Information Needed

[rafe]

Front Royal works. I stayed at the Quality Inn; they gave me a shuttle back to the trail in the morning. Everything you need is within walking distance. The Hilltop in HF isn't much like a motel or a hostel... somewhat dingy rooms, but a million-dollar view. Obviously some "grand hotel" from yesteryear.

I wouldn't camp on the towpath. Too busy, no way to "stealth," at least not anywhere near the town. It's a very popular venue for day hikers, joggers, strollers, bicyclists, etc. You're better off heading south if you want to spend the night in the woods.

[Rainbow_Brite]

Because some people camp out right before they cross the bridge into Harper's Ferry (going NOBO) to do the four-state challenge, there are definitely a few very small tentsites just past Harper's Ferry (SOBO). I also know that I stopped for lunch last year about a mile before Keyes Gap, and while it wasn't perfect for tenting, I definitely could have made tenting work in the area. I would say, if you decide to still go to Harper's Ferry to start, just plan on camping in the woods before Keyes Gap that night.

[JustLee]

From the Hilltop Hotel website
Recently purchased by SWaN Investors, the Hilltop House Hotel is currently closed to the public in order to undergo restoration to its public spaces and 75 guest rooms.
The restored Hilltop House Hotel is projected to re-open as a First-Class Destination Hotel and Spa in 2011. Until then we invite you to consider the following local establishments.

[rafe]

The restored Hilltop House Hotel is projected to re-open as a First-Class Destination Hotel and Spa in 2011. Until then we invite you to consider the following local establishments.

That's almost certainly bad news for thru-hikers wanting to stay there. It sounds like the new/improved version will be priced way beyond typical thru-hiker rates. (IIRC, it was about $45 last summer.)

[Skyline]

I don't believe Greyhound serves Front Royal. In fact, we lost all Greyhound service in the Shenandoah Valley from Waynesboro to Winchester in 2005.

The campsite along the C&O just before the climb up to Weverton Cliffs has been closed for a few years. It needed to be; it was a dump and the Potomac River water highly suspect.

You might consider a shuttle from HF to FR. If a shuttle provider in HF isn't able to do it, check out: www.mvshuttle.com.

[Montego]

I don't believe Greyhound serves Front Royal. In fact, we lost all Greyhound service in the Shenandoah Valley from Waynesboro to Winchester in 2005.

The campsite along the C&O just before the climb up to Weverton Cliffs has been closed for a few years. It needed to be; it was a dump and the Potomac River water highly suspect.

You might consider a shuttle from HF to FR. If a shuttle provider in HF isn't able to do it, check out: www.mvshuttle.com.

Thanks for the link Skyline and your right, Greyhound and Jefferson Bus lines no longer service Front Royal - using old info - my bad . Still researching since I have about three weeks before I acually have to purchase my travel tickets.

So far, it seems that it will be Greyhound to Washington Union, then Amtrak or MARC to HF (will figure that out when I get to Wash).

[Montego]

Plenty of camping on the C/O. Get fuel at the outfitter in Harpers ferry, although you should be able to carry fuel on Amtrak or the Dog. My option would be to spend the night at the Hilltop right above the station.

Thanks for your response to my questions. Just for current informtion, combustable liquids (fuel) is now prohibited on both Greyhound Bus Lines as well as the Amtrak Train in both carry-on and checked baggage.

[rafe]

Thanks for your response to my questions. Just for current informtion, combustable liquids (fuel) is now prohibited on both Greyhound Bus Lines as well as the Amtrak Train in both carry-on and checked baggage.

I took Amtrak on the way to the trail last summer, from Boston to NY City. Nobody looked at my pack, or asked about its contents. Ditto for the bus ride from Port Authority to Allentown, PA.

[dessertrat]

From the Hilltop Hotel website
Recently purchased by SWaN Investors, the Hilltop House Hotel is currently closed to the public in order to undergo restoration to its public spaces and 75 guest rooms.
The restored Hilltop House Hotel is projected to re-open as a First-Class Destination Hotel and Spa in 2011. Until then we invite you to consider the following local establishments.

Expect it to reopen at $150 per night plus? The Comfort Inn (I think?) is just down the hill at $80-something, still not a great deal, but you get cable tv and a continental breakfast.

[dessertrat]

I took Amtrak on the way to the trail last summer, from Boston to NY City. Nobody looked at my pack, or asked about its contents. Ditto for the bus ride from Port Authority to Allentown, PA.

Never mind the fact that they have that rule for a reason?

[aaroniguana]

AMTRAK has stepped up security to comply with DHS regs. Or so they say. Is it worth the loss of $1 of fuel and an hour while they tear your stuff apart and question every safety pin?

[Skyline]

I took Amtrak on the way to the trail last summer, from Boston to NY City. Nobody looked at my pack, or asked about its contents. Ditto for the bus ride from Port Authority to Allentown, PA.

Amtrak beefed up its security on 2/19/08. I posted the press release at that time, but the thread turned confrontational surrounding government policies, and the moderators moved it to Politics. You have to jump through hoops to get to it now, so rather than post a link to the thread, I'll re-post the press release below.

BTW, we were at DC's Union Station just yesterday (3/16/08), and there were more security agents. They were randomly searching baggage in both the waiting area and the baggage claim area. Not that many, but some.

The press release that started the 2/19/08 thread...




New Amtrak Security
Many hikers travel via Amtrak to Atlanta or Gainesville enroute to Springer, and a smaller number use Amtrak in Portland ME or other points along the way to get to or from the Trail. Today, Amtrak announced some new security measures that will be phased in starting this week. This will involve unnannounced random stops and possible searches, especially if the technology used thinks it detects explosives.



Here's the complete story:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Amtrak will start randomly screening passengers' carry-on bags this week in a new security push that includes officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains.

The initiative, to be announced by the railroad on Tuesday, is a significant shift for Amtrak. Unlike the airlines, it has had relatively little visible increase in security since the 2001 terrorist attacks, a distinction that has enabled it to attract passengers eager to avoid airport hassles.

Amtrak officials insist their new procedures won't hold up the flow of passengers.
"On-time performance is a key element of Amtrak service. We are fully mindful of that. This is not about train delays," Bill Rooney, the railroad's vice president for security strategy and special operations, told The Associated Press.

Nor will the moves require passengers to arrive at stations far in advance, officials said. Passengers who are selected randomly for the screening will be delayed no more than a couple of minutes, Amtrak chief executive Alex Kummant said.

"We're very conscious of the fact that you're in an environment where commuters have minutes to go from train to train," he said.

Concern about Amtrak security has been mounting since the 2004 bombings of commuter trains in Madrid that killed 191 people. Trains also have been bombed in London, where 52 people were killed in a series of blasts in 2005, most of them on subway trains, and in Mumbai, India, where 200 people were killed in 2006 on commuter trains. Russia also has had several bombings on subway, commuter and long-distance trains.

The new procedures draw heavily on measures being used in the New York City subways, Rooney said. That model has been upheld in court challenges, he noted.
Amtrak plans to roll out the new "mobile security teams" first on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, the railroad's most heavily used route, before expanding them to the rest of the country.

The teams will show up unannounced at stations and set up baggage screening areas in front of boarding gates. Officers will randomly pull people out of line and wipe their bags with a special swab that is then put through a machine that detects explosives. If the machine detects anything, officers will open the bag for visual inspection.
Anybody who is selected for screening and refuses will not be allowed to board and their ticket will be refunded.

In addition to the screening, counterterrorism officers with bomb- sniffing dogs will patrol platforms and walk through trains, and sometimes will ride the trains, officials said.
Tim Connors, director of the Center for Policing Terrorism at the Manhattan Institute, said rail systems require a completely different approach to security from the one used in aviation.

"Rail moves a lot more people than air does," he said. "It's designed to be an open system that can move a lot of people fast."

One of Congress' biggest advocates for passenger rail, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the security initiative makes sense as long as it doesn't cause delays.

"Given that terrorists have chosen passenger rail as one of their targets of choice, provided this doesn't slow things down or require additional longer lines and waits, this plan is certainly worth trying," he said in a statement.

Connors said random screening could be effective.

"A random approach is actually more effective than a constant one," he said, adding that when procedures don't change, it's easier for would- be terrorists to find weak spots.
Amtrak hopes the new force can serve as a powerful deterrent to would- be terrorists.
"What we are trying to do is make sure the bad guys know we're out there but don't know where we'll be, or when," Rooney said.

Amtrak did not provide figures for the program's cost, but said its total security budget—including police, security strategy and emergency preparedness—is about $60 million. The railroad has about 400 security personnel, including about 300 sworn police officers, Kummant said.

Amtrak's previous passenger screening consisted of sporadic identification checks by train conductors, which the railroad says it plans to continue. Passengers also are required to show ID when buying tickets from station agents, though there is no such requirement from passengers buying tickets from self-serve kiosks.

The Transportation Security Administration is also expected to continue sporadic deployments to stations around the country.

Amtrak has received a number of federal grants aimed at boosting security, but officials said there was no specific mandate to implement the changes.

"There is no new or different specific threat," Kummant said. "This is just the correct step to take."

[Montego]

I took Amtrak on the way to the trail last summer, from Boston to NY City. Nobody looked at my pack, or asked about its contents. Ditto for the bus ride from Port Authority to Allentown, PA.

I don't know about the Eastern Corridor, but both Amtrak and Greyhound substantially increased their security measures here after the Oklahoma City bombing of the federal building by McVay & Nichols. Carrying prohibited items just wouldn't be worth the hassle at the stations here. Even an item like "Purell" alcohol hand cleaner is no longer allowed in either carry-on or checked baggage and will have to be mailed along with my lock-back knive, cutical scissors, toenail clippers (attached toenail file), tweezers, P-38, and needle (as per phone conversation with the local Greyhound Customer Rep this morning). A bit ecessive IMO, but welcome to the the 21st Century Homeland Security paranoia.

[emerald]

A good hike isn't an accident. Maybe the MSR stoves that burn anything aren't all bad after all, nor are wood-burning stoves either? As ethanol becomes more widely available, transporting fuel might not be as much as an important issue as it now seems.

It always pays to seek the advice of local hiking enthusiasts and get current information. So the question now may be, can you purchase fuel in Harpers Ferry?

[jamarshall]

http://www.brunswickmd.gov/Campground.htm

This is another option not too far from Harpers Ferry. We stayed there before heading south on the AT. There's a train station nearby.

[Peaks]

When I was in HF last year...
1. The locals told me that the Amtrack train can be VERY late (4-5 hours) Take the MARC commuter train from Washington instead.

.

Maybe late going east, since it starts in Chicago. But, no excuse for being late coming out of DC going west.

[Mrs Baggins]

We took the DC metro from Rockville station to DC Union Station and then Amtrak from DC to Gainesville GA last March 2007. NO ONE looked twice at our packs at any point along the way. NO ONE. We didn't see anyone else's bags checked either. We had fuel and knives and we kept our packs in the overhead bins right by us, not checked away under the cars. All the same, it was the train ride from Hell. We seemed to be the only people who desperately wanted to sleep (overnight ride). Everyone else was on their cell phones ALL FREAKING NIGHT, phones ringing none stop, a group of geezers with a portable DVD player watching every season of "I Dream of Jeanie" ever made and laughing uproariously (it was NEVER that funny), loud conversations, snorers. I'd rather walk than ever set foot on Amtrak again - ever.

[weary]

The hostel in Maryland is within easy walking distance of ATC headquarters. Or just take a taxi or bus there. In 1993 I spent three nights at the KOA campground a couple of miles in the opposite direction, while I waited for my grandson's other grand father to bring him to meet me for the hike north.

A plus was a very pleasant bar and tap room half way between ATC headquarters and the campground. I had suggested to a woman I had been sharing shelters with for two months that we split the cost of a hotel room. But you know these women.

Weary

[rafe]

It always pays to seek the advice of local hiking enthusiasts and get current information. So the question now may be, can you purchase fuel in Harpers Ferry?

Yes, absolutely. There's a great outfitter there.