If you want to read more about this story, check it out here. In 2008, Smith returned just a few miles away and tried to kill two fisherman but wrecked his truck in the getaway and died from the injuries he sustained when he was taken to prison. Smith was captured and imprisoned, and then met parole to be released in 1996. A man named Randall Lee Smith befriended a couple of hikers and then murdered them in their sleeping bags that night. The old Wapiti shelter was the place where a couple of murders had taken place in 1981. Christine had already heard the story before, but she waited to tell me about it until we got there. Wapiti Shelter has some dark history to it. Below: The turn-off from the AT Lots of entries in the log make mention of murders and hauntings, but this is not where the crime happened Our tent site behind the shelter. Our camp stop for the first night was the Waipiti Shelter. From here, it was just a couple of tenths of a mile to our first stop on our trip, Wapiti Shelter. Eventually, we hiked next to a large, scenic pond that joined up to a dirt road at about 8.4 miles. There were lots of footbridges and water crossings along the way, so this was not a day where we felt like we needed to carry much water since we weren’t terribly far from a water source. A new shelter was built a little ways north More beautiful forest.Ĭontinuing on, most of the hiking for this day was rather pleasant – there was a slight uphill climb but overall was not too tough. It was demolished after a couple hikers were murdered. Below: While the trail was very dry when we hiked, this stretch has lots of bridges and planks to cross wet areas The Waipiti Shelter used to be along this fire road. This pond was a scenic spot along the trail. We grabbed our stuff and then headed back to rejoin the AT, bringing our mileage to 2.4 miles. We were glad we put the effort to see such a beautiful place. While we were there, we only had a few other people that came by and they all approached it from the roadside that we could see in the distance behind the waterfall. We ate some snacks, explored the nearby area, and took many pictures before deciding to head on. Even with low amounts of water falling, it is a great swimming hole area with great places to perch above and watch the water. Dismal Falls was one of the more picturesque waterfalls I have seen and the setting just invites you to waste some time there. Since it was early in the day, we decided to check it out and we were so glad we did. At 1.8 miles, we reached a side trail that showed that Dismal Falls was just. The climb was short-lived and after about a mile, the trail started to slope back downhill. Below: Another angle on the falls This area has tons of rhododendron tunnels Walking through beautiful open forest. The water level was very low, but Dismal Falls was still beautiful. The trail started off with a bit of a steep climb, which is always a quick reminder of the weight you decided to pack in your backpack. We took a few pictures, crossed the road, and then started our trip north on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail on a two day trip back to our car. There was a small parking lot here and a suspension bridge that spanned the creek. We loaded up and he drove us on some beautiful back roads until we got to our dropoff point at Kimberling Creek. I arranged a shuttle driver to meet us at a parking lot off Narrows Road near Pearisburg, VA. I had a couple of surprises for her along the way which hopefully made it an even better trip for her. We decided to celebrate Christine’s birthday by completing a section of the Appalachian Trail over a few days. Below: Some rocky slopes along the trail The spur trail to Dismal Falls is well worth the detour Shallow pools and flat rocks leading up to the falls. There is a lot of cattle farming along the stream. Kimberling Creek is beautiful, but not safe to drink from. View the Full Album of Photos From This HikeĪdam Says: Day One – Kimberling Creek to Waipiti Shelter (8.6 miles) This may have been one of Christine’s favorite sections yet! We camped one night and spent the other luxuriating at Woods Hole Hostel. The trail was beautiful and quiet with lots of interesting things to see along the way. We did this 27-mile Appalachian Trail section over three days at the tail end of summer 2017.
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