment 4 - Streby to Old Town
Additional Hiker Note regarding a shelter and picnic table.
Maryland
Segment 1 - Old Town to Hancock
Added a few hiker notes from Marshall Travis for the segment.
Segment 2 - Hancock to Harpers Ferry
Added new Alternate Turn-by-Turn directions, maps, and Gaia GPS Route and Waypoints between Williamsport and Taylor's Landing. The Alternate is almost 10 miles shorter than following the winding C&O canal between the two points. Suggested by MarshallTravis'24
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