come celebrate groundhog day at the blue ridge tunnel

OVERVIEW

while we don’t yet know whether punxsutawney phil will see his shadow on sunday, the weather this week seems to be suggesting an early spring is on the way, and that means it’s time to get back out there. Conditions for trails in shenandoah seem a bit iffy so we’re gonna go to the blue ridge tunnel which is super cool and also a pretty easy trail. The tunnel is long and very dark so have a flashlight ready even if it’s just the one on your phone.
On the east side of the tunnel the trail runs pretty close to train tracks where there is apparently an amtrak train that runs between chicago and new york. The train is supposed to come by the tunnel around 2:30 IF it is on time (which is a big if for reasons I’ll be happy to explain on the trip). I want to try and time it so that we can see the train since I think that would be pretty cool, so our itinerary will look something like this:

12:30 meet and depart from Echols
1:15 arrive at east brt trailhead
1:45 arrive at tunnel and go through
2:30ish wave to the train
3:00 back at trailhead
3:30 back at Echols

Unfortunately I do not have a car so drivers are needed! If you have a car you will get priority and will also be eligible for gas reimbursement if you arrive at Echols with a full tank of gas. I will add more people to this trip if we get multiple drivers.

You Bring:
– Hiking shoes/boots
– Water
– Snacks/lunch if you want
– Layers: the temp outside is forecast to be in the low-mid 40s and inside the tunnel will be colder so dress warm
– flashlight
I Bring:
– Train tracker

AllTrails Link: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/blue-ridge-tunnel
The mileage is not accurate because for some reason it does not count the distance in the tunnel itself.