Adam enjoys the view from Abbie Point. Below: The trailhead for this hike is along Hone Quarry Road; Colorful foliage, A campsite near the ridgeline.

Christine Says…

Last weekend, we had a perfect fall day – probably one of the last ones of the 2011 season – bluebird skies, temperatures in the sixties and glorious fall color.  We had obligations in Harrisonburg on Sunday morning, so we decided to choose a hike close to town so we wouldn’t miss out on such a nice hiking day.  We did some research and decided on the Hone Quarry Ridge Trail.  Its five mile length and close proximity to town made it perfect for a quickie hike squeezed into a busy day.

The hike was actually tougher than I expected!  The climb went uphill without many switchbacks which was a small part of the challenge, but most of the difficulty came from the tricky footing.  Large sections of the trail were covered with loose, pointy, ankle-turning rocks covered with a deep layer of dry autumn leaves.  I was so glad to have my trekking poles.  I am sure they saved me from turning my ankles multiple times.

The woods were so colorful – reds, oranges, golds mixed in with occasional evergreens.  On the climb up, we caught glimpses of views through the thinning trees.  We passed a few established backcountry campsites and enjoyed one gorgeous open view from Abbie Point.

Yellow blazes were few and far between. Below: Adam makes his way up the trail; A couple of the signs we spotted along the way. There were several trail junctions that were unsigned.

Hiking in George Washington National Forest can be a real adventure.  Some popular trails like Big Schloss and Kennedy Peak are as navigable and well-maintained as anything in Shenandoah National Park.  While other trails, like Hone Quarry Ridge, have very little foot traffic.  Not much attention goes into maintaining these trails.  The double yellow blazes were spaced pretty far apart.  Trail junctions were often unmarked, leaving us to consult a map and compass to decide our direction.  The signs that were standing were in relatively poor condition, slowly rotting into the woods.  Don’t let this deter you from trying the trail, just be prepared to double-check your navigation.

After enjoying the view from Abbie Point, the remainder of the hike was mostly downhill (with the exception of a few short uphills), along rocky and occasionally narrow trail.  We moved pretty quickly, because we were hungry and had exciting late lunch plans.  If you’re ever in Harrisonburg, don’t miss trying Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint.  They have the best burgers made with American Kobe/Wagyu beef and the fries are always hot and perfectly cooked.  They always have plain burgers and one specialty burger on the menu.  I got a cheeseburger and a Crispin Hard Cider.  We sat on the heated outdoor patio and enjoyed our decadent lunch.

It was another great hike, with one downside.  I got the largest, most painful blister I’ve ever had in my life.  I really don’t know how it happened.  My boots were the same. My socks were the same.  I’m pretty sure I laced up the same.  I made it through the hike, but the half dollar sized blister on my left heel has been monstrously painful all week. It was so bad, that I ended up at the doctor’s office on Wednesday to make sure it wasn’t infected.  I could hardly walk and I couldn’t wear shoes.  We were supposed to hike with my parents the weekend before Halloween, but I still wasn’t ready to wear boots again.  It’s finally starting to feel better a week later.

Adam Says…

As Christine mentioned, this is a hike that I’m glad we have a few modern-day conveniences for hiking since leaves were covering most of the trail.  My GPS was handy to make sure we were going the right direction and our trekking poles helped to test the ground out and give some extra support with each step.

An example of the rocky trail conditions.

The trail started off shortly after the the Hone Quarry campground.  After crossing the spillway, we parked our car on the right where there is space for about 3 cars.  The trail starts off across the road and you should see a hiking trail marker on a fire road that shortly leads to a wider off-road parking spot.  You’ll see the trail marker go over a mound to the left and up the hill to start the hike.  In .1 mile, you’ll arrive at an intersection.  The left heads towards the Heartbreak trail and the right heads to the Big Hollow Trail.  Follow the trail to the right.  The trail begins to ascend going up a wider trail that follows a stream along the way.  At .8 miles, the trail will hit a switchback and start a steeper ascent up the mountain.  At the 1.1 mile mark, the trail will cross a fire road, but keep going straight.  At 1.4 miles, the trail rejoins the same abandoned fire road you joined (you’ll see a small firepit to your left).

Take a right here to join the wider fire road.  The trail is quite steep at this point as you’re heading straight up the mountain with few breaks in the uphill climb.  At 2.1 miles, you will reach the intersection with the Hone Quarry Mountain trail.  Take a left on this trail and you will see another firepit immediately on your left.  The trail descends into a small saddle and then begins a steep hike up to a rocky overlook on your right at 2.7 miles.  This is the best point for views on the entire hike.

The trail from this point is mostly downhill, but quite overgrown.  Much of the trail feels like an animal path through the thick vegetation around.  Keep your eye out for the yellow-blazed trail markers.  At about the 4.0 mile marker you reach another firepit/campsite area and the trail seems like it splits again (There was a log covering the path straight, so I’m not sure if the trail continues at this point or everything goes to the left).  Take a sharp left here (this is now the Heartbreak trail).  The trail descends rather quickly through the forest, often through loose rocks, so be careful about your footing!  The Heartbreak trail was the most difficult to navigate.  The blazes were sparse, so we had to keep hoping we were still on the trail, since leaves covered anything that could be called a path below our feet.  Eventually the blazes led us closely to the campground area and we crossed the stream and made our way back to the intersection around 5.0 miles.  We continued straight and made our way back to the car around 5.1 miles.

There was a large group of Mennonites picnicking at Hone Quarry. They're a common site in the Shenandoah Valley. If you hike anywhere west of the city (towards Dayton or Ottobine) on Sunday, you'll see many families out in buggies and on bikes. Below: A few more shots.

I joked with Christine that the Heartbreak trail was aptly named, since I can imagine lots of couples arguing about if they were still on the hiking trail and then breaking up after the hike was over.  After we got back to the car, we came across a bunch of Mennonite families that were enjoying a potluck picnic.  Several of the families were heading off to another hiking trail.  The simpler life does make me think of how families may have done this type of thing often in the past.  Seeing people hiking in suits and dresses reminds me of old pictures that I have seen of people hiking many of the national parks when they were first being established.  Today we have trekking poles, wicking shirts, hiking pants that unzip to become shorts, GPS systems, camelbaks, etc.

If you are interested in geocaching, there are a few available on this trail.

• Gnome Watch – a fun clue that leads you to the nearby cache.
• Hone Quarry – a standard cache not far from the trail.
• Cache Advance – a standard cache near the picnic area.  Not on the hike, but hard to resist since you pass near it on the drive.

While I think this hike was enjoyable, I was expecting more chances to catch some views.  You really only get views from the one rocky outcropping.  Everything else is obstructed.

Trail Notes

• Distance – 5 miles
  
• Elevation Change – 1480 feet.
  
• Difficulty – 3.  The climbing on this hike is actually pretty steep, both uphill and downhill.  
• Trail Conditions – 1.5.  Like many less known trails in the National Forest, the Hone Quarry Ridge Trail is minimally maintained.  The trail is extremely rocky, and under a deep layer of fallen autumn leaves it can be downright perilous.
  
• Views –3.  One nice, open view and some nice peeks through the trees along the way. 
• Streams/Waterfalls – 2.  The nearly dry stream along this trail has the potential of being quite prettier when there is more rain.
  
• Wildlife – 1.  We didn’t see anything.
  
• Ease to Navigate – 1.5.  The trail is minimally blazed and signs are far and few between.  We recommend bringing a map and a compass.  There are several trail intersections where you might go wrong.
  
• Solitude – 4.  Hone Quarry is a popular camping and picnic area, but you probably won’t see many people on this hike.  On a gorgeous Sunday, at the peak of fall, we saw only three people on the trail.

Directions to trailhead: From 33, head south on SR 613/Clover Hill Road.  After passing Paul State Forest, the road comes to an intersection.   Stay straight and follow the signs to 257/Briery Branch Road.  257 eventually enters into George Washington National Forest.  Take the first right on to Hone Quarry Road.  Pass by the picnic area and then a small spillway over a stream.  You will see a parking area shortly after on the right and the hiking trail is on the opposite side of the road.

There was a nice group of eight people camping in or around the Pinefield Hut - our stop for the night. Below: Pretty mountain layers as seen from the Ivy Creek overlook; Our tent site was on a hill above the hut. You can see the roof of the hut through the trees; Adam climbing the trail upwards from Simmons Gap.

Adam and Christine Say …

We’ve found that with our backpacking trips, it’s usually easier to combine our thoughts into one large post.  Here we go!

Even though this backpacking trip was scheduled weeks ago, we weren’t sure until the last minute that we were actually going to pull it off.  It rained all week, Adam was having back spasms, our friends couldn’t make the trip and we were both coming off a particularly busy week at work.  Sitting in the air-conditioned house, pajama-clad, and watching TV from the couch seemed quite a bit more appealing than heading out into the damp, buggy woods with 30+ pounds of gear strapped to our backs.

The thing that ultimately tipped the scale in favor of hitting the trail for an overnighter was actually all the 9/11 anniversary coverage.  When Friday morning rolled around, Christine was feeling overwhelmingly sad.  All week long, virtually every news outlet had been covering 9/11 – bringing all the horrific imagery and stories back to the forefront.  Remembering and paying tribute is important to her, and she felt drawn to having a quiet, peaceful place to reflect without seeing any more images of people dying or cities burning.  We both wanted to be in the woods – away from the TV, away from the internet, away from the radio.

Adam takes in the view after the first climb out of Powell Gap. Below: There is not a paved parking lot at Powell Gap. Instead, you can leave a car in the grassy field next to the trail entrance.

We had a leisurely Saturday morning.  Christine made a big breakfast with eggs and biscuits (for Adam), blueberry pancakes (for herself) and bacon (for both of us).  After cleaning up dishes, Christine packed our camp food into Ziploc bags and put together bathroom kits.  Adam worked on loading our backpacks.  We decided to eat lunch at home and then headed off to the park around 1:00.  We chose to hike south along the Appalachian Trail from Powell Gap to Loft Mountain, with an overnight stop at the Pinefield Hut.  We brought two cars into the park to make the trip logistically easier, parking the return car at the Loft Mountain wayside.

We left on car in the grassy field next to the trail entrance at Powell Gap.  After doing last minute pack checks, we headed off.  The trail climbs immediately upward from the gap.  You gain about 300 feet in just a few tenths of a mile. Within the first half mile, you pass a pretty eastern-facing view of the valley below.  We stopped and made some pack adjustments.  Adam insisted on taking over the burden of carrying our extra water.  The south district of Shenandoah is famously dry, so we hauled a 3 liter Nalgene canteen so we’d have plenty of water for cooking and hiking on Sunday. Even with all the rain, we weren’t sure if the spring at the hut would be running.  Christine bickered with Adam over the extra weight of the water, because she didn’t want him to make his back pain worse.  In the end, he won and we headed down the trail with the extra 6.6 pounds of water hooked and freely swinging from a carabiner on the back of his pack.  He was definitely carrying too much and it did slow his pace down a bit!

We spotted a young bear on a hillside before the descent to Simmons Gap. Below: Stopping for a snack and map break at the Simmons Gap crossing; Our trekking poles make backpacking trips so much easier; Monarch butterflies were everywhere!

The Appalachian Trail between Powell Gap and Pinefield Hut is pretty uneventful.  There are a few road crossings, several climbs and descents, and just the one open view.  Most of the trail is just typical walking along a forest trail – pretty, but not remarkable.

On the descent toward Simmons Gap, a black shape caught Christine’s eye.  She turned back and mouthed ‘BEAR!’ to Adam.  Sure enough, a handsome yearling bear was perched on the hillside, quietly watching us pass.  She managed to get an OK photo of the bear, but he was really too far up the hillside for our pocket camera’s zoom capabilities.  We stood still and had a little stare-down with the bear for a few moments before he turned and lumbered up the hill.  We’ve decided the park has two kinds of bears: 1) indifferent bears and 2) scared bears.  The scared bears run as soon as a human comes into view.  Indifferent bears may cast you a sidelong glance, but otherwise ignore you and continue along with whatever they were doing before you spotted them.  We like the indifferent bears; they’re easier to photograph!  We’ve never come across an aggressive bear in Shenandoah – thankfully.

At the trail crossing near the Simmons Gap Ranger Station, we stopped and had a snack of cashews.  The cement post indicated that we had 2.2 miles to cover before reaching Pinefield Hut.  We figured we’d make it there well before dinner time.  As we were sitting on the grass eating cashews, another backpacker came up to us and asked which way it was to reach Brown Gap.  We pointed the way (12 miles to the south), rested for a few more minutes and then continued.  The trail climbing out of Simmons Gap was probably the hardest climbing of the day, but still fairly moderate. Christine noticed that Adam was really struggling with his pack weight, so we made some more adjustments and she took the big Nalgene canteen back.

We saw this timber rattler after climbing out of Simmons Gap. Below: A good look at the rattle.

As we continued climbing, we spotted the hiker headed toward Brown Gap stopped in the middle of the trail.  We didn’t see anything, so we continued climbing until we were right behind him.  He turned and said ‘There’s a rattlesnake on the trail!’  Christine replied ‘Ooooh, where?’  But as soon as she peered over his shoulder, she immediately saw the large snake laid out, almost completely spanning the trail.  He wasn’t moving or rattling.  We speculated that maybe he was dead or in a state of torpor.  We stood and looked at him for a good five minutes.  Finally Adam climbed off the side of the trail, making a wide arc around the snake (since he is definitely more fearful of snakes than Christine).  Christine followed suit, as did the other hiker.  As soon as we all passed, the snake slowly slithered off the trail and coiled up in the leaves about a foot off the path.  We got a few exciting photos of the snake before we headed off to finish our climb uphill.

Eventually the trail leveled off for a while before gently descending to Pinefield Gap.  Climbing downhill, we both noticed how much bear scat there was along the trail.  This area obviously has a pretty healthy population of black bears.  After one final road crossing, we had just two tenths of a mile left until we got to the shelter.

Pinefield Shelter lies just a couple hundred yards off the AT.  As we were walking down the side path to the shelter, we heard voices and laughter.  We were greeted at the shelter by six other hikers – a mix of thru-hikers, section hikers and weekenders. Peak use of AT shelters happens May- June, so we were a little surprised to see so many people at Pinefield.  Everyone was really friendly and they already had a great campfire going.  We chose a tent site up the steep hill behind the shelter.

We quickly set up the tent, inflated our sleeping pads and fluffed our bags before heading back down to the shelter to socialize and cook dinner.  We had a repeat favorite dinner from Backpacker’s Pantry – Pad Thai and Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.  Two of the others hikers in for the night, Brendan and Ayla, had purchased a bag of marshmallows and were roasting them over the fire.  Talk centered heavily on food for much of the evening.  If there is one thing hikers have in common, it’s hunger!  We set our camp chairs near the fire and enjoyed an evening of conversation and a little music.  Ayla had a flute and Brendan carried a small guitar.  It was a pleasant evening, and you really can’t beat a good campfire!

Adam relaxes by the fire. Below: A comparison - the first photo is the park's representation of Appalachian Trail backpackers. The second and third photos are what backpackers really look like! Sometime soon, I think Adam and I are going to pose to recreate the park's image - spacy expressions and all!

Sometime after dark, we climbed back up the hill to our tent by the light of Adam’s headlamp.  Christine listened to the new book in the Game of Thrones series on her iPod and Adam continued to read his John Muir book.  As we relaxed in the tent, we began to notice that our tent site wasn’t quite flat.  It was on just enough of a slope that you can feel, even if you can’t see it!

Christine had a decent night of sleep – occasionally waking to the hoot of an owl or the sound of Adam thrashing around next to her.  He didn’t sleep well at all!   He still hasn’t figured out the best way to get comfortable with his sleeping set-up.   In the morning, everything had shifted to the downhill side of the tent.  Adam was crammed up along the tent wall and Christine was practically on top of him!

Almost everyone was up early, cooking breakfast and packing up their gear.  We took down our tent and shoved everything back into our packs.  We fired up our JetBoil and made oatmeal and coffee.  We didn’t even use all the extra water we had hauled down to camp, so we shared with everyone else.  Incidentally, the spring was running at Pinefield so we didn’t even need to carry all that extra water.  Oh well… better safe than sorry.

Our second day of hiking was a little tougher, but a little more rewarding in terms of views and scenery.  Ivy Creek, which we passed near the end of the hike, was actually running much more than usual  Our packs were lighter, since most of the food and water were gone.  The forest was beautiful and misty, with golden sunrays cutting down between the trees.  Spider webs covered with dew glistened in the morning sun.  We crossed paths with the hiker we had met at Simmons Gap the day before.  He was headed north, and looking for water.  We were kind of surprised, because he must have passed at least three decent water sources that morning returning from Brown Gap.

We got a great view of Skyline Drive and the mountains beyond on our second day. This view looks to the west. Below: Morning fog created some nice sunrays in the forest; Ivy Creek was running nicely; Spider webs glistening in the morning light.

We reached the junction of the AT and the trail down to the Ivy Creek maintenance building around 10:15 a.m.  It was a quick downhill walk of .6 miles back to Skyline Drive.  We got to the Loft Mountain Wayside around 10:30.  Even though it was still on the early side, we wanted lunch!  The cook behind the counter was nice enough to make us fries and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches even though they were technically still serving breakfast.  It really hit the spot!

After lunch we passed through the gift shop and picked up a couple 75th Anniversary Shenandoah souvenirs – a magnet and a Christmas ornament.  We’d been meaning to get something from the anniversary all season.  Park shops are only open for a few more weeks, so we figured it was now or never.

Lunch at the Loft Mountain Wayside. Below: Our hike down to Skyline Drive from the Appalachian Trail took us past the PATC's Ivy Creek trail maintenance building; Adam crosses Skyline Drive and heads toward the Loft Mountain Wayside where we left our car. Unfortunately, someone whacked our car pretty hard while we were away. We have a huge dent and a paintless streak on the passenger side now. Boo!

We were back home before 1:00, which was perfect!  We had the rest of the day to relax and clean up before heading back to work on Monday.

Trail Notes

• Distance – 10 miles
  
• Elevation Change – 2500 feet over five different climbs
  
• Difficulty – 3.  Mostly uphill climbing on this hike.
• Trail Conditions – 4.  The trail was in pretty good shape.  Some areas were slightly overgrown and there were a few tree blowdowns, but otherwise, it was fine.
  
• Views – 3.5.  Some nice eastern views on the climb up from Powell Gap and nice western views near the Rockytop overlook.
• Wildlife – 4.  We saw many signs of bears along the trail (and saw one), we saw our first timber rattlesnake, and several pileated woodpeckers.
  
• Ease to Navigate – 4.  Not many turns on the Appalachian Trail, but a few turns to make it to the Loft Mountain wayside.
  
• Solitude – 4.  You will likely see people near Powell Gap and Loft Mountain, but not a lot in between.
  

Directions to trailhead:  Mile 70 on Skyline Drive, park in the large field.  You’ll see the post for the Appalachian Trail from the lot and head south.

Rohrbaugh Cliffs at Sunset. Below: Gearing up at the car before starting the hike; Making the short walk down Forest Road 75; Adam points out our route on the trail sign.

Christine and Adam Say…

For this particular post, we decided to team up and write one massive post, instead of the normal ‘He Says, She Says’versions. Enjoy!)

Last year, we participated in a Potomac Appalachian Trail Club workshop called Backpacking 101 (read part one, part two, and part three).  Initially, we were scheduled to do an overnight trip to the Dolly Sods Wilderness as a ‘graduation’ from our class.  Sadly, we ended up missing that trip because Christine’s ankle sprain still hadn’t healed enough for the rigors of backpacking.  While the make-up trip we eventually did to Hazel Mountain in Shenandoah National Park was great, we still wanted to do an overnight trip in Dolly Sods. For the best maps of the area, print off the Northeast and Southeast sections of these maps.

Dolly Sods is such a unique area for the mid-Atlantic region. It’s the only area close to us with a sub-Arctic tundra climate – loaded with heath barrens, blueberry bushes, acidic bogs and coniferous forest.  You feel like you’re somewhere far north of West Virginia when you visit this wilderness area.

The route we chose through Dolly Sods was of a length and difficulty we would typically choose for an easy day hike.  (5 miles with 900 feet of elevation change)  But we decided it would be fun to do an easy hike and enjoy camping at one of the most beautiful sites in the entire Monongahela National Forest’s wilderness area.

We also were lucky to have some awesome company for this trip.  In Backpacking 101, we met a nice couple – Suzanne and Anthony.  We enjoyed hanging out with them on our class trip to Hazel Mountain and had stayed in touch with them ever since.  We tried planning trips together a couple times, but until this trip our schedules just hadn’t matched up.  We were thrilled when plans finally came together for this Fourth of July weekend trip.

Day One:

Suzanne and Anthony drove down to our house on Friday night so we would have time to go through all our gear before getting an early(ish) start on Saturday morning.  We spent most of the evening fiddling with our packs, splitting up shared gear and contemplating how many Clif bars we truly needed to survive our expedition. That evening, it looked like an REI store exploded in our basement.  We laughed about how much stuff we had to pack for just one night of camping.  We ran through our checklist to make sure we had everything – stove, tent, sleeping bag, clothes, food, emergency kit, etc.

On Saturday, we had a big breakfast and were out the door a little after 9:30.  We didn’t make it to the trailhead until after 1:00.  We made a stop at Seneca Rocks Visitor’s Center and ended up buying another trail guide and a new map for West Virginia hiking.  (Not for use on this trip, but just to have for the future.) We also stopped at the Subway in Franklin, WV to grab sandwiches to have for lunch on the trail.

When we got to the Fisher Springs Run trailhead, the parking lot was overflowing with cars.  A couple people had decided to park sideways in the lot instead of straight-on, so they took up space that could have accommodated five or six more cars.  It was a little annoying and worrisome – would we get out to Rohrbaugh Cliffs and find all the prime campsites already occupied?  We ended up parking a short distance down Forest Road 75, in a patch of dirt just wide enough to get our car off the road.

The forest floor was a sea of ferns. Below: Adam hikes along the Fisher Springs Run Trail; The trail junction of Fisher Springs and Rohrbaugh Plains; Subway for lunch; Our huge pile of packs; Adam traverses a rocky section of trail, Suzanne crosses a small stream.

We found space to shove the sandwiches into Suzanne’s pack, slathered ourselves with sunscreen and bug spray, and got to the business of walking.  Almost immediately after stepping off the dusty, gravel forest road onto the trail, we found ourselves ensconced in a cool, lush, green forest.  Ferns spread across the ground for as far as the eye could see.  The trail descended gradually, occasionally crossing small, mostly dry streams.  The trail got rockier as we followed it for a little over a mile to its junction with the Rohrbaugh Plains trail.  We stopped at the trail junction and ate our lunch.  We chatted with a passing backpacker who was doing a 19-mile loop through Dolly Sods.  She was on a solo trip and told us she was headed down into the Red Creek basin.  We asked her if she had noticed many camps set up near the cliffs.  She said she hadn’t seen anyone, so we took that as a hopeful sign.

After lunch, we took a left onto the Rohrbaugh Plains trail.  The trail at this point was all rocks.  They almost looked fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.  Almost immediately after the rocky patch, we dipped deeply into a ravine with a pretty flowing stream.  It was a perfect water source for backpacking. We figured that in the worst case scenario, we could hike back to this point to fetch water for cooking and cleaning at camp.

The last 1.2 miles to our campsite ascended ever so slightly, winding past giant mossy boulders and through dense thickets of rhododendron.  With about a half mile to go, we passed another trail junction with the Wildlife Trail.  Taking the Wildlife Trail to the Rohrbaugh Plains trail is probably the most popular route for day hikers to reach Rohrbaugh Cliffs.  After this trail junction, we crossed a swampy, muddy area and walked across a grassy meadow.  A couple tenths of a mile past the meadow, we came to a beautiful clearing where we ended up making camp.

Crossing the meadow. Below: Christine and Adam's camp; Adam collects water for cooking and cleaning; Anthony and Suzanne's camp.

There were so many soft, flat spots that were perfect for our tents!  We chose a couple spots located out of sight of the trail.  We had a fire pit, a nice place for cooking, a view and shady trees.  It was nothing short of perfect.

It felt great to shed our packs and get to work setting up camp.  Our Mountain Hardwear tent (the Drifter 3) is super-simple and was pitched in just a few moments.  While Adam worked on staking the tent, Christine inflated our Big Agnes pads.  We put them in the tent along with our sleeping bags, so they’d have some time to re-fluff after being compressed in stuff sacks all day.

On this backpacking trip, we had a few new and exciting ‘creature comforts’.  Since our last backpacking trip, we acquired Alite camp chairs.  They’re so comfortable and lightweight!  We also both got the large Thermarest pillows.  They’re really bulky and take up a ton of pack space, but they’re very lightweight and make a world’s difference for getting comfortable at night.  Christine also brought a fitted sheet for her sleeping pad.  Even though the sheet is made by Thermarest, it fits the Big Agnes pad perfectly.  A sheet is not a necessity, but it definitely improves the texture and breathability of your sleeping pad.  Christine especially hates feeling clammy or slippery when she’s trying to sleep, so having the sheet made a huge difference.  Neither of us actually sleep inside our sleeping bag unless it’s freezing cold.  We prefer to open our bags up and use them like quilts.

After we finished setting up our tent, we carried our cooking stuff down to our kitchen area.  We also pulled out all our ‘smellables’ and set them aside so they could easily be stowed away in our hanging bear bag.  Christine found a couple branch stubs to hang our trekking poles and our packs. We both covered our packs with garbage bags in case it rained overnight.

Anthony and Suzanne were still working on getting there camp set up, so we decided to go on a water run.  We hadn’t passed a better water source after the stream near the trail junction, so we took our collapsible bucket and headed back down the trail.  Filling up was easy, but getting two gallons of water in a soft-sided bucket back to camp without spilling anything over a 1.2 mile distance was substantially trickier!  We were very thankful we went as a pair to get water, because it was nice to trade off carrying the bucket. We joked that it was like being in a challenge on some adventure reality show.  We made it back without much spillage at all!

When we got back, Anthony and Suzanne were all set up, so we decided to walk a few hundred feet further down the trail to explore the cliffs.  Rohrbaugh Cliffs were spectacular.  The view into the valley below was all wilderness – not a single road or farm or house – just mountains and streams for as far as the eye could see.

Adam on Rohrbaugh Cliffs. Below: Wild, ripe blueberries; A cute frog that visited our camp; Rosebay Rhododendron were in bloom; Our group on Rohrbaugh Cliffs; A couple more views of the cliffside.

We visited the area at a truly beautiful time of year.  The Rosebay Rhododendrons were just starting to bloom.  The mountain laurel was a bit past peak, but there were still plenty of flowers to enjoy.  And best of all WILD BLUEBERRIES were everywhere along the cliffs!  Suzanne and Christine were significantly more excited about the berries than the guys and spent a lot of time searching for ripe berries tucked into the bushes.

Most of the late afternoon was spent relaxing near camp and getting dinner ready.  Around 5:30, Adam got out the JetBoil and boiled water for all of our dinners.  We had wanted to come up with some homemade backpacking recipes, but never got our act together.  Adam and Christine ended up eating Backpacker’s Pantry Chicken Risotto with Mocha Mousse Pie for dessert.  It was satisfying and very filling!  Anthony and Suzanne had macaroni and cheese and blueberry cobbler from some backpacking meal company (AlpineAire) none of us had heard of before.  They were pretty happy with their dinner, too.

Chef Adam filters and boils water for dinner. Below: Chicken Risotto for dinner; Anthony and Suzanne relax after dinner; Playing Monopoly on the cliffs; Hanging our bear bag.

We cleaned up our dishes, brushed our teeth (We love Wisps for backpacking) and hoisted our bear bag into the highest, safest tree we could find.  We decided to play cards and watch sunset from the cliffs.  We found a big flat rock near the edge and played the card version of Monopoly. The game took a long time, and Adam eventually won.  The sky turned to hues of pink and soft purple and the sun dipped down behind the mountains.  It was so beautiful!

Shortly before full dark, a couple more groups of backpackers showed up – maybe five people and two dogs.  They set up their camps down the trail from us.  So even though we weren’t the only people up there, we still felt like we had a good measure of solitude.  It definitely was not the situation we feared when we saw the packed parking lot at the trailhead. We’re guessing most of the other backpackers ended up along Red Creek.

Once the sun was down, we all retreated to our tents.  Christine listened to a book on her iPod for a while.  By the light of his headlamp, Adam enjoyed reading some of his book by John Muir.  He’s been reading this book exclusively on backpacking trips.  It’s a nice tribute to read something by the ultimate outdoorsman while having our own experience with nature.

Christine started getting really sleepy, so she stowed her iPod away and dozed off, only to be woken almost immediately by the sound of fireworks in the valley below.  We think we heard fireworks shows from three different locations, because there were definitely three distinct grand finales.  The booming sounds and bursts of light in the sky came from different directions, too.  We contemplated leaving our tent and going back out to the cliffs to see if we could see the fireworks from above, but we ended up staying put. Christine didn’t feel like getting dressed again. When all was said and done, we kind of regretted not going back out to see the fireworks.

Eventually the fireworks drew to a close, and Christine drifted back to sleep.  Unfortunately, Adam did not sleep that well on this trip.  He was physically comfortable, but he just wasn’t tired enough to sleep soundly.  Going to bed shortly after sunset just isn’t what his body is used to, so he did a lot of tossing and turning during the night.

Our sunset card game. Below: Layers of mountains frame the Red Creek Valley; We had a pretty sunset; Suzanne takes a few final photos of the evening sky.

Around 2:30 a.m., Adam shook Christine awake to close the rainfly on the tent – a storm was approaching.  Christine stumbled and grumbled and totally failed at closing the fly.  Adam had to crawl over her to get both sides of the tent closed.  Christine completely lacks dexterity when she’s half asleep. The storm never really materialized beyond some lightning and wind.  We both fell back to sleep and didn’t wake up again until about 6:15.  Christine said it was the best night of sleep she’s ever had in a tent.

Day Two

Shortly after sunrise, we got out of the tent and took a walk over to the cliffs.  Christine thought there might be some pretty morning light, but it was completely cloudy.  Back at camp, we started breaking down our tent, deflating our sleeping pads and re-stuffing our sleeping bags.  We got the bear bag down and got everything ready to cook breakfast.

Christine tried Starbuck’s instant coffee, Via, for the first time.  It was surprisingly delicious.  Once she added sweetener and powdered Coffeemate, it tasted almost identical to a cup of brewed coffee.  In addition to coffee, we had boxes of apple-grape juice and instant maple-brown sugar oatmeal.  We figured that would be plenty of food to give us energy for the short hike out.

After everyone was done with breakfast, we finished packing up and cleaning up our camp area.  We were back on the trail by 8:45.  Our exit route simply retraced the trail we had hiked in.  We were back at the car by 10:15.

Breaking camp in the morning. Below: Fat Boy's Pork Palace for lunch!

On the way home, we stopped at Fat Boy’s Pork Palace for lunch.  With a name like that, you know it’s going to have perfect options for a post-backpacking calorie splurge!  We enjoyed BBQ sandwiches with coleslaw and French fries.  Suzanne got breakfast and Anthony got a burger.  It was all delicious!

Once we were back at our house, we split up our group gear and saw Anthony and Suzanne on their way.  Christine said her post-backpacking shower might have been one of the best showers of her entire life.  It always feels awesome to wash away DEET, sunscreen and sweat!

We all had a great time on the trip. We’re already trying to plan our next backpacking adventure for some time in September!  Although, it’s going to be hard to top the scenery at Dolly Sods!

Trail Notes

• Distance – 5.2 miles total. (plus an additional 2.4 mile walk back to fetch water for camp)
  
• Elevation Change – 900 feet.  The Fisher Springs Run trail descends about 500 feet and the Rohraugh Plains ascends about 400 feet.
  
• Difficulty – 2.  The hike was not that difficult, even with 35 pounds on my back.
• Trail Conditions – 3.  The trail was well-maintained, but there are lots of rocky spots where you could turn your ankle.
  
• Views –5.  The views from Rohrbaugh cliffs were quite spectacular and it was nice to see the sun disappear over the mountains.
  
• Wildlife – 1.  We were expecting to see some wildlife up here, but we didn’t see anything other than squirrels, frogs and some birds.  We did wake up to the sounds of dark-eyed juncos in the morning.
  
• Ease to Navigate – 3.5.  There are not any blazes on trails at Dolly Sods, but the trails are very well-defined and signs are in place to mark junctions.  Stay on the trail as much as possible and you won’t have any trouble.  I can imagine that when leaves fall and cover the trail in the fall, it would be more challenging to find the trail.
  
• Solitude – 4.  On a nice day, you may see some people at the overlook. 
  

Directions to trailhead:  From Seneca Rocks, go North on WV 28 for 12 miles.  Take a left on Jordan Run Road.  Go one mile up Jordan Run Road and take a left on to Forest Road 19.  In 6 miles, Forest Road 19 comes to a T on to Forest Road 75.  Take a right, heading north on Forest Road 75.  Drive for three miles until reaching the small parking lot and the trailhead for Fisher Springs Run.


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Blooming Trillium Along the Appalachian Trail. Below: Adam makes his way along the AT; The only view on the hike comes from an opening in the trees near Pocosin Cabin; Climbing the one rocky section of trail; Ferns were everywhere!

Christine Says…

This post should have been about our backpacking trip to White Rock in George Washington National Forest.  We spent all morning on Saturday getting ready – making toiletry kits, forcing our sleeping bags into waterproof stuff sacks, testing batteries in our headlamps, filling our Camelbaks, et cetera.  We even drove the nearly two hours over into West Virginia.  The forecast called for a 30% chance of spotty showers, however, at the trailhead we found a steady deluge of cold rain.  We sat in the car for about an hour and a half, waiting for the rain to pass by.  It never did, so we bailed on our backpacking trip and headed home feeling completely bummed out.

The next morning, we woke to drizzle and clouds, but the local weather guy kept saying “Not a washout, don’t cancel outdoor plans, dry air moving into the area.”  So, we decided to head out into the gloomy morning and finish our last section of Appalachian Trail in the central district of Shenandoah National Park. We had already hiked three sections – Big Meadows to Bearfence, Skyland to Big Meadows and Skyland to Thornton Gap, so that left the nine miles between Bearfence and Swift Run Gap.

It turned out to be a perfect day for this hike!  The drizzle stopped shortly after we arrived in the park, and the cool, overcast weather was ideal for a hike through the woods.  I always like cloudy weather when I’m going to be photographing scenes under the tree canopy.  The clouds are like a giant softbox – filtering the light and making every scene look softly-lit and shadow-free.  Sunny days in the woods always result in spotty/stripy uneven photos – the contrast between light and dark is too much.

The yellow lady slipper is a rather uncommon wildflower. Below: A collection of wildflower shots... trillium, wild violet, wild geranium, and some others we don't know.

It also was a fabulous day for enjoying the amazing display of wildflowers Shenandoah has underway right now.  I saw everything from wild violets to expansive carpets of trillium to colorful and rather uncommon yellow lady slippers.  The forest floor lining the trail was like an ocean of wildflowers – there were so many.  It was so gorgeous!  I think I must have said “Can you believe all these flowers!?” to Adam at least five or six times.  I don’t think he was as moved as I was!  For example, when I spotted the lady slipped, I gasped and said “Oooooh – oh, my gosh – look!”  He thought I saw a bear cub, and was duly disappointed when he learned I only saw a flower.

In addition to all the wildflowers, we also saw many birds that we don’t see often down in the valley.  We saw two mating pairs of Scarlet Tanagers, several Baltimore Orioles, many Eastern Towhees, Eastern Phoebes and a few Bluebirds.

This section of Appalachian Trail is a good example for why the path is aptly nicknamed ‘The Green Tunnel’.  Even though the leaves were not fully out, the trail always felt like a narrow passage cutting through the greenest of greens.  Everywhere you walk, trees form an umbrella overhead and ferns, grasses and other understory plants come right up to the trail’s edge.  It’s such a peaceful setting.

We didn’t pass any grand views – really, the only spot you could really see off into the distance was one small peek through the trees shortly before passing the Pocosin Cabin.  We also didn’t pass any streams bigger than small runnels that could be traversed by a single large step.  We also didn’t see many other hikers.  We ran into several AT thru-hikers.  They’re probably the first of many we’ll see over the next couple months!  Late May through the end of June seems to be when most of them pass through Shenandoah.

The Pocosin cabin sits just a few hundred feet off the Appalachian Trail. Below: Spring leaves are starting to pop up at even the higher elevations; Lower elevations are already leafed out; Lunch at South River Picnic Area.

As we got closer to the South River picnic area, we started seeing a few more people – a man out looking for morels, a few couples walking the South River Falls loop, and lots of picnickers.  We stopped at the picnic area and ate our packed lunch.  It was a nice place to take a break before knocking out the last three miles of our hike.

Most of the last three miles we hiked just a few months earlier, when we did the Saddleback Mountain loop.  There were several places along the trail that I remembered seeing covered with a dusting of snow last time we passed by.  Green leaves dramatically change the scene!  It didn’t look like the same place at all.

The last couple miles of our hike were all downhill back to Swift Run Gap.  Overall, this nine-mile section of trail was really easy walking, with only about 1300 feet of climbing.  And although it didn’t have the most impressive scenery, I enjoyed the hike very much.  It was a great ‘consolation prize’ for our canceled backpacking trip!

Adam Says…

This hike finished our Central District section hike of the Appalachian Trail.  Please see our Skyland to Thornton Gap, Skyland to Big Meadows, and Big Meadows to Bearfence entries to read about the entire hike through this section.  We hope to continue working on sections in the South and North districts of Shenandoah National Park to complete this section of the AT.

Bearfence Hut is an overnight shelter for backpackers. Below: The trail down to the shelter is slick and steep; the AT passes right behind Lewis Mountain campground and cabins.

We left one car at the Swift Run Gap entrance to the park and then drove up to the Bearfence Mountain parking lot around mile 56.8 on Skyline Drive (keep in mind there is also a Bearfence Trail parking lot around mile 56.5, so be sure to park at the correct lot).  There is a parking lot on both the west and east sides of Skyline Drive.  The Appalachian Trail picks up near the parking lot on the eastern side of Skyline Drive.  Head south on the white-blazed AT.  The trail descends slightly and you will soon come across a spur trail to the Bearfence Mountain Hut, that can be used for overnight backpackers.   The .1 mile spur trail is steep and may be slippery on the way down, but it is always interesting to see these huts along the AT.  Continue along the AT and the trail ascends slightly.  You will be able to see spur trails along the way to the Lewis Mountain Campground and picnic area.  After passing by this area, the trail will descend again.  At 2.7 miles, you will cross over the Pocosin Fire Road as you start a 500 foot ascent.  At the 4.0 mile mark, you will reach the peak of Baldface Mountain and then begin your descent.  At 5.5 miles, you will reach the South River Picnic Area to your right.  This is a great place to stop and eat a snack or use the restroom.  Once you get past the South River picnic area, you will shortly come across another fire road.  Take a left at this road to continue on the AT.  You will follow this road uphill a short distance and then you will find the entrance back on the AT on the right-hand side of the road.  Keep following the AT as it ascends the Saddleback Mountain.  You reach the peak of Saddleback Mountain around mile 7 on your hike.  You then descend for the next two miles back to the Swift Run Gap station.

The highlights of this hike were really all the bird sightings and the wildflowers.  There seemed to be a trillion trillium on the trail.  We really enjoyed seeing all the Baltimore Orioles (no sign of Cal Ripken, Jr.) and the Scarlet Tanagers.  With the rain being so heavy this spring, the colors were bursting.

Native Azaleas Along the Trail. Below: Closeup of azaleas; Adam passing a pretty dogwood at the end of the hike.

We enjoyed hiking the little side trail down to Bearfence Hut and chatting with a group of section hikers.  They had spent a rainy night in the shelter and were gearing up to hike another 8+ miles to the Big Meadows area.  One of the group was a boy, maybe eight or nine.  He asked if we were thru-hikers and talked about how much you have to eat when you’re hiking.  It was nice to see a kid learning to love the outdoors.

We also diverted down the trail to Pocosin Cabin for Christine to take a couple photos, but ended up staying only briefly because we didn’t want to disturb the party that had rented the cabin.  They had an adorable long-haired German Shepherd puppy named ‘Chance’.  He greeted us near the privy and was in full play mode!

I did feel a little out of shape on this hike.  It seems that after I hit the seven mile mark, my legs tend to cramp and I have to hobble along the trail.  Hopefully this will improve over the next few months.  The first part of the hike was great, but then fatigue started to set in for me.  Christine has been doing a ton of training with weights and cardio this spring, so she felt really energetic the entire hike.  Personally, I thought it was great to see the car at the finish line!

Trail Notes

• Distance – 9.25 miles. This includes the shorter spur hikes to Bearfence Hut, Lewis Mountain Campground, Pocosin Cabin and South River Picnic Area
  
• Elevation Change – 1350 feet in three main climbs.
• Difficulty –2. This is a pleasant and easy section to hike.
• Trail Conditions – 4. Very nicely maintained and easy to walk.  There are several rocky sections.
  
• Views – 1. You get one decent view near Pocosin Cabin.
• Waterfalls/streams – 0. Non-existent.
  
• Wildlife – 3.5. You will likely see deer and you may even see some black bears during the warmer months.
  
• Ease to Navigate – 4. Follow the white blazes.  The one tricky place is where you cross the fire road that leads to South River Spring and the PATC maintenance hut.  As you come out on the fire road, follow it downhill to pick the AT back up.  You should see a white blaze.
• Solitude – 2. You will likely see people along the trail, especially near South River and Lewis Mountain.
  

Directions to trailhead: Park at mile 56.8 on Skyline Drive at the Bearfence Mountain parking.  The trail begins near the eastern parking lot.

Adam takes in the view from the Piedmont Overlook. Below: Mt. Bleak House was built in 1843 and is open for tours; An Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker makes his way down the trail (he is in the far left of the photo, beyond the dogwood trees); A cute village in the valley below.

Adam Says…

This hike was amazing!  I can’t believe that we had never been to Sky Meadows State Park until now.  Each year, Christine and I pull a list of hikes together that we want to try and cover.  When I was looking through the Falcon Guide Hiking Virginia book, they mentioned under “other hikes” to try the Sky Meadows State Park.  I am shocked that the authors didn’t feature a trail through this area rather than leaving it as a footnote.  I think this is one of the best hikes in Virginia for views.  I would liken the scenery and open views to those you would find at Cole Mountain or Grayson Highlands/Mount Rogers.  Put this on your list of “must hikes” – you won’t regret it!

Pick up a trail map at the park entrance or download one.  Across from the Visitor Center, you will see the Park Office on the hillside.  Walk past the large board showing the map of hiking trails and walk up the gravel path that leads into the woods.  Once you reach the fork, take a left and continue down the gravel Boston Mill road.  Continue on this road, passing by the junction with the Gap Run trail, until you come to the junction with the South Ridge trail at .45 miles.

The Snowden House ruins. Below: We crossed this small stream early in the hike. It's probably dry most of the year; Adam makes his way up the South Ridge Trail; Adam reads information about Snowden; Dogwoods were at their peak.

Take a right on to the yellow-blazed South Ridge Trail.  The trail begins to quickly climb up the steep hillside.  At .5 miles, there is a short spur trail to a nice view.  At .58 miles, you will come to the Snowden Ruins.  You’ll see the foundation of the old homestead along with what is left of a stone chimney.  Further up the trail, you will come to the South Ridge overlook which sits under a dogwood tree.  Continue along the trail which tends to ascend most of the way.  At 2.2 miles, you will reach a junction with the North Ridge trail.  Take a left up the blue-blazed North Ridge Trail.  At 2.6 miles, you will reach a junction with the white-blazed Appalachian trail.  Take a right, heading north on the Appalachian Trail.  At 3.5 miles, you will come to a fork.

Take a right at the fork to go on to the light blue-blazed Ambassador Whitehouse trail.  At 3.9 miles, you will come to the Paris overlook viewpoint, which also provides gorgeous panoramic views.  After this viewpoint, the trail descends back through the woods.  At 4.53 take a left back on to the North Ridge trail, but in just a few feet you will take a left up the red Piedmont Overlook trail.

Adam under the Dogwoods. Below: Hepatica; Tiger Swallowtail; Mayapple Flower

The trail ascends through a steep section here, but you will climb up a few stairs and then reach a wider trail that leads to a few benches and the Upper Piedmont Overlook.  Enjoy the views here and as you climb down to the Lower Piedmont Overlook.  After passing by an old farm building, you will climb over a few stairs and then down until you come back to the Boston Mill Road at mile 5.1.   Take a left on the road and you should be making your way back to your vehicle and the Visitor Center.

The land that became Sky Meadows State Park was donated by Paul Mellon (son of Andrew Mellon – U.S. Secretary of State from 1921-1932), a famous philanthropist, art collector, and Kentucky Derby-winning horse owner.   He donated 1132 acres of the land in 1975 and later more donations (including the land for the Appalachian Trail) have taken it up to the current 1862 acres.  The history of the land also dates back to Lord Fairfax and previous owners had ties to Belle Grove.

This really was a perfect day to do this hike!  We started off the day with a trip through Shenandoah National Park to view some early morning wildlife and to take in some breakfast at Skyland.  We then made our way to Front Royal and headed to Sky Meadows State Park.  The weather was perfect for hiking with highs in the 70s and a breeze throughout.  The sky was very clear with a few clouds, but no threat of rain.  The views were extraordinary and I can’t wait to come back some time.

Adam find the Hiking Upward Cache. Below: Lunch on the trail; Turning onto the AT; Making our way across the high meadows.

If you are interested in geocaching, there are several geocaches to find on this loop:

Christine Says…

Last Saturday was a perfect spring day.  We got up before sunrise and drove through the central and north districts of Shenandoah National park en route to Sky Meadows State Park for a day of hiking. (Passing through Shenandoah, we saw a bear and had a good breakfast at Skyland!)

Sky Meadows was established in the early 1980s and is home to a beautiful restored Civil-war era farm and twelve miles of hiking trails – including a little snip of the Appalachian Trail.  Sky Meadows is unique in that its campground has no car access.  Anyone wishing to stay overnight has to hike in to their campsite.

We parked at Mt. Bleak House.  From there, we hiked down a gravel path leading to the park’s network of trails.  Finding the trail we wanted to start on was a little tricky, because park maps were not to scale.  After a little fumbling around, we were on our way up the South Ridge Trail.  The trail climbed slowly and steadily uphill, past the ruins of Snowden – another old farm within the park’s boundary.  All that’s left standing of Snowden is a crumbling chimney and a number of foundations from outbuildings.  The site has a plaque describing the house and the people that lived there many years ago.

From Snowden, the path ascended continually passing through open meadows and pretty forest.  The dogwoods and redbuds were all near their peak of spring glory.  The flowers on the trees were truly spectacular against the perfect blue sky.  The breeze kept bugs (and sweating) at bay!  It really was ideal weather to be outdoors.

A Beautiful Redbud along the trail. Below: A view into the valley from the Piedmont Overlook; More Views; A spectacular dogwood.

For a while, the trail was pretty level as it passed through thicker woods.  We startled a turkey and watched it fly off, chortling and gobbling in dismay at being disturbed.  I must say… turkeys look really funny in flight.  The trail in this area was lined with lots of tiny wildflowers – mostly violets and hepatica.

Eventually, we started climbing again and came to the junction of the North Ridge and South Ridge trails.  We contemplated stopping for lunch at this point, but decided to press on, following the North Ridge trail to where it meets Appalachian Trail.  Another nice thing about Sky Meadows… there are benches at most trail junctions and overlooks.  It’s nice to have a comfortable place to sit and eat lunch – away from ticks, poison ivy and other crawly things.  We ended up using the bench along the Appalachian Trail for our picnic spot.

For lunch, we feasted on sandwiches, brownies, grapes and cheese.   Adam was eating his cheese and looking especially contemplative, when he turned and asked me “What kind of cheese is this?”  I responded “It’s mozzarella and cheddar twisted together.  You don’t like it?”  He said “No, it’s really GOOD… it sort of tastes like lobster dipped in melted butter!”  It’s weird, but he was actually kind of right – something about the texture of warmish mozzarella blended with the flavor of sharper cheddar ended up tasting remarkably like lobster. We’ve taken to calling this particular cheese snack ‘Lobster Cheese’.

While we ate lunch, we watched several other groups of hikers pass by.  No one really seemed to know where they were going.  Someone asked us if Harper’s Ferry was where the Appalachian Trail began.  Someone asked if they were already in Shenandoah National Park.  Two guys with cigarettes, sodas and no hiking gear contemplated aloud to one another “Should we go to Shenandoah or Harper’s Ferry?” (they were 20+ miles from either destination.)

After lunch, we headed north along the Appalachian Trail for a short while.  Along the ridge, the forest completely opened up to high meadows with amazing views into the valley below.  We were walking along the trail, chatting, when a fast hiker snuck up and passed us from behind.  He turned out to be the first AT thru-hiker we’ve seen in Virginia this year.   He’s definitely ahead of the pack!

We passed this old farm building on the hike down the Piedmont Overlook Trail. Below: A pretty lone tree; Adam stands in the middle of a huge four-trunked tree.

We really enjoyed walking across the open meadow terrain.  Most hikes we do are through thick forest, so this was a welcome change of pace.

At the junction of the Ambassador House Trail, the Appalachian Trail continued north and we turned right to make our way across more meadows and downhill to the Piedmont Overlook Trail.  We dipped back into forested area and passed a really cool four-trunked tree.  It was big enough for Adam to stand inside between all the trunks.

We took the optional arm of the trail uphill to get to the actual Piedmont Overlook, which was beautiful!  I loved seeing all the little houses and farms below in the valley.  From the overlook, the remainder of the hike was steeply downhill across open meadow.

Mt. Bleak House Grounds. Below: A couple other shots from the Mt. Bleak grounds.

We arrived back on the gravel road and made our way back to the Mt. Bleak House area.  We stopped in the gift shop and chatted with the ranger.  We overheard her asking everyone walking in “Did you hike today?” and pretty much everyone answered “No – we’re just here to picnic!”  So, I made a point to tell her that we had hiked, had a great time and thought the park’s trail system was fantastic and very nicely maintained.  Adam got his passport book stamped and got credit for finding the state park’s official geocache.  We took a few minutes to poke around the farm and talk to two historical interpreters – one of them in a wonderful Zouave uniform.

We enjoyed our day in Sky Meadows very much.  It’s definitely a park we’ll visit again.

On our way home, we stopped briefly in Linden, Va to buy apple butter-cinnamon donuts from the Apple House.  If you’re in the area – you should do the same – they’re delicious!

Trail Notes

• Distance – 5.5 miles.
  
• Elevation Change – 1100 feet with one large climb in the beginning of the hike.  It’s mostly downhill or flat afterwards.
• Difficulty –2.5. The beginning section is the toughest and is not for every person, but if you take it slow most people will be fine.
• Trail Conditions – 4. It is very well-maintained.  The only rocky section was the .3 mile section on the North Ridge Trail.  The trail is wide in most places for two people to walk side-by-side.  Some sections you are even walking on soft grass.
  
• Views – 5. You have lots of views along this hike of the valley and farm below.  On a clear day, you can see for miles!
• Waterfalls/streams – 1. You cross one small stream in the beginning. It’s probably dry most of the year.
  
• Wildlife – 2. We only saw one wild turkey and some other birds (there are bluebird boxes along the road).  They have spotted golden eagles in the area recently.
  
• Ease to Navigate – 3. There are many options and junctions with other trails and the trails are not that well marked along the way.  While I don’t think a lot of people get lost up here, I do think some people take wrong turns before deciding they may have not gone the best way.  Take a trail map!
• Solitude – 2. You will likely see people along the trail.  However, I think most of these people will be within a mile of the visitor’s center.  While we did see several people, you should be able to find your peace along the trail to soak in the views.
  

Directions to trailhead: From Route 17, turn on to Edmonds Lane as you see the sign for Sky Meadows State Park.  Follow this road until you reach the parking lot in front of Mt. Bleak House.  Park your car here and then walk past the large billboard with hiking trails on the small gravel path near the Park Office House.  All of the hiking trails start once you reach the junction on the edge of the woods.  Take a left to start your hike.

Wookie Enjoys the View from Duncan Knob. Below: The foliage along the trail was pretty; The scramble is a foreboding pile of boulders; Adam and Wookie make their way up the scramble.

Christine Says…

On Friday, Adam and I both took a vacation day from work to get in some fall hiking. We decided Duncan Knob suited our plans perfectly.  We wanted to avoid hikes in the national park (the crowds are dreadful this time of year) and we didn’t want to drive more than an hour. We did a little online research to look at our route options, and found pretty much everyone did the hike as an 8.7 mile loop.  The common route passes by just one spot with a view and includes significant uphill climbs on both the outgoing and return arms of the loop.

We decided to look at our maps to see if there was a more direct route to Duncan Knob.  I know lots of people primarily hike for the exercise. They love anything that makes the trail longer, steeper and more challenging.  I am not one of those people.  I don’t mind distance or elevation as long as there is a payoff for it.  But if there’s a more direct route to get the same view, I usually opt to take it.  Needless to say, we were pleased to find a 3.5 mile, out-and-back route that involved just 1200 feet of elevation gain.

The Blue Blazed Trail Gap Creek Trail. Below: The Gap Creek trail is well-marked; Near the beginning of the trail you cross a small stream; Wookie enjoyed running back and forth across the bridge.

The hike starts at the Gap Creek trailhead on Crisman Hollow Road.  You’ll walk a short way up a blue-blazed fire road until you see a campsite on the left side of the road.  The road continues uphill from this point, but you’ll want to cut through the campsite and cross the small bridge over the stream.  After crossing the bridge, the trail climbs steadily uphill.  For the first mile, the elevation gain is very gentle and is punctuated by flat stretches.  The trail is extremely rocky the entire way.  At mile 1.2, the blue-blazed Gap Creek trail intersects the yellow-blazed Scothorn Gap trail.  Continue on the blue-blazed trail until you reach a level place near the top of the ridge at 1.5 miles.  There’s a great campsite at this spot.  It has a big stone fire pit ringed by log benches.  There are lots of flat places to pitch tents, too.

Directly across from the campsite, the Duncan Knob spur trail begins.  The trail is blazed white and climbs steeply uphill to the summit.  As you walk along, you’ll notice the rocks on the trail are getting larger and more abundant.  Eventually, you step out of the woods and find yourself facing an enormous pyramid-shaped summit of jumbled rocks and boulders.

Wookie and Adam scramble upward. Below: The trail becomes progressively rockier; Adam explore the boulders; Wookie spots Adam climbing back down from the geocache.

Climb the rock scramble any number of ways (we followed a rather informal series of cairns along the left side of the rock pile) and you’ll be treated to sweeping views in almost every direction.  The scrambling was fun and not difficult at all.  I found a nice rock “chair” to sit on while Adam found a geocache hidden at the summit.  It was freezing cold and blustery sitting on the rocks, so we didn’t stay too long.

On the way down, we stopped back by the campsite and had some water and a snack.  We even gave our dog, Wookie, some graham crackers and marshmallows from our trail mix.  He did a great job on the rock scramble – especially considering how small he is.  The hike back down was pretty uneventful and just retraced our steps.  What a great hike!  I told Adam it’s been one of my favorite recent hikes.

Adam Says…

Ever since we did the Strickler Knob hike (actually our very first post!), I had been hearing that Duncan Knob also had amazing views.  I believe we put off this hike for a while due to the long 8.7 mile length, combined with lots of elevation gain.  So, I pulled out my map of the area to see if there was a different way.  Sure enough, you can easily get up to Duncan Knob by just sticking to the Gap Creek Trail.  The hike may have a little steeper of an elevation than approaching it from the Scothorn Gap Trail, but the hike up the Gap Creek Trail is much shorter and you aren’t missing much scenery.

The trail does include a few switchbacks once you start the trail over the bridge which takes the pressure of the elevation off your leg muscles.  The hike is almost all uphill, but before you know it you’ve reached the ridge where the campsite is.  We took a break here to see if there was anything else to see along the ridge, before proceeding up the white-blazed trail to the summit of Duncan Knob.  This white-blazed trail is slightly overgrown and some of the white blazes are quite faded, but it wasn’t too hard to navigate.  After only about .2 miles on this trail, we saw the looming rock scramble in front of us.  We decided to approach the rock scramble on the left-hand side.  Once you begin to climb up a few rocks, the views really begin to open up around you.  The rocks weren’t too tough to navigate, but it was harder to help navigate a small dog on a leash.  From the top, you will have great views of Middle Mountain, Waterfall Mountain, Strickler Knob, and Kerns Mountain.  The color was very nice and we took some time to soak in the scenery.

Adam takes in the view from Duncan Knob. Below: A nice campsite on the ridge; Adam and Wookie take a break on the climb down; Wookie did surprisingly well on the scramble, but occasionally he had to be carried.

I left Christine to keep climbing up to the summit of the rock scramble and found the Duncan Knob Geocache.  A few people before me were not able to find it before me, so the owner had taken the posting offline until he had time to investigate.  I’m glad I was able to save the owner a hike back.  This was my 499th find, so I need to do something special for my 500th geocache.

If you haven’t done any hiking off Crisman Hollow Road, I would highly recommend making this a stop in the near future.  With the Massanutten Story Book Trail, Strickler Knob, and Duncan Knob hikes all off this road, I feel this road leads to some amazing hiking gems that are unknown to many.

Wookie Says…

I’m so glad that I finally got invited to go hiking again!  I really enjoyed most of this trail because there wasn’t any water for me to cross.  When we first started the trail, I did a few runs across the wooden bridge with my masters on both sides.  I was feeling frisky and I was ready to get moving.  We made our way up the trail and I felt it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.  When we got to the final rock scramble, I was a little worried.  I really enjoy climbing up on rocks, but I wouldn’t recommend it to my less-agile canine friends.  There were a couple of moments where I had to perform an iron cross and pull myself up some rocks, but Adam helped navigate me the right way through the maze of boulders.

Wookie enjoys trailmix!

The way down was a little more challenging, so Adam tucked me under his arm for most of the way down to make sure I didn’t get hurt.  I really enjoyed the views from the top of Duncan Knob and I enjoyed sniffing the air around me.  After our hike back down, my masters even let me sample a few pieces of trail mix.  I really liked the marshmallows best!  One time I dropped a marshmallow and when I picked it up again the dirt from the ground made it look like cookies and cream.  I look forward to my next time hiking and I’ll be sure to put on my pitiful, pleading face the next time Adam and Christine get ready to head out for a hike.

Trail Notes

• Distance – 3.5 miles.
• Elevation Change –  1200 feet
• Difficulty – 2.5. The hike is squarely moderate – even with the rock scramble.
• Trail Conditions –3. The trail is in good shape.  The rock scramble is not formally marked and there are some unbalanced rocks.
  
• Views – 5. Beautiful views of the Massanutten Mountain area. The view looking toward Strickler Knob is awesome!
• Waterfalls/streams –2. The stream is seasonal and may be dry part of the year.  When the stream is running, the area is popular with fishers.
  
• Wildlife – 1.5. The area is popular with hunters, so animals tend to be reclusive.  We’ve heard of people spotting bears and deer in the general area, but we’ve never seen larger animals.
  
• Ease to Navigate – 3.5. Trails are clearly blazed, but turns are not labeled and signed like they are in the national park.  It’s a good idea to have a map for this hike.
• Solitude – 4.5. On a beautiful fall day, we saw just one other couple of hikers.

Directions to trailhead: From New Market, take 211 east.  In about 3 miles, take a left on Crisman Hollow Road. The road starts off paved, but turns to gravel.  At about 4.5 miles, park on the right at the Gap Creek trail.  Follow the fire road until you reach the first campsite on the left.  The trail starts behind the campsite at a wooden bridge.

Adam crosses Sharps Bridge on the Greenbrier River Trail. Below: Due to drought conditions, the Greenbrier River was very low; Trail signs mark each entry to the trail; The Clover Lick Depot is one of the old train stops you'll pass on the trail.

Adam Says…

Our main reason for staying around the Marlinton, WV area was to do some biking on the Greenbrier River trail.  A few friends of mine that had done the Virginia Creeper Trail told me that we should do the Greenbrier River Trail sometime.  The trail was very similar to the Virginia Creeper.  They are both rails-to-trails biking trails and don’t take a ton of cardio effort or biking skills to complete.  The scenery may have been a little nicer along the Virginia Creeper; with mountain views and lots of bridges and trestles. However, the Greenbrier trail lacks the dense crowds that you find on the Virginia Creeper.  You’ll have lots of solitude on this trail, but there are also fewer amenities along the way (other than occasional restrooms at campsites).  Christine and I really enjoy the solitude more than anything, so it was great to get away for a nice, quiet, long bike ride.

We started our day with a car shuttle up to the northern terminus of the trail near Cass, WV.  We arranged the shuttle through Appalachian Sport.  We were the only people signed up for the shuttle, so we were able to arrange our own time.  It was nice to talk to our driver (wish we caught his name) about his impressions of the trail.  He was actually the one that gave us the news that JMU beat Virginia Tech in football.  We had been completely “off the grid” for a few days without any cellphone service, TV, or internet. We actually thought he was joking the first time he told us that JMU won.

Water levels were very low on the Greenbrier River. Below: The trail follows the river for almost all of its 78 miles; Adam bikes along the crushed stone trail; A view of the lovely river.

He frequently runs on the trail and told us about his goal to organize a Greenbrier River Challenge t0 raise funds with sponsorships for people to run the entire length of the trail.  A friend of mine from work is one of the few known people to run the entire trail in a single effort (I think he and a couple friends did all 78 miles in a little over 16 hours).  Our shuttle driver also told us that many people find the area between Cass and Marlinton to be the prettiest, but he thinks the entire trail is nice (with the exception of the more populated area between Marlinton and Seebert).

After being dropped off in the parking lot at the Northern Terminus of Slabtown (.5 miles from the town of Cass, WV), we got our gear together and headed down the trail.  Mile markers are posted along the way to help you plan your distance along the trail.  There are also slabs with the letter “W” along the trail, which were used by railroad engineers to know when to blow the whistle when they were approaching road crossings.  The first notable stop along the way is about 9.4 miles in when you reach the Clover Lick Depot.  This depot was built in the early 1900s and was recently renovated.  At mile 14.6, you will reach the Sharp’s tunnel and bridge.  The tunnel is 511 feet long and the bridge immediately after the tunnel is 229 feet long.  If you’re interested in parking your bike for a brief rest, right before the entrance to the tunnel there is a path to the left that leads down to the riverside. There is also a steep, slippery path up to the top of the tunnel for the more adventurous.  At mile 23.9, you will reach the water tank on the outskirts of Marlinton.  Shortly after you pass the water tank , you will reach the Marlinton Depot at mile 24.3.  The depot burned to the ground in 2008 and there are plans to have it rebuilt.  You can then bike a short distance back to where you left your vehicle.

The Sharps Tunnel is dark and deep! Below: Adam stands atop the tunnel entry; By mid-day, big puffy clouds breezed into the sky.

If you are interested in doing any geoaching along the bike trail, you can find a few along the way:

• Clover Lick Depot
• Katy’s Cache on GRT
• Are We Alone? GRT – part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory SETI@50 geocaching event

We definitely enjoyed our ride on the trail and I hope to come back at some point to try out some other sections of this trail.

Christine Says…

We had a great bike ride along the Greenbrier River Trail (GRT)!  I already can’t wait to go back and bike the remaining 53 miles.  Rails-to-trails riding is so pleasant and leisurely.  I love not having to worry about cars running me off the road.

If you’re going to bike a segment of the GRT, definitely look into arranging a shuttle. Typically, you leave your car at the end point, and the shuttle ferries you and your bikes to your start point. This allows you to bike a long section without having to retrace the trail to get back to your car.  You can also take your time exploring because you don’t have a set time to meet your ride at the end of your trip.  Shuttle companies are also a great source for trail tips – where to camp, where to eat, places to stop for water, etc.  We used Appalachian Sport, but there are several other shuttle companies in the area.

A View of Sharps Bridge. Can you spot Christine on the trestle? Below: A primitive campsite along the trail; Adam drives the old wagon; A few early hints of fall were evident in the trees along the trail.

We met our shuttle at 8:30, loaded up our bikes and headed off on our 45-minute van ride to Cass.  The morning was still cool with thick mist lifting off the river.  Fall is definitely in the air!  We passed through Cass Scenic Railroad State Park on our way to the northern end of the GRT. Cass is near Snowshoe Mountain.  The area offers so many options for outdoor fun – skiing, mountain biking, canoeing, scenic railroads, fishing, hiking, etc.

By 9:30, we were off and pedaling along the trail.  For several miles, we followed along the river – no sign of roads, people or houses.  It was wonderful!  The river was really low, but it was still gorgeous.  Every now and then, a deer would bound across the trail or go splashing across the river.  The fog burned off and opened up to crystalline clear blue skies – not a cloud in site.  Early splashes of fall color were already evident in the trees along the trail.

We passed a couple trailside campsites.  The GRT is also popular with equestrians, so campsites all included hitching posts. If I still had my horse, this would definitely be a dream ride!  Several of the campsites even had privies.

Occasionally, the trail passes by developed areas.  But “development” in this section of West Virginia usually means a few houses clustered along a quiet country road.  We passed a barn with equestrian services advertised on the building side.  They also had an old horse cart that Adam couldn’t resist.  We passed the Clover Lick Depot.  I think this area was probably a lot busier when the train was still running.  The depot building was really cute and had recently been restored.  Sadly, it’s not being used for anything.  I bet it would make a great trailside gift and snack shop, but I also bet it would be nearly impossible for a shop to stay in business along the GRT.  In the entire 25 miles we biked, I think we saw 6 people all day long.  With such low traffic, amenities will never spring up along this trail like they have along the Virginia Creeper.

One of my favorite things we passed along – or shall I say through – was the old Sharps Tunnel.  When we arrived at the tunnel opening, Adam scrambled up the hill to the top of the tunnel opening.  You can smell the inside of the mountain emanating from the tunnel.  It’s a hard smell to describe – the best I can describe is like a cool wind carrying the scent of tar, dampness and earth.  The tunnel is over 500 feet long and follows a curve.  This means that there is a section in the middle where there is absolutely no ambient light.  It is 100% completely pitch black and eerie as the grave.  For a few moments, I lost all sense of up, down, forward and backward.  It was like biking in space!  I shrieked with a mix of fear and giddiness until my bike hit light again.  It was really fun, but if you’re afraid of the dark or an uncertain biker, you might want to have a light on your bike or carry a headlamp in your bag.

There were a bunch of state park employees eating lunch on the other side of the tunnel.  I think they all heard me screaming in the tunnel, because they looked at me oddly.  Oh well…  I hope they were entertained.  As soon as you come out of the tunnel, you pass over the Sharps Bridge, which crosses the Greenbrier River on a tall trestle.

We spotted a couple of frightened baby chipmunks along the trail. Below: Another view of Sharps Bridge; the Greenbrier River; The other baby chipmunk we spotted. I hope they survived.

Shortly after crossing the bridge, I saw a tiny animal dart across the trail – barely missing Adam’s bike wheels.  It was as small as a field mouse.  I braked when I saw the tiny creature still sitting along the trailside.  It turned out to be a tiny baby chipmunk.  It was too young to be away from the nest, and the mother chipmunk was nowhere in site.  We made sure the little guy was safely off the trail and headed on our way.  As Adam was walking back to his bike, he almost stepped on another baby chipmunk.  This one was sitting in the middle of the trail, trembling in fear.  We made sure the other chipmunk was safely off the trail and nestled under some leaves before we biked on.  I hope those little chipmunks somehow found some way to survive. 

Chipmunks and deer were not the only wildlife we saw along the way.  We also saw a couple different kinds of snakes.  One snake was the largest black snake I’ve ever seen!  He was lying half on and half off the trail, clearly in a state of torpor from the chilly weather.  At first, I thought it was a toy rubber snake that someone had tossed along the trail.  It didn’t move at all when I nudged it with a stick.  I pushed it again, and I noticed the body slowly constricting.  The stick I had was an old fallen tree branch – about eight feet long.  I pushed the snake again to get it off the trail, but this time the snake completely coiled up; raising its upper body off the ground and flicking its tongue at me.  He was still really slow and stiff, but definitely awake! Adam, who was sitting on his bike 50 feet away, wanted nothing to do with the snake at all.  Finally, I managed to push the snake completely off the trail into the grass.  Hopefully, he slithered away when the sunshine of the day warmed him up.  Later in the day, we saw another snake basking in the sun in the middle of the trail, but he moved out of the way really quickly.

We saw this sleepy (but angry) black snake on the trail. Below: Near Marlinton, we saw old farm buildings and fields; The old water tank; The burned Marlinton depot; Adam checks out the inside of the train.

The last few miles of the trail passed through more open terrain.  We saw fields and old abandoned farm buildings.  Shortly thereafter, we passed a huge water tank – the only one left standing along the trail.  Trains used to stop at this spot to fill up.  By the time you get to the water tank, the GRT switches from a crushed stone surface to paved.  The paved section is about five miles long.

In a few minutes, we were back in Marlinton at the old train depot.  The depot used to be the town visitor’s center, but as Adam mentioned, it burned down a few years ago.  We took a few minutes to climb aboard the old train car at the depot before heading back to our car.

After loading up, we had a delicious lunch at the Greenbrier Grille.  They had great sandwiches (I recommend the Steak & Mozzarella!) and a lovely deck overlooking the river.  We ate lunch to the sound of honking ducks in the river below.  The restaurant has a large menu of homemade desserts, but we were too full from the sandwiches.

The next day, we were on our way back to Virginia, but we’ll definitely be visiting Pocahontas County again!

Trail Notes

• Distance – 24.3 miles
• Elevation Change – Negligible.  Hardly any elevation change.
• Difficulty – 2. While the biking is not difficult, the distance might be a little much for some people.  Hiking or biking it should be fairly easy.
• Trail Conditions – 4.5 The trail is very well-maintained.
• Views – 3.  The trail is scenic through most of the trail with views of the river most of the time.
• Waterfalls/streams – 2. The path runs along Wilson Creek for part of the trip and the Greenbrier River for most of the trip.
  
• Wildlife – 2.5 We saw deer a few times on the trail and in the river.  We also spotted some baby chipmunks, a blue heron, a couple snakes and some geese.
  
• Ease to Navigate – 4.5. Just stay on the bike trail.  A few spots run parallel with other driveways/roads, but you shouldn’t have trouble if you stay on the trail.
• Solitude – 3.  We were surprised with how few people were on the trail biking.  I think we only saw 6 people biking on the trail the entire day.

Directions to trailhead: The actual trailhead is located off Route 66/Back Mountain Road near Cass, WV.  There are clear signs to direct you to the trail.  If you use the services of Appalachian Sport, that is located on Route 55/219 in Marlinton, WV.  Here is a good map for that area.

View a Google Map of the Route

The Buck Hollow – Buck Ridge Trail is a steep hike in the Central District of Shenandoah National Park.  It takes a deep plunge along the Buck Hollow stream and a steep hike back up the Buck Ridge trail.

I've never seen so many different kinds of mushrooms/fungus along a trail in Shenandoah. Below: When we hiked Buck Hollow in August of 2008, we saw two yearling bear cubs; the stream running through Buck Hollow is rather small and overgrown.

Adam Says…

I have to be honest – we have been putting off doing this trail for a while.  We first did this hike a few years ago and the memories of how tough a hike it was kept us from wanting to do it again.  Christine and I both weren’t feeling well the day we attempted it last time, but we were more pleased doing this hike this time.

The trail starts off from the Meadow Springs parking area.  After about 20 feet down the trail, you see a post marking the Buck Hollow trail.  Take a left to go down this trail.  The trail seems to constantly descend and is rather steep in many portions.  There are loose rocks and if you attempt this after a heavy rain, you should expect some mud and slick soil on the trail.  Along the side for much of the trail, you will see the Buck Hollow stream.  Around mile 1.75, you will make a few rock-hops across the stream.  The trail continues to descend and then finally seems to just parallel the stream.  At mile 2.8, you will reach a cement post, pointing you to take a right on to the Buck Ridge Trail.  You cross the stream again and then you will quickly come up to the dreaded stairs.

For any Lord of the Rings fans, these stairs remind me of the stairs of Cirith Ungol.  “Up, up, up, up the stairs we go.”  They are unrelenting and seem to last forever, but they last less than .3 miles.  Of course, you do gain over 400 feet of elevation in this short distance.  These stairs didn’t exist the last time we did the hike; the last time, we just had a steep section of loose soil to traverse.  The stairs help make this hike more manageable, so I do thank the workers that accomplished this laborious task!

At the bottom of Buck Hollow, there is a beautiful camping spot with flat, open forest and easy access to water. Below: The trail starts out at the Meadow Springs Parking Area; A trail through a small slot in the rocks leads hikers to the only open view on the trail.

After the stairs, the trail continues to go uphill, but it is at a much more manageable grade.  Once you are high enough on the ridge, you are treated with views of Skyline Drive and mountain views around you (including Mary’s Rock).  We found a small crevasse bisecting a large rock formation that we were able to easily climb up to get some unobstructed views.  After mile 5.2, you do come up to another concrete post.  Take a right and you will reach the parking lot in a little over .3 miles.

One interesting note that I remember from our first hike of this loop trail was near the bottom of Buck Hollow.  We were hiking along and all of a sudden we startled two yearling bears.  One of them quickly climbed a tree and the other took off up the mountain.  We kept our distance, and the one that climbed the tree climbed back down and took off in the opposite direction.  As I looked to see where the bear went, I spotted a buck and a pileated woodpecker in the same direction.  I felt that I could have taken a picture that would have looked like a wildlife mural that you often see on brochures or placemats.

We were tired after we finished the hike, but this trip we definitely felt that it was more enjoyable than the first time we attempted it.

Christine Says…

When we woke up to cool, pretty weather on Saturday morning, we decided to end our hiking hiatus a week earlier than initially planned.  I had to be at an art show by 1:00, so we needed to find a hike that was relatively short and sort of close to home.  We’ve pretty much hiked and blogged about everything in the central district of Shenandoah National Park already… with the exception of the dreaded Buck Hollow-Buck Ridge hike.

Why dreaded?  As Adam mentioned, last time we did this hike we were both fighting colds and had zero energy.  And while Buck Hollow is not the longest or hardest hike we’ve done, it certainly felt like it the last time we were there.  We ran out of water, we were fatigued, the trail felt endless and daunting as soon as we started the uphill climb.  Other than seeing the two yearling bears, the Buck Hollow hike didn’t carry a single pleasant memory.  It just made me think of exhaustion, suffering and thirst. 

When I mentioned to Adam that we should probably hike it again for the blog, he looked at me with incredulity and told me that he didn’t ever want to hike there again.  Somehow he was convinced to relent, and off we went!

This time, the hike was a lot more fun!  It was still a long, steep downhill -  but I really enjoyed marveling at the huge variety of mushrooms and fungi growing along the trail.  I don’t know if there is a name for people who collect/catalog fungus, but if such people exist – this is the trail for them.  We also happened to notice a beautiful backcountry campsite at the bottom of the hollow, where the trail leveled out.  Along with easy access to water, there was a wide, flat expanse under the shade of the trees.  The forest floor in this area was open with very little undergrowth.  There were also several huge piles of rocks – maybe from old stone walls or foundations in the area.  It was a great place to take a break and have a snack.

Although the stairs don't look steep in this photo, they ascend nearly 400 feet in just over two-tenths of a mile. Below: The Buck Ridge trail is lined with dense mountain laurel; The only (mostly) open view comes from atop a rock along Buck Ridge.

The flat terrain at the bottom of the hollow doesn’t last long.  Shortly after passing the cement post marking the Buck Hollow – Buck Ridge junction, you’ll encounter what I think is the toughest, steepest section of climbing in all of Shenandoah National Park.  Indeed, it’s a short climb – but wow… it’s STEEP.  The terrain along this little section is the equivalent of gaining 2000 feet in elevation over a mile.  I think most hikers will agree — that’s TOUGH climbing.

The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club published a review of this hike in their October 2010 newsletter.  In it they say “Steep, does not begin to describe the trail ahead.”  They also call it scary and compare it to a descent into hell.  We concur!

I was quite glad when the terrain moderated, because the steep stair climb really exhausted my legs!

Butterflies were everywhere along the trail. Below: The PATC trail overseer clearly loves this area.

We also noticed the nice view from atop the rock that we had missed last time we hiked.  It’s funny how being fatigued and thirsty makes you miss the best things along a trail sometimes.  The last section of the trail along Buck Ridge passes through dense mountain laurel and through patches of blueberry and raspberry bushes.  I really thought we’d see more signs of bears (and maybe some actual bears!), but we really only saw one old pile of scat this time.

The Buck Ridge trail eventually meets up with Hazel Mountain Road for the last third of a mile.  This section of trail was quite familiar, since we hiked it just a couple months ago on our backpacking trip to Catlett Mountain.  When we arrived back at the parking lot, we noticed the PATC overseer’s car was in the lot – complete with a “BCKHLW” license plate.  Clearly, the overseer loves this section of the park and does a great job maintaining the trail.

It was a fun hike – one I enjoyed far more than I expected to!

Trail Notes

• Distance – 5.6 miles loop hike
  
• Elevation Change – 1750 feet
• Difficulty – 4. The trail is steep at the start going down and once you reach the halfway point includes a steep uphill.  Not recommended for those with knee or ankle issues.
• Trail Conditions –3. The Buck Hollow Trail is rocky and steep, so you have to watch your footing.  The Buck Ridge Trail had better trail conditions.
  
• Views – 2. The views you get are from the Buck Ridge Trail portion.  While most of these are through the obstruction of trees, there is a nice place to climb on top of a rock for a view.
  
• Waterfalls/streams – 1.5. You do walk along the Buck Hollow stream, but there aren’t a lot of nice views of falling water.
  
• Wildlife –3.5. There are signs of bear scat around.  The first time we went on this trail, we saw two yearling bears and a buck.  Both times we have spotted pileated woodpeckers and many typical woodland birds.
• Ease to Navigate –4. Not too many turns, just read the concrete posts.
  
• Solitude –3.5. We did see a number of people on the trail that seemed to be in a group, but this isn’t overly popular.  Some people will hike up from Rte 211 to Mary’s Rock, so you’re likely to only find people on the Buck Hollow portion of the trail.

Directions to trailhead:
At mile 33.5 on Skyline Drive.  Park at the parking lot on the eastern side of the road and the trail starts from the southern end of the parking lot.

View Larger Map

The yellow-blazed Tibbet Knob trail offers spectacular views. Below: The first overlook on the trail comes within the first few tenths of a mile; The footing along most of the trail is extremely rocky.

Christine Says…

After a string of eight 90-100+ degree days, we finally got a break in the heat and humidity!  We picked a shorter, easier hike to celebrate the cooler weather – Tibbet Knob.  We’ve found we’re doing lots of longer hikes lately – partly because we’ve simply run out of shorter hikes.

I don’t know how Tibbet Knob escaped our notice for so long, because it’s a beautiful hike.  Tibbet seems to play second fiddle to its sister hike, Big Schloss – though I’m not really sure why.  The views are nearly as spectacular and the crowds are much thinner.  The terrain is definitely steeper and rockier, but not so much so it would scare hikers off.

We started our morning with breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Woodstock (worst/slowest service ever *and* they burned the bacon!)  We finally made it to the trailhead a little after 9:00 a.m.  At the very beginning, the trail passes through several lovely, primitive campsites.  One even has a picnic table that someone dragged a couple tenths of a mile into the woods.  The ascent starts almost immediately and follows a steady, but gradual, uphill to the first open view of the valley below.  This overlook is pretty, but pales in comparison to the summit of Tibbet Knob.

You can see Big Schloss way off in the distance (circled in yellow). Below: Adam enjoys his perch on the summit; The trail was often open and out in the sun; There is a lovely (but dry) campsite about 10 yards from the rocky ledge at the summit.

From the first vista, the trail drops gently into a saddle.  The footing becomes increasingly rocky from this point on.  Through some sections, it’s like walking on a dry riverbed of basketball-sized stones – some smooth, some pointy.  The last .8 of a mile is very steep and rocky.  There are two short rock scrambles.  At the first one, I abandoned my trekking poles because they were seriously getting in the way.  I can telescope them shorter, but I decided it was just as well to leave them stashed along the trail to retrieve on my way down.

Shortly after the second scramble, we arrived at the summit.  We stayed at the top for quite a long while.  Normally, we’re not the lingering type, but the morning was so pleasant that we spent at least half an hour sitting on the rocky outcropping.  It was cool and breezy.  The sky was crystal clear and blue and the scent of pine trees was all around.  There were several rocks to recline on, so I laid back and closed my eyes while Adam hunted for his geocache.  We didn’t see another soul on the entire hike.  I love having a beautiful summit all to myself.

The return trip was more downhill than uphill, so it went by quickly and we were back at the car within 45 minutes.

Adam Says…

We had been meaning to try out Tibbet Knob for some time now, since we’ve been several times to do the Big Schloss hike, but this was our first experience on this hike.  The hike takes off from Wolf Gap campground.  This campground is a great area for camping and has a lot of established campsites.  We always see plenty of cars in the campground and usually many of the sites are taken, but you should be able to find a spot for overnight camping.  We definitely plan on doing a camping trip in the future since this site provides access to some great hiking trails.

As soon as you begin the yellow-blazed trail, you will come across several other campsites alongside the trail – one even had a picnic table near the firepit.  At about .6 miles you come to a nice overlook with a decent viewpoint to the south.  If you look closely, you can even see cars on the road below you.  You descend from this overlook for a short distance, but then you begin your climb.  At some points along the ascent, the terrain opens up to larger grassland areas.  You will also pass by several blueberry bushes along the trail, which reminded us of our hikes in New England.  Due to the already hot and arid summer, the blueberries were already past their peak so we weren’t able to pick any on the trail.  The terrain does get quite steep towards the end of the trail.  You don’t have to quite crawl up the slope, but it is almost that steep.  Once you get pass the two steep areas, you are very close to the summit.  The views from the top were gorgeous and I believe give you a little better view than Big Schloss, since you get a better perspective of the valley with mountains around you.  To the east, you can see the side of the Big Schloss hike.   There is also a primitive campsite near the top of the overlook if you wanted to camp at the top, but there is no nearby water source.

Signs of Fall? Maybe... but more likely evidence of the drought we've been having lately. We saw lots of patches of red trees in the distant mountains, too. Below: The only wildlife we saw was a toad; Adam looked for, but did not find, the geocache; It was a beautiful, breezy, blue-sky day; the trailhead starts across the road from the Wolf Gap campground.

The trail does continue on from the overlook, but it just leads to SR 671 after about .7 miles.  You can actually approach this hike from SR 671 for a shorter, less steep option to give you a 1.5 mile out-and-back hike.  We stayed up at the top for a while to soak in the views and for me to look for a geocache.  I wasn’t able to find this one, but there is an alleged geocache here:

• Tibbet Knob Geocache

We really enjoyed the peaceful hike for the day.  We had the entire hike to ourselves on a day that was in the 70s and we even had the bonus of not having any bugs buzzing around our face.  This is a great short hike that provides enough challenge to get the blood pumping and marvelous views at the top.

Trail Notes

• Distance – 3.1 miles out-and-back. Add another .1 mile to get to your car.
  
• Elevation Change –830 feet
• Difficulty – 3. There are two significant climbs on this hike.  The first ascent gains several hundred feet in elevation and is pretty easy.  After a short, gentle series of ups and downs, the second ascent is significantly steeper/longer and includes two short rock scrambles.
• Trail Conditions – 2. The trail is extremely rocky.
• Views –4. The view are beautiful and expansive – a little more than 180 degrees of mountains and valleys.
• Waterfalls/streams –0. Non-existent.
  
• Wildlife – 0. The only creature we saw was a toad.
• Ease to Navigate – 4. Just follow the yellow blazes. There are no turns or trail junctions.
• Solitude – 4. Tibbet Knob is less popular than its sister hike, Big Schloss. You may see a few hikers, but you probably won’t see large groups.

Directions to trailhead:
From I-81, take exit 279. Follow Rte. 675 until it meets Route 42. Turn right on 42 and then take almost an immediate left on 675 (Wolf Gap Road). Follow Wolf Gap Road until you come to the Wolf Gap Campground (right on the Hardy County Line.) The trailhead is across the road from the campground.

The Knob Mountain – Jeremy’s Run Loop takes hikers along a 12.4 mile route through one of Shenandoah’s most popular backcountry camping areas.  This hike could be done as a long dayhike, but the campsites in the area are too inviting to pass up.

The Knob Mountain - Jeremy's Run Loop offers beautiful stream scenery. Below: Mountain vistas can be seen along the descent on the Knob Mountain Trail; Blue Blazes mark the way across streams on the Jeremy's Run Trail; Adam negotiates one of the many stream crossings.

Adam Says…

Since the weather looked like it was going to be a cooler, we decided to take off and go on an overnight backpacking trip.  Our first overnight trip was the Hazel Mountain-Catlett Mountain trail which we did with a group from the PATC.  This trip was our first non-group outing, so we felt it would be a good chance to put into practice what we learned from our Backpacking 101 course.

To do this trail as a loop, leave from the Elkwallow picnic grounds.  You will see the entrance to the trail next to the pit toilet, which provides a last chance to “take care of business” before embarking on the hike.  You will begin the trail on a short spur trail to the white-blazed Appalachian Trail.  Turn left on the AT.  In .2 miles, you will reach the junction with the blue-blazed Jeremy’s Run Trail.  Continue straight on the Jeremy’s Run Trail.  Around 1.2 miles, you will reach the junction with the Knob Mountain Connector Trail.  Take a right at the post to join this trail.  As soon as you cross Jeremy’s Run with a little rock-hopping, you will begin this steep connector trail.   There are lots of switchbacks and this is definitely the steepest part of the entire trip.  Around 1.7 miles, you will reach a junction with the yellow-blazed Knob Mountain Trail.  Take a left at the trail junction and continue to follow this slowly ascending ridge trail.  We would probably name this portion of the loop the Bear Scat Boulevard, because there was a ton of bear evidence in the area.  You will see a few views through the trees, but nothing remarkable from the trail.  At mile 3.9 you will reach the summit of Knob Mountain, marked by a concrete post.  After the summit, you will begin your steep descent down the mountain.  This is broken up by several switchbacks.  The trail does open up at times to give you views of mountains along the way, including Strickler Knob and the Three Sisters.  At 6.8 miles, you will cross Jeremy’s Run and reach the junction with the blue-blazed Jeremy’s Run Trail.  Since we were fairly exhausted from our trip, we picked a campsite near the junction of the trail, which gave us great access to water.  From the junction, you just continue on the Jeremy’s Run Trail until you reach the parking lot, crossing over Jeremy’s Run fourteen times.   In some areas, it was necessary to rock hop across, but most of the time the traversing was quite easy.  I imagine during heavy rain seasons, this would be more of a challenge.

The overnight trip started with a brief stop to fill out paperwork for our backcountry permit. Below: Adam makes his way down the Jeremy's Run Trail; Snacks on the Knob Mountain summit; A view through the trees from the Knob Mountain Trail.

Jeremy’s Run truly provided a great opportunity for camping in the backcountry.  We saw several previously-used campsite areas, so we decided to use our Leave No Trace principles and use an existing campsite rather than creating our own.   The campsite was short walking distance to a reliable water source.  After starting our trip around 9:30AM, we arrived at camp around 1:00PM.  We were very hungry, so Christine worked on getting some lunch together and I began working on getting our tent set.  The ground was very hard and rocky, so it took an effort to find a good place to get stakes into the ground.  After lunch, we finished getting our sleeping pads/bags ready, hung our bear-bag rope, and prepared our kitchen area.  We got some water to use for the trip at the nearby stream and I dug a few preemptive catholes.  With every thing set, we decided to relax a little in our tents to stretch out our backs.  I like to bring a book along the trip so we took turns reading aloud a few chapters from A Walk for Sunshine by Jeff Alt, an entertaining read about hiking the Appalachian Trail.  We took a short nap and then played a few hands of the Monopoly card game we also brought.  We then broke in our new JetBoil and prepared a great dinner.  After cleaning up dishes, we went down to a place along Jeremy’s Run and stretched out on a large rock.   We watched several brook trout jump out of the water, catching mosquitoes that were lightly dancing on top of the water.  We retired to our tents to the sweet chorus of whippoorwills and the “who cooks for you” hoots of nearby barred owls.

On the hike down from the summit of Knob Mountain, hikers get a few decent views of adjacent Neighbor Mountain. Below: A scenic spot on Jeremy's Run; Our campsite.

There were so many things I enjoyed about our trip.  We saw tons of wildlife – three black bears, a wild turkey, scarlet tanagers in glorious color, and heard lots of birds at night.  The temperature was perfect and the bugs were not out as much as we expected.  The trip also helped affirm our ability to handle a backpacking trip by ourselves. I think we really learned a lot of great skills in the last few months to help us feel well-prepared.   I was a little more apprehensive wondering if we could handle the 12+ mile hike with 35 pounds on my back, since our previous trip was about 8 miles total with a little less weight each.  The hike was more strenuous the first day, but we were able to complete the hike without much trouble.  I think we’re both looking forward to going on another backpacking trip, but we are now getting into the hot summer months.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to find a cooler weekend in the near future.

Christine Says…

When Mother Nature gives you the gift of a sunny, dry, 70-degree day in the midst of a long string of 90+ degree scorchers, you must take advantage of that gift!  We chose to make the most of the pleasant weather and go on an overnight backpacking trip.  One of the leaders on our last trip recommended Jeremy’s Run as one of his favorite places in the park.  As dayhikers (until recently), the Jeremy’s Run hike had always been a little out of reach.  At 12.4 miles with well over 2,500 feet of elevation gain, it was always more than we were willing to tackle on a day hike.  It seemed like a perfect candidate for this little weekend getaway.

After filling out all the requisite paperwork, we set out from the Elkwallow Picnic Area (View Map of the Area) along the Appalachian Trail.  Right away, I was struck by how much heavier my pack was compared to our last trip.  On that trip, we had seven people to split the weight of group gear.  But this time, we had to carry our own stove, fuel, collapsible bucket, water filter, food and rope.  I also chose to carry my old dSLR camera, a couple card games, extra batteries, a fleece and my iPod.  In the end, my pack weighed in about nine pound heavier than our last outing.

I brought my iPod along this time for a couple reasons 1) I wanted to be able to listen to my “workout mix” when climbing a couple of the big hills on the route and 2) my iPod is loaded with audio books, which I thought would be pleasant to listen to after sunset in the tent.  The first big hill we hit was on the Knob Mountain Cut-Off Trail.  It was really steep, so I put in my earbuds and started chugging up the hill.  Listening to mindless pop music with a beat – anything from Tupac to Lady Gaga to Gnarls Barkley – makes climbing hills so much less painful.  I had worked up a pretty good rhythm, listening to the early 90′s party song, “Rump Shaker”, when I rounded a curve a spotted two black bears about 50 yards up the hill.  I’m not sure if they were a mom and a yearling or two adults.  We looked at them, they looked at us, then they quickly decided to leave the area.  I didn’t have time to free myself from my trekking poles and iPod cord to get a photo, but it was still a great treat to see the bears. Backpacking seems to involve an inordinate number of straps and buckles.  Sometimes, it makes me feel like a horse pulling a cart.

After camp was set up, Christine spent some time relaxing on the rocks in Jeremy's Run. Below: Adam collects water in a collapsible bucket to use for cooking later; Crocs and Socks - they might not be high fashion, but they're functional; Playing Monopoly at camp.

After the cut-off trail met the Knob Mountain Trail, the tough climbing was over for the day.  I listened to my iPod a bit more, but eventually put it away in favor of listening to the birds and the breeze in the trees.  We took a snack break on the top of Knob Mountain.  There weren’t any views at the summit – just shade and a ton of poison ivy.  It felt really good to throw the pack off for a while and have a good stretch.  I could really feel the heavier pack weight bruising my hip bones.

The walk from the summit to Jeremy’s Run was all downhill.  The woods along the trail are pretty and occasionally open to views of the valley below.  You also get nice views of Neighbor Mountain, which lies parallel to Knob Mountain.  Another slightly longer loop hike option approaches Jeremy’s Run from Neighbor Mountain.

The downhill walk lasted a little over 3 miles.  We soon arrived at the stream, where the Knob Mountain Trail converges with both the Neighbor Mountain and Jeremy’s Run Trails.  We crossed the stream a couple times and decided it was high time to find a campsite.  We were both completely knackered after walking about 7 miles with our packs.  I honestly don’t know how thru-hikers cover 20-30 miles a day with even heavier packs.  I’m convinced I wouldn’t last a week!

We found a beautiful place for camp under the shade of pines and hardwoods.  It was clearly a place others have camped before.  Stones were arranged like seats in a semi-circle in one of the clearings.  It was also about 30 yards from a gorgeous spot along Jeremy’s Run – so we had great access to water.

We designated separate sleeping and kitchen areas right away.  Adam pitched the tent while I fixed lunch.  I made Buffalo Chicken Wraps – which were delicious (View Recipe)! We found a place for our bear hang and dug a couple catholes for future use.  With camp all set up, we settled into our tent for a nap.

Post-nap, we collected water for cooking in our collapsible bucket.   On our water run, we also took some time to stretch out and lounge on one of enormous boulders in the middle of the stream.  The sky above was so blue and it was very soothing to watch the trees swaying above in the breeze. I actually tried out my Crocs again, and found them more comfortable, albeit considerably dorkier, with socks.  I may keep them as my camp shoes after all.

We filtered water for our dessert and boiled water for our entree. Below: We had Pad Thai for dinner; Dark Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.

Around 5:30, we started getting things together for dinner.  Because this trip was rather impromptu, we brought pre-packaged dehydrated meals instead of taking the time to make homemade food.  But it was still delicious.  The Backpacker’s Pantry Pad Thai was filling and tasty.  It had a yummy, spicy peanut sauce with noodles and vegetables.  For dessert, we ended up having Dark Chocolate Cheesecake (instead of Tiramisu, as originally planned).  It was really tasty, too!  I was stuffed from dinner, so we decided to take a short walk down to a deep pool I had seen along the trail a way back.  We sat on a rock and just enjoyed the quiet of the evening.

It got dark quickly down in the hollow, so we retired to our tent a little before nine.  I listened to a book on my iPod and Adam read.  I started to doze off well before 10:00.  All through the night, I could hear a couple barred owls hooting, over and over and over again.  Pretty soon, a whippoorwill joined in and sang through almost the entire night.  I haven’t heard a whippoorwill since I was a child, so it delighted me to hear the song in the night again.  I slept pretty soundly, until the roar of a train whistle woke me up around 2:00 in the morning.  I could hear the wheels on the track so clearly; it seemed like the train was rolling through camp.  I guess some distant sounds really carry on the quiet night air.  When I awoke, I found I was drenched with sweat in my sleeping bag.  It was in the mid-50’s outside, so the down bag was a bit too warm.  However, if I slept outside my bag, I got cold quickly.  I want to get a blanket and sheet for my sleeping pad to make summer camping more comfortable.  Despite being hot or cold, I eventually fell back to sleep and stayed so until 6:30 a.m.

I got up before Adam and got the bear bag down, so I could start breakfast.  We ended up leaving the bacon home because we didn’t want to carry a pan.  Instead we had oatmeal, boxes of apple juice and hot chocolate.  It was a satisfying breakfast on the cool morning.

We saw three bears, including one on the Appalachian Trail. Below: Another scenic pool on Jeremy's Run; We encountered this loose dog on the trail (one of many). He apparently lives on the border of the park and runs the trail often.; Rocks in the stream bed were covered with moss.

We broke camp down quickly and were back on the trail around 8:00.  The second day of hiking was substantially shorter and easier than the first day.  With about 5.5 miles to cover, we knew we’d be back at the car by mid-morning.

The trail climbs ever so gradually along Jeremy’s Run.  We passed lots of fantastic campsites along the stream.  It’s no wonder this area is so popular with backpackers!  We crossed the stream 14 times over the course of the morning. Because of all the dry weather we’ve had lately, none of the crossings were challenging at all.  Most of them were bone dry, and the ones with water were still easily rock-hopped.

We took a snack break where the Jeremy’s Run trail crosses the Knob Mountain Cut-Off.  From this point, the trail follows the same route as we’d used hiking out the day before.  The grade becomes steeper for the last mile and eventually meets back up with the Appalachian Trail.  For this section, I put my iPod back on again to help endure the uphill.  “Rump Shaker” came up in the shuffle again, and after the first few moments, I spotted another bear.  There must be something about that song that conjures bears!  I did manage to get a few distant photos of this bear before he disappeared deeper into the woods.

About ten minutes later, we were back at our car and on our way.  We stopped by the Elkwallow wayside, where I rinsed my face and used  a flushing toilet!  Plumbing is so exciting after being without it.  On our way home, we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch.  Coke and salty French fries taste absolutely amazing after a long hike.  As luck would have it, their credit card machine was broken and they gave us our lunch for free!  It was a fitting bonus for a perfect trip.

Trail Notes

• Distance – 12.4 miles
• Elevation Change – 2600 ft
• Difficulty – 3. If you were going to do this in one day without stopping, I would up the difficulty slightly due to the length.
• Trail Conditions – 3.5. The trail was very well-maintained.  We saw evidence that the Knob Mountain trail had been cut back, but I can imagine in late spring, much of the trail could have some overgrown areas.  The ground was well-traveled and there were only a few rocky spots around the streams.
• Views – 1.5. The best chance of views are on the descent from the Knob Mountain summit down to Jeremy’s Run.  After leaves fall, this may be slightly better.
• Waterfalls/streams – 3.5. You do get lots of chances to cross Jeremy’s Run.  There was only a small fall near the base.  If you want to photograph streams, you should have plenty of opportunities.  You’ll also have a reliable water source.
• Wildlife – 4. We saw black bears, a turkey, and scarlet tanagers; we heard whippoorwills and barred owls at night.
• Ease to Navigate – 4. The trails are well-marked and just stick to the signs on the cement posts.
• Solitude –3. This is a popular spot for backpacking and trail running.  However, we felt that we were able to find our own peace in the woods.  We also came across a dog that belongs to a nearby family that evidently roams the trails frequently, so we had a companion during part of the hike up from Jeremy’s Run.

Directions to trailhead:

Located in the northern section of Shenandoah National Park.  Park at the Elkwallow Gap picnic grounds around mile 24.3 of Skyline Drive.  The Jeremy’s Run trail begins next to the pit toilet at the parking lot.