This 3.8 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail completed a short 1.9 mile gap in unbroken Appalachian Trail mileage we left after hiking the Three Ridges circuit in 2012. After you cross the scenic Tye River footbridge, the hike doesn’t boast any views or unique scenery. It’s a moderate uphill climb to a junction marker in the woods.
Our hike started off headed northbound over the Tye River footbridge. Below: White Blaze painted on the bridge; Adam and Christine on the bridge.
Adam Says…
We have been working on section hiking some of the Appalachian Trail through Virginia. Hopefully one day, we will have the entire section that crosses Virginia on here. In doing it in sections, we have ended up with a few small gaps between sections. This gap was created when we hiked Three Ridges and did it as a loop trail that included a return trip on the Mau-Har trail. I got a text from my friend Bryce from Hiking Upward that mentioned he was going to try and hike Spy Rock the next day. I mentioned that we were trying to get this section done as well, so he agreed to accompany us on this section also. It was January 1st and we wanted to start the year off right with a great day of hiking.
We parked our cars at the lot on 56 where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Tye River. We crossed the road and almost immediately you come upon a large suspension bridge that crosses the Tye River. We knew this was probably the highlight of the trip, so we took some time to get some pictures across the bridge and of the Tye River from under the bridge.
Looking through the trees toward the Priest. Below: Adam on the trail; Our stop point for this hike was just a sign at the junction of the AT and the Mau-Har trail.
After crossing the bridge, the trail takes a few switchbacks and then starts a fairly steep uphill through the woods. Looking back from the trail, we were able to see some obstructed views of Pinnacle Ridge and The Priest, but when spring hits these views will likely be more obstructed. On our climb up, we saw a dog come racing towards us. As it turns out, it was a bear-hunting dog, as it had a large radio collar around his neck. The dog barely stopped at all and barreled past on a mission to try and find a bear. We continued our hike up and came up to the sign post that marked the trail junction with the Mau-Har trail. From this point, you could continue on the Appalachian Trail to the right to reach Chimney Rock and Three Ridges or take a left on to the Mau-Har Trail, to reach the Maupin Field Shelter. We tapped the post to mark that we had completed this section and made our way back.
After our hike, we got in our cars and stopped by Crabtree Falls, which had frozen water on the sides. This iconic waterfall is always a nice place to visit any time of year. Our next stop was to hike up to Spy Rock. When we first arrived, the parking lot was full of cars and vans. We felt defeated and were about to make the decision to not do the hike, when someone came down the trail and mentioned that a few car loads were getting ready to leave. We waited just a couple of minutes and two parking spaces opened up. We hiked up to Spy Rock, which was covered in snow in some parts. At the top of the trail, Bryce decided he wanted to bushwhack to another rock outcropping that would look back on Spy Rock. So, we set a plan to try and take pictures of each other from the different summits. The climb up Spy Rock was pretty dangerous, since the water that falls into the cracks that your normally use to help pull yourself up was frozen, making it very treacherous. When we got up to the top of Spy Rock, the wind was blowing so hard and the temperatures from the wind chill put it way below freezing. We waited for a few minutes at the top. We eventually saw Bryce making his way to the rock outcropping. We took a quick photo of him and then made our way off Spy Rock, since we felt we could get frostbite fairly quickly up there. We reconvened where we had split up and then made our way back down the mountain. We got back to our cars and headed to Staunton for lunch.
This area where we hiked is a real sweet spot for Virginia hiking. You have The Priest, Three Ridges, Crabtree Falls, and Spy Rock all within a few miles. If you want a place to get a few great days of Virginia hiking, this is a great destination. We were glad to reconnect again with Bryce and getting another AT section checked off our to-do list.
The lovely, scenic Tye River. Below: Adam and Bryce crossing the footbridge at the end of the hike.
Christine Says…
I don’t really have anything to add about the hike! It was just a pleasant walk in the woods that finished a hole in our continuous AT miles. It was great to see Bryce (Hiking Upward) and spend the first day of 2015 on the trail!
After a couple little hikes, we all went for a decadent lunch and beers at Byers St. Bistro in Staunton. They have great sandwiches and a nice variety of beers on tap. Check it out if you’re in the area.
Trail Notes
Distance – 3.8 miles (Check out the stats from Map My Hike)*
Elevation Change – 1100 ft.
Difficulty – 3. The climbing is steady and moderate the entire way up.
Trail Conditions – 4.5. Well maintained, smooth trail.
Views – 0. No views other than a few glimpses through bare winter trees.
Streams/Waterfalls – 0. The stream and waterfalls are a little further up trail from this spot.
Wildlife – 0. We did see a hunting dog – that probably scares wildlife away.
Ease to Navigate – 4. There’s really no place to go wrong here.
Solitude –2. This trail leads up from a very popular AT access point. You can expect to see a good number of people.
Directions to trailhead: From I-81, take exit 213A to head on to US-11 South towards Greenville. Go 8.2 miles and take a left on to US-56. Go 16.6 miles down US-56 and you will come to a parking lot for the Appalachian Trail on the right-hand side of the road. Park here and then cross the road to start hiking on the Appalachian Trail heading north.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
This 14.7 mile route offers wilderness, beautiful views, and stunning stream scenery (even a small waterfall!) It’s a wonderful, moderate overnight backpacking loop; or a really challenging day hike. We set out intending to camp along Jeremy’s Run, but it didn’t quite go as planned!
The views on this loop hike come along the descent of Neighbor Mountain. Below: The trailhead at Elkwallow Picnic Area; Hiking along in golden woods; Adam and Kris at the junction of the Appalachian Trail and Neighbor Mountain Trail.
Christine Says…
The final weekend of October 2014 was so beautiful – perfect, made-to-order backpacking weather. We decided to head out on one more overnighter before the weather turned cold. We invited our friend, Kris, to come along. She loves the outdoors as much as we do, and I was sure she’d enjoy this loop. Don’t miss her guest blogger entry later in this post! It had been several years since we last hiked in the vicinity of Jeremy’s Run, and I was really looking forward to camping along the beautiful stream.
After stocking up on some lunch provisions at Elkwallow Wayside, we finally hit the trail around 11:00. We figured we had a little over eight miles of hiking on our first day, so starting late morning would get us to camp before 3:00, with plenty of daylight left to pitch tents, cook dinner, and relax.
Hiking along the Neighbor Mountain Trail. Below: The fall color was still close to peak; Adam checks out a rock formation; At the summit of Neighbor Mountain.
We started out at the Elkwallow Picnic Area. A short spur trail leads downhill to the junction with the white-blazed Appalachian Trail. The AT descends for about .3 of a mile before coming to a junction with the blue-blazed Jeremy’s Run Trail. Follow the Appalachian Trail, veering to the left. The trail ascends for a little over a mile before coming to a more level ridge. You’ll pass the junction with the Thorton River trail, continuing south on the AT. At just over four miles into the hike, you’ll reach the junction with the yellow-blazed Neighbor Mountain trail.
We decided this junction would be a nice place to stop for lunch (hummus – my favorite trail lunch of late – easy to eat and lots of quality calories!). After a relaxing, thirty-minute break, we took the turn onto the Neighbor Mountain trail. The path meandered across the ridge. For the first couple miles, it was mostly walking in the woods. There was a nice breeze and gorgeous sparkling sunshine was filtering through golden leaves. It was everything you want fall to be!
Even though there is no view, the summit of Neighbor Mountain is marked with a cement post. At the summit, I noticed I had picked up a ‘hitchhiker’ along the way – a walking stick bug was clinging to my pants. I wonder how far he had come with me. I picked him off, and set him on a fallen log off the trail.
Between six and seven miles into the hike, there are a few excellent views of the Massanutten ridge and Three Sisters. There was a forest fire in this area several years ago, so the view was pretty open and expansive. We all paused a while to enjoy the fall foliage. It was so wonderful to see colorful mountains rolling our before us. We talked about how privileged and blessed we all felt to be out on such an amazing day!
Adam enjoys a view of the valley and mountains to the west. Below: This part of Neighbor Mountain burned in 2012. Alot of damage is still evident; Fall color; Adam descends Neighbor Mountain toward Jeremys Run.
The last mile and a half of the day was steady downhill, meandering across switchbacks until the Neighbor Mountain trail reached the bottom of the valley and Jeremy’s Run. As soon as you reach the stream, campsites are everywhere. The first few we passed were already taken, so we ended up returning to the hidden campsite we used several years earlier. It’s a flat spot under the trees shortly before the first water crossing.
And here’s where the story takes an unexpected turn…
Adam Says…
We all worked on pitching our tents and setting up camp. I set up our tent while Christine worked on inflating our sleeping pads. Kris was on the other side of the clearing working on setting up the one-person tent she had borrowed, when she suddenly she groaned, “Uh… guys – I think we might have a little problem.”
As it turned out, the tent bag only held the rain fly and the poles. The ground cloth and the actual tent were missing in action. She hadn’t checked the bag before hitting the trail. We spent the next 45 minutes trying to improvise a shelter with everything and anything we had. We tried piling three people in our Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 (bad idea). We discussed whether or not the evening would be suitable for cowboy camping under the stars. We talked through a few different scenarios: 1) we all hike back immediately, 2) I sleep under the tarp while Kris and Christine sleep in the tent, or 3) I hike back to the car tonight and pick them up in the morning. I was least excited about the second option because the area felt tick-infested with the wet leaves. We debated the options for a few minutes, but ultimately, we decided the best choice was to keep the group together and make our backpacking trip into a very long day hike.
We tried to find a way to rig up shelter, but in the end we decided it was better to hike out. Below: Crossing the first stream and trying to eat something with enough calories to hike out happily; Adam doing one of many stream crossings; The best campsite along Jeremys Run sits above a waterfall.
We knew we only had a little over an hour of daylight left – the sun sets early behind the mountains surrounding Jeremy’s Run. We rushed to pack everything up as quickly as we could. Cooking a hot dinner would have required getting more water, so we opted to just eat a few snacks from our bags. We started off at a quick pace. I twisted my knee at the first major water crossing we had to make, which made the rest of the trip pretty painful. But sometimes, you just have to suck it up and hike.
We soon passed another great campsite next to a small waterfall. The trail meanders along and across Jeremy’s Run, requiring lots of rock-hopping across the stream. The sun was dipping down quickly and we soon found that we needed to put on our headlamps. Christine and Kris had legit headlamps, but I was using a small clip-on headlight that didn’t have the lumen output needed for a night hike. When it reached dusk a few miles from our campsite, we came across a couple with a dog. They asked us how far it was to the campsites and if they were all taken. The guy was carrying an outrageous amount of gear and the girl looked completely miserable. We knew they were going to be hiking to the campsites by nightfall and setting up camp in the dark. I’m not sure if this was her first venture into overnight camping, but based on the daggers she was shooting him with her eyes, it may be their last. They warned us they had seen a couple of bears just ahead of us, so we were on full alert.
We hiked by headlamp the last hour. Below: Jeremys Run in twilight; A large pool along the run; One of the last few stream crossings before it became too dark to take photos.
As it became fully dark, we still had a few stream crossings to make, which made it quite hazardous. I reminded myself that the water wasn’t that deep so if we stepped in the water, we would probably be OK. Another danger of night-hiking is the ability to lose the trail. We really had to pay attention to the ground and try to keep an eye out for occasional blazes to make sure we would stay on the trail. Hiking in the fall after most of the leaves have covered the trail provides an extra challenge. Because I had a weaker headlamp, it was hard for me to lead along the trail since the lights from Christine and Kris were blasting my shadow ahead of me on the ground. And then, I heard large noises in the woods, which I’m guessing was the bears that we had been warned about. We kept talking loudly and playing some games to keep our minds sharp (animals/foods/colors that start with each letter of the alphabet) as we hiked along.
At 4.25 miles from our intended campsite, we finally came across a concrete marker post. This post marked the junction with the Knob Mountain cutoff trail, so we knew were getting closer. We kept straight on the Jeremy’s Run Trail and at 5.15 miles, we reached our first junction with the Neighbor Mountain Trail. It was now just .3 miles straight ahead until we reached the parking lot where we started. We made the last climb with renewed energy and celebrated that we made it through this adventure.
It was definitely one of the longest hikes we have done in a day and with the extra weight on our back, was one of the toughest. We got back in the car and decided to go out to dinner to celebrate with drinks and food at Ciro’s in Elkton, VA. We were physically exhausted and hungry, but it was quite an adventure we will never forget.
One takeaway I had from this trip was that we were all great at hiking together. When we faced the challenge of not having two functional tents, we kept our wits about us, made a quick decision and went with it. There was no complaining and we just relied on each other to get through. If we had panicked or become overly upset, it could have led to a dangerous situation. It is through this challenge, that we learned that having good hiking partners that work well together is a great trait to have for survival. We all vowed to come back to this spot to camp together sometime in the spring to get the full experience through camping on Jeremy’s Run. After the hike, Kris bought her own tent and I bought a better headlamp.
Kris Says…
Backpacking 101- It doesn’t matter if you were up late celebrating your birthday and borrowing some equipment…ALWAYS double check your equipment or your trip will not be so fly!
I was excited to be hiking with friends on a beautiful fall day. We have always shared an appreciation of nature, lots of conversations and tons of laughter. I guess that is why we handled our little upset so calmly and reasonably. Although, I’m pretty sure I said “Adam, just because I am a girl doesn’t mean you have to give up your tent. I will cowboy up. Now, everyone hand over any booze or sleep aides you may have!” Of course that didn’t fly.
Ultimately we laughed at the situation, even as we crossed that creek 14 or so times and in the dark. And I learned a few things on this trip: I am capable of hiking 15 miles with a 25 lbs pack in a day, Little Debbie Peanut Butter pies are so tasty and 400 calories, it was time to purchase my own backpacking tent, a packing checklist is important and a good attitude goes a long way.
I vowed to return to Jeremy’s Run and hike early enough to snag the sweet waterfall camp spot, I also plan to cowboy camp sometime just to prove I can (my dog will protect me).
Christine and Adam- you two are SuperFly!
Trail Notes
Distance – 14.7 miles (We had issues with MapMyHike on this trip, so we have partial stats. We have the Neighbor Mountain segment and most of the Jeremys Run to Elkwallow segment. We’re missing the portion along the Appalachian Trail and a few early tenths of a mile along Jeremy’s Run. Technical issues!)*
Elevation Change – 2610 ft.
Difficulty – 4. The terrain is fairly moderate throughout the hike, but the length ups the difficulty rating.
Trail Conditions – 3. Sections along the Appalachian Trail and Neighbor Mountain are in great shape. The Jeremy’s Run trail is rocky and has at least 14 water crossings – some of them can be challenging!
Views – 3.5. The views descending Neighbor Mountain are beautiful, but never fully open/panoramic.
Streams/Waterfalls – 3.5. The stream is beautiful and scenic.
Wildlife – 5. We saw a bobcat! Hikers we passed at sunset told us there was a bear ahead, but we couldn’t see anything in the dark. But, the last time we hiked in this area, we saw three bears. We have also seen/heard owls, pileated woodpeckers, and whippoorwills.
Ease to Navigate – 4. The junctions are clearly marked and easy to follow — unless you’re hiking in the dark! 🙂
Solitude –1. It’s the most popular backpacking loop in the park’s northern district.
Directions to trailhead: From the US-211 entrance of Shenandoah National Park, head north for 9 miles on Skyline Drive. Take a left towards the Mathews Arm Campground. In .7 miles, you will reach a parking lot. The trail takes off next to the outdoor bathroom.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
This 17 mile overnight backpacking trip had beautiful views from Cole Mountain within the first two miles of the hike. The rest of the hike was less scenic – mostly walking through quiet woods and along seasonally low streams. The Lynchburg Reservoir and the swinging bridge over the Pedlar River were noteworthy features on the second day. Adam will cover day one and Christine will take over with day two!
Adam takes in the view from the summit of Cole Mountain. Below: Coming out of the woods onto the grassy meadow is always breathtaking; Great views from the top of Cole Mountain; Hints of fall color near the summit.
Day One (8.1 miles)…
We started off our trip by leaving one car where the AT crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Punchbowl Mountain overlook. From the lot, we could see the AT southbound, but we didn’t see where we would return to our car from the north. It turns out it was just below us on the other side of the parking lot, but the morning fog made it a little hard to spot. We dropped our car off and then headed to Hog Camp Rd, to start our journey.
From Hog Camp Gap, we headed south on the Appalachian Trail. The trail started off through a wooded section uphill, fairly steeply in some parts. Around 1.1 miles, the trail opened up to the beautiful, wide-open bald clearing that is Cole Mountain. We have hiked Cole Mountain before as a loop and I do think it is one of the more under-appreciated hikes in Virginia. The panoramic vistas make this look like something you would picture in an outdoors magazine. You can’t help but want to stop and take a look at the scenery around you. The way we split this section might not have been the best plan for enjoying vistas. We knew we had the best views of the trip done in the first 1.5 miles of the hike. But that is one of the biggest lessons I learned from hiking this section – you have to hold on to what you may have just seen, because there is no certainty about what is to come ahead.
The climb of Bald Mountain wasn’t terribly long or difficult. Bald Mountain also is not Bald! Below: Adam checks out the map at our lunch stop – a clearing near the top of Bald Mountain; A little snip of a view through the trees along the top of Bald Mountain; Huge tree!
After reaching the summit of Cole Mountain, the trail descends and again enters the forest. Around 2.5 miles, we reached a junction with a spur trail that led to the Cow Camp Gap overnight shelter and a water source. We continued on the trail which starts an ascent up Bald Mountain. We reached the summit at 3.5 miles and were hoping for some nice views at the top, but found that Bald Mountain wasn’t very bald (there were a few obstructed views through the trees). We found a clearing and camp spot and had our lunch there before continuing on. The rest of the day, the trail was a descent so our climbing was done (at least until tomorrow).
We crossed over USFS 507 at 5.5 miles and eventually came to US 60 and the Long Mountain wayside at mile 6.3. We stopped at one of the picnic tables and took a break to eat a snack and give our backs a relief from the weight. Local people just park on the roadside here and have a picnic at this spot. It is also a way to do a longer out-and-back to Cole Mountain without parking or driving on a rough, gravel road. After resting, we crossed US 60, spotting a sign for the continuation of the Appalachian trail to the right. We continued our descent and at 7.1 miles, we reached Browns Creek, a reliable water source for a good stretch of trail. At 8.2 miles, we reached the Brown Mountain Creek Shelter, our stop for the night.
The Brown Mountain Creek area is interesting from a historical/archaeological standpoint. Much of the land along the creek was part of a large plantation predating the Civil War. After the war, the land was primarily a settlement for freed African-Americans. Houses, farms, orchards and even a gristmill could be found along the creek. You can still see stone walls/stairs, pieces of metal, and other artifacts along the creek.
The trail crosses US 60 at the Long Mountain Wayside. Below: Information at the wayside: Descending to Brown Mountain Creek; Arriving at Brown Mountain Creek Shelter.
When we first got to the shelter, there was still a smoldering fire in the fire pit, so we realized someone had been there recently. We also noticed a large pile of fresh bear scat next to the shelter. While we didn’t think a bear had been roasting marshmallows by the fire, we felt it may be wise to not set up camp directly at the shelter. We found a nice campsite right by the creek and decided that would be a better spot. There was a boy scout troop that was camping on the other side of the creek. We worried about them being too loud over the course of the night, but they were fairly well-behaved (except for trashing the privy – but that’s another story). We set up our tent, filtered water for tonight and tomorrow, and began to unwind.
We cooked dinner up at the shelter (Good To-Go Herbed Mushroom Risotto)* and played Zombie Fluxx, a card game where the rules and objectives for winning constantly changed. I always enjoy bringing a card game along the trail – the weight isn’t too bad for the entertainment it can provide. We played a few hands (I recall Christine being better at killing zombies than I was) and then went back to our campsite after I hung our bear bag. We started off reading books by headlamp outside our tent (continuing with the zombie trend I was reading Night of the Living Trekkies), but the bugs were awful. We retired to our tent probably around 7:30, read for a little while longer, and went to bed very early. We always typically go to bed around nightfall when backpacking, but hiking with the extra weight always makes you feel a little more physically exhausted.
* Good to Go is a new backpacking food manufacturer. They use healthy ingredients and much less sodium. We thought it was one of the best dehydrated meals we’ve had on the trail! We added a foil packet of chicken breast to our dinner.
We arrived at camp fairly early, so after the tent was pitched and water collected, we spent some time playing Zombie Fluxx. Below: A group of 14 Boy Scouts camped along the opposite bank; Collecting water for cooking and drinking; We tried a new brand of dehydrated meal – Good to Go (tasty!)
Day Two (9.1 miles)…
Day two started earlier than expected (and with the added bonus of a huge, swollen mosquito bite on my eyelid – I looked like I’d been punched!) Like most Boy Scout troops we’ve met along the trail, the one camping near us on this trip was awake, packed up, and on their way before sun-up. This had pros and cons. One con was all the crunching boots and headlamps moving around our tent in the dark. A pro was the opportunity we had to enjoy the creekside in peace and solitude before starting our hike for the day. The solitude also meant I could find a place to dig a cat hole in complete privacy without having to worry about Boy Scouts spotting me! I would have used the privy near the shelter, but let’s just say the privy turned out to be another con of camping near a big scout group. One of them had completely defiled the privy and there was no way I was going in there!
Breakfast was instant oatmeal, honey buns and coffee. I’ve learned the hard way after running out of gas on past backpacking trips that one packet of instant oatmeal (140 calories) is not enough to fuel me across nine miles. The Little Debbie Honey Bun has been a revelation for me. I think it has the magical balance of fat and sugar I need to power through my morning miles. They also hold up great in my pack – no smushing and no crumbling. Some people like a healthier, protein-packed breakfast, but give me a honey bun!
The morning was beautiful and quiet (after the Scouts left). Below: When water is running higher, this is probably a pretty little waterfall; Adam hikes along the Appalachian Trail: One of several small stream crossings.
The first five miles of our second day were easy. The terrain was a very gradual overall descent with a couple brief uphill climbs. The first mile or so followed Brown Mountain Creek. The trail followed roughly parallel to the stream for much of the way. I kept thinking how beautiful this area would be when water levels were higher. We eventually crossed the creek via a wooden footbridge. At this spot there was a small, but pretty, waterfall cascading into a plunge pool. The flow was down to a trickle, but it was still a lovely spot.
Departing Brown Mountain Creek, we walked through serene, quiet forest for a couple more miles. There were two small stream crossings along the way. The first didn’t seem to have a name, but the second was Swapping Camp Creek. Both of these creeks end up flowing into the Lynchburg Reservoir. At around 3 miles into our hike, we started seeing glimpses of the reservoir through the trees. We followed an off-trail footpath steeply down to the shores of the water for a couple photos. We saw several herons hunting in the mud. There were ‘no camping’ signs posted everywhere, but there were also several well-used fire rings. I’m guessing there are quite a few people that ignore the regulations and attempt to stealth camp in this area.
The trail skirts around the Lynchburg Reservoir. Below: The dam at the south end of the reservoir; The Pedlar River; The Pedlar River footbridge.
We climbed back up to the Appalachian Trail and continued south, skirting the eastern side of the reservoir. At around 4.8 miles we came to the lowest elevation point of our hike – the Pedlar River crossing. The trail crosses the river on a picturesque, bouncy suspension bridge. From the middle of the bridge, we could see early fall colors reflecting from the trees onto the water’s surface. After crossing the bridge, we came out on gravel-surfaced Reservoir Road. We followed that briefly until we spotted another white blaze for the Appalachian Trail.
At this point, we began our toughest climb of the whole 17 miles. The 2-mile ascent of Rice Mountain begins pleasantly enough. The trail follows parallel to Little Irish Creek (which was running low and barely noticeable) and passes through a small plot of old growth forest. There is an extremely weather-beaten sign explaining tree sizes in the area and how the area is used to study the local watershed. Early parts of the climb are well-graded and moderate, but about .75 mile in, the trail pretty much goes straight up the mountain without the moderating benefit of switchbacks. I wanted to push through the climbing and put it behind me, but Adam was ready for a snack. We found some big rocks about 1.5 miles up the mountain and took a candy break. After a half mile more climbing, we reached the ridge of Rice Mountain. The forest was especially pretty along the top of the mountain – very open with lots of nice shade trees.
Climbing Rice Mountain was tougher than it looked on the topo map. Below: Another little peek at a view through the trees; A curly laurel thicket; The finish line!
On the descent of Rice, we had one nice view through the trees. We also saw more brilliant red fall colors and a lot more thickets of rhododendron and mountain laurel. There really wasn’t anything remarkable to see or say about our last couple miles of hiking. The terrain was rolling – there was a general uphill trend, but with small downhills as well. There were no views or streams to speak off. The lack of scenery gave me lots of time to fret over my feet. Two toes on my right foot had dislocated earlier in the day and were becoming increasingly painful. With each step, it got a little harder to bear my weight plus the weight of my pack. I think if there had been waterfalls or great views, I would have been more easily able to distract myself. But on this particular day, all I could think was ‘Ouch – when will this hike be over?’
At almost the end, we had one final road crossing at the junction of Robinson Gap Rd. and Panther Falls Rd. After just another third of mile, we came up a small hill and found ourselves back at the parking area for Punchbowl Mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I don’t think I’d ever been so happy to end a hike. It felt great to take my boots off and change into a pair of Oofos. While I enjoyed the great weather, the opportunity to be out, and the nice views from Cole Mountain, this wasn’t one of my favorite backpacking trips.
Difficulty – 4. Mostly for distance, but the descent of Bald Mountain is a real knee-grinder and the climb up Rice Mountain (Day 2) is surprisingly challenging.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is in nice condition all across this stretch of AT.
Views – 5 (for Day 1) – The views from Cole Mountain are indisputably spectacular. Enjoy them early in your hike… they’ll be the last real views of the trip.
Streams/Waterfalls – 3. This was hard to judge because of the unusually dry late summer/early fall. I think under normal circumstances, Brown Mountain Creek would be beautiful with lots of small cascades and rapids.
Wildlife – 2. We didn’t see any wildlife beyond a cute bullfrog in the creek. But, there was LOTS of bear scat around Brown Mountain Creek Shelter.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Just keep following the white-blazes and pay attention at road crossings/trail junctions to stay on the Appalachian Trail.
Solitude – 3. We saw quite a few people around Cole Mountain and spent the night at Brown Mountain Creek with a Boy Scout Troop. We saw only one person along the trail on the second day.
Directions to trailhead: Requires a shuttle. We parked one car where the AT crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway near Punchbowl Mountain. This is mile 51.7 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, about 6 miles south of where the Blue Ridge Parkway meets with US 60. From this point, we drove our other car back north on the Blue Ridge Parkway for 6.0 miles and took the exit leading us to US-60 East. We headed 4.3 miles on US 60 E before taking a left on SR 634/Coffeytown Road. Follow this for 1.6 miles before taking a right on SR 755/Wiggins Spring Road. Follow this gravel, bumpy road for 2.7 miles until you reach the parking area where the AT crosses the road. Follow the white-blazed Appalachian trail heading south.
This 5.6 mile route to Zealand Falls is one of the easiest hikes we’ve done in New Hampshire. Most of the footing is smooth, soft, and flat! It was a real treat after climbing Pierce and Madison.
Adam sits at the top of Zealand Falls and takes in the view of mountains beyond and wetlands below. Below: Zealand Falls Hut is a popular hut for people who want to stay at an AMC Hut, but don’t want a tough hike; Christine hikes along; While the trail was generally flat and smooth, there were occasional roots and rocks to negotiate.
Christine Says…
The hike to Zealand Falls is doubtlessly the easiest ‘hut hike’ in the White Mountains. The elevation gain is barely discernible until the last couple tenths of a mile. The route offers mountain views, waterfalls, stream scenery, and lovely ponds. Guidebooks say it’s a great place to bird-watch and spot a moose (though I have my doubts about the actual likelihood of seeing a moose!)
The hike starts out at a parking area at the end of Zealand Road. It’s a fee area, so make sure you bring cash to pay at the self-service parking station.
We made our way along the trail, marveling at how smooth and soft the footing felt. There were certainly some spots with roots and rocks, but generally the trail was level and covered with a bed of pine needles. We could hear the Zealand River, but didn’t reach a close view of the water until .8 miles into the hike. When we hiked (early August), the water was low, clear and running quietly along. Almost all of the water crossings we encountered on this trail were assisted by wooden footbridges – no wading and very little rock hopping necessary!
The Zealand Falls trail passes many ponds and marshes. Below: Several views of the ponds and marshes along the Zealand trail.
As we walked along, the terrain became marshier. At about 1.8 miles in we passed a lovely beaver pond. We could see the dam from the trail, but didn’t see any beavers. The reflections of trees and mountains in the water were especially beautiful! With all the wetlands, I expected biting flies, mosquitoes and gnats to be a major issue, but we didn’t have any trouble at all. Maybe there was just enough of a breeze to keep the bugs at bay.
At 2.3 miles we passed the junction with the A-Z trail, where we continued on the Zealand Trail. A couple tenths of a mile later, we passed Zealand Pond and reached the junction with the Twinway (which is also the Appalachian Trail in this area) and Etlan Pond Trails. The last couple tenths of a mile to the hut follow the Twinway Trail.
Almost immediately after the junction, we reached the bottom of Zealand Falls. The water was running low, but it was still beautiful. There are two places to stop and admire the falls on the way up. The first stop is a view of the gradual, slide-like lower falls. The view of the upper falls is a bit more dramatic. The rocks around the falls are blocky and reddish-orange in color. The water comes plunging steeply over a cliff-side. The last tenth of a mile up to the hut is steep and rocky – honestly, it’s the only challenging part of the hike.
Zealand Falls make a couple distinct drops. Below: New signs were recently posted to mark trails in the area; Adam checks out the falls; The final ascent to the hut was the only steep part of the hike.
Zealand Falls Hut enjoys a lofty perch looking out across two notches. You can see the Bonds and Mt. Carrigain. There’s even a bench available for anyone who wants a nice seat to enjoy the view. We spent some time poking around the hut. The Croo had just made cinnamon rolls and purple frosted blueberry cake, but we weren’t quite ready for a snack. Instead, we decided to take the little side trail to the ledges of Whitewall Brook. It’s just a 25-30 foot walk through the trees. The brook passes over immense slabs of rock. It’s a nice place to sit, soak in the sun, and enjoy the view of the pond below and distant mountains beyond.
After spending some time enjoying the hut, we returned the way we came. The walk back was all downhill, so we made quick work of it. I would highly recommend Zealand Falls to anyone looking for a low-key hike without much climbing. In fact, we gave it such glowing reviews that my parents tried the hike a few weeks later. They enjoyed it and felt it was very approachable for hikers of any level.
Adam Says…
When we go about trying to cover a lot of hiking mileage on our vacation trips, we like to alternate some easier hikes with the tougher ones. Since we had just climbed Mt. Madison, our feet and joints were happy that we chose this easier leg-stretcher.
Christine and I do like to hike with goals in mind. Since we have climbed a few of the 4000-footers in New Hampshire (there are 48), we have thought about possibly trying to bag all of those peaks. Last year on our visit, I picked up AMC’s Passport to AMC’s High Huts in the White Mountains. That book describes each of AMC’s huts through the White Mountains and details the history, features, and interesting stories about each of the huts. It also serves as a passport that you can have stamped at each location to mark that you have been there (you can even earn a patch when you’ve visited them all). This was definitely enough of an incentive to try and reach all the huts.
Zealand Falls Hut sits at the top of a waterfall. A short trail from the side of the hut leads to the streambed; Inside the hut; View from the hut; Christine at the top of the falls.
As Christine mentioned, this trail had nice footing compared to what we were used to in the White Mountains. The trail was fairly smooth as it started through the woods mixed with pine and birch. The trail eventually opened up into some great views over marshy ponds. There was a large boardwalk to walk across that I thought would be a perfect vantage point for spotting a moose. There were such nice views over the dammed-up ponds and it reminded me that we were in a state filled with lots of lakes, ponds, and streams. We took a while to enjoy the scenery around us. The trail continued to give us lots of similar views and short step-offs to pond views. The trail eventually goes back into the woods as you get closer to Zealand Falls Hut.
At 2.3 miles, we reached the junction with the A-Z trail, which I came to realize after looking at our map that it connects the Avalon and Zealand trail, hence the A-Z name. At 2.5 miles, we reached a short side trail to check out Zealand Falls. The falls here were a nice place to get sidetracked. We crossed a few rocks and enjoyed climbing around the rocks at the base of the falls. Looking up towards the top of the fall is where this hike ends, but you should stick to the trail rather than trying to climb up the falls.
We continued our last piece of the hike, which was a steep and rocky .2 miles until we reached the Zealand Falls Hut at 2.8 miles. There were a few day-hikers at the hut, recounting tales of all the places they had visited around the world. We decided to take the short trail from the hut to the streambed of Whitewall Brook, which is the top of the falls we had seen below. Christine got a lot of pictures while I walked around climbing on some of the rocks and collecting a few blueberries from the nearby bushes. We then found a picturesque spot on the large rocks to take in the view of mountains ahead and the waterways below.
The woods along the trail were so beautiful! Below: Adam rock hops; Beautiful, tall, straight trees; A beaver dam.
We stopped back in to the hut to talk to the Croo members who were cleaning up breakfast and starting to prepare some food for lunch. I know they have some busy days, preparing meals, cleaning the hut, and transporting supplies on their backs to and from the hut. I talked to one of the members about how this hut was so much easier to reach than most of the others we had seen. I wondered if there was a selection process that was made to match up Croo members to the huts or if they even had a choice. It seems like maintaining this hut and transporting supplies would be made for those that wanted or needed an easier experience. We made our way back to our car the same way we came up.
I would recommend this hike to anyone that would like to see what one of the AMC huts looks like. It is the easiest one to reach, so people of most abilities should be able to attain the top. This is one I could see us doing many times in the future due to the ease and the serenity that the scenery of the marshes and waterfall evokes.
Difficulty – 2. This is a pleasant, easy walk until the last couple tenths of a mile. The last push to hut is short but steep.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is so nicely built and easy to walk. Most of the water crossings and marshy areas are traversed by sturdy bridges and boardwalks.
Views –3.5. Views from the hut and Whitewall Brook are nice, as are several views across the wetlands, but generally the views here are less dramatic than other spots in the White Mountains.
Waterfalls/streams – 4.5. The river, pond, wetlands, brook and waterfalls are all lovely!
Wildlife – 3. It’s supposed to be a nice area to spot wildlife, but we just saw birds and squirrels.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Trail junctions are clearly marked and easy to follow.
Solitude– 3. We saw relatively few people, but we hiked on a weekday in August. I think this is generally a popular trail.
Directions to trailhead: From I-93: Take Exit 35 for Twin Mountain. Follow 3N for 10.4 miles. Turn right onto 302E for 2.2 miles. Turn right onto Zealand Rd. and drive about four miles. The road will turn to gravel. The parking area is at the dead end of the road. There is a $3/day fee to park at the trailhead.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
This 8.8 mile hike takes you past Madison Spring Hut and up to the summit of majestic Mt. Madison. The Valley Way Trail is known for being one of the safer, more protected routes into the heart of the White Mountains. While the terrain is less extreme than other trails in the area, the hike still requires a little over 4,100 feet of climbing. It’s a tough hike, but the views make it well worth the effort.
Adam makes his way across the summit ridge of Mt. Madison. The big mountain in the background is Mt. Washington. If you look closely, you can see the Auto Road snaking down the peak. Below: Plenty of parking and access to many trailheads at the Appalachia Parking area; Warning…. danger ahead – seriously, the White Mountains can be pretty extreme; The early part of the trail was fairly soft and gentle.
Adam Says…
My top goal for our 2014 New Hampshire trip was to hike up Mt. Madison. We both went to James Madison University and have worked there for years, so it only seemed fitting to take on the mountain that shared a name with our college. I even wore JMU Dukes gear almost like the guy that goes to a concert wearing a t-shirt for the band’s previous tour to show his super-fandom.
We started out the day on a rough note. Christine had put her hiking shoes and socks in the back of our car, so she could wear sandals on the car ride up. When we pulled over at one point, we realized one of our Camelbak tubes had pressed open and leaked all over the car, soaking her shoes and socks. We debated about if we would have been able to even do the hike in fear of blisters, but Christine decided to push forward.
There are a lot of ways up Mt. Madison, but in our research we found the most popular way was to make our approach by going up the Valley Way trail. We parked at the large Appalachia parking lot (which was so full we needed to park on the road) directly on US-2. We were worried there would be so many people on the trail, but this parking lot holds the beginnings of lots of trails that lead up to many peaks (including Mt. Adams and Mt. Quincy Adams).
The early part trail follows Snyder Brook. By taking a short spur trial, you can visit beautiful 25′ Tama Falls. Below: We saw a couple Croo members on their way down from the Madison Spring Hut; Adam checks out all the rocks on the ‘not as rocky’ New Hampshire trail; The final push to the Madison Spring Hut was very steep and rugged.
The trail starts off from the back of the parking lot. The trail branches off in different directions but follow the signs for the Valley Way trail. The trail begins relatively flat and easy walking, as it runs along Snyder Brook. There were a few places where we could get some nice stream views and even a glimpse at the picturesque Tama Falls at .4 miles. At .7 miles, you reach another large junction, but continue to follow the signs to the Valley Way trail. The trail then begins the steeper uphill climb. Overall, I felt that the trail, while very rocky was not as steep and rocky as some of the other trails in the White Mountains. There is a relentless amount of climbing and many rocks to navigate, but it wasn’t as grueling on my feet as some hikes in New Hampshire have felt to me. At 3.0 miles, the trail gets very steep and rocky (often filled with larger small boulder-sized rocks to hoist onto) and will remain so until you reach the Madison Spring Hut at 3.8 miles. If you’re interested in camping on the mountain, but don’t want to stay at the hut, the Valley Way tentsite is at mile 3.1 on this hike.
Once we arrived at the hut, we saw there were a couple of ways up to the summit of Mt. Madison. At this point, we were above treeline, so we saw the rocky summit up above us. I went in and found one of the Croo members and she told me the Osgood Trail had the most direct route and was a little easier than making our way via the Watson Path. The final ascent up to Mt. Madison was .5 miles along the Osgood Trail (which is also the Appalachian Trail in this area). You basically needed to walk acrpss large boulders, following cairns along the way until you reached the summit. When you are above treeline, the summits of mountains seem so close to reach, but it is very misleading. As we climbed up, we looked back and saw the hut shrink with each step, finally giving us some perspective of how far we had come. We stayed a while at the summit. The views were breathtaking and you could see for miles all around. It definitely was one of the most beautiful scenes I have witnessed hiking and to realize the work we had put in to attain the peak, made it feel even more worthwhile.
Christine makes her way up the Osgood Trail to the summit of Mt. Madison. Below: About to go above treeline; Even though the summits are far away, they always look close; A view of Madison Spring Hut with Mt. Adams in the background.
While we were at the summit, we met a woman who had a sign pinned to her that had 48 over 50 written on it. She was over 50 years old and she had a goal to do all 48 peaks over 4000 ft. in elevation in New Hampshire. She had saved Mt. Madison as her last hike to meet her goal, so we were thrilled to be able to see her experience accomplishing her goal. What an inspiration! We also talked to a gentleman at the summit who was from Colorado that had done this same hike 30 years ago. He was staying at the nearby Crag Camp, run by the Randolph Mountain Club, just as he had done when we was a teenager. He wanted to see if this hike was just as amazing as he had remembered and he told us it definitely was. It made me further realize that everyone likes to hike for their own reasons and it is always a privilege to get to hear people’s stories on the hike.
We made our way back down and ate some lunch at the Madison Spring Hut. We then ventured .2 miles on the Parapet Trail to see Star Lake. This is a spot you definitely shouldn’t miss. The lake is more like a small pond, but it was so beautiful to view the summit of Mt. Madison, as it reflected into Star Lake. We debated about tackling Mt. Adams to bag another peak, but we realized that the summit looked close, but it was still a steep 1 mile away. Not wanting to add even more to our hike, we decided to make our way back down. The trail seemed to be even rockier on the way back down. While you can normally fly down some parts of downhill trails, you need to take your time on this one to navigate all the rocks. On our way down, we came into a rain shower, making the rocks a little slick. The last .8 miles were quite easy again and we did pick up some time at this point. We made our way back to the parking lot to make the round trip 8.8 miles.
Christine Says…
The morning of our Mt. Madison hike started off cheerfully enough. We stopped for breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. I ate both a bagel with cream cheese and a Boston Cream donut. If I’m going to hike almost nine miles with over 4,000 feet of climbing, I’m going to enjoy any and all the baked goods I want! However, I was jolted out of my happy post-carb afterglow when I discovered my socks and sock liners completely soaked in the back of the car. A tough hike with wet socks sounded like a really bad idea. But, driving out of our way to find an outfitter with Thorlo socks seemed like an even worse idea. I’m super picky about socks, and Thorlo’s thick-cushion hiker socks are the only ones that keep my feet happy. I decided wet Thorlo socks were better than dry socks of another brand. (and they were … I hiked all day in wet socks and didn’t get a single blister!)
As Adam said in his post, the Valley Way trail is pretty moderate for White Mountain terrain. The trail is not as rocky and stays under the shelter of trees until you get to Madison Spring Hut. It’s a great choice if you want to visit the northern Presidentials, but stay largely sheltered from wind and other weather. There is still plenty of climbing, but until the last mile, it’s all gradual and moderate. Trails like the Valley Way exist due in part to people like J. Rayner Edmands. He was an early volunteer for the Appalachian Mountain Club. Starting in the 1880’s, he spent over 20 summers building trails in the White Mountains. He believed trails to the high peaks should be passable without stumbles, even in the dark. Backpacker Magazine did a neat article about Edmands in their October 2014 issue. Check it out if you have a few free minutes.
We paid tribute to our alma mater (James Madison University) on the namesake mountain. Go Dukes! Below: The trail was extremely rocky and rugged between the hut and the summit of Mt. Madison; Cairns mark the way; Christine and Adam enjoy a summit view; The descent.
I very much enjoyed the little rapids and waterfalls along Snyder Brook early in the hike. Tama Falls was especially impressive. After we moved away from the stream, the hike was basically just a climb in the woods. As we ascended the trail got rockier, bit by bit. The last half mile to the hut was insanely steep and rocky. In one spot, my shoe got so solidly wedged between two rocks that I had to unlace it and contort my ankle to free myself. It took efforts from both of us to release my shoe from the rocks. It’s a good thing trail runners are so soft and flexible, because my feet definitely needed both shoes on this hike! I think the steepness of the terrain is actually what stopped me from getting hurt when my foot got caught. We were moving very slowly, picking our way across the rocks. Had I been moving at any significant speed, I think I could have easily broken my ankle.
When we arrived at Madison Spring Hut, it was already starting to cloud up a little. It wasn’t really overcast, but the sky had that heavy, hazy look about it. The weather was definitely changing and I wanted to make sure we enjoyed the best views possible. We headed up the Osgood Trail toward the summit of Madison. I don’t know if you can really call the path to the top a ‘trail’. It’s more of a scramble across rocks, following cairns leading you to the summit. The climb to the top is slow going, simply because there is never a simple place to put your feet. On our way up it was fun to look back and marvel at the towering peaks and the tiny hut tucked into the col.
We decided to eat lunch at Madison Spring Hut. Below: Even pretty dogs aren’t allowed inside AMC huts; We always enjoy the baked goods for sale at huts; Compass on the hut porch.
At the top we enjoyed spectacular views of the Presidentials. Seeing the Mt. Washington Auto Road snaking down the mountain was really impressive! While the wind was a little brisk at the summit, it was really a warm, mild day for the White Mountain high peaks. Lots of people were hiking in shorts and t-shirts. Some people even basked shirtless in the summit sunshine. My blood is a little thin for that, but I wasn’t cold like I had been on the summit of Mt. Washington in 2013.
After taking lots of photos and doing our JMU rituals, we climbed back down and enjoyed our packed lunch at Madison Spring Hut. Of course, we supplemented our packed food with baked goods from the Croo. I always hear people talking about how huts are packed with dayhikers all summer long. I’m not sure if it’s our timing (we hike early), but we’ve found almost every hut we’ve visited nearly empty.
Beautiful star lake sits near Madison Spring Hut. Below: As we were leaving the lake, clouds started to roll in and we heard distant rumbles of thunder… time to leave the peaks and head back to the valley below.
After lunch, we walked out to Star Lake. What a beautiful spot. The lake itself is small and shallow, but it makes a gorgeous reflecting pool for Mt. Madison. We were lucky to visit on a picture perfect day! While we were admiring the lake and taking in our final peak views, we started to hear distant rumbles of thunder in the distance.
Being caught in a thunderstorm in the Whites is definitely something I’d be happy to NEVER experience. Lightning strikes happen frequently, wet granite is very slick, and stream levels can change drastically in mere minutes. In fact, just last week I read a harrowing account from a solo hiker caught by storms in the White Mountains. Seriously scary!
We made our way down as quickly as we safely could. With a couple miles of hiking left, the rain started to fall. Fortunately, it was light rain and none of the thunder/lightning seemed close. We got back to the car right before the skies opened up and poured! What a great day with perfect timing. I’m really thankful that we had weather that allowed us to visit two more Presidentials on our 2014 trip!
Difficulty – 5. The trail started off easier, but it is still a very tough, uphill climb.
Trail Conditions – 2.5. The trail was well-maintained, but the rocky parts of the trail make this a challenge. The final push to the summit on the Osgood Trail also took a lot of precision. Bring trekking poles.
Views – 5. It doesn’t get much better than this. If you are lucky enough to catch this on a day where clouds are off the mountain summits, you will be able to see all around you for miles.
Waterfalls/streams – 3. The Snyder Brook runs alongs the trail early on the hike and you can see a few smaller waterfalls along the trail.
Wildlife – 1. We didn’t really see any wildlife on the trail. I wouldn’t expect much at all once you get above treeline.
Ease to Navigate – 2.5. There are a lot of junctions and side trails on the route because there are a lot of trails in this area. Keep following the signs for the Valley Way Trail until you reach the hut and then follow the Osgood Path via the cairns to the summit.
Solitude– 2. We picked a gorgeous day in the summer to do this hike, so we weren’t surprised to see lots of people. We saw the most at the summit and the hut, but there was still places to find our own bit of solitude.
Directions to trailhead: From I-93: Take Exit 35 for Twin Mountain. Follow 3N for 12.4 miles. Turn right onto 115N for 9.7 miles. Turn tight onto 2E for 8 miles. The parking lot will be a large gravel area on the right.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
This hike is one of the shorter, more moderate approaches into the Presidential range of New Hampshire. While the hike is only about 6.5 miles, we hiked an extra 2.4 miles for the chance to enjoy some views!
On our second pass-by, we were lucky to hit the summit with mostly clear views! Below: Adam makes his way up the Crawford Connector – a short spur trail from the parking lot to the Crawford Path; Trail signs and a sign for Mizpah Spring Hut; Gibbs Falls.
Adam Says…
Charles Dickens started off A Tale of Two Cities with the line, “It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.” When I was thinking about starting to write about Mt. Pierce, I was thinking, it was A Tale of Two Hikes with the worst and best of times. All of us have good days and bad days on the trail and this was a bad one for me. I wasn’t really feeling the hike deep down and I felt like I was just going through the motions rather than taking a moment to enjoy what I was able to do. The morning started off with a lot of fog around, which didn’t really help my mood. I was thinking it may burn off by the time we got to the top, but we weren’t so lucky.
The first .4 miles along the trail were relatively flat as it meandered through a wooded area. We crossed a footbridge at the base of a small waterfall and at .4 miles, we reached a junction with the Crawford Path. Taking a left at the junction, we began our ascent. The ascent begins while paralleling the Gibbs Brook on the left of the trail. The trail was extremely rocky which was making each step a challenge, as I felt like I was doing a demented, granite-laden version of a StairMaster. Most of the trail to the summit consists of having to step on rocks, so there is little evidence of soft ground to place your feet. I would recommend shoes with good padding, thick comfortable socks, ankle support, and trekking poles to help yourself along.
Even though the Crawford Path to the summit of Pierce is one of the least steep trails in the Whites, it is still very rocky and slick. Below: As we climbed, the woods got foggier and foggier; By the time we made it to the junction with the Mizpah Cutoff Trail we started to worry that we wouldn’t have a view at all; The Mizpah Cut-Off Trail departs the Crawford Path a little over a mile from the summit of Mt. Pierce.
At 1.9 miles, we reached a junction that led to the Mizpah Spring Hut, which is the return trip for this lollipop loop. Stay left and continue to climb up to the summit. The trail continued to be rocky and the fog was just sticking to the mountaintop as we progressed. I was feeling hopeless about being able to spot any views. As we got higher, we could tell the views would have opened up to the left of the trail but all we could see was a sea of gray. At 3.1 miles, we reached a large rocky, outcropping and waited a while for the views to open up. While the wind was picking up, we felt there was no end to the fog. At the outcropping, another sign for a junction pointed us to the summit and the Webster Cliff trail to the Mizpah Spring Hut (continuing on the Crawford Path would lead to the summit of Mt. Eisenhower in 1.6 miles). We took that sharp right and headed up to the top, where we reached the summit of Mt. Pierce in a short distance.
At this point the trail began to descend. The first part of the trail was a gradual descent, but eventually the trail was some of the steepest, rockiest downhill my feet and knees have witnessed. At 4.0 miles, we reached the Mizpah Spring Hut, maintained by the AMC and beds can be reserved in advance. We stopped for a while here and ate lunch. The croo (yes, that is how they spell it) that maintains the hut and cooks dinner and breakfast for overnight guests, had baked some cookies which we purchased and supplemented our lunch. As we were enjoying our lunch, we could see that the fog was finally lifting.
From the hut, we explored the nearby Nauman tent area (also able to be reserved for outside camping) and then proceeded on to the Mizpah Cutoff Trail to complete the lollipop section of the hike. The Cutoff Trail starts off flat, but is a relatively easier descent. We reached the junction with the Crawford Path at 4.7 miles. A return trip to your car by taking a left would make this a 6.6 mile hike. However, we had a debate about what to do. Going back up to the summit would be adding another grueling, rocky 2.4 miles, but the views could finally be opening up. What we had researched before told us how great the views were, so the temptation was hard to resist. I felt like I owed it to myself (and our readers) to change my attitude and fight through to see these views. I could tell Christine wanted to see the views as well, so we decided to hike up to the summit again.
As we climbed, we saw people descending that we had seen earlier on our hikes. I stopped to ask everyone if they had seen views, thinking if there was still little hope we could turn back around. Early on, some were saying that we may get lucky to see things, but as we got closer, we were told the views had opened up. As people were descending, we ran into several people that we had seen before near the summit and they had wondered if we were hiking the summit again. We got looks of admiration, which made us feel like we fit in with New Hampshire hikers – we weren’t just some normal, Virginia couple that isn’t used to hiking the tough, challenging White Mountains. When we reached the rocky outcropping near the summit, the views were spectacular. There were still clouds in the distance that was stuck to Mt. Washington and some of the other high peaks, but we could still see miles of beautiful mountain ranges around us.
We hiked again up to the summit and the views got more amazing as we looked behind us each step. We stayed up here a little longer to take in the views. After getting our fill, we went back down the Crawford Path and made our way back to the car. When we reached the end, we were a little more tired and had covered more miles than we had planned, but it was a rewarding day. At the parking lot, we saw a fox standing next to our car, but it quickly darted off into the woods.
One thing to note about Mt. Pierce is that it was once named Mt. Clinton. When hearing some people refer to it as Mt. Clinton, my initial thought was that Mt. Pierce had been renamed for President Clinton. I thought that would be odd, since Franklin Pierce was the only President born in New Hampshire and I couldn’t see them changing the name for a President from Arkansas. But the original name was from DeWitt Clinton, a governor of New York and U.S. Senator, also known for being largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. Even though the name was changed in 1913, some people have still held onto the original name of Mt. Clinton.
Christine Says…
Summiting Mt. Pierce has been on our New Hampshire ‘To Do’ list for several years now. I’m sad Adam didn’t have a better day on the trail, because I really enjoyed myself and had a strong hiking day. It’s always tough when your hiking partner is in pain or having a hard time with terrain, because there’s really nothing you can do beyond cheer them on (which is sometimes annoying) or stay quiet and let them work through the challenge.
We chose to hike Pierce on a day forecast to be clear and beautiful. As typical in the Whites, the clouds and drizzle stuck to the mountains far longer than the valley. It was sunny and pleasant at the AMC Highlands Center, but the peaks loomed in the clouds. We decided to start our hike on good faith that the clouds would blow off before we reached the summit.
By the time we arrived at Mizpah Spring Hut, the sun was fully out. Below: The Webster Cliffs trail is steep in places and is traversed by ladders and wooden stairs; Inside Mizpah Spring Hut; Cookies!
Hiking along the stream early in the hike was pretty and pleasant. Gibbs falls were lovely and I always enjoy the sound of water running through the woods! As we continued to climb uphill, the fog did the opposite of what we hoped/expected – it just got thicker! In fact, every time I paused to take a photo I had to wipe the lens with my shirt to get the droplets and mist off the glass.
Between the Mizpah Cut-Off trail and the summit, we were passed by a pair of trail runners. Running on mid-Atlantic mountain trails is challenging enough. I can’t even imagine keeping that pace over the rocks and roots of New Hampshire!
As we ascended, the fog enveloped the mountain even more. We debated taking the Mizpah Cut-Off trail, and visiting the hut first, but decided to chance the summit so that we’d hit the hut closer to lunchtime. That turned out to be the wrong call. At the summit of Pierce, we sat on the rocky outcropping looking into a sea of clouds. We couldn’t even tell which direction held the spectacular view we’d heard described in our hiking guide.
We hiked back up to the summit of Pierce to enjoy clear views. Below: The Nauman Tentsite is a short distance from the hut; A typical tent platform in the Whites; More views from the summit.
We sat in the clouds for a few minutes before deciding to push on to the hut. The Webster Cliff trail crossed a ridge for a while, using boardwalks and traditional trail. We stopped at one last high point and checked out the movement of the clouds. Every now and then, the clouds would blow off enough that we could see the shoulder of a mountain or the faint shape of a peak through the mist. We again discussed waiting/going back to the summit versus heading down to the hut. We agreed that it would still be a while before the view would clear, and proceeded to Mizpah Spring.
The Webster Cliff trail got steeper and slippery, using wooden stairs and ladders in a couple places. We eventually reached the hut. While we ate our lunch, the last of the clouds blew off, leaving bright bluebird skies above the White Mountains. We discussed climbing back up to the summit. Neither of us wanted to ascend via Webster Cliff, so we decided to delay our summit decision until after we walked the Mizpah Cut-Off back to its junction with the Crawford Path.
At the junction, we agreed that you don’t climb a presidential peak and pass on the opportunity to take in a spectacular view. We hiked the extra 1.2 miles (2.4 miles round trip) with 1,000 feet of elevation gain a second time. And you know what… it was SO WORTH IT. The views were spectacular, expansive, breathtaking. Even with Mt. Washington still in the clouds, it was a stunning view.
The hike down was long and slippery. We were passed again by the trail runners we had seen earlier. They had been all the way to the summit of Mt. Washington and back. Wow! We didn’t go that far, but we still felt our hike was worthy of celebration with a huge meal at The Italian Farmhouse in Plymouth. It’s always such a gift to have a great view day in the White Mountains!
Difficulty – 4. While there are steeper, more challenging trails in the White Mountains, this one is still challenging.
Trail Conditions – 2. The trail is mostly rock, requiring big steps and unsteady footing.
Views – 4.5. From the summit of Mt. Pierce on a clear day, you can see miles of the Presidential range.
Waterfalls/streams – 3.5. Early in the hike, you can see Gibbs Falls and the start of the Crawford Path part of the hike goes along the scenic Gibbs Brook.
Wildlife – 2. We weren’t expecting to see much, but we were lucky enough to see the fox at the end of our hike. Keep a lookout for the rare Bicknell’s Thrush.
Ease to Navigate – 3.5. Signage was fairly good at the junctions, but we were a little confused on how to get to the Mizpah Cutoff Trail from the hut.
Solitude– 2. This is a popular trail since the Mizpah Spring Hut is one of the easiest of the AMC huts to access. Expect to see people at the summit of Mt. Pierce and the hut mostly. Clear days in the summer could make this quite popular.
Directions to trailhead: From I-93: Take Exit 35 for Twin Mountain. Follow 3N for 10.4 miles. Turn right onto 302E and proceed for 8.2 miles. Turn left onto Mt. Clinton Road. There will be a large gravel parking lot at the trailhead ($3 fee applies).
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
This 10.2 mile hike to Bear Church Rock from Bootens Gap (on Skyline Drive) is a great alternative to the route that begins down in the valley at Graves Mill. While this route doesn’t include the scenic Staunton River or the Jones Mountain Cabin, it crosses some of the deepest, least traveled parts of Shenandoah National Park. And in the end, you reach the same great viewpoint. While this route is a little longer than the alternative, it has less climbing and feels a little more moderate.
The view from Bear Church Rock reveals nothing but wilderness. The Staunton River flows through the valley below. Below: The hike begins on the AT northbound at Bootens Gap; Christine passing large boulders on the Laurel Prong trail; Mountain laurel starting to bloom.
Adam Says…
Bear Church Rock really impressed us when we hiked it a few years ago, approaching it from Graves Mill. However, we were thinking it would be nice to take a different route that would be more accessible from Skyline Drive. This approach is a bit longer, but it has 400 fewer feet of elevation gain, making this an overall easier climb.
We started off from the Bootens Gap parking lot at Mile Marker 55 on Skyline Drive in the Central District of Shenandoah National Park. We took the Appalachian Trail from the parking lot, heading north. In .5 miles, we reached the junction with the Laurel Prong Trail. We took a right to join this trail. The Laurel Prong Trail ends up going through a relatively steep decline through a loose, rocky section. The trail eventually bottoms out and you reach a junction with the Cat Knob Trail at 1.5 miles. We took the Cat Knob Trail and began a steep incline. The trail hits another junction with the Jones Mountain Trail at 2.2 miles. Take a right on the Jones Mountain Trail. At this point, the trail is relatively flat or downhill for most of the way to Bear Church Rock. As you near your goal, you’ll see some pretty amazing standalone boulders along the trail. You will know you’re getting close to the viewpoint when the trail takes a sudden, precipitous downhill drop. At 5.1 miles, you will reached an unmarked side trail that takes you up a about ten feet through the laurels onto a large rock outcrop with majestic, wilderness views. Return the way you came to make this a 10.2 mile out-and-back.
The Jones Mountain Trail traversed an expansive bed of lush, green ferns. Below: Adam climbs Cat Knob – one of the few steep portions of the trail; Park boundaries were well marked; One of many pink ladys slippers along the trail.
One thing to note on the trail is you do come across several times where the National Park crosses back and forth across boundary lines with the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area. You may see some US Boundary markers in several places that marks the portion that is under National Park control versus Virginia control.
When we reached the highest point of the Cat Knob Trail, we found the largest concentration of pink lady slippers I have ever seen. Everywhere we turned, we kept seeing more and more and they were at the peak of their bloom. That was such a nice reward by coming this route.
Usually photos of lady’s slippers are close-ups. This wider shot gives a better idea how these wildflowers are situated in the forest. Below: The portion of the trail outside the park is blazed differently; The Rapidan Wildlife Management area; Adam makes the last final, steep descent to Bear Church Rock.
Somewhere along the Jones Mountain Trail as we were making our approach to Bear Church Rock, my knee buckled and gave me a lot of pain for the rest of the day. One hard part about hiking is if you get injured, you don’t have a lot of choice but to keep going. I stopped about .25 mile before we reached the summit and rested. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it all the way. Christine went ahead to scout the way and see how much further. Not wanting to be separated too long, I pushed myself onward and found her at the rock overlook. We stayed there to rest for a while and we had the rock all to ourselves. We were joined in about 20 minutes from a man from China who had come up the route from Graves Mill. He didn’t speak English and we heard him on his walkie-talkie talking to someone that we presumed to be his wife. We were guessing she was farther behind and he was assuring her he made it. The climb the other way is quite steep, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she had either turned around or was just taking longer to get to the rock.
The views were spectacular. While we had a bit of a cloudy day, it was nice to see the shadows from the clouds creeping along the mountain ridges in the distance.
We decided to make our way back. I felt like the time at the viewpoint allowed me to rest my knee enough to make the return trip. I was hobbling slowly, but I had to keep pushing forward. We got back to the car and I was glad to not have to take any more steps.
Christine Says…
It was National Trails Day, the weather was great – and even though neither of us was in the mood to go on a long car ride to a distant trailhead, we had to get out and hike! We settled on the hike from Skyline Drive to Bear Church Rock – mostly because it was close to home, but also because we’d never hiked it before. A few years ago, we hiked from the valley bottom in Graves Mill up to Bear Church Rock. That was a challenging and beautiful hike, so we thought it would be fun to visit the rock from the other approach.
From the parking lot at Bootens Gap, we headed north on the Appalachian Trail, gradually ascending Hazeltop Mountain. I was amazed by how lush and green everything in the park looked. It almost looked as green as the Smokies! Our last hike in the park had been in late April, before the leaves fully emerged. Spring always take a long time to fully arrive in the mountains.
After a short, easy stretch on the AT, we reached the junction with the Laurel Prong Trail. We turned right onto the trail and followed it downhill, over many rock jumbles along the shoulder of the mountain. In a saddle between two mountains, we reached the junction with the Cat Knob Trail.
Adam takes in the view at Bear Church Rock. Below: You’ll pass these rock formations on the final descent to Bear Church; The rocks were covered with blooming mountain laurel; There were also lots of ripening blueberries.
That trail climbed steeply over Cat Knob before reaching the junction with the Jones Mountain Trail. The Jones Mountain trail bears to the right. This section of trail actually departs Shenandoah National Park and enters the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area. You’ll notice park boundary signs and different orange/red blazes (as opposed to Shenandoah’s blue blazes) when you’re on this part of the hike.
This section of trail is incredibly beautiful! We enjoyed the expansive understory of ferns and countless pink lady’s slippers. The mountain laurel was just starting to bloom. The terrain along the Jones Mountain trail was rolling – lots of ups and downs, none of them too steep. This route to Bear Church is probably less popular than the route from Graves Mill, so the trail was narrow and overgrown. Tall grasses brushed our legs all along the way. Adam said, “All I can think of is ticks. I feel like I’m crawling with them!’ Luckily, the permethrin we’ve been using on our clothes and gear really seems to be working. Neither of us found any ticks during a thorough post-hike check.
Around 4.9 miles into the hike, the trail took an incredibly steep downward turn. We lost about 200 feet of elevation in just over a couple tenths of a mile. We passed a few rocky outcroppings that looked like they might potentially have views, but they all turned out to be obscured by trees. Watch carefully for the spur trail to Bear Church Rock. It’s not a marked spur, so one could easily miss it.
On the hike, Adam had begun to wonder if we passed the view or if maybe it had been closed in by trees. I told him that it was a really open, spectacular view and that it had to be nearby. I told him I’d scout ahead and shout back if I found it. I ended up walking almost another half mile before I reached the spur trail! The distances in our guidebook were way off on describing the last mile of the hike to the viewpoint. Other sources I checked afterwards all put the distance anywhere between 9.5 and 11 (rather than the 8.5 miles indicated by our book).
Everything was so abundant and green on this pretty June day. Below: Adam makes the steep ascent on the return from Bear Church Rock. Fortunately it is only this steep for a short time; Coming off Cat Knob; We spotted a doe and fawn in the understory. The fawn was pretty well hidden.
There was a large hiking group on the rock, so I felt weird about shouting for Adam. They told me they were headed out the way we came and would send Adam down when they passed him. But, just as the final hiker departed, Adam arrived.
We had lunch on the rock and enjoyed the unspoiled, pristine views of the park. One of the nice things about Bear Church is that you really don’t see civilization from the viewpoint. You get great views of Fork Mountain, Cat Knob and the Staunton River Valley – but no roads or houses or farms. It’s beautiful! The mountain laurel around the rocky viewpoint were in full bloom and quite spectacular!
After a nice rest, we hiked back the way we came. Most of the return trip was uphill, but other than a short section of climbing right after leaving Bear Church it was very moderate, gradual climbing. The last little bit along the AT was smooth downhill. We saw a doe and fawn hiding in the ferns right before we got back to the car. Once we were back in the car, we decided to head up to Big Meadows for blackberry milkshakes (yay!) and to say hello to our PATC friends. We were glad to catch up with the pair of PATC volunteers who led our Backpacking 101 course several years ago. Good day!
Trail Notes
Distance – 10.2 miles
Elevation Change – About 1800 feet
Difficulty – 4. The climb down and back up are not overly tough, but the distance gives it an above average difficulty.
Trail Conditions – 2.5. The rocky slope climbing down the Laurel Prong trail did have some loose rock. The Jones Mountain Trail was quite overgrown along the way and we were walking through a lot of knee-high grassy areas. Wear bug spray and check for ticks afterwards.
Views– 5. Great mountain views from Bear Church Rock.
Streams/Waterfalls – 0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 2. We didn’t really see much wildlife on this trail. We thought much of it would be a great place to spot a bear since it is in a very wide part of Shenandoah National Park and not as well-traveled.
Ease to Navigate – 3. You do take four different trails to get to Bear Church Rock, so pay attention at the junction markers.
Solitude – 3. Most of the people we saw on the trail were on the Laurel Prong portion (typically making their way to the Rapidan Camp). I would expect that you would see someone at Bear Church Rock.
Directions to trailhead: Follow Skyline Drive to mile marker 55. Park at the Bootens Gap parking area on the east side of the drive. The AT departs from the end of the parking lot.
This 2.8 mile out-and-back is an easy hike to one of the area’s best viewpoints. The platform atop the defunct firetower on Wesser Bald offers panoramic views of the spectacular Smokies (and all the other mountains in the area).
You get classic Smoky Mountain views from the tower atop Wesser Bald. Below: A sign points the way to Wesser Bald: The parking area at Tellico Gap provided a view of powerlines and a ‘cloud sea’; The drive into Tellico Gap follows the extremely scenic Otter Creek. It’s worth stopping to enjoy the rapids and small waterfalls.
Adam Says…
It is nice when you find a hike that the locals rave about. During our trip to North Carolina, I heard three different people mentioning that we needed to hike Wesser Bald. After getting to the top, I can see why this is so revered.
When we started off in the morning, it had been storming the night before. A fog had settled on the lower elevations. While we were driving, we were curious if we were going to get any views at all. On our drive there, the cloudy conditions gave us great views along the Nantahala River as we passed several scenic spots and chances to catch some roadside waterfalls and rapids. We made our way up Otter Creek Road and parked at Tellico Gap, where the Appalachian Trail crossed the road.
When we first parked, we noticed the sign that designated the start of the trail, but we noticed there was a white-blazed trail and a fire road to the left. We knew our hike was on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, so we took the trail to the left. The fire road trail to the right also leads to the tower. I’m not sure how the conditions are on it, but it did seem to be shorter, since we found a family with kids that left after us beat us back to the parking lot (and they didn’t seem like fast hikers). The trail passed through a thick brushy area fairly quickly, but most of the trail was in a more opened-up wooded area. The hike was fairly uphill as it skirted the mountainside, but I didn’t find any of the trail to be incredibly steep. Instead, it winds There were a few switchbacks towards the end of the hike where it was a little steeper, but the switchbacks save you from going straight up the mountain.
Adam walks along the Appalachian Trail en route to Wesser Bald. Below: A cool, bent tree along the trail; Mountain laurel were just starting to bloom; In fact, there were many wildflowers blooming.
When we reached the top of the spur trail at 1.3 miles, there was a great viewpoint that gives you a small sample. If you are not willing to climb the fire tower, this would be the best views you would get on this hike. As you reach the top, take a right and you’ll reach the fire tower in a short distance. Make your way back to complete the out-and-back or you could press pass the fire tower to take the fire road back to make it a loop.
When we reached the fire tower, we could hear a couple people at the top of the tower. Christine quickly made her way up. I, on the other hand, needed to psych myself up. As you’ve probably seen in many pictures, I don’t mind getting out on rocks that are on the edge of a huge precipice; however, I don’t trust man-made structures when it comes to heights. I trust nature over man. I went up halfway and then I could start to see the sky through the gaps in the stairs and I just turned back around. But from the bottom, I could hear Christine and the others at the top of how beautiful everything was and I knew I needed to force myself to get up there. So, I took a second attempt and made it up. Christine and the others at the top applauded my efforts for overcoming my fear. I’m so glad I made it to the top, because the scenery was breathtaking and some of the best mountain views I’ve ever seen. We stayed up there a while and talked to a few different groups of people that made it up after we did.
After we made it back, we decided to head to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We had a nice lunch at the River’s End and then we enjoyed a beer at Big Wesser BBQ & Brew, while watching kayakers and whitewater rafts go down the river. This is always one of our favorite spots while visiting near the Smokies and it is definitely a place you can spend hours during the afternoon. You can also hike from Tellico Gap to the Nantahala Outdoor Center on the Appalachian Trail for a one-way total of 7.5 miles if you want to do a shuttle option.
If you are interested in geocaching, there are three you can find on the trail:
The forecast for our week in the Smokies didn’t look good – stormy, rainy and unsettled every single day from Sunday to the next Saturday. So, when we woke up to dense fog on Monday morning, we weren’t completely surprised. However, the hourly forecast on weather.com made it look like the fog might burn off. We hoped that the odds would be in our favor, and headed off to hike a trail we’d been eying for a while. Wesser Bald is a short, moderate 1.4 mile hike along the AT to an old fire tower overlooking the southern Appalachians. It’s a spectacular view if you’re lucky enough to hit the spot on a clear day.
From Tellico Gap, we followed the AT as it made gradual, sweeping switchbacks through beautiful, lush forest. The trail was lined with wildflowers and blooming azaleas/rhododendron. I think I saw more pink lady slippers on this hike than I’ve ever seen anywhere else. It was gorgeous. The azaleas came in white, pink and orange and the rhododendron bloomed in their classic bright pinkish-purple color. I also spotted wild strawberries and some gorgeous purple spiderwort.
Christine enjoys the first view along the trail. This spot is at the head of the spur trail to the tower. Below: The fire tower is two stories high; The stairs are open and a little rickety; Christine atop the fire tower.
The humidity took some getting used to! Even though it wasn’t particularly hot, the day was windless and the air was completely saturated. By the time we got to the top, I looked like I’d been dunked in a pool! Just before reaching the tower, we passed a nice view looking toward the Smokies and Fontana Dam. Near the overlook, a short spur trail took us to the top of Wesser Bald. This bald is no longer actually a bald – it’s been let go and returned to the natural forest environment. So while the view has closed in from the base of the tower, the view from the two-story viewing platform is superb!
I climbed up to the top and said WOW! Adam didn’t feel comfortable with the open, rattling stairs, so he hung out at the bottom while I chatted with a couple at the top. They had hiked up earlier from the NOC and were waiting to meet up with their son, who was on a solo backpacking trip. They were really fun to talk to – both were veteran AT thru-hikers and REI employees. We talked about favorite spots on the AT and chatted a bit about gear. I always love meeting people like them on the trail!
Views from the Wesser Bald fire tower are majestic. Below: There were many pink lady’s slippers along the trail; Spiderwort: Christine enjoys a post-hike shandy at the Big Wesser Brew & BBQ at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.
While we were chatting, Adam mustered the courage to climb to the top of the tower. He was so glad he did, too! The views really blew both of us away! Even though it was hazy, we could still see for miles in every direction. We spent a long while atop the tower, enjoying the views and the fresh mountain air.
After a while, we decided it was time to make our way down and seek out some lunch. One of our repeat stops ever time we visit the Smokies is the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We enjoy lunch at the Riverside Cafe, browsing the nice outdoor gear store, and (of course) drinking a few beers by the river at Big Wesser. It’s so fun to sit at an umbrella table, drink a nice craft beer and watch kayakers shooting through the rapids. It’s also a great place to people-watch in general. While we were sitting and enjoying our drinks, the skies opened up and dumped a huge amount of rain in just a few minutes. I’m sure glad we had the rain at the NOC instead of on top Wesser Bald!
Trail Notes
Distance – 2.8 miles out-and-back
Elevation Change – 777 feet.
Difficulty – 2. The trail is mostly uphill, but not too steep.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail was in great shape and the footing was fairly solid.
Views – 5. Absolutely spectacular views from the fire tower and another nice view right before the tower.
Streams/Waterfalls – 0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 1. We only saw some birds along the way.
Ease to Navigate – 3. The confusion of the fire road at the beginning gives it a lower score, but other than that you should be fine. Follow the white-blazed AT.
Solitude – 2.5. Popular with locals, but this wouldn’t get the traffic that a hike in the nearby Smokies would.
Directions to trailhead: From Bryson City, follow US 19/74 for 20 miles. Turn left on Wayah Road and follow it for five miles. Turn left on Otter Creek Road and drive 4.1 miles to Tellico Gap. The road is paved for the first 2.8 miles. At the crest of the hill, you will see the AT crossing and several parking spots. Follow the signs to Wesser Bald.
This 19.1 mile overnight backpacking trip has amazing views and pretty stream scenery. The terrain is relatively easy, so it’s a great stretch if you’re looking to cover higher miles without a ton of uphill climbing. Since this is a longer post, Adam is going to cover day one, and Christine will cover day two.
The first views on our hike came within about a mile! Notice Christine’s new purple backpack! She upgraded from her Gregory Z55 to an Osprey Viva 65. It has a lot of useful features – her favorite: the hydration sleeve is on the outside of the pack, which is very convenient! Below: Parking at Hog Camp Gap; Adam climbs out of the gap; Old stone walls.
Day One (10.4 miles)…
This hike had a very rough start and almost became the hike that never happened. The morning of our trip, we loaded up our cars and headed out. We needed to take two cars since we were doing a shuttle. About ten minutes into the drive, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Christine turning back around and heading home. She had forgotten her hiking shoes and was only wearing flip-flops in the car – not the best idea for a backpacking trip. We made a quick return home. When I pulled into the driveway, black metallic smoke started rolling out from underneath our hood. Not good at all! But we didn’t want to throw in the towel yet. We took the smoking car to Bob Wade Auto World (the Subaru dealership where we bought the car), but found they weren’t open yet. So, we decided to fill up on a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel and stop by again when they opened at 9:00. We got to the dealership and explained the problem. They have great customer service! We ended up with a free loaner car to use while our Outback was in the shop. They were so quick with the paperwork and processing that we were back on the road in less than 15 minutes. Saved!!
Beautiful green mayapples! Spring is finally here! Below: Trillium along the trail; Lunch stop!; A perfect swallowtail.
We dropped our first car at our finish line where the Appalachian Trail crosses VA Route 56. We then headed to the starting point. It took us about 50 minutes to get to Hog Camp Gap, since there is no direct road that parallels the AT. The last piece of road to get to Hog Camp Gap is very rocky and filled with potholes, but we made it there safely. The parking lot was already crowded as this is a great starting point for many hikes, whether you’re going to Mt. Pleasant, Cole Mountain, Spy Rock, or camping near Cow Camp Gap shelter. We got all of our gear together quickly and walked through the large break in the fence to start our hike on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, heading north. The trail began to climb up a hillside and within 1 mile, we were blessed with astonishing views, looking over the Tar Jacket Ridge to catch views of the bald on Cole Mountain, Mount Pleasant, and Pompey Mountain. I knew at this point our luck was turning for the best. I found it hard to pry myself away from the views, but knowing that we had a lot of distance to cover, we pressed on. The trail then begins to gradually descend from the ridgeline and we crossed USFS 62 and Salt Log Gap at 2.2 miles.
One of the few, small stream crossings on the hike. Below: Seely-Woodworth Shelter; Christine filters water at Porters Field; Porters Field has space for lots of tents; Through the trees, we could see the ascent still ahead of us after dinner; Christine ascends the trail near Spy Rock; Finally at camp!
The trail was relatively flat for a good stretch of the trail going forward. There were some views through the trees occasionally as we walked on, but the true treat was all the trillium that was on the trail. This is by far Christine’s favorite wildflower. She was hoping to see some along the trail and we were pleased to find entire hillsides filled with these flowers in perfect bloom. We crossed USFS 246 at mile 3.6, Greasy Spring/USFS 1176A at mile 4.1 and reached the crossing of the North Fork of Piney River at mile 5.9. We stopped and ate our lunch on the side of the trail. The only excitement along this piece of trail was Christine swore she saw a bear, but it was just a person (dressed all in black) taking a lunch break far uphill from the trail (which we thought was an odd place to stop). We pressed on along the trail and finally reached the Seely-Woodworth Shelter at mile 7.4. When we arrived at the shelter there were several backpacks at the shelter, but no sign of people anywhere. We took a long break and rested our feet. We were joined shortly by Christine’s “bear man” who was doing a longer section hike and covering a lot of Virginia. We shared some hiking stories (like how he never purifies water but has only got sick once). Knowing that we had more miles to cover today, we strapped our heavy packs back on and continued.
We reached a junction with Porters Field (a fire road that used to be a railroad trail) at mile 8.4. We had read on the hiking blog of a friend (thanks, Wandering Virginia), about a water source near this junction. We took this short side trail past a campsite and then headed downhill towards the sound of water. Water was coming out steadily from under a large rock. We decided to cook some dinner here. While we both weren’t overly starving since we had eaten lunch not too long ago, this seemed like the best place to cook some dinner and refill water. We were shooting to camp at Spy Rock, which is a dry camp, so we needed to carry enough water for breakfast After dinner, we made our way back to the AT. Christine typically doesn’t like hiking with a full stomach, but because we needed to get to our camp site for the night, we pushed on. We crossed over the Fish Hatchery Road at Montebello at 9.6 miles. On the other side of the road, we saw the steep ascent up to Spy Rock. The trail climbed up about 400 feet in .5 miles, but when we reached the top of the hill, we found our perfect campsite at the base of Spy Rock.
NOTE: Hikers are no longer allowed to camp at the base of Spy Rock. Usage rules for this area were changed in 2019. We camped there long before the rule change, and we’re thankful we had that opportunity!
Spectacular views from Spy Rock. Below: Getting to the top takes some scrambling; Christine reaches the dome; Beautiful evening light on Spy Rock.
We took off our packs and began to set up camp. There were already a few campsites already claimed, but we found a nice flat spot with no rocks or protruding roots. We had just bought a new two-person tent, the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2, which was much lighter than our 3-person tent, and we were excited to try it out. We set the tent and fly up and then made our way to check out the views from the summit of Spy Rock. There is a little rock scramble up to the top of Spy Rock, but the 360-degree views from this spot are not to be missed. We stayed up there a while to soak in as many views as we could, before making our way back to camp. We had a long, tiring, day that started off stressful, so we were ready to go to sleep before the sun fully set. We both read books for a while and then went to sleep. Or rather, tried to go to sleep. Right after sunset, the wind started to pick up. At first it was an occasional rustle across the treetops, but by midnight it was moaning and howling over the mountains.
Adam enjoying a beautiful spot! Below: Reflecting pools on Spy Rock; Sunset is ‘hiker midnight’. By the time the sun went down, it was already cold and windy. Christine was glad for the hood on her sleeping bag!
Day Two (8.7 miles)…
That was a rough night to spend in a tent! Even with it staked and guylined, it rattled and shook all night long. The wind continually caught under the fly and funneled through the tent’s mesh. Even in long pants, a hat, and layers of fleece, I was cold in my 35 degree bag. It wasn’t even that cold outside – the wind was just really brutal! Neither Adam nor I got much sleep. I found myself wide awake when the first hints of dawn light started to brighten the tent.
NOTE: Hikers are no longer allowed to camp at the base of Spy Rock. Usage rules for this area were changed in 2019. We camped there long before the rule change, and we’re thankful we had that opportunity!
I had some canine companionship at sunrise. This beautiful dog is half German shepherd, quarter Malamute and a quarter wolf! Below: Day Two got off to a very cold start; Spy Rock has several spacious, flat campsites; Adam checks out the few from Maintop Mountain.
I told Adam I wanted to climb Spy Rock again to watch the sun come up. He decided to stay back. I grabbed my camera, scaled the rock and found a perch facing east. It was a beautiful, though cloudless, sunrise. I thought I was alone on the top of the rock, but suddenly a huge white dog we had met the night before came bounding across the rock and decked me. He was friendly, and I was fine, but his owner was embarrassed and came chasing after the dog. I stayed on Spy Rock watching the sun come up until I couldn’t take the wind and cold anymore.
When I came down, Adam was already in the process of breaking down camp. We had a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, and were back on the trail by around 7:30. Day two of this trip had a bit more climbing than the first day. Our first ascent was that of Maintop Mountain. It was a moderate ascent with one nice view near the summit. I started the morning in a fleece jacket and gloves. By the time we reached the summit, I had stripped them off. Climbing really warms you up!
Adam writes his confession in the Priest Shelter journal. Below: Adam approaches FR826; Adam checks out the distance covered at the information board marking the beginning of the Priest Wilderness; The Priest Shelter.
From there, we descended into Cash Hollow. We passed a southbound section hiker and a group of Boy Scouts. We crossed a couple gravel roads – 826 and 526. Off-roaders really enjoy these roads – they’re very rugged and tough to drive unless you have a serious 4WD vehicle. After the second road crossing, signs and an informational board informed us that we had just entered The Priest Wilderness.
We had about a mile of climbing to reach the Priest shelter and the ridgeline of the mountain. The climbing is really pretty moderate, but it seemed tough to my tired legs and sleepy mind. We stopped at The Priest shelter for a snack and rest. I changed into shorts – the day was warming very quickly! Adam and I both made our ‘confessions’ in the Priest journal. It’s one of the funniest we’ve seen along the AT – reading everyone’s confessions is definitely worth a stop!
Christine enjoys the view near the Priest summit. Below: Spring slowly creeps up the mountainsides; Trillium were everywhere; Adam approaches a nice view from the Priest.
From there, we completed our last couple hundred feet of ascent to the top of the Priest. Near the top, we enjoyed amazing views of the valley and had a chance to see an adult bald eagle soar by on the wind. The rest of our hike was a long, 4-mile, 4,000 foot descent to the Tye River.
We took it slowly, enjoying wildflowers along the way! The trail was abundantly lined with trillium, wild violets, and wild geraniums. Both of us remarked that we were glad to not be climbing up this side of the mountain! Southbound AT hikers experience one of Virginia’s toughest climbs when they encounter the Priest!
The first mile of the descent was the steepest. As the grade moderated, we came to another outstanding overlook. The opening in the trees revealed lush Virginia countryside – farms and ponds. At this elevation, the trail was much greener. Leaves were opening in the canopy and the ground cover was brilliant green. We crossed Cripple Creek in several places. The rain a couple days earlier had filled the stream and created several beautiful waterfalls. We enjoyed walking through the woods and listening to the sounds of falling water. We saw even more wild flowers – a hillside of scarlet catchfly was especially beautiful!
Classic Virginia terrain! Below: Walking alongside Cripple Creek; The latter part of the descent was smooth and gentle; Scarlet Catchfly wildflowers; Post-hike at Devil’s Backbone. Is it totally horrifying that we go out to eat without showering? Nah!
Eventually, we could see the sunlight catching on car windshields through the trees. We were both pretty tired and happy to be back at the car! We had covered almost 20 miles in roughly 24 hours. It’s the furthest we’ve ever hiked in that time period, so we felt pretty accomplished.
We had a long car shuttle to get back to Hog Camp Gap. After picking up the other car, we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway to Reed’s Gap so we could have lunch at Devil’s Backbone. It’s always great to eat a HUGE plate of food after a big hike – fries, a grilled brat and beer for me!
Difficulty – 4. Mostly for distance. This section of the AT has little climbing uphill overall, but the hike down The Priest is quite steep.
Trail Conditions – 3.5. The trail is well maintained and in good shape. We did feel the hike down from The Priest was really rocky and hard on the feet and ankles.
Views – 5. This hike has AMAZING views from Tar Jacket Ridge, Spy Rock, and The Priest.
Streams/Waterfalls – 3.5. The best views are along Cripple Creek, near the end of the hike, where you can see a small waterfall and a scenic creek surrounded by wildflowers. There are options for filling up water near Greasy Spring, Porters Field, the Seeley-Woodworth Shelter, and Cripple Creek.
Wildlife – 2. We didn’t see much wildlife other than birds along the trail. We did have a great encounter with a male black-headed grosbeak, who was singing beautifully along the side of trail.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Just keep following the white-blazes and pay attention to junctions to stay on the Appalachian Trail.
Solitude – 3. We didn’t run into too many people on our trip. Spy Rock had a decent number camping at the top.
Directions to trailhead: Requires a shuttle. Park one car at the finish. From the Blue Ridge Parkway, head east on VA-56/Crabtree Falls Highway for 11.2 miles. Park car in large parking lot where the AT crosses the road. From this point to reach Hog Camp Gap with your second car to start the route, continue east on VA-56/Crabtree Falls Highway for 6.9 miles. Turn right on to VA-151S/VA-56E. In 10.5 miles, take a right on to US-29 South. In 3.1 miles, take the US-60 exit towards Amherst. Take a right at the exit ramp to go on US-60 heading west. In 18 miles, take a right on to State Route 634. In 1.6 miles, take a right on to State Route 755/Wiggins Spring Road. This road turns to gravel with large pot holes. Follow this for 2.7 miles until you reach the parking lot where the Appalachian Trail crosses. Park your second car here. Go through the wooden fence and pick up the Appalachian Trail, heading north.
This 8-mile hike completes our Appalachian Trail mileage in Shenandoah National Park. There isn’t much to see along this section of trail – the views aren’t great and the stream is fairly run-of-the-mill, but we’re still happy to say we’ve walked every step of the AT in Shenandoah!
Adam coming off the trail on Route 522 in Front Royal.
Christine Says…
We finally finished hiking the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah! For two years, less than 5 trail miles were keeping us from that distinction. It’s really quite silly, but this final stretch of trail has been somewhat of a mental burden for me! The reason was sort of two-fold. The first sticking point – in order to most efficiently cover the miles, we needed to do a car shuttle. I didn’t want to spend the gas money, and honestly, I just don’t like to drive by myself. Shuttles are just a pain when both cars are yours! The second problem was that this stretch of trail just seemed… boring. I will admit that a bad day hiking is still better than a good day doing many other things, but I had a hard time getting myself psyched-up to hike this stretch.
Finally, faced with a beautiful spring day and a lack of plans, I acquiesced. We dropped our first car off in a small AT parking lot on the side of 522. Then we headed into the park and left a second car at Jenkins Gap –where we came off the trail after our last section of the AT in SNP.
From Jenkins Gap, we had a steady uphill to the summit of Compton Peak. At the summit of Compton, there are blue-blazed trails leading to viewpoints on both the east and west sides of the mountain. Each viewpoint lies .2 miles off the AT. We decided to only visit the west summit (it has better views.) The east summit has some interesting columnar rock formations. If you’re into geology, they’re definitely worth a peek!
The summit of Compton Peak offers two viewpoints – each about .2 miles off the AT. We went to to just the western view. Below: Ascending Compton Peak on the Appalachian Trail; Adam passes one of several large boulders on the trail; After Compton Gap, the trail is blazed both white (AT) and yellow (horse trail) for a while as it follows a fire road.
After the summit, we descended for almost a mile into Compton Gap. After Compton Gap, the AT is shared with the yellow-blazed Compton Gap trail for about 1.7 miles. The hiking is along this section is wooded trail without many distinguishing features – no streams or overlooks to speak of. The trail is wide, flat and very easy to walk. You’ll likely pick up a lot of speed along this stretch!
At roughly 4.9 miles into the hike, we reached the park boundary. There is a sign marking the beginning of private land. Just south of the park boundary, there is also a backcountry permit station. Permits are free and self-service in Shenandoah. If you’re going to camp in Shenandoah’s backcountry, all you need to do is fill out a tag and tether a copy to your pack. It’s really easy!
Right after we departed the park, we came to the one viewpoint from this stretch of Appalachian Trail. Possums Rest has a decent, but slightly obstructed view, of rolling foothills. It’s worth a stop, but there are definitely many better views along the AT in Shenandoah.
From Possums Rest, the trail descended briefly but steeply through a jumble of rocks. In about another .7 miles, we reached the Tom Floyd Wayside – the first backcountry shelter located north of the park. It’s a nice spot with a nearby water source. We chatted with a section hiker from Washington, DC. He had completed a thru-hike the year before, but evidently the trail called him back!
There is one obstructed viewpoint, called Possums Rest, shortly after passing out of the park boundary. Below: Just inside the boundary, there is a backcountry permit registration station; Park boundary; Descending a short, rocky section after Possums Rest.
After Tom Floyd, the trail continued very gradually downhill. As we walked along, we could see the advance of spring on the lower elevations. Redbuds were blooming, tiny green leaves were opening in the canopy and the grass along the trail was growing quickly. We crossed Rt. 601, and a little over a mile later, Moore Run and then Rt. 602. The stream was crossing was just an easy rock-hop.
After crossing 602, we had a short uphill before one final descent to Rt. 522 in Front Royal. The last part of the hike followed a chain link fence for over a mile. I’m not sure if the fence was just marking private land, or if it was part of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Either way, it is one of the less scenic parts of the AT.
The last quarter mile of the hike passed between fenced pasture land and a residential neighborhood. After crossing a small wooden footbridge, we found ourselves back at the car. On our way out, we saw a few of the Smithsonian’s animals walking down a hillside. They appeared to be some type of antelope – kind of neat! Before going back to pick up our second car, we stopped at Spelunker’s in Front Royal for lunch. They make fantastic burgers and milkshakes! I was thrilled to see gingersnap was their shake flavor of the day!
While this hike didn’t provide much reward with views or waterfalls, I’m still really glad we did it. I’m happy to be officially and technically finished with Shenandoah’s AT miles!
Adam Says…
It was great to finally finish the AT section through Shenandoah National Park! With the entire trail being 2180 miles from Georgia to Maine, the section through Shenandoah National Park is less than 5% of the entire trail. Daunting to say the least, but we still feel we have accomplished something measurable. There are about 550 miles of the AT through Virginia, making it the longest section through any one state. Virginia is also a state where a lot of thru-hikers quit, feeling that they will never get through the state (often called the “Virginia Blues”). The section through Shenandoah is more like 19% of the AT through Virginia. Most of the thru-hikers fly through Shenandoah National Park, averaging over 20 miles per day. The climbs are not as tough as in many sections and they have worked into their “trail legs”, gaining the strength to cover many miles per day.
Tom Floyd Wayside is outside the park boundary and is the last shelter before reaching Front Royal. Below: Redbuds blooming at the lower elevations; Christine crossing Moore Run; The last mile or so of the trail followed a long, chain link fence.
After we dropped our car off at the trail crossing of Route 522, we made our way into the park and parked at Jenkins Gap. While you will drive about 12.4 miles on Skyline Drive, the trail through the park and out is a lot shorter. From the parking lot, you join the Jenkins Gap Trail for just about 100 feet and then take a right to join the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, heading north. The trail took us through some storm-damaged areas of trees, leading us through one of the two ascents on this trail. We gained about 500 feet up to Compton Peak. At 1.4 miles, we reached a post which pointed out to two short blue-blazed trails that lead to views from Compton Peak. Since we knew there wasn’t going to be many views on this trail, we decided to take a left and check out the West Compton Peak view. This side trail of .2 miles was a rocky uphill trail that led to a small, but scenic viewpoint. We made our way back the way we came to reach the post and then took a left to continue on the Appalachian Trail heading north. The trail descended again, as we dropped 500 feet in about .8 miles. If you did the side trail to Compton Peak, add another .3 miles to any of the distances given from this point forward. At 2.2 miles on the AT, you cross over Skyline Drive at Compton Gap. At 2.4 miles, you reach a junction with the Dickey Ridge Trail and at 2.7 miles, you reach a junction with the Springhouse Trail. The Springhouse Trail allows for horses and actually shares the next section of the AT, which is why you will see both yellow and white blazes. The trail is fairly level at this point.
At 3.8 miles, you reach a junction with the Compton Gap Trail. This is where horse-riders would come off the AT, since they are not allowed further on the trail. Take a left here to stay on the white-blazed AT. You will soon come across an area where backpackers can fill out paperwork for backcountry camping permits and continuing further, you will reach the Shenandoah National Park boundary at 4.0 miles. Within a short distance, you reach the area known as Possums Rest, a very small overlook that has some views. The trail at this point goes down a very steep and rocky area as you go below Possums Rest. The trail descends for most of the rest of the way At 4.7 miles, you reach the Tom Floyd Wayside shelter, which also has tent sites, a privy, and a nearby spring. Continuing from the Tom Floyd Wayside, you descend further, passing by other signs for the spring. At 5.1 miles, you reach a junction with a side trail to VA-601. From here, you have a couple of stream crossings over Moore Run and at 6.5 miles, the trail crosses VA-602. The trail at this point goes up a steep upgrade, as you gain over 300 feet in .4 miles. Once you reach the crest of the hill at 6.9 miles, the trail descends again as you go through a grassy area. You walk along a long fenceline and behind some people’s houses before reaching the boardwalk which takes you back to your car at 7.7 miles.
Decadent lunch at Spelunker’s in Front Royal – cheeseburger and a gingersnap milkshake! Below: The Smithsonian National Zoo has a conservation facility in Front Royal; If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the animal – we saw some kind of antelopes; A sweaty selfie at the finish line.
Once we made our way back to the car, we stopped at Spelunkers. There was a large bike ride being conducted nearby, so the place was quite crowded. One of the great things about hiking for us is that it allows us to eat whatever we want after a hike and not worry about the calories. We made our way from there back to our first car and then headed out of the park. It was a gorgeous day for a hike with perfect temperatures.
While this hike isn’t the most scenic, this was definitely one I will remember since it was our “finish line” though SNP. I’m so grateful to have a wonderful hiking partner to share all of these experiences.
Trail Notes
Distance – 8 miles (includes a visit to the Compton Peak viewpoint)
Elevation Change – About 1900 ft. but mostly downhill.
Difficulty – 2.5. There are really only two climbs on this hike – one up Compton Peak and one shorter one near the end of the hike. All in all, it’s a moderate, mostly downhill hike.
Trail Conditions – 4. Nicely maintained section of the Appalachian Trail. In fact, we saw a crew member trimming grass back when we hiked.
Views – 2. The view from Compton Peak is decent, but it’s not actually on the trail. Possums rest is small and a bit obstructed.
Streams/Waterfalls – 2. Moore Run was flowing nicely when we visited.
Wildlife – 2. You may get to catch a glimpse of zoo animals at the Smithsonian facility at the end of this hike!
Ease to Navigate – 3. There are lots of trail junctions and shared paths. Just make sure you follow the white blazes and you’ll be fine.
Solitude – 2. We saw many dayhikers and backpackers on this stretch of trail.
Directions to trailhead: We parked one car at the parking lot on US-522 in Front Royal, which is 4.7 miles from where US-340 intersects with US-522. We then drove to northwest on US-522 for 2.8 miles. Take a left on E. Criser Road. In .7 miles, take a left on US-340. In .2 miles, take a left to enter Shenandoah National Park. Drive 12.3 miles to park at the Jenkins Gap parking lot on the right. Join the Jenkins Gap Trail from the parking lot for a short distance, before taking a right on to the Appalachian Trail, heading north.
Virginia Trail Guide 