Massanutten Trail

A Message from Wil Kohlbrenner
Trail Maintenace Volunteer
August 29, 2001

Just an alert to some changes to trails on Massanutten. These are all Don Sawyer's [U.S. Forest Service] decisions. I just did the reblazing and signing.

The old Massanutten Mtn West Trail is now linked to the the old Massanutten Mtn East Trail (aka Duncan Hollow Tr), which makes the trail into a 67-mile U-shaped trail. It will be known as simply the "Massanutten Trail" on future maps and in PATC's Guide book. It is orange blazed.

The last section of the Massanutten Trail to be completed took the trail down the east side of Waterfall Mtn on the old Waterfall Mtn Tr. Thus the Waterfall Mtn Tr's blazes got changed from white to orange. The west half of the Waterfall Mtn Tr, was not used in this change. The trail is still there, but the white blazes have been removed and there is a small laminated sign as you start east on the trail from Crisman Hollow Road that says that the trail has been abandoned and unblazed. Naturally, the tread can still be used. In fact, it's in pretty good shape!

Where the east end of the old Waterfall Mtn Tr (now blazed orange) meets the old Mass Mtn East Tr, it created an intersection where orange blazes ran off in three directions! Pretty confusing. So, the 1.8 mile section of the old Mass Mtn East Tr that runs south from that intersection to US-211 (where the big parking lot is, and where the Mass Mtn South Tr begins) is now known as the Massanutten Connector Trail. Its orange blazes have been changed to white. There are laminated signs tacked to trees at each end of the Massanutten Connector Trail, and other laminated signs to identify the Massanutten Trail's west and east sections. The signs explain the changes, at least until someone rips or shoots them down...

This means that you can no longer hike/run/ride the full length of the Massanutten on an orange-blazed trail. You'll have that 1.8 miles of white-blazed "connector" to deal with.

The Massanutten Mountain South Trail is unchanged, but the word "Mountain" will be dropped from the name. It will be simply Massanutten South Trail.

I finished the blaze changes and tacked up the laminated signs so now the changes are actually visible "on the ground."

Wil

See Also: PATC Description of the "Ring" (does not use the new nomenclature)

Keith Knipling leaves VHTRC mark on Ed's Trail