This 9.5 mile loop in the southern district of Shenandoah National Park offers vistas, streams and quite a bit of solitude! We think it would make a great short backpacking loop with a beautiful stream-side campsite along Paine Run.
Adam Enjoys Blackrock summit. Below: Adam hikes the Appalachian Trail just north of Blackrock Gap; Christine climbs on the rock pile; Adam spots the spur trail that leads to the Trayfoot Mountain Trail.
Christine Says…
Every weekend this April has provided glorious hiking weather! I’m feeling so grateful that we’ve been able to get out so often and take full advantage of the warm, sunny days. On the Saturday before Easter, we chose to hike the challenging 9.5 mile Trayfoot Mountain – Paine Run loop.
This hike begins at the Blackrock Gap parking area (not to be confused with Blackrock summit parking). From the lot, cross to the eastern side of Skyline Drive and make your way north along the Appalachian Trail. After a couple tenths of a mile, the trail crosses back over the drive and heads steadily uphill for a little over a mile. As you climb, you’ll come to a junction – stay on the white-blazed AT, the turn to the right goes to the Blackrock shelter.
At 1.3 miles into the hike, you’ll reach a cement marker for the Trayfoot Mountain Trail. Do NOT take this turn unless you want to miss the splendor that is Blackrock Summit! Continue another tenth of a mile to the massive jumble of boulders and jagged rocks that makes up this impressive summit viewpoint. We took some time to enjoy the views and climb on the rocks. The views from this spot are probably the best on the entire hike, although there are a couple more nice spots yet to come.
The trail passes through a corridor of rock. Below: Adam passes through the narrow opening; Climbing Trayfoot Mountain; From the ridgeline of Trayfoot there are several openings in the trees that give you views of a distant Skyline Drive.
The Appalachian Trail skirts around the front edge of the summit before coming to a spur trail that leads down to the Trayfoot Mountain trail. The spur descends through a corridor of flat-sided slabs. When spur reaches the junction with the Trayfoot Mountain trail, turn right and follow the trail uphill along an old fire road.
The uphill climb along this section is steady going! Near the top, you’ll pass another marker pointing toward the Furnace Mountain trail. Pass this and continue on the Trayfoot Trail until you reach the cement post marking the summit and high point of your hike. There are no views from this summit, but this starts the beginning of a lovely, easy ridge walk.
The ridge rolls gently along, offering nice views of the Paine Run valley and a distant glimpse of Skyline Drive. The trail eventually begins a long gradual descent to Paine Run. Your last sweeping vista on this hike comes at a pretty outcropping of rocks overlooking pointy Buzzard Rock.
Switchbacks take you swiftly down to Paine Run. Near the first stream crossing, a cement marker points you left onto the yellow-blazed Paine Run Trail, which is essentially an old roadbed. There were several stream crossings on this section of trail. All of them but the second crossing were easy. We found the stream wide and flush with water. Most of the stones people use to cross were underwater. Instead of trying to attempt the rock-hop, we took off our shoes and waded across. Refreshing!
You get a nice view of Buzzard Rock before descending to Paine Run. Below: Some interesting rock formations along the trail; Lunch stop; Glimpses of farm land.
The Paine Run trail is very pleasant for a couple miles – sounds of running water and mountain views through the trees. When we hiked, the stream was flowing with lots of rapids and tiny waterfalls. I imagine it will run low and dry later in the summer. The path climbs so gradually you hardly notice you’re ascending! Eventually, you leave the streamside and head back toward Skyline Drive. After one final sharp switchback, you have one more moderately steep ascent back to your car.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with both the views and streams on this route. We had a great time! MapMyHike said this hike is only 9.3 miles, but all other sources put it at 9.7-9.8… so who knows!
Adam Says…
We feel like we have covered so much of Shenandoah National Park on our blog, but it seems there is always another trail or loop that you can try. We talked about a hike to Blackrock summit before in our coverage of an AT segment, but this is a longer loop version that offers a few additional views and a stream to enjoy. Other than the Blackrock summit, you will likely not see a lot of people on this trail. We only saw a few people the entire day, which was a little shocking for a beautiful weekend day that happened to also be a free National Park entry day.
As Christine mentioned, you could skip the Blackrock summit trying to follow the signage, but you don’t want to miss the best part of the hike. When we hiked previously, our route bypassed the spur trail that leads to the Trayfoot Mountain Trail. This spur immediately gives you some additional views and some interesting rocks to scramble around. Most people that are doing an out-and-back just to the summit from the northern approach will miss this area also.
Adam makes a first attempt to cross (with shoes). The second (successful) attempt was barefoot. Below: Adam descending to Paine Run; The shoeless crossing attempt, The trail goes right through the middle of the stream.
One thing that Christine and I both mentioned throughout the day is how this would make for a great overnight backpacking loop. If you choose to do so, I would tackle all of the tough uphill climbing the first night, making your way through the Trayfoot Mountain trail and camp somewhere near Paine Run. This will provide a great water source and there were some nice campsites near the water. The following day, you’ll just have a steady, but not too strenuous hike back uphill to your car.
When we started walking the ridgeline of the Trayfoot Mountain trail, I felt like we stumbled across the best place I’ve ever seen to spot grouse. We encountered three along our walk. A couple of years ago, while hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we encountered our first grouse on a trail. The beating of its wings created a strange echoing syncopation in our chest which made us both wonder if our heartbeats were going haywire. Seeking sources online, we found it was a common sound for mating grouse. We actually spotted several on this trail and when they took off in flight, we could briefly hear that same noise that perplexed us before. What a relief to actually spot the culprits this time.
Christine walks the wide, gradually ascending Paine Run Trail. Below: We found several blown-down bird’s nests along the trail; Pretty Paine Run; Another stream crossing.
Further along the Trayfoot Mountain Trail, we climbed up on a few rocks to enjoy our lunch and get some views. I managed to pick some rocks which were not in the least bit contoured to our bodies, which made for an uncomfortable sitting. It reminded me of how fast food chains design their seating area so the chairs are only comfortable for a short amount of time to prevent loitering. We quickly ate and moved on.
Around the 4.0 mile marker, the ridge line ends at a nice rock outcropping which gives you some last views before descending towards Paine Run. Some local families like to park on the western outskirts of the park and hike up to this area for views.
When we reached Paine Run, the water was a little high from the recent rains. There were a few places to rock-hop across. In one spot, we did have to shed our shoes to make our way across. Christine said I looked like a hobbit with my pantlegs pulled up halfway as I crossed. I responded back in my geekiest way, “May the hair on my toes never fall off.” I will say the water was very cold, but it felt so refreshing to my feet. The sensation of the freezing water made me feel as if I had just received a nice massage on my feet. After the refresher, I felt I could hike a lot longer.
The Paine Run Trail is popular with horseback riders. Below: The final ascent to the parking area; We spotted a bear on the drive home; Before we went home, we stopped for famous Shenandoah blackberry ice cream.
The stretch on the uphill Paine Run trail was very gradual. While some people may think this was more of a boring stretch, I enjoyed the views of Paine Run along the side. There were even a few very small waterfalls to enjoy since the water level was high. We also came across a group horseback riding along the trail. All yellow-blazed trails, like the Paine Run trail, in Shenandoah National Park allow horses on the trails. This would be a great trip to take down to the water and let the horses rest and get a drink before returning.
We got back to our car and then heading north along Skyline Drive. Within a few miles, I spotted a young black bear on the side of the road. We were excited to have our first bear sighting of the year. The bear quickly ran away once it knew it was spotted, but we hope we get to see many more this year. We stopped at the Loft Mountain wayside to get our first blackberry milkshake of the year. Appalachian Trail thru-hikers talk about these treats for days in advance of getting to Shenandoah and the hype is worth it. However, their milkshake machine was broken and we had to settle for blackberry ice cream. It was still a just reward for a long hike.
While we realize this hike is longer and not as popular as some of the others in the park, this hike really has some nice gems along the trail. I was pleasantly surprised at what this had to offer!
Difficulty – 3.5. The climbs to Black Rock summit and Trayfoot Mountain can be a little steep, but the climb from Paine Run back to the parking area is very pleasant and gradual. The length adds to the difficulty rating of this hike.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail was clear and in great shape!
Views – 5. The views from Black Rock summit are spectacular. While the summit of Trayfoot Mountain has no view, there are other nice views from the Trayfoot Mountain trail – especially the outcropping that overlooks Buzzard Rock.
Streams/Waterfalls – 3. Paine Run was surprisingly pretty and broad in the early spring. As we hiked up the Paine Run trail, we had many stream crossings and nice views of the water.
Wildlife – 3. We saw deer and lots of grouse on the trail. We also saw a black bear shortly after leaving the parking area to come home!
Ease to Navigate – 4. There are only a few, well-marked turns on this hike.
Solitude – 4. We saw a few people near the stream that had come in from the western perimeter of the park, a few people on Black Rock Summit, and a trio of women on horses. All-in-all, we enjoyed a lot of solitude for a long stretch of trail on a pretty ‘free park entry’ day!
Directions to trailhead: Located in the Southern Section of Shenandoah National Park. Park at the Blackrock Gap parking lot around MM 87.3. Cross the road and find the cement post for the Appalachian Trail. Take a left, heading north, to start your hike.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
This 14.5 mile section of the Appalachian Trail includes great views of Wintergreen Resort from Humpback Mountain. The campsite for the evening is the Paul C. Wolfe Memorial Shelter, which is located on the bank of lovely, rushing Mill Creek.
Adam traverses Humpback Mountain. Below: We found trail magic right away on our hike; Adam climbing the southern side of Humpback Mountain; Rock walls along the trail.
Day One
For Christine’s birthday this year, we decided to do a quick overnight backpacking trip along the Appalachian Trail. Following an all-day soaking rain and a cold front on Saturday, we had ideal weather for hiking and camping on Sunday into Monday – low humidity, clear skies, daytime highs in the 70s and a nighttime low near 45. It was perfect!
We started our morning with a big breakfast at Thunderbird Café and then made the 40 minute drive to the trailhead. For this hike, we left one car parked in the small lot near where the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) crosses I-64 and Rt250. From there, we drove our second vehicle to the Dripping Rock parking area at mile 9.6 on the BRP. The name Dripping Rock refers to the small spring adjacent to the parking area. Supposedly, it was a water source well-used by Monocan Indians en route to summer hunting grounds.
The AT crosses the parkway at this point, so it’s an easy place to hop on without using any access trails or spurs. The hike starts out climbing gently uphill through the woods. Almost immediately, we spotted a small cooler alongside the trail – trail magic! We didn’t need (or take) any trail magic on our hike, but we were curious so we opened the cooler to see what was inside. We found a log book, a camera, a small whiteboard, a bottle of ibuprofen and a nice supply of granola bars. The camera and whiteboard were provided so that hikers could take photos with their trail names.
A couple tenths of a mile down the trail, we passed even more trail magic in the form of 2 liter-sized bottles of tap water from Wintergreen Resort. Typically by September, streams and springs in the Shenandoah Valley are dry or running very low, so the free, clean water would be quite welcome. The bottles were situated next to one of the trail’s spring-fed water sources. We noticed the sign marking the spring indicated that water might be contaminated and should be filtered or boiled. The sign included an outline drawing of a moose, and we both found it comical to think about the implausibility of Virginia water being contaminated by a moose.
Christine enjoys the outcropping overlooking Wintergreen. Below: Hiking up Humpback Mountain; Adam checks out the view of Wintergreen; Pretty views.
The hike continued gradually uphill along the side of Humpback Mountain. We saw several nice campsites along the trail. Soon after that, the views started to open up. We didn’t really have any expectations for great views on this hike. We figured we might take the side trail to Humpback Rocks and eat lunch there. We also knew from past hikes on Dobie Mountain that we’d be passing one decent overlook at Glass Hollow. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find spectacular views along the rocky, spiny ridge of Humpback Mountain. These views are about 2.5 miles from the better known outcropping of Humpback Rocks, and we thought they were even nicer! The crowds, graffiti and car noise always take away from the experience at Humpback Rocks. We had this lofty ridge all to ourselves.
We took some time to take off our heavy packs and enjoy the view. We could see the Priest, Three Ridges and the slopes of Wintergreen Resort. When we got home, we read more about this section of the trail and learned that the view is named Battery Cliff, because the condos on the slopes of Wintergreen look like fortifications from a distance. The rocks on the cliffs are Catoctin greenstone formed in an ancient volcanic eruption. When you sit on these rocks and look across to Wintergreen, you’re looking over to where the Appalachian Trail used to traverse the mountains. Five miles of the trail used to cross the resort. But in 1983, the resort sold the land to private developers – basically pulling the rug out from under the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Luckily, the organization was able to quickly pull funds together and preserve the land across Humpback Mountain – where the trail currently sits.
Leaving the open ridge, we dipped back into the woods and continued walking along a long, impressive stretch of stone ‘hog wall’. People living in the area before the establishment of the parkway built these long walls to roughly mark property and attempt to contain livestock. Eventually we arrived at a junction, one direction headed toward Humpback Rock and the other continued downhill along the Appalachian Trail. We decided to skip the extra mileage it would take to visit the Rock and continue toward our destination. We’ve seen the Rocks many times and didn’t really want to face the crowds that arrive with beautiful-weather Sundays.
Adam walks along one of the many hog walls.
As we walked downhill, we started contemplating our lunch break. We decided that the next spot with good ‘sitting rocks’ we’d stop for lunch. As it turned out, the next rocks we found were just a few, big random flat boulders right alongside the trail. We had lunch of apples, peanut butter, cheese, and energy bars. As we ate lunch, two groups of people passed us – a couple with their dog and a man who had just visited his daughter at JMU’s family weekend. All in all, we only saw a total of eight people over the entire ten miles of hiking that day. The solitude was nice!
After lunch, we continued the 5.5 mile descent toward our evening stop point. The trail was in great shape and the downhill was easy going. At the bottom of Humpback Mountain, the Appalachian Trail intersects with the Howardsville Turnpike – an old toll road that was heavily used to transport goods before the Civil War. It’s long been reclaimed by the forest, but the wide, flatness of the trail still has the definite feel of a well-traveled road. We continued along the Appalachian Trail until we spotted a small sign marking the Glass Hollow overlook. We followed the short access trail and spent a good twenty minutes relaxing on the beautiful rocky viewpoint. The views this time were much clearer than they had been two years ago when we visited.
Taking in the view at Glass Hollow. Below: Trail lunch, AT logos carved on deadfall; Pretty trail with late season wildflowers.
After leaving the overlook, we continued along the Appalachian Trail, passing the junction with the Albright Loop Trail – a popular day hike in this area. From this junction, you can follow the Albright Trail for two miles back to Humpback Rocks parking. We continued northbound on the Appalachian Trail, descending Dobie Mountain. The trail follows a series of gradual, well-graded switchbacks. There is one nice view of the valley about halfway down the mountain. Eventually, we started hearing the sounds of running water through the trees. After crossing Mill Creek, we arrived at our stop point for the evening – the Paul C. Wolfe shelter. This shelter is one of the nicest we’ve seen. The location is beautiful, the picnic table is on the porch and the shelter has sidelights, so it’s bright and cheerful inside. So many shelters are gloomy and dark. We will caution you – the privy at Paul C. Wolfe shelter is kind of weird – the door is only a half-door. When you sit on the toilet, you have a nice view – but people can also see you sitting there.
We were the first campers to arrive for the night, so we got a prime campsite near the banks of Mill Creek. We had our own established fire pit and our own bear pole – fancy! We immediately got started setting up camp and taking care of necessary chores. Mill Creek was running beautifully, so we had a clear, cool water source to filter from.
Our nice campsite along Mill Creek. Below: Overlook on the descent of Dobie Mountain; Junction with the Albright Trail; Crossing Mill Creek
We decided to take our dinner up to the shelter so we could use the picnic table for meal prep. Dinner consisted of pepper steak, wine and dark chocolate cheesecake. As we were finishing up dinner, a southbound thru-hiker named Nightwalker arrived at camp. He told us he had hiked almost 30 miles that day. He was from the Boston area and freshly out of high school. We chatted with him a bit and marveled at him eating huge handfuls of candy corn mixed with Skittles. He had the look of a true trail-weathered hiker – beard, tattered long-johns and feet held together by duct tape.
When the sun was going down, we headed back to our own camp. Despite the heavy rains the night before, we were able to find enough old wood to have a small campfire for a while. We heard another southbound hiker arrive sometime after sunset, but we never met him. With the temperatures dropping with the darkness, we headed to bed around 9:00. Both of us slept pretty well, but Christine woke up around 3:00 a.m., struggling to close both of the doors in the tent fly. It was in the upper 30’s and she’s a cold sleeper.
Our nice little campfire. Below: Adam filtering water; The Paul C. Wolfe Shelter; The steep climb that starts Day 2.
Day Two
We were up at first light, but noticed both the thru-hikers were still sleeping. We didn’t want to disturb them, so we cooked our breakfast of oatmeal, cheese, coffee and hot chocolate near the fire pit at our campsite. We were packed up and back on the trail within 45 minutes of waking up.
The morning’s hike consisted of a rather steep climb up Elk Mountain. From the back of the shelter, the trail climbed almost straight up via a series of switchbacks. We had about 1000 feet of climbing in just about a mile. A8fter that, the remainder of the hike was more moderate or even gently downhill.
The remnants of an old cabin sit right along the trail. Below: Approaching Rockfish Gap; We can see Rt. 250; Waynesboro’s great network of trail angels.
The five miles of trail back to Rockfish Gap are largely unremarkable; just a nice walk through the woods. There are a few small stream crossings, but no views along the way. The one noteworthy feature would probably be the ruins of an old cabin, about 1.7 miles north of Paul C. Wolfe. The chimney and hearth are still standing right alongside the trail. Evidently, there is also a cemetery for the Lowe family and additional cabin ruins somewhere east of the trail, but we didn’t see it. The trail exits onto Route 250 at Rockfish Gap through an opening in the guardrail. Thru-hikers can find lists of trail angels at the guardrail opening. Waynesboro has one of the best organized trail angel networks along the AT. It’s easy to find a ride or shelter at this point on the trail.
We arrived back to our car around 10:30 in the morning. By the time we shuttled back to our car parked at Dripping Rock, we were already thinking about lunch. We realized how close we were to Devil’s Backbone Brewery and decided it was a perfect place to wrap up our backpacking weekend. We had a huge lunch – beers, a big soft pretzel to share, and sandwiches (French Dip for Christine, BBQ for Adam). After lunch, we decided to take Rt. 151 back to Waynesboro. This allowed us to also pass Bold Rock Cidery. It’s definitely worth a stop if you enjoy hard cider. Since it was a Monday, we were the only people there. We got to go behind the scenes into the cider pressing room and the fermentation/bottling facility. That was really neat!
The tasting room at Bold Rock. Below: Enjoying a post-hike beer at Devil’s Backbone.
Trail Notes
Distance – 14.5 miles (9.5 miles on Day One, 5 miles on Day Two) (Check out the stats from Map My Hike – [Day One] [Day Two])*
Elevation Change – 1800 ft. on Day One, 1100 ft. on Day Two
Difficulty – 2. This is an easy backpacking trip with moderate, well-graded climbing.
Trail Conditions – 4.5. Trails are in excellent shape.
Views – 4. Views from Humpback Mountain and Glass Hollow are beautiful!
Streams/Waterfalls – 3. Mill Creek is pretty and a great water source. There is a small waterfall and swimming hole downstream from the shelter.
Wildlife – 2. We saw a few deer and heard owls at night.
Ease to Navigate – 4. There are several intersections/junctions to pay attention to, but following the white blazes is pretty easy.
Solitude – 4. Because we avoided Humpback Rock, we only saw a small handful of people on a beautiful Sunday.
This ten-mile hike follows the Appalachian Trail along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Most of the hike is above a mile high, so in open spots you get some very impressive views of the Smokies. The bald itself is rather disappointing, as it’s been mostly reclaimed by the forest, but we did enjoy the vistas and visiting two Appalachian Trail shelters.
Since much of the hike is along a mile-high ridge, views can be spectacular (when you’re not in the clouds). Below: Adam climbs the foggy path to the Clingmans Dome Observation Tower, The tower looks kind of like a space ship; The Appalachian Trail in the fog.
Christine Says…
This is a hike we planned on doing on our Spring 2012 Smokies trip, but we had so much stormy weather that we didn’t want to risk a long, mostly unprotected hike along mile-high ridgeline. So, we settled for the shorter trip to Andrews Bald. In the end, it actually turned out that Andrews Bald was a larger, more scenic bald than Silers. But, we still found many reasons beyond the slightly disappointing bald to enjoy this hike.
We started pretty early on Tuesday morning, after a lavish breakfast at The Pancake Pantry (Swedish Crepes with lingonberries!!). It was sunny in Gatlinburg, but as we made the drive toward the summit of Clingmans Dome, clouds began to envelop the mountain. At the very top, we were completely socked in. We knew it would burn off over the course of the morning, so we started the climb up the paved road to the observation tower.
From there, we picked up the Appalachian Trail. We followed it, descending downhill, sometimes steeply and sometimes gently. There were some sections of descent that caused Adam and I to look at each other and say ‘This is not going to be a fun climb back up!’
Since we were completely in the fog, we had no idea what views or scenery the trail would have to offer on the return hike. It was almost like doing one hike in the morning, and a completely different hike in the afternoon. I kind of like that! Also, the fog made the woods extremely beautiful and mysterious. There’s just something about mist and evergreens!
Because of the high elevation, a lot of earlier season wildflowers were still blooming. This red trillium was especially pretty! Below: Many different kinds of moss grow abundantly in the high country here; Flowering tree; Wildflowers along the trail.
We saw lots of wildflowers, including some spectacular red trillium that Adam spotted. We listened to birds singing in the fog and watched the sky become increasingly brighter.
When we came to the first vista that wasn’t covered by fog, I got out my wide angle lens. Unfortunately, it had been sitting too close to my icy cold CamelBak water bag, so as soon as I got it out, it fogged up so badly I couldn’t take a single photo until it acclimated and dried out.
By the time we got to Double Springs Shelter, larger patches of blue were already opening in the sky. We took some time to read the shelter journal – lots of fun entries.
From Double Springs, the trail seemed to ascend and descend repeatedly. We watched the mileage on our GPS and thought that it was about time that we should be approaching the bald. Honestly, we could have passed it without notice. It wasn’t really much of a bald. It had been described in our guide as ‘a large, mostly grassy bald with a few heathers and berry bushes’. What we found was a small clearing with no grass, covered completely by tall bushes.
The forest is so beautiful, dense and ethereal.
We thought ‘This can’t possibly be it!?’ But, it was – as confirmed by GPS data and our imminent arrival at the second shelter – Silers Bald Shelter. We ate lunch at the shelter – Subway and these awesome locally-made trail bars by Granola Naturals (Toffee and Chocolate Granola Crunch Bar – YUM!) that we picked up at the NOC.
Right after lunch, we headed back the way we came. The hike back was tough, hiking ten miles after climbing LeConte the day before was probably not the best plan. But when we’re in the Smokies – we hike ‘til we drop.
Most of the way was hard, but not unbearably tough. However, the last push to Clingmans Dome was about a mile of very steep climbing. My legs were screaming and all I could think was ‘put one foot in front of the other, repeat, repeat, repeat’. The only thing that softened the pain of the climb were the spectacular views! These views made me oooh and ahhh repeatedly. Despite my exhaustion, I kept thinking ‘This is so darn gorgeous – worth every sore muscle and drop of sweat!’
There is nothing like hiking a mile-high ridge that offers views of the Smokies rolling out beneath you.
Adam checks out the shelter log at the Double Springs shelter. Below: Arriving at the shelter; It was interesting to read entries. Many thru-hikers struggled through deep snow in the Smokies.
Back at the Clingmans Dome observation tower, we were met by massive crowds. Lots of people had questions and made comments about our trekking poles. An older guy called us ‘show-offs’ – not really sure why, but it was done jokingly. Adam and I really enjoyed seeing our first clear view from the tower. The two previous visits had both been low visibility/cloudy, so this visit was a real treat!
After the hike, we headed back into town for a massive feast on Mellow Mushroom pizza followed by Kilwins Ice Cream and free samples of just about every wine, whiskey and moonshine offered in Gatlinburg. I think the town offers so many free alcohol samples to loosen tourists’ purse-strings. After 14 moonshine samples, who knows – you may just wake up owning a new airbrushed t-shirt that says ‘Sexy and I Know It’ (not that I did that).
Adam Says…
Christine and I had tried to get into good hiking shape for our trip to the Smokies. We had grand ideas of all we wanted to accomplish – Christine had picked about 120 miles of hiking trails she wanted to do. Christine did a much better job than I of getting in to shape. Accomplishing this 10 mile hike after finishing about 11.5 miles of hiking through steep terrain up Mount LeConte the previous day, took a toll on me. Since this hike is almost all downhill until you reach the bald and the shelter, I was dreading the return trip.
We enjoyed our trip last year to Andrews Bald where we were able to relax at a scenic spot from the bald area. Silers Bald is not very “bald” at all. In fact, I would say it doesn’t even show much of a receding hairline. But, there were some nice views along the trail elsewhere.
Silers Bald was less impressive than we expected. Evidently, 100 years ago, balds stretched from Clingman’s Dome all the way over to Gregory Bald (which is hiked from Cades Cove). The land was used for grazing. Since becoming a park, nature had filled most of the bald terrain back in. Below: One of our first views of the day not covered by clouds; As we approached Silers Bald, the forest changed from pines to grass and deciduous trees; Another view of Silers Bald.
As Christine mentioned, we started off the hike in the thick fog. Visibility was minimal. We were hoping that the hike would be similar to our first hike up Mount Rogers, where it felt like a different hike on the return trip. Luckily, the fog lifted to give us this same experience. It also made us feel that we were continuing to hike to get the best views; otherwise, this hike would have been more of a disappointment if we had the best views early.
We started off by hiking from the Clingman’s Dome parking lot up the steep hill for .5 miles. The walk on the paved road is short, but very steep. There is a reason there are benches on the side of the paved trail. – it can be a challenge for those out of shape. Most of the people that are visiting Clingman’s Dome will just walk up the paved trail and return without venturing further. Expect to see a ton of people on this part of the trail, but you’ll have a lot of seclusion for the rest of the trail. After you near the winding tower of Clingman’s Dome, take the trail to the left that begins your hike on the Appalachian Trail. You’ll stay on the Appalachian Trail throughout your hike. At .75 miles, the trail opens up into an area filled with views along the trail. Continue to go downhill (you’ll descend about 1100 feet over a little over the next two miles). At 2.75 miles, you’ll reach a junction with the Goshen Prong Trail. Continue to go downhill and at 3.25 miles, you’ll reach the Double Spring Gap Shelter. The trail goes up and down slightly over this next section and at 3.75 miles, you’ll reach a smaller bald area known as Jenkins Knob.
By the time we hiked back, skies had cleared and we had better views. Below: Silers Shelter – our lunch stop; The return hike had some tough climbing.
We found Jenkins Knob to be a little more impressive than Silers Bald in terms of views and openness. The trail continues to mostly go downhill until it finally bottoms out around 4.5 miles. At this point, the trail begins an uphill climb to Silers Bald. At 4.7 miles, you pass the junction with the Welch Ridge Trail. The trail becomes quite steep at this point until you reach the top of Silers Bald. We found a USGS benchmark on the ground to signify the top of Silers Bald. The trail begins to descend from the benchmark and opens up to the area that is Silers Bald. The trail goes through the small bald area and reaches the Silers Bald overnight shelter at 5.1 miles. Retrace your steps, largely uphill, to make your way back.
The views were much better from the tower on the return leg of our hike. Below: Adam at the end of the hike; Views from the observation tower.
We were dreading the climb back up, especially after hiking up Mount LeConte the day before, but we were rewarded with great views as the fog and clouds lifted. As we reached the paved trail to Clingman’s Dome, we climbed up to the top of the tower and we really felt like we earned the 360-degree views. The elevation is 6643 feet (the tower adds another 45 feet) and you can stand at the top of the tower knowing you are at the highest part of the Great Smoky Mountains. This spot is actually the third highest peak east of the Mississippi, to only be beaten by Mount Mitchell and Mount Craig. We enjoyed spotting Mount LeConte from the tower, since it is the sixth highest peak east of the Mississippi. We were ecstatic to see views from Clingman’s Dome, since the last two times we had visited we had clouds hanging on the mountain. The clouds were still taking up a lot of the skies, but it didn’t prevent us from seeing miles of mountain ranges around us.
Christine mentioned that we enjoyed going back to Gatlinburg, TN and eating some pizza and drinking some free moonshine and whiskey samples. While we didn’t feel the need to buy cheesy T-shirts, I definitely felt the need to visit the Hollywood Star Cars Museum. While Christine waited for me, I toured around quickly but the highlight for me was to sit in the Batmobile from the 1966 TV show with Adam West. I grew up watching re-runs of that show and it was my older brother’s favorite show as a child, so it was great to have something to make him jealous. You can pay a little extra on the tour to have your photo taken within some of the cars. I also got to see Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, a DeLorean from Back to the Future, KITT from Knight Rider, and the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard. It’s a neat place to check out if you’re into Hollywood cars.
Elevation Change – About 2200 ft. – it looks like closer to 1500 ft on GPS, but with all the rolling climbs it adds up to quite a bit more!
Difficulty – 4. The climbing and descending never seem to end on this hike.
Trail Conditions – 4. This was mostly nice, well-worn Appalachian Trail walking. The climb to the observation tower in paved.
Views – 3.5. Very nice, but not quite panoramic.
Streams/Waterfalls – 0. None on the hike.
Wildlife – 2. We saw a lot of fresh bear scat on the hike, but no bears. Clearly, they frequent the area.
Ease to Navigate – 4. The trail is well-marked with white blazes and signed at each junction.
Solitude – 3. Expect thick crowds at the observation tower, thinning toward Double Spring Shelter. After Double Spring, we only saw a couple people.
Directions to trailhead: From US-441, head south a short distance from Newfound Gap. Take a right on to Clingmans Dome Road. Go 6.4 miles until you reach the large parking lot area. The paved trail up to Clingmans Dome starts at the end of the parking lot, passing a visitors center/gift shop.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
The 4-mile Kephart Prong hike ascends gently along a beautiful stream and end at the backcountry campsite – Kephart Shelter. This hike offers lovely cascades, wildflowers and history.
Adam crosses one of several log bridges over Kephart Prong. Below: The trailhead is located on the side of Rt.441. The first bridge takes you across the Oconaluftee River; The Oconaluftee is beautiful and cascading; So much of the Smokies seems to be wet, green and covered with moss.
Christine Says…
Our second day in the Smokies was earmarked for a hike to the summit of Mount LeConte, but we woke to gloomy weather. We decided that we didn’t want to hike ten tough miles and not even get payoffs in terms of views, so we devised a new plan! After redoing our Deep Creek Waterfall Loop Hike to get better photos, we were still ready for more hiking.
I perused our hiking guide and found a trail called Kephart Prong. It sounded interesting – remnants of an old railroad and a CCC camp, a backcountry camping shelter and the trail followed a (possibly pretty) stream. After redoing the earlier hike, the 4-mile length of the Kephart Prong was appealing, too – short and sweet! Also, it had the benefit of being closer to the Bryson City side of the park where we were staying for the early part of our trip.
It was still morning, so we grabbed a snack and made our way to the trail. What we found exceeded my expectations. The stream was incredibly beautiful – rapids and small waterfalls tumbling over mossy rocks and fallen hemlocks. In at least four places, rough, hewn log bridges traversed the stream. The sounds of running water carried through the entire hike. We saw lots of wildflowers – pink lady slippers, wild geranium, ragwort and many others I couldn’t name.
There were many kinds of wildflowers along the trail. This might be a wild geranium? Below: Adam explores the ruins of the old CCC camp in the area. This chimney was supposedly located in the barracks; There was once a railroad and a trout hatchery in this part of the Smokies, so look for abandoned rails, train parts and pipes from the hatchery. The item below appears to be an old pipe joint possibly; Another beautiful, mossy, log bridge over the stream.
The hike climbed gently the entire two miles until eventually arriving at the Kephart shelter – a sturdy stone and timber hut intended for backcountry camping. We chatted with other dayhikers using the hut for a lunch stop and one man who was there for an overnight stay.
Signs near the shelter showed that the Kephart Trail connects to the Sweat Heifer and Appalachian Trails. If we had continued to climb past the shelter, we would have arrived at Charlie’s Bunion in several miles.
Despite the draw of the Bunion, lunch was a higher calling, so we made our way back down the trail. It’s amazing how much faster the climb down always goes! We got back to the car around 1:00 and were back in Cherokee by 1:30. We couldn’t find anything that sounded good and was actually open on Sunday, so we pressed on back to Bryson City and ended up at a place we found on Yelp – The Bar-B-Que Wagon. They served great, traditional Carolina style pit barbecue with all the expected sides. We sat at a picnic table by the river and enjoyed an enormous, late lunch.
After lunch, we thought about going back to the hotel to shower, but instead we pushed on to visit the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). The complex has a fantastic outdoor outfitter and a super cool riverside patio bar (Big Wesser BBQ + Brew). We got a few drinks and watched rafters and kayakers working the rapids. So relaxing! What a great day!
Adam Says…
The Kephart Prong Trail is one of the most definitive picturesque, riverside trails you’ll find. The lush forests surround you in a sea of green in every direction you turn.
The trail starts off by crossing a large bridge, giving you great views of the Oconaluftee River. Once you cross the bridge, the trail starts off as wide and gravel-covered. At .2 miles, you will come across the remnants of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp that was here from 1933-1942. You’ll see signs of a stone plaque and a tall chimney, among other partial walls.
At the .5 mile mark, you’ll reach your first footbridge over the stream. As you continue further, the trail continues a slow, gradual ascent to the end. You’ll cross three other footbridges, but these consist of narrow, split logs with wood handrails. The last of these was the only one I was a little concerned with crossing, since the handrail required you to stoop to be able to touch it and the log bounced some in the middle. The trail leads to the Kephart shelter, which was well-constructed. From the shelter, you can proceed on the Sweet Heifer Creek Trail which joins the Appalachian Trail in 3.7 miles or take the Grassy Branch Trail to the Sluice Gap Trail for a total of 3.8 miles to reach Charlies Bunion. Since this is a nice junction for an overnight trip, expect other people staying at the shelter in the nice summer-fall weekends. Backcountry reservations for overnight campers is $4/night and is required to be made in advance. See here for further regulations regarding backpacking permits.
Kephart Shelter sits under the shady evergreens. You must have a permit to stay the night in this shelter. The stream runs behind/left of the shelter. There used to be a logging camp where the shelter now stands. Below: Most of the trail follows the stream closely; Adam makes his way across the bridge; A trail sign near the shelter shows the directions to other trails higher up the mountain.
The Kephart Prong is named after Horace Kephart, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He was an extremely intelligent man, enrolling in graduate school at Cornell University at the age of 17. He became the head of the St. Louis Mercantile Libray, but he lost his job. He had turned to drinking and his wife and family left him for New York. He decided he wanted to re-establish himself in the wilderness of western North Carolina and Tennessee. There he wrote the book Camping and Wildlife, which was considered the “bible” of camping. When he became concerned that the Smoky Mountains were going to be heavily logged, he started writing letters to advocate for the establishment of this area as a national park. He soon became friends with a photographer, George Masa and together they started photographing and mapping this area. It was the partnering of Kephart’s words with Masa’s pictures that caught John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s attention, who donated $5 million to help purchase the lands to help secure the area to become a park. Kephart died in a car crash before the park was to be established, but Mount Collins was renamed Mount Kephart in his honor.
Big Wesser BBQ + Brew at the Nantahala Outdoor Center is a great place to enjoy drinks after a day on the trails. You can see the canoe/kayak course gates in the river. It’s fun to watch people coming down the rapids. Below: Carolina-style BBQ in Bryson City.
Another interesting spot almost immediately on the trail are the remnants of the site of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp 411 here. You can see the large chimney and camp signboard on the side of the trail. This group of nearly 200 built rock walls, roads, trails, and footbridges that are still in use today. There is an interesting history of this from one of the leaders, James William Biggs.
We enjoyed this beautiful trail and I can see incorporating this trail as part of a backpacking trip in the future.
Difficulty – 1.5. The ascent on this hike is very gradual and easy.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is well-graded and in great condition.
Views – 0. No scenic views.
Streams/Waterfalls – 5. Very beautiful!
Wildlife – 2. We didn’t see anything other than chipmunks and squirrels.
Ease to Navigate – 4. The trail is very easy to follow to the shelter. Once you reach the Kephart Shelter, you may decide to continue on.
Solitude – 2. Because of the relatively short length and easiness of this hike, you will probably see a fair number of people.
Directions to trailhead: Head north on US-441 N from Cherokee, NC. Head 4 miles north of the Smokemont Campground. Parking is available on the shoulder of the road and the trail starts after crossing the bridge over the Oconaluftee River.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
This 7.3 mile loop has a bit of everything – views, waterfalls, history! The route takes you over Hazeltop Mountain, along several streams and past President Hoover’s Rapidan Camp.
Camp Hoover sits where the Laurel Prong and Mill Prong spill together, forming the Rapidan River. Below: Trillium was blooming everywhere when we hiked; The route had many stream crossings; Adam enjoys the view from Hazeltop.
Christine Says…
We love hiking in this part of Shenandoah! It’s the area we typically choose when we have out-of-town friends who want to visit Shenandoah National Park. It’s also a likely choice when we’re hitting the trail with hiking newbies. Why? Well… we think it’s pretty much perfect. The climbing isn’t difficult, so it helps convince non-hikers that hiking isn’t just torturous uphill climbing. This area is great for spotting wildlife. (In his portion of the post, Adam will tell you more about the exciting wildlife experience he shared with his office.) It’s also scenic, with lovely streams and a waterfall along the route. There is even a significant piece of American history sitting in the middle of the forest – the Rapidan Camp, which served as Herbert Hoover’s presidential retreat.
Our normal route in the area is a relatively easy 4 mile out-and-back to ‘Camp Hoover’. For this post, we decided to go the long way and make a 7.3 mile loop incorporating the Appalachian Trail, the Laurel Prong Trail and the Mill Prong Trail. This longer route added a nice view, many stream crossings and a bit more elevation gain.
Lots of trees were blooming in the park! Below: Adam walks along the Appalachian Trail. Adam was like a wind sock on Hazeltop.
We parked at Milam Gap. The hike started across Skyline Drive on the AT, headed southbound. Almost immediately, the trail began a long, gentle ascent to the summit of Hazeltop Mountain. The AT is so well-worn into the mountain that the path looked like a ribbon of dirt through the bright green of spring grass. On this particular May morning, the trail was abundantly lined with my favorite wildflower – Trillium. They were everywhere with big showy flowers in pink and white. We also saw (and heard) many birds. The prettiest songs came from the eastern towhees. This type of towhee has striking orange, white and black markings, which makes them easy to spot.
After almost two miles of climbing, we reached the high point of the hike on Hazeltop Mountain. There was one nice place to take in the view. It was really windy on the rocky outcropping, but I enjoyed looking out over the spring-green valley. From the viewpoint, we hiked downhill for almost half a mile to reach the junction of the AT and the Laurel Prong Trail.
There are obstructed views from the Laurel Prong Trail. Below: Eastern Towhee; Huge boulders and rocks along the Laurel Prong Trail; A neat tree near the junction of the Cat Knob trail.
The Laurel Prong trail descends all the way to Camp Hoover. Along the way, you’ll get some obstructed views from the trail, especially when trees are without their leaves. There are lots of rocks and boulders lining the path, especially right at the beginning. The lower parts of the Laurel Prong trail pass through a mix of open forest and mountain laurel thickets. As you approach the low point of the hike, you should begin to hear the sounds of water. Most of the time, streams along this trail will be shallow to non-existent. When we hiked, it was after several days of heavy rain. Single-step crossings became multi-rock hops and in many places the trail was under several inches of rain. It was fun to cross so much water!
At around the 5.25 mile mark, we reached Camp Hoover. It was a great spot to eat lunch, soak in the sunshine and enjoy the sound of rushing water. The camp is built at the headwaters of the Rapidan River, making it an ideal fishing spot. Most of the buildings that made up the camp have been lost to the ravages of time, but several cabins, including the president’s personal residence, have been renovated and preserved and are now open to the public (check park schedules for tour opportunities!).
While Adam napped in the sun, I went and did battle with my new carbon fiber tripod. It’s really light and stable, but it’s like an engineering puzzle to get it initially set up! I may have threatened to throw the tripod into the river. I guess I should look at this hike as the tripod’s dress rehearsal. It can prove its true worth on another hike. Besides, it really wasn’t a good day for taking photos of moving water (too sunny), but I think I was able to capture the impressive flow we witnessed on this day. I’ve never seen the streams around Camp Hoover flowing so powerfully! There were rapids and small waterfalls in places I’ve never seen them before. It was beautiful!
The Laurel Prong joins with the Mill Prong to form the Rapidan River just a few hundred feet from this spot. Below: Adam cross the stream again; The Brown House has a great back porch; Another streamside view of the Brown House.
After leaving Camp Hoover, we walked the trail along the Mill Prong. There is one spot where the trail crosses the stream (right below Big Rock Falls). We probably could have rock-hopped if we were careful, but both Adam and I decided to take off our boots and put on our Crocs to wade across the stream. The water came over my knees, which is really high for this spot.
After crossing, we took a few minutes to enjoy Big Rock Falls and then made our way back toward Milam Gap. For much of the way, the trail stayed close to the stream. We had several more stream crossings to complete, but none that required a shoe swap. The last couple miles of the hike went quickly, and we were back at the car by early afternoon.
We were surprised by how few people we ran into on the hike. I would have expected big crowds on a perfect, sunny Mother’s Day, but we really only saw a handful of people – a few backpackers making a short overnight of the loop and a pair of birders at the camp. I suppose we saw a few more people as we hiked back up the Mill Prong trail, but overall the crowds were light.
If I were to recommend a version of this hike – the 4 mile out and back or the 7.3 mile loop, I think I’d probably stick with the shorter version. The longer version is nice, and great if you’re looking to pick up some mileage, but there’s really not a lot to see on the Laurel Prong and it can sometimes be really muddy. The main reasons to hike in this area are Camp Hoover and beautiful stream scenery; and you get both of those on the shorter out-and-back.
Adam Says…
The hike down to the Rapidan Camp is always one of our favorites in Shenandoah National Park. We have taken several groups of people down to this area. When I talk to people about Shenandoah National Park, they have no idea that a Presidential retreat was once here and how this helped to establish a national park in Virginia. This route adds a view to the hike for an extra bonus.
Big Rock Falls was as big as we’ve ever seen it! Below: Adam crosses the stream right below Big Rock Falls; Lots of water in these little streams.
We’ve seen that on Hiking Upward and in our Hiking Shenandoah National Park Falcon Guide the hike was done in the reverse direction that we did the hike. But, our way has less of a continuous elevation climb and it puts Camp Hoover in the last third of the route (save the best for last!). We started off from the Milam Gap parking area and crossed Skyline Drive near the southern entrance to the lot to start on the Appalachian Trail. Heading southbound on the white-blazed AT, we quickly came across the junction with the Mill Prong Trail. This is your return route, so continue to go straight. The trail gradually climbs up a total of 450 feet. You reach a nice viewpoint to the right of the trail around 1.8 miles before you reach the Hazeltop summit in 1.9 miles.
The trail then begins to descend and at 2.6 miles, you reach the junction with the Laurel Prong Trail on the left. Take this blue-blazed trail which continues to descend. At the 3.6 mile, you will pass a junction with the Cat Knob Trail but stay on the Laurel Prong Trail. At 4.9 miles, you reach another junction with the Fork Mountain Trail, but again stay on the Laurel Prong Trail. The trail changes to yellow-blazed at this point, since it is now accessible to horses. At 5.3 miles, you will pass by a fire road on the left and then come up to a side trail for Five Tents. The Five Tents location was where some of the staff would stay at the Rapidan Camp, but there is no longer a building there. Christine took this route, but I stayed straight and we met up shortly at the Rapidan Camp, entering near the Prime Minister’s Cabin.
Upon leaving the Brown House at Rapidan Camp, we caught the trail heading past the Creel Cabin. Crossing the fire road, we picked up the yellow-blazed Mill Prong Trail which gradually ascends most of the way. At 5.5 miles, you will cross Mill Prong (which may require you to wade across the water after heavy rainfall) and reach Big Rock Falls on the other side. At 5.9 miles, you reach a junction with the Mill Prong Horse Trail. Continue straight instead of taking this trail, but the blazes change to blue as it is no longer a horse trail. The trail crosses Mill Prong again and then you will have a gradual climb back up. At 7.3 miles, you reach the Appalachian Trail junction again. Take a right and in a short distance you’ll reach the parking lot.
Pretty pink trillium Below: Wild geranium (I think?); Ragwort; Adam finishes out the loop.
Last year, I brought a few of my co-workers down to the Rapidan camp for a team-building retreat. I felt that if it was good enough for the President, it should be good enough for us. When we arrived, a volunteer who stayed at the Creel Cabin, gave us a tour of the Brown House, where President Hoover stayed. We learned a lot about Hoover, the problems he faced during his presidency, and his relationship to Franklin D. Roosevelt. After the tour, we did some team-building and communication exercises to learn more about how to work best with each other. While we were in the middle of making some breakthroughs, a small snake fell down off the roof just a few feet from where we were working. One of my co-workers, who is not a hiker by any definition, jumped out of her seat and was constantly looking around for other animals. After we made our way back up, we were talking along the way. I heard some people say, “Adam, look out”. I nearly walked right into a mama bear with three cubs. The family of bears quickly took off up the hill. I had told my co-workers that I’m usually pretty good at finding bears and we may see some. They were thrilled to see the cubs, as a few of them had never seen a bear cub before.
Along with the possibilities of seeing bears, you can usually find this trail to be an excellent trail for birding. The Laurel Prong and Mill Prong trails were filled with beautiful songs as we hiked along. A couple that was hiking near us also recognized the song of a blackburnian warbler.
If you’re up for a longer hike to the Rapidan Camp, I would suggest this route. The views from near Hazeltop summit were expansive, you get to see a nice waterfall, hear the songs of birds, and learn about the history of one of our Presidents and how it helped create a national park in Virginia. This hike does have it all!
Difficulty – 3. This hike is not steep or difficult, but some hiking novices might find the 7+ mile distance a little challenging.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trails were in great shape, despite being underwater in several place. We didn’t see any blowdowns or sloppy areas.
Waterfalls/streams – 4. Big Rock Falls, the Rapidan River, Mill Prong and Laurel Prong are all lovely and offer lots of water scenery along this hike!
Wildlife – 4. We didn’t see much on this particular day beyond birds, but we’ve seen lots of deer and bears on past trips.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Trail directions are clearly marked at junctions with cement markers.
Solitude – 2. This is a popular hike, both as a day trip and a short overnight loop.
Directions to trailhead:
The hike starts at mile marker 53 on Skyline Drive. Park in the Milam Gap lot, then cross the drive. The trail picks up on the other side of the crosswalk.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
This hike follows the Grandfather Trail across series of ladders and cables to the summit of MacRae Peak. After climbing MacRae peak, we continued a little way along the trail before turning back right after Attic Window Peak. It’s a truly amazing hike with phenomenal views.
Christine and Adam enjoy the view atop MacRae Peak. Below: Adam checks out the sign at the beginning of the Swinging Bridge Trail; A view of the bridge from the trail; the valley from the bridge.
Adam Says…
Hiking up Grandfather Mountain is nothing short of an adventure and one that I will not forget. This will challenge you as much mentally as it will physically as you have to decide how far you can go. Choosing to navigate up ladders on the side of a mountainside with nothing to save you from a nasty fall makes this hike one not for the faint of heart. I have a fear of heights, but especially when it comes to trusting in man-made things that tested me a few times on this hike. But Christine and I kept saying, “I can’t believe we just did that” when we passed through these obstacles and the adrenaline kept us going.
We drove into Grandfather Mountain through the main entrance off 221. If you are planning on doing any hiking on Grandfather Mountain, I would recommend starting as early as possible. Starting later than when the park opens could lead to an extremely long line of cars waiting to enter on a weekend or pretty summer/fall day. There is an admissions fee to get into the park ($18/adult with discounts for seniors and children at press time). Another reason to start early is this hike does take a while. While it is only a relatively short distance, you will want to take time to enjoy the numerous views and you will need to take time going up the ladders. With a lot of people on the trail, there could be a bottleneck through some of these passes. The park closes before nightfall and they do have rangers hiking along the trail to make sure that people get off the mountain in time. If you don’t get back to your car by nightfall, they post they will send out a search.
Adam crosses the Swinging Bridge. Below: A look back at the Top Shop from the beginning of the Grandfather Trail; Adam looks at MacRae Peak
At the entrance to the park, the ranger warned us that the winds were between over 30 mph at the top. We made our way up the drive and stopped by Split Rock, a picnic spot and witnessed the drop in temperatures and wind firsthand. We then made our way to the Nature Museum and wildlife habitat. We walked around briefly and picked up a hiking trail map from the Nature Museum cashier. We continued our drive along the curvy road up until we reached a parking lot attendant. Since we were hiking, he instructed us to park in the lower lot to begin our hike.
From the parking lot, we took the Bridge Trail, a non-blazed trail that includes switchbacks through a hardwood forest. After a short distance, we started hearing a mechanical, whistling sound. This was the sound of wind whipping through the Mile High Swinging Bridge that lay above us. At .4 miles, we reached the Mile High Swinging Bridge and visitor center. The wind was blowing so hard up here. I felt that I didn’t have warm enough clothes, so we went inside the visitor center to buy a hat and gloves to replace the ones I’d forgotten back at our hotel. The wind was blowing much harder than 30-40mph. I would guess that it was closer to 60mph. My pants sounded like flags beaten by high winds and it was hard to even take a step ahead of you. From the visitor center, we went up the stairs to reach the bridge. Christine was eager to go across, but I had a lot of trepidation. The bridge was “singing” more than “swinging”, but I was wondering if it was safe to cross. Christine made her way across and per an earlier agreement, if I was going to make her hike up Grandfather Mountain, I had to hold my end of the bargain and walk across this 228 foot bridge. Being 6 feet tall, the side railings barely reached my hips and I was worried that a strong enough wind would have blown me off. The bridge has its name because the elevation here is 5280 feet above sea level making it a mile high. The bridge actually only spans two rock formations that has an 80 foot drop, but it is still unnerving. After making it across the bridge and back, we continued the hike.
Most of the way was steep and rocky.
Christine was having a difficult time making her way across the parking lot to the trailhead. I would see her take one step forward and the wind blew her two steps to the side. We made it to the other side and debated on if we could do this hike with such high winds. I convinced Christine to go a little further, hoping that the brush would slow the wind and after a short distance we didn’t feel the affect of the wind. We began the hike up using the Grandfather Trail, a blue diamond-blazed trail. At .8 miles (including the hike from the parking lot), we reached a junction with the Grandfather Extension trail. We kept going forward on the Grandfather Trail and at .9 miles, we reached Grandfather Gap, an open area that gives you great views. Continuing on at 1.4 miles, we reached a junction with the Underwood Trail. We stayed again on the Grandfather Trail and in a short distance the first ladder appeared. This was a long ladder (the first of nine total) that helped you navigate through a tight gorge between two rocks, but was not that scary. Shortly after this ladder, the real fun started where we had to do some rock scrambling, sometimes with the assistance of cables before coming up to a series of ladders. These ladders were definitely more frightening as you had to often climb up one ladder and then take a step to the left and climb up another ladder. We saw several people that got to the ladders and then wisely turned around as they didn’t think they can handle it. Knowing your limitations is definitely important. These ladders eventually led up to to one area that you were climbing up ladders on the side of the mountain with an insane drop to the side. We made it up this final ladder and took a moment to reflect on what we did and take in the views from the side of the mountain. We continued on the trail for a short distance and at 1.4 miles we reached a ladder on the side of the rock leading to the summit of MacRae Peak at 5845 feet. You climb up this 20 foot ladder and then grab a cable at the top of the ladder to pull yourself up the rock. You can find the benchmark for the peak at the top of the rock, giving you 360 degree views all around you, including the bridge to the southwest.
Christine climbs a ladder on the Grandfather Trail. Below: One ladder went between two giant slabs of rock; Adam pulls himself up a sheer rock face; More ladders along steep, cliffside terrain.
We climbed back down the ladder and then continued on the Grandfather Trail to the next peak. At 1.5 miles, we reached another junction with the Underwood trail. Continuing on the Grandfather Trail, we went up to The Chute, a rock scramble that leads to the top of Attic Window Peak. The scramble wasn’t too tough, but did require you to climb up on all fours at some points. We reached the top at 1.7 miles and passed the overnight Attic Window campsite. Continuing on the trail, we reached a junction with the Indian House Cave, a short but steep side trail that leads to a cave wall that was a shelter to Native Americans back in the day as artifacts were found here when it was first discovered. We continued back on the Grandfather Trail and the trail here begins to be more of a ridge walk. We took some time to find some nice spots to take in the views, eat some snacks, and then made our way back. At the junction with the Underwood Trail at 2.2 miles, we ended up taking this Yellow Diamond blazed trail to avoid the ladders on the return. This was a steep and rocky trail back without much to see and there is still one large ladder to climb down on the way, but it feels safer than the ones leading to MacRae Peak. At 2.7 miles, we reached the opposite end of the Underwood Trail, rejoining the Grandfather Trail, by taking a right. At 2.9 miles, we reached the junction with the Grandfather Extension trail and then took this Red Diamond blazed trail downhill through some switchbacks for .6 miles (with some more views along the way) until we reached our car at 3.5. miles.
Many people just drive to the upper parking lot to experience the Mile High Swinging Bridge and then return. It is definitely a highlight of Grandfather Mountain, but we were so glad that we hiked past this feature. The bridge used to be a wooden suspension bridge (erected in 1952) and used to sway more in the wind, but the side rails and floorboards were replaced with steel in 1999.
Adam enjoys the view near the top of MacRae. Below: The Blue Ridge Parkway winds its way through forest below Grandfather Mountain; the last ladder to the top of MacRae; Beautiful rugged scenery on Grandfather Mountain.
Grandfather Mountain was originally named Tanawha Mountain by the Cherokee, meaning “glorious hawk or eagle”. It was named Grandfather Mountain by pioneers as one view of the mountain does look like an old man’s face staring up into the sky. Daniel Boone once hunted in this area and John Muir after climbing Grandfather Mountain in 1898 proclaimed that the air during his climb had healed him of a bronchial cough.
Overall, I will say this has been one of my favorite and most memorable hikes that I have ever done. The views are absolutely gorgeous around you, as you can see for miles around on a clear day. Once you reached a viewpoint, you thought that it couldn’t get any better; but then you would take a few more steps and be even more impressed. We definitely plan on returning to tackle the hike all the way to Calloway Peak, the tallest peak at 5946 feet.
Christine Says…
It’s kind of ironic that John Muir proclaimed that Grandfather Mountain’s air cured him of bronchitis. I was sick as a dog when I hiked this trail, and the air did not have any magical curative properties for me! In fact, I think it may have helped precipitate my garden-variety bronchitis into a full-blown, month-long battle with pneumonia.
Some readers might wonder why I didn’t do the sensible thing and actually rest while I was sick. I wish I had been smarter, but we had planned this trip several months earlier and were there to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. There was no way I was going to miss it. So… stupidly, I pushed myself mercilessly so that I could see and do all the things we had planned. I had a great time on the trip, and especially this hike – but I definitely paid a high price for all that fun.
Adam approaches the rock scramble known as The Chute. Below: The Chute
Illness aside, this hike is probably near the top of my list of all-time favorite hikes. The scenery was breathtaking. Every boulder I rounded, every opening I stepped into; I practically gasped with disbelief at how truly beautiful nature can be. The ladders and cables were a perfect balance of scary and fun. I felt challenged and rewarded in equal measures.
Our adventure started off in the hiker parking area on Grandfather Mountain. The trail from the parking lot to the bridge was short and easy. Almost immediately, we could hear the harmonic hum of the wind whipping through the bridge. Evidently, the ‘singing bridge’ is a more accurate moniker than ‘swinging bridge’. We spent a little time at the ‘Top Shop’. We both crossed the bridge. I was very proud of Adam for crossing. He does not like heights and the bridge was not a happy place for him!
The bridge didn’t scare me at all, but the wind’s strength did! The main trail system on Grandfather Mountain starts directly above the parking area. The sign marking the trailhead is loaded with many, many warnings and cautionary tales. On the way over the the trailhead, the wind literally blew me off my feet! I rolled like a tumbleweed across the parking area – pretty remarkable for a full-grown, adult woman! It was the strongest wind I’ve ever encountered — even topping the weather we experienced on Mt. Washington. I told Adam that I thought it was stupid to hike in such strong wind, but he encouraged me to hike a little along the trail, in hopes that the trees and other obstacles would shelter us from the wind. Thankfully, he was right and the wind wasn’t bad for most of the hike.
All of the ladders and cables were sturdy and securely fixed to the rock, so I never felt like I was in any real danger. They greatly aided us in traversing some very steep terrain. When you look at MacRae peak from a distance, it looks so steep and practically unscalable. When you finally climb the last ladder to the highest point of the peak, you truly feel on top of the world! We shared the peak with a group of Boy Scouts and a group of Amish men. Quite an interesting mix of folks!
Beautiful views from Attic Window Peak. Below: Tent site on Attic Window Peak; More gorgeous vistas
After leaving MacRae, we continued along the Grandfather Trail in the direction of Calloway peak. The trail took us through a fun and challenging rock scramble called ‘The Chute’. Near there, we met one of the Grandfather Mountain rangers. He was out hiking the trail to sweep for hikers in trouble and for people who might be cutting time short to make it back to the parking area by 5:00.
After the Chute, we passed the Attic Window Peak backcountry tent site. After that, we walked a short way along an open, razorback ridge or rock. We had more spectacular views looking toward Banner Elk and in the direction of Calloway Peak. Along this ridge, we stopped for a snack. While I was eating my Luna bar, I measured up the distance to Calloway peak. I wasn’t feeling any better. I was cold, stuffy, achy and exhausted. As much as I wanted to reach Calloway peak, I wanted some soup and a hot bath even more. I apologetically told Adam that I couldn’t go any further. I could tell he was disappointed, but he willingly turned back.
Adam enjoys cliffside views. Below: Fall foliage from Grandfather Mountain; Our last ladder down the Underwood Trail, Fall Foliage; Rocky and rooty footing on the Underwood Trail.
On the return, we took the Underwood Trail. It was quite steep and rocky, but only required one downward ladder climb. Eventually, we reached the junction of the Grandfather Trail and the Grandfather Extension. The extension led us back down to the hiker parking area without having to cross the Swinging Bridge parking lot again. That little section of trail had one pretty view from a bridge and lots of fall color. We got back to the car and made our way back down the mountain. I could not believe the line of cars waiting to get into Grandfather Mountain. It stretched for several miles! Insane! I guess it’s a good idea to get an early start when you visit Grandfather. All in all, it was a super day and a great hike. I can’t wait to go back sometime when I’m not sick!
Trail Notes
Distance – about 3.5 miles
Elevation Change – about 1600 feet
Difficulty – 4.5. The ladders and cables make this a tough hike. The climbs over the mountains make this hike take a lot longer than you would normally on this distance.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail was in good condition. Ladders and cables were sturdy and secure, but rainy/icy/snowy weather will make the rock climbing treacherous. If you have a fear of heights, ladders or precipitous edges, this hike might not be for you.
Views – 5. AMAZING!
Waterfalls/streams – 0. There are no streams on this hike.
Wildlife – 0. This area is heavily traveled, so it’s unlikely you’ll see wildlife.
Ease to Navigate –4. The junctions at all the trails are well-marked. We got a little turned around through one of the rock scrambles.
Solitude – 1.5. Expect to see lots of people on this trail unless you go at an off time. But we never felt too crowded where we couldn’t enjoy things by ourselves.
Directions to trailhead: The entrance to Grandfather Mountain is located on US 221, two miles north of Linville, North Carolina, and one mile south of the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 305. Signs for the entrance are well-marked and an entrance station is right off the road with large gates. Travel up the road by car until you reach the parking lot designated for hiking trails. The trailhead for the Bridge Trail is on the left side of the parking lot as you are driving up. Coordinates for the hiker parking area are 36.096145, -81.831802.
This 13.2 mile circuit can be done as a day-hike, but we recommend extending the beauty and wildness into an overnight backpacking loop. Take your time, and you’ll be treated to panoramic views, lovely mountain streams, demanding climbs and peaceful campsites.
Christine takes in a a view of The Priest from Three Ridges mountain. Below: Welcome to the Three Ridges Wilderness; Over half of the circuit follows the Appalachian Trail; Nothing beats a campfire in the evening.
We had long been planning a three-day backpacking trip across Mt. Rogers, but as the day of the trip drew closer, we started seeing the term ‘Appalachian soaker’ thrown around in weather forecasts. We’re fine with passing showers and fleeting thunderstorms, but we didn’t want to get pinned down on Mt. Rogers on a wet and stormy night.
Fortunately, the weather in central Virginia was far more favorable, so we ditched our Mt. Rogers plan, and decided to hit another backpacking circuit on our list – Three Ridges. This route, which makes use of the Appalachian Trail and the Mau-Har Trail, is known as one of Virginia’s most rugged hikes. Everything we read about the circuit in advance of our trip emphasized the hike’s strenuous nature. With roughly 6,800 feet of elevation change, you’re almost never walking on flat trail. It’s a constant onslaught of heart-pounding climbs and knee-grinding descents. But along with the challenging terrain, you get spectacular views, beautiful streams and lovely campsites.
We started out early Saturday morning. The first stop was fuel… for ourselves. We had a huge breakfast at The Chuckwagon in Harrisonburg. If you have a chance, stop by and indulge in one of their homemade 4-inch biscuits (Adam’s favorite is ‘The Round-Up’) or a stack of their amazingly fluffy pancakes. (Sadly… Chuckwagon closed in January 2013) With full stomachs, we made our way to Reed’s Gap at mile marker 13.7 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
When we got to the parking area, the lot was already jam-packed, mostly with heavy-duty construction vehicles left idle for the weekend. Just as we were about to give up and find a parking spot further down the parkway, one car pulled out and left an opening for us!
Adam makes the initial climb up Meadow Mountain. The climbing was occasionally rocky, but never terribly steep.
We started the Map My Hike app on Christine’s phone, hoisted our packs, and headed south along the Appalachian Trail. From the parking area, the trail hugs the edge of a meadow, which was full of blooming yellow ragweed and purple thistle. It was such perfect weather for backpacking – sunny skies, low humidity and a crisp breeze. The trail almost immediately began to climb uphill over Meadow Mountain. The climbing was steady, but never difficult, for about .8 of a mile.
At the top of the ridge, there was a small dry campsite with obstructed views. Department of the Interior boundary markers were all along the ridge. We spotted at least three or four right next to the trail. After walking briefly along level ridge, the trail descended to Maupin Field Shelter. The shelter site had tons of space for tents (many of the tent sites were flat, soft and grassy), a typical AT three-sided hut, a metal bear-hang post and a picnic table. The area also had an informational kiosk with trail notes and wilderness-usage policies. There was also a child’s orthodontic retainer tucked into a Ziploc and pinned to the board. We’re guessing there is now one retainer-less Boy Scout and a less than happy mother!
Christine climbs the stone steps up Bee Mountain.
After Maupin Field Shelter we began climbing again, over Bee Mountain. The climbing was slightly more strenuous, but definitely manageable. In several places, rock steps were set into the trail to make the climbing easier. Along the way, we started playing ‘Categories’. It’s pretty basic – each player designates a category, then players take turns naming items that fit within that category. For example, categories might include Movies Based on Comic Books or Items You Need on a Backpacking Trip. It’s pretty mindless, but it kills time. Whoever successfully names the last item for the given category wins the round. The best category of the day was Complaints Uttered When Hills Are Steep. We won’t share the specifics of our trail talk here, but it was pretty funny to reflect on this topic! Bee Mountain didn’t offer any views and was followed by a short descent before tackling the more serious climb up Three Ridges Mountain.
The climb up Three Ridges consisted of several steep pushes, with nice stops for views all along the way. The first view, Hanging Rock, was very impressive, so we decided to break for lunch and enjoy the amazing vista. As we ate our Panera bagels (Cherry-Vanilla with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter for Christine and French Toast with Peanut Butter for Adam), we noticed two dogs fitted with radio collars – doubtlessly bear hunting dogs set loose in the woods for pre-season practice. Both dogs were female; both were emaciated and showed signs of over-breeding. We hate to cast aspersions or generalizations on any group of people, but we are not fans of hunters that use this type of technology to hunt bears. Both of the dogs were pretty persistent about trying to steal our food. The bolder dog, who was heavily perfumed by a skunk encounter, came within inches of snatching Christine’s bagel right out of her hand.
One of the bear hunting dogs we encountered seemed to be enjoying a view of the Priest from the Hanging Rock Overlook. Below: Adam climbing the first uphill section of Three Ridges Mountain; Southbounders (BeeSting, Fats and Happy) contemplate the Priest and their upcoming climb; The view from Hanging Rock.
While we sat at the overlook, we had a chance to chat with three Southbound AT hikers – Happy, Fats and BeeSting. All three had started in Pennsylvania in August and were making their way toward Georgia. Happy was already there when we arrived, so we got to talk with him for a good bit while he waited for his companions to show up. He was from Las Vegas and on his first long-distance hike. He told tales of his shoes breaking down on the Pennsylvania rocks, getting caught in a vicious cold-front driven storm on Bearfence Mountain, and his epic weight loss (40 pounds in less than a month!). He was a nice kid and we enjoyed talking to him and telling him about some of the things he has to look forward along the trail in Virginia – The Priest, Spy Rock, Cove Mountain, McAfee Knob the Grayson Highlands. He told us the friendliest place he’d stopped on the trail was the town of Waynesboro.
After a while, Fats and BeeSting came along. They were a young couple from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. We didn’t talk to them as much, because we wanted to press on and make our way to camp by mid-afternoon. Happy left a few minutes ahead of us, and we were sure we wouldn’t see him again. Thru-hikers are known for keeping a blistering pace!
Upon leaving the vista, there was quite a bit more uphill climbing before we finally reached the true summit/highpoint of Three Ridges Mountain. At the highpoint, we ran into a group of three women out on the same circuit we were hiking. We chatted briefly about the great weather before leaving them to enjoy their lunch.
Christine enjoys the view on a perfect late-summer day. Below: The actual high point of Three Ridges is in the trees; Adam walking through ferns along the trail.
After the high point, the long, seemingly endless descent to Harper’s Creek began. It wasn’t always super-steep. Sometimes it almost leveled off. As we were walking along, we saw a bear dash off through the brush. We were both glad that the bear hunting dogs hadn’t pestered the bear into a tree. A few steps later, we heard an exuberant voice shouting into the wind – ‘Woooooo!’ ‘Yeaaaaaah’! ‘Echo Echo Echo’ and ‘I’m on TOP of the WORLD’. As the voice drew nearer, we guessed it was Happy having a ‘mountain moment’. Sure enough, he called to us through the trees so we could share the nice view spot he had found a little ways off the trail.
We left the spot before he did, knowing that there would be more views along the way. One unnamed view on the left side of the trail was especially beautiful. We stopped for photos and a pack-less rest. A bit further along, we saw a huge flat, upright rock that looked just like a tombstone. Immediately past that, we noticed a faint trail that climbed up steeply through the woods to a jumble of rock. We guessed correctly that we had found Chimney Rock. It was a great place to sit, and every bit as scenic as the very first overlook on Three Ridges. We enjoyed looking down into the valley, dotted with homes, streams and a large Christmas tree farm. The Priest, one of Virginia’s most beautiful and distinct mountains, loomed impressively across the way.
Adam enjoys one of the many spectacular views from Three Ridges Mountain. This particular stop came at a rocky outcropping known as Chimney Rock. Below: Views, views and more views!
After Chimney Rock, the last real vista was a wide flat shelf of rock overlooking the scene below. After that, the downhill got pretty bad. It was the bone-jarring, steep, type of downhill that makes your knees beg for mercy! We both slipped a couple times on the descent. It was probably all the fallen acorns – if your boot hits them just right, they sort of function like tiny roller-skate wheels. Adam managed to hyperextend his knee on one slip, and hiked in a significant amount of pain the rest of the day. Christine hit a loose flat rock and rode it like a surfboard until she finally landed hard, but unharmed, on her rear end.
Honestly, the uphill on this hike is moderately hard, but the downhill is brutal. Anyone in reasonable condition should be able to handle the physical demands of the ascents along the trail, but if you have bad knees, the descents are nothing short of punishing. We both tried to keep our packs on the light side for this trip. Christine’s pack was 22 pounds and Adam’s was 29… but that was before water. After a dry week, we weren’t sure if Harpers Creek would be flowing, so we both carried quite a bit of extra water – 3.5 liters for Christine and 4 for Adam. We knew there was a chance we wouldn’t need it, but when it comes to water it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
The climb down from the summit of Three Ridges was grueling and rocky! Below: The trail went over many large boulders; It passed thick stands of rhododendron and mountain laurel; We were thrilled when the Harpers Creek shelter site came into view.
After over two miles of switchbacks, dangerous acorns and tricky rocks, the colorful domes of tents came into sight. We had reached Harpers Creek Shelter – our stop for the evening. We found the shelter itself empty, but most of the tent sites adjacent to the shelter had already been claimed by a large group of Boy Scouts from Fluvanna County.
We found a mostly flat and smooth tent site across the creek, about 50 yards south of the shelter. We figured it was a perfect spot – we were close to the shelter and could use it for a ‘kitchen’. Also, the privy was on our side of the stream, but far enough from the tent that it wouldn’t be annoying when people went to use it.
For the most part, Harpers Creek wasn’t flowing. There were several shallow pools in the streambed, which gave us plenty of access to water, but also provided a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Christine immediately noticed bites forming welts on her legs, so she quickly changed out of her shorts and into long pants. She tried to change behind a large boulder, but she’s pretty sure the Boy Scouts saw her in her underpants, but hey… modesty sort of goes out the window in the backcountry.
Within twenty minutes, the tent was up, the sleeping pads were inflated, and sleeping bags were in place. We set aside all the food, cooking implements, water filter and bear bags to take over to the picnic table at the shelter. The Harpers Creek shelter was small and kind of dingy. There was no shelter log. Actually, the only thing in the shelter was a sodden pair of ‘tighty-whiteys’.
Adam set about collecting water. We recently picked up a very handy collapsible bucket made by Sea to Summit. It folds down to about the size of a deck of cards and weighs just a few ounces. But, it allows us to collect up to nine liters of water at once. Typically, we pump water through our Katadyn straight into the bucket. Then we cover the bucket with a bandanna and usually have plenty for dinner, breakfast and bottle refills.
While Adam filtered water, Christine worked on collecting wood for a campfire. It was already starting to get chilly, so it was a perfect night for a fire. As is the case at most shelters, good firewood is hard to find. There is always plenty of tinder/kindling, but the larger, long-burning pieces of wood are at a premium. In the backcountry, we only use downed wood that we can break by hand.
Our camp on Harpers Creek. Below: Setting up our ‘kitchen’ at the Harpers Creek shelter; On the menu for dinner; Adam feeds the fire.
Christine made a teepee-style campfire with larger pieces of wood on the outside, and a tinder-packed center. All of the wood collected from the forest floor was cold and damp, so the fire had a hard time catching at first. A little squirt of alcohol-based hand sanitizer took care of that problem, and within a few minutes a small fire had sprung to life.
With the campfire going, water collected and the campsite set, it was time for dinner! We keep saying we’re going to prepare our own fancy homemade backpacking meals, but when the time comes we always seem to find ourselves reaching for Mountain House or Backpacker’s Pantry. It’s just easier, and for the most part, the packaged food is really tasty (notable exception – Natural High’s Banana Cream Pie – worst dessert EVER.) Our menu for the evening included Chili Mac with Beef as the entrée and Cheesecake for dessert. Christine brought several sticks of cheddar cheese to mix into the chili and single-serving plastic bottles of Merlot. It was quite the feast!
After dinner, we put up our bear hang. Oddly, this shelter did not have a metal post like most AT shelters in this part of Virginia. We had to find a tree with a free branch. After the food was secured, we settled into our camp chairs and enjoyed the fire. Some people we’ve met along the trail think the camp chairs are a waste of pack space, but they fold down to about the size of a water bottle and weigh just about a pound. We find them well worth the extra weight for the back-resting comfort they provide. We might not carry them on a long multi-day trip when every bit of pack space counts, but for a weekend trip, we like having creature comforts.
Entertainment unfolds by the campfire. Below: Our tent at night.
As we sat by the fire, we watched a little piece of comedy unfold on the other side of the stream. A couple of the older Scouts had been assigned the task of hanging the group’s food. We watched as they missed getting the rock and rope over the tree branch, dozens and dozens of times. The boys took turns making fun of one another for their off aim. Eventually, they got the rope over a branch. They celebrated with a high-five and a ‘Woot!’. But, the branch snapped off the tree as soon as they tried to hoist the weight of many food bags. Eventually they went for help and settled on a less-than-perfect, but still functional tree. All in all, it took them over an hour to get their food hung.
Our campfire died around 9:00, so we headed back to the tent. Adam read by headlamp and Christine listened to a book on her iPod. For one of the first times ever, we both fell asleep quickly and slept soundly through the night. We were actually awoken by voices and headlamps at what seemed like the middle of the night. Christine rolled over and asked Adam ‘Is it around midnight and these kids are up late or is it morning already?’ It turned out that the Scouts were awake and cooking/packing up at 5:30 a.m. We lazed around in the tent for another hour until the sun came up.
The Scouts actually hiked out around 7:00, just as we were getting breakfast together. Usually, we’re the early risers and the first out of camp! We made maple-brown sugar oatmeal with freeze-dried bananas and coffee and hot chocolate for breakfast. We both ate two packs, knowing that we had a tough day of hiking on the Mau-Har Trail.
After a good night of sleep, Christine is ready to tackle day two! Below: Adam changes out of his Crocs and back into boots; The Appalachian Trail departing Harpers Creek.
After breakfast, we broke down camp. Adam’s hyperextended knee was still pretty sore, so Christine stowed some of his gear in her pack to make his load a little lighter. While she was transferring gear, she noticed that a mouse had chewed through the little mesh compartment on the hipbelt of Adam’s pack! The only thing in the compartment was a set of car keys, so we’re really not sure why it was appealing to a mouse. It reminded Adam of one of his favorite books as a kid – The Mouse and the Motorcycle. He thought this mouse was trying to make a sequel with their car.
We left Harpers Creek around 8:00. On our way out, we passed four or five other groups that had been tenting near the shelter. All told, there were probably somewhere between 25 and 30 people camped along the creek that night. Quite a tent city!
After leaving the shelter site, we followed the Appalachian Trail for almost a mile, largely uphill, to its junction with the Mau-Har Trail. The odd trail name is a combination of Maupin and Harpers – the names of the two shelters the trail runs between. The Mau-Har was designed by a man named Angelo Filippi. One funny review we read of the hike evidently thinks ‘designed’ is too kind a word for the trail. The review states:
“We started from Reeds Gap and heading down the Mau-Har, cussing Angelo Philippe [sic] the whole dang way. I swear he unfolded a map, put it on the ground, pulled out a piece of string, dropped the string onto the map and said “There! That is where the trail should go!” What a jerk!”
The start of the Mau-Har Trail. Below: The Mau-Har trail starts innocently enough; Then it starts to climb more steeply downhill; And then it gets even steeper than it already was!
To be fair, the trail was clearly designed to follow scenic Campbell Creek as closely as possible and following a creek that goes tumbling through a deep gorge is going to require some rugged climbing. The Mau-Har trail descended very steeply to the creek. Adam grimaced in pain from his knee injury on every downhill step. The weight of his pack, combined with the steep trail was almost more than he could bear. This was some of the gnarliest downhill we’ve ever done.
Eventually, we got to the spur trail that leads to a series of small waterfalls. Adam decided to stay put and rest his knee while Christine explored the falls. She took off with the camera, hoping to get a few documentary shots for the blog. A few minutes later, Adam decided to follow. He had heard there was a geocache hidden by the falls (known as “firedogs fishbowl”), but he had forgotten to input coordinates into his GPS. He looked for it, but without coordinates it was pretty close to impossible to find. The waterfalls were all very small due to low water flow. In spring, with snowmelt and heavier rain, the creek is probably spectacular!
Water volume in Campbell Creek was fairly low. Below: The section of the Mau-Har that follows Campbell Creek is very steep; Some sections require you to pull yourself over the rocks; Christine is happy for a more moderate grade.
From the waterfall spur trail to the Maupin Field shelter, the Mau-Har climbs very steeply uphill. At first, the trail is very rocky as it passes through the canyon. You wind your way between and over boulders. Sometimes you have to stow your trekking poles in one hand to pull yourself up over a big step. It reminded us very much of hiking the gorge at Little Devils Stairs. The terrain was very similar. After leaving the canyon, the trail becomes less rocky, but no less steep. A series of sweeping switchbacks carry you relentlessly uphill. Eventually the grade becomes more moderate in the last half mile before you arrive at the Maupin Field shelter.
Near the end of the climb, Adam announced that he was going to stop at the shelter and ‘eat every single bit of anything edible left in his snack bag’. Two packs of oatmeal, bananas and hot chocolate burn off pretty fast when the climbing is tough! He proceeded to eat a Luna Bar, ShotBlox, a bag of cashews and a bunch of mini candy bars. He reined himself in and skipped eating a dry packet of cocoa mix.
At Maupin Field, we read the shelter log. Entries talked about the skunky, food-nabbing bear dogs (someone had named them Bagels and Muffins). A southbounder left a warning to northbounders about 20-30 miles of dry hiking. Someone even left a really nice pair of ladies LaSportiva for someone to claim.
Adam relaxes at the Maupin Field Shelter. Below: One of the stream crossings near Maupin Field Shelter; Adam checks out the shelter log; The Mau-Har’s end point at the shelter.
The last 1.6 miles retraced our route from the morning before. We had a gradual climb up and over Meadow Mountain and then back to our car at Reeds Gap. We drove back toward home along the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping at Humpback Rocks to wash our hands with soap and running water. Our last stop was the Sonic in Waynesboro for more ‘refueling’. We definitely earned some tater tots and CreamSlushes!
Three Ridges turned out to be a great alternative to our planned Mt. Rogers trip! While the terrain was challenging, we think most people accustomed to backpacking/hiking would be up for the challenge and would enjoy the beautiful and wild scenery offered by this loop.
The one issue we would like to bring up is a discrepancy about the length of this hike. Most sources list the loop at 14.4 miles. Based on our information (maps, GPS, trailer marker posts), here is how we would break down the segment distances on the trail.
0.0 miles – Start from parking lot on Reeds Gap, heading south on the Appalachian Trail and begin your ascent. .8 miles – The trail reaches the first ridge and shortly begins to descend through some switchbacks 1.6 miles – Reach the junction with the Fire Road (which heads to Love Gap). Take a left to stay on the Appalachian Trail and pass a few side trails that lead to campsites at the Maupin Field Shelter. The trail begins to climb again. 2.0 miles – Reach the summit of Bee Mountain 3.7 miles – Reach some great views from Hanging Rock. Continue to climb further up through the woods. 4.2 miles – Reach the summit of Three Ridges 5.8 miles – Great viewpoint of the eastern ridge 5.9 miles – Reach the tombstone and take an immediate right up the path to reach Chimney Rock and the best views on the trail. Rejoin the trail and descend steeply. 7.5 miles – Arrive at Harpers Creek Shelter across the creek and your stay for the night. The next morning, cross back over the creek and continue on the Appalachian Trail. 7.6 miles – Cross Harpers Creek and the trail begins to ascend very steeply. 8.5 miles – Reach the junction with the blue-blazed Mau-Har trail. Turn right and follow the trail that parallels Campbell Creek. 10.0 miles – Reach a sign designating a short yellow-blazed trail to a few waterfalls. The waterfalls are only a few hundred feet off the Mau-Har trail. Retrace your steps and continue on the Mau-Har trail. 11.5 miles – Reach the Maupin Field Shelter. Continue straight past the shelter to rejoin the Appalachian Trail. 11.6 miles – Take a left on the Appalachian Trail to retrace your steps back to your vehicle. 13.2 miles – Return to the Reeds Gap parking lot.
Returning to Reeds Gap. At this point, Adam said he was 90% sure he was going to survive the trip. Below: Christine had a great time!
Trail Notes
Distance – 13.2 miles (Check out the stats from MapMyHike [Day One] [Day Two])*
Elevation Change – About 3900 feet
Difficulty – 5. This hike is no joke. The downhill areas are steepest on the Appalachian Trail coming down from Chimney Rock and the uphill on the Mau-Har trail is equally brutal.
Trail Conditions – 2.5. The trail starts off quite nicely, but once you reach Three Ridges, expect a rocky slide downhill and loose footing uphill for much of the hike. The Mau-Har Trail was pretty overgrown in places.
Views– 5. Absolutely amazing. Chimney Rock and Hanging Rock provide some of the nicest views.
Streams/Waterfalls – 3. You’ll be near a stream most of the second day and there are a few small waterfalls. The water wasn’t flowing too strongly though.
Wildlife –3. We did see a bear. Oh yeah, and the mouse ate through part of Adam’s backpack, so there is some wildlife out there.
Ease to Navigate – 4. The trails were fairly well marked and signs were at the junctions.
Solitude – 2. This is a tough hike, but it is popular for backpackers, trail runners, and day visitors to the shelters.
Directions to trailhead: On Blue Ridge Parkway, south of Humpback Rocks. Park at mile marker 13.7 at Reeds Gap in the large lot. Head south on the Appalachian Trail, marked with white blazes on a tree near the left of the open field.
This 12.6 mile hike gives you several breathtaking views to the west and a visit to an AT overnight shelter. Instead of doing our normal ‘Adam Says‘ and ‘Christine Says‘ segments, Adam is going to cover the first day and Christine will cover the second.
Christine enjoys the view from one of the Marshalls on the second day of the trip. Below: The Gravel Springs Hut; Views on the first day; Adam relaxes by the campfire.
From the Elkwallow Wayside, follow the short spur trail at the northern parking lot for .1 miles until it reaches the junction with the white-blazed Appalachian Trail. Turn right, heading north and you will almost immediately cross Skyline Drive. The trail begins to climb. At 1.4 miles, the trail crosses Skyline Drive again and continues to climb. At 2.5 miles, the climbing reaches an end as you reach the junction with the Tuscarora Trail. At mile 2.9 and mile 3.2 you will cross Skyline Drive a few more points crossing over Hogback Mountain. At the cross at mile 3.2, you are on a fire road for a very short while (that is used for people bringing in hang gliders) and the AT goes into the woods. At mile 3.4 you reach some nice views and where the hang gliders take off for a descent over the mountains. At mile 3.6, you will reach a junction with a side trail that leads to a spring. The trail begins to descend at this point. At mile 4.3, the trail begins to slightly ascend until you reach a nice viewpoint at mile 4.4. The trail descends again and crosses Skyline Drive again at mile 5.0. At mile 6.0, you reach the side trail which leads .2 miles to the Gravel Springs Hut. For the start of our second day, from the Gravel Springs Hut, rejoin the AT at 6.4 miles. At mile 6.6, the trail crosses Skyline Drive again and continues to ascend. At mile 7.4, you reach a great viewpoint on South Marshall Mountain. The trail continues to climb up and crosses Skyline Drive at mile 8.2. The trail then ascends steeply up North Marshall Mountain and leads to another nice view at 9.4. The trail ascends for another quarter of a mile and then descends steeply down the trail. The trail crosses Skyline Drive again at mile 11.0. The trail ascends over a short bubble of a hill and then reaches the Jenkins Gap Trail junction at mile 12.5. Take a right at this junction and reach the Jenkins Gap Trail parking lot at mile 12.6.
Day One – Adam Says…
I noticed the weather forecast was saying that we had a 0% chance of rain on Friday and only a 10% chance of rain on Saturday. Since we have opted to cancel a few backpacking trips recently due to rain, we felt we couldn’t resist these odds and decided to take the day off work to work on this section of the Appalachian Trail. We had bought two annual park passes last year, with one expiring at the end of May. We felt the pressure of getting this hike in since it required two vehicles for the shuttle.
Adam climbs uphill from the Elkwallow Wayside. Below: A nice view of the valley below. For some reason, Christine likes to wear backpacking clothes that don’t match; The Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah often runs within sight (or earshot) of Skyline Drive; The trail crosses and briefly follows fire roads in several spots.
It took us a while to get our act together to make sure we were ready for the trip. We started loading our packs, made sure we had instructions for our dog sitter, and picked up some lunch along the way from Subway. We drove up to drop a car off at the Jenkins Gap parking lot and then made our way back down to the Elkwallow Wayside. We ate our lunch outside and saw a few thru-hikers that we wondered if we would see later that evening. Christine was really cold sitting in the wind outside the wayside. Her legs were covered with goosebumps and she kept pulling her jacket tighter and tighter around her ribs. She told me that she was really worried about the cooler temperatures, and hoped she would warm up once we started hiking.
We finally started off on our hike around 1:30PM. We strapped on our 30 lb. packs on to our backs and started climbing up the hill. While we had been hearing the loud screams of the seventeen-year cicadas near our house, we were pleasantly surprised to hear they were not out in Shenandoah National Park. We stopped at a few points on the uphill climb to take in the views from Hogback Mountain. One nice thing about this hike is that the views were mostly on the uphill climbs, so it gives you a reason to take off your heavy pack and enjoy the scenery. A couple of thru-hikers we had seen at Elkwallow passed us near the hang glider launch. We’re always amazed at how fast they hike. I guess hiking every day has its pay-offs!
The hang-glider launch site offers a beautiful view! Below: Adam hikes uphill again near Hogback Mountain; Wildflowers blooming along the trail; Our tent site at the hut.
We made our way down the mountain at this point. Backpacking uphill seems to be where you feel the weight the most, but going downhill has its own challenges – you feel the weight differently in your legs and have to be extra careful of your footing. We made it to the Gravel Springs Hut around 4:30PM and checked out the nearby area. There weren’t any other hikers there yet, so we were wondering if we were going to have this all to ourselves that night. We scouted out some of the campsites near the shelter. There were five campsites. We started to pitch our tent at the first campsite, but we realized we wouldn’t have enough of room to put up the fly. And with the night forecast to go into the upper 30’s, we definitely wanted the extra layer of insulation on our tent. We ending up moving to the largest of the sites, but this site was more sloped. We pitched our tent so that our feet were on the lowest, downhill part of the slope. We filtered some water and I began to work on cooking dinner while Christine gathered some kindling for a campfire. In most places in Shenandoah National Park, you can’t set fires in the backcountry, but this shelter had a large stone fireplace. We ate a dinner of Backpacker’s Pantry Sweet and Sour Chicken (which was delicious and definitely something we would have again) and Natural High’s Banana Cream Pie (which we didn’t like the taste or consistency).
One of the highlights of staying at an AT shelter, is the people that you get to meet. Around 5:30, we met our first group of hikers that were planning on staying at the shelter. There was a gentleman named Don from Indiana, who had suffered a knee injury from hiking the AT previously, but was returning for a hike through Shenandoah to Harper’s Ferry to test his knee on an extended trip. He was accompanied by two brothers from Florida. The older brother, Adam had decided to introduce backpacking to his younger brother (who wasn’t enjoying it as much). The original plan was to hike the AT through SNP and return back. However, they had recently decided they would stop at Front Royal and then find a way back to Waynesboro that didn’t involve hiking. Next, two women came along and set up tents at two more of the campsites. They were out on a two night trip and had parked a car nearby so they could slackpack most of the trail. Shortly afterwards, Standing Bear arrived. Standing Bear was a thru-hiker that had started his trip from Georgia around the end of February. He told us a lot that night about how he has been attracting a lot of recent trail magic, from margaritas at a campsite to meals and lodging along the way. He told everyone that he was very good at ‘Yogi-ing‘. We then had another thru-hiker join us named Mountain Goat. When you looked at Mountain Goat’s legs, he just looked like a tough beast and he was working on trying to do over 25 miles a day to finish the trail quickly. As dusk approached, the last group of thru-hikers joined us – Rat Bucket and Sketch. They had purchased a couple of bottles of wine and were making their 6-mile trip from Elkwallow to the hut drinking wine instead of water. They were of course a little happier than most of the hikers when they arrived at the cabin. We hung out for a while, sitting around the campfire and talking about what areas the hikers had enjoyed the most (Grayson Highlands was the unanimous vote) along the way and food (which seems to be a constant discussion with thru-hikers).
Christine works on getting a fire going. She still hates her lime green Crocs. Below: Adam filters water from the spring at the shelter; Everyone congregates and cooks dinner at the picnic table in front of the shelter; Relaxing by the campfire after dinner. Everyone is usually in bed by 9:00 or so.
Around 9:00, we headed back to our tent. I continued to read my book that I have been only reading while backpacking – a book of John Muir’s writings and Christine listened to her iPod. We fell asleep to the sound of nearby owls. The slope really affected my sleeping as my fitted sheet for my air mattress kept coming off and I would wake up in fetal position at the bottom of the tent and would have to fight back up to the top.
Day Two – Christine Says…
I woke up as soon as the birds started chirping and the first hints of light filtered through the trees. It was cold, so I pulled my sleeping bag tighter around me and cinched its hood around my head. I had slept really well despite the fact I had repeatedly slid downhill to the bottom of the tent. I heard others nearby starting to stir as well – tent zippers sliding, the privy door slamming and the whoosh of camp stoves firing up. I didn’t want to leave the warmth of the tent, but I did. There’s always so much that needs done to break down camp before eating breakfast.
The table got really crowded at breakfast time, so we cooked on the little stone bench on the side of the shelter. Below: Adam checks out the trail sign showing hike options in the vicinity of Gravel Springs; Adam tucks his pants into his socks to avoid ticks; Christine and Adam on South Marshall Mountain.
Adam and I are usually pretty efficient and can have our whole campsite broken down and backpacks repacked within about half an hour. The first step is always to shove our sleeping bags back into their stuff sacks. Then we repack our sheets, crunch down our pillows and let the air out of the sleeping pads. Once the bedding is stowed away, we pack up the tent and any clothing that was left strewn about the site. Yes… we really carry all this stuff! As you might have guess, we are not lightweight backpackers. We carry a lot of creature comforts and luxury items (pillows, sheets, chairs, books, card games, etc). When we go on longer trips, we’re really going to have to reevaluate our gear and make some sacrifices. 🙂
When we walked down to breakfast, our backpacks were pretty much fully loaded and ready to go for the day. The only things left to pack were our food, dishes, stove and water filter – and we always keep those items near the top of our packs. When we got down to the hut, almost everyone was already up and working on breakfast. We got our two bags (trash and food/other stuff that has a scent) down from the bear hang and joined the rest of the group at the picnic table. Breakfast was coffee and instant apple cinnamon oatmeal. You see a lot of oatmeal and granola at backpacker breakfasts. Clif bars and bagels are pretty popular too. Although, this particular morning, one pair of hikers even had a container of fresh berries!
Adam and I were the first to leave the hut. We climbed up the short, but steep, access trail back to the AT and headed north. The early part of the morning’s hike took us past several gorgeous views from the Marshalls. We spent time at each of them, taking photos and enjoying the cool, crystal-clear morning. While we were at the first view, Rat Bucket caught up with us. We took a photo of him and he returned the favor for us before heading quickly down the trail. Once again, I marveled at the speed and distance covered by thru-hikers. Most of these folks are covering 20-28 miles a day through Shenandoah National Park.
Christine on North Marshall Mountain. Below: Views from both Marshalls were excellent; You can see Skyline Drive off in the distance; Christine scrambling around on the cliffside; Another excellent view; Adam takes in the scenery from a high perch; Checking out mileage on the trail marker.
At the next view, Mountain Goat caught up and passed us. He only briefly stopped to check out the vista. I guess when you hike big miles, you don’t have time to meander and pause at every pretty spot along the trail. While we were stopped at this spot, we had a quick snack of PowerBar Energy Blasts. They’re basically caffeinated gummy candy, but the website makes them sound like they magically give you Lance Armstrong-like endurance and help your muscles recover. Maybe they don’t do all that, but they sure do taste good! And they have sugar and caffeine – both of which seem to help me hike stronger.
At the third viewpoint, Standing Bear passed us, but we ended up leapfrogging him a little further down the trail and didn’t see him again. Nor did we see any of the other folks from the hut. All but two people staying at Gravel Springs had been northbound, so I suppose they just stayed at camp a bit later.
The trail was so beautiful and lush and green! Even when there wasn’t a view to enjoy, the hike itself was so lovely. The climbs were never too hard and the descents were never too steep. We crossed Skyline Drive several times. We saw lots of dayhikers… two of them were even dressed in their ‘Sunday Best’ clothing. They were walking south along the trail, not in the vicinity of any views or special attractions. Neither of them looked in the least bit happy and both of them looked hot and uncomfortable. I see people like that and wonder if this hike was a spontaneous decision. I wonder if they know where they’re going, or if they just set out on a trail thinking ‘Hmmm… if I walk on a trail, eventually I’ll see something!’
We saw a lot of dayhikers as we approached Jenkins Gap. Below: An old foundation along the trail; The only bear we saw on this trip came in the form of Adam in a mask at the Skyland gift shop.
We made it back to our car at Jenkins Gap around 10:30 or so. We had plans to meet my parents at Skyland for a Mother’s Day lunch at noon, so I brushed my hair and changed into my less-dirty clothes. We had plenty of time to kill, so we stopped by the Elkwallow wayside for more snacks and drinks. When we got to Skyland, it wasn’t even 11:30, so we relaxed in the lobby until they arrived. We had a nice lunch together and then headed home. It was a fun trip, and I can’t believe we only have several more miles of Appalachian Trail to hike in Shenandoah!
Trail Notes
Distance – 12.6 miles
Elevation Change – 1900 feet.
Difficulty – 3. Despite the two big climbs of elevation, we didn’t feel that it was overly difficult.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail was in great condition and was well-maintained. There were only a few rocky areas that you had to worry about footing.
Views– 4.5. We were impressed with the views along this section. The best views were from South Marshall Mountain, but there were probably 4-5 areas to take in the expansive views.
Streams/Waterfalls – 0. There were no streams or rivers nearby, but there was a reliable water source at Gravel Springs Hut.
Wildlife – 3. Someone had written in the hut trail journal they had seen a few bears on the way down to the hut that day. We did see a deer and the woods were filled with pileated woodpeckers, owls, and other birds.
Ease to Navigate – 4. There are some side trails, but just consult the cement posts to keep following the Appalachian Trail.
Solitude – 3. We ran into most of the people around the Jenkins Gap to North Marshall mountain. I would imagine this would be fairly popular since it is closer to the northern end of Shenandoah National Park.
Directions to trailhead: Park one vehicle at the Jenkins Gap lot at mile 12 on Skyline Drive. Then travel down south to mile 24 at Elkwallow Gap Wayside. The spur trail to the Appalachian Trail starts from the northern parking lot.
This post covers the ten miles from Powell Gap to Loft Mountain, with an overnight stop at the Pinefield Hut. Sleeping inside a hut is typically something reserved for people out on multi-night trips, so we tented in a spot uphill from the hut. Hut sites offer the convenience of a spring-fed water source or stream (usually), a picnic table to cook on, a place to have a campfire (the only permissible place in Shenandoah’s backcountry) and access to a privy (no catholes to dig).
There was a nice group of eight people camping in or around the Pinefield Hut – our stop for the night. Below: Pretty mountain layers as seen from the Ivy Creek overlook; Our tent site was on a hill above the hut. You can see the roof of the hut through the trees; Adam climbing the trail upwards from Simmons Gap.
Adam and Christine Say …
We’ve found that with our backpacking trips, it’s usually easier to combine our thoughts into one large post. Here we go!
Even though this backpacking trip was scheduled weeks ago, we weren’t sure until the last minute that we were actually going to pull it off. It rained all week, Adam was having back spasms, our friends couldn’t make the trip and we were both coming off a particularly busy week at work. Sitting in the air-conditioned house, pajama-clad, and watching TV from the couch seemed quite a bit more appealing than heading out into the damp, buggy woods with 30+ pounds of gear strapped to our backs.
The thing that ultimately tipped the scale in favor of hitting the trail for an overnighter was actually all the 9/11 anniversary coverage. When Friday morning rolled around, Christine was feeling overwhelmingly sad. All week long, virtually every news outlet had been covering 9/11 – bringing all the horrific imagery and stories back to the forefront. Remembering and paying tribute is important to her, and she felt drawn to having a quiet, peaceful place to reflect without seeing any more images of people dying or cities burning. We both wanted to be in the woods – away from the TV, away from the internet, away from the radio.
Adam takes in the view after the first climb out of Powell Gap. Below: There is not a paved parking lot at Powell Gap. Instead, you can leave a car in the grassy field next to the trail entrance.
We had a leisurely Saturday morning. Christine made a big breakfast with eggs and biscuits (for Adam), blueberry pancakes (for herself) and bacon (for both of us). After cleaning up dishes, Christine packed our camp food into Ziploc bags and put together bathroom kits. Adam worked on loading our backpacks. We decided to eat lunch at home and then headed off to the park around 1:00. We chose to hike south along the Appalachian Trail from Powell Gap to Loft Mountain, with an overnight stop at the Pinefield Hut. We brought two cars into the park to make the trip logistically easier, parking the return car at the Loft Mountain wayside.
We left one car in the grassy field next to the trail entrance at Powell Gap. After doing last minute pack checks, we headed off. The trail climbs immediately upward from the gap. You gain about 300 feet in just a few tenths of a mile. Within the first half mile, you pass a pretty eastern-facing view of the valley below. We stopped and made some pack adjustments. Adam insisted on taking over the burden of carrying our extra water. The south district of Shenandoah is famously dry, so we hauled a 3 liter Nalgene canteen so we’d have plenty of water for cooking and hiking on Sunday. Even with all the rain, we weren’t sure if the spring at the hut would be running. Christine bickered with Adam over the extra weight of the water, because she didn’t want him to make his back pain worse. In the end, he won and we headed down the trail with the extra 6.6 pounds of water hooked and freely swinging from a carabiner on the back of his pack. He was definitely carrying too much and it did slow his pace down a bit!
We spotted a young bear on a hillside before the descent to Simmons Gap. Below: Stopping for a snack and map break at the Simmons Gap crossing; Our trekking poles make backpacking trips so much easier; Monarch butterflies were everywhere!
The Appalachian Trail between Powell Gap and Pinefield Hut is pretty uneventful. There are a few road crossings, several climbs and descents, and just the one open view. Most of the trail is just typical walking along a forest trail – pretty, but not remarkable.
On the descent toward Simmons Gap, a black shape caught Christine’s eye. She turned back and mouthed ‘BEAR!’ to Adam. Sure enough, a handsome yearling bear was perched on the hillside, quietly watching us pass. She managed to get an OK photo of the bear, but he was really too far up the hillside for our pocket camera’s zoom capabilities. We stood still and had a little stare-down with the bear for a few moments before he turned and lumbered up the hill. We’ve decided the park has two kinds of bears: 1) indifferent bears and 2) scared bears. The scared bears run as soon as a human comes into view. Indifferent bears may cast you a sidelong glance, but otherwise ignore you and continue along with whatever they were doing before you spotted them. We like the indifferent bears; they’re easier to photograph! We’ve never come across an aggressive bear in Shenandoah – thankfully.
At the trail crossing near the Simmons Gap Ranger Station, we stopped and had a snack of cashews. The cement post indicated that we had 2.2 miles to cover before reaching Pinefield Hut. We figured we’d make it there well before dinner time. As we were sitting on the grass eating cashews, another backpacker came up to us and asked which way it was to reach Brown Gap. We pointed the way (12 miles to the south), rested for a few more minutes and then continued. The trail climbing out of Simmons Gap was probably the hardest climbing of the day, but still fairly moderate. Christine noticed that Adam was really struggling with his pack weight, so we made some more adjustments and she took the big Nalgene canteen back.
We saw this timber rattler after climbing out of Simmons Gap. Below: A good look at the rattle.
As we continued climbing, we spotted the hiker headed toward Brown Gap stopped in the middle of the trail. We didn’t see anything, so we continued climbing until we were right behind him. He turned and said ‘There’s a rattlesnake on the trail!’ Christine replied ‘Ooooh, where?’ But as soon as she peered over his shoulder, she immediately saw the large snake laid out, almost completely spanning the trail. He wasn’t moving or rattling. We speculated that maybe he was dead or in a state of torpor. We stood and looked at him for a good five minutes. Finally Adam climbed off the side of the trail, making a wide arc around the snake (since he is definitely more fearful of snakes than Christine). Christine followed suit, as did the other hiker. As soon as we all passed, the snake slowly slithered off the trail and coiled up in the leaves about a foot off the path. We got a few exciting photos of the snake before we headed off to finish our climb uphill.
Eventually the trail leveled off for a while before gently descending to Pinefield Gap. Climbing downhill, we both noticed how much bear scat there was along the trail. This area obviously has a pretty healthy population of black bears. After one final road crossing, we had just two tenths of a mile left until we got to the shelter.
Pinefield Shelter lies just a couple hundred yards off the AT. As we were walking down the side path to the shelter, we heard voices and laughter. We were greeted at the shelter by six other hikers – a mix of thru-hikers, section hikers and weekenders. Peak use of AT shelters happens May- June, so we were a little surprised to see so many people at Pinefield. Everyone was really friendly and they already had a great campfire going. We chose a tent site up the steep hill behind the shelter.
We quickly set up the tent, inflated our sleeping pads and fluffed our bags before heading back down to the shelter to socialize and cook dinner. We had a repeat favorite dinner from Backpacker’s Pantry – Pad Thai and Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert. Two of the others hikers in for the night, Brendan and Ayla, had purchased a bag of marshmallows and were roasting them over the fire. Talk centered heavily on food for much of the evening. If there is one thing hikers have in common, it’s hunger! We set our camp chairs near the fire and enjoyed an evening of conversation and a little music. Ayla had a flute and Brendan carried a small guitar. It was a pleasant evening, and you really can’t beat a good campfire!
Adam relaxes by the fire. Below: A comparison – the first photo is the park’s representation of Appalachian Trail backpackers. The second and third photos are what backpackers really look like! Sometime soon, I think Adam and I are going to pose to recreate the park’s image – spacy expressions and all!
Sometime after dark, we climbed back up the hill to our tent by the light of Adam’s headlamp. Christine listened to the new book in the Game of Thrones series on her iPod and Adam continued to read his John Muir book. As we relaxed in the tent, we began to notice that our tent site wasn’t quite flat. It was on just enough of a slope that you can feel, even if you can’t see it!
Christine had a decent night of sleep – occasionally waking to the hoot of an owl or the sound of Adam thrashing around next to her. He didn’t sleep well at all! He still hasn’t figured out the best way to get comfortable with his sleeping set-up. In the morning, everything had shifted to the downhill side of the tent. Adam was crammed up along the tent wall and Christine was practically on top of him!
Almost everyone was up early, cooking breakfast and packing up their gear. We took down our tent and shoved everything back into our packs. We fired up our JetBoil and made oatmeal and coffee. We didn’t even use all the extra water we had hauled down to camp, so we shared with everyone else. Incidentally, the spring was running at Pinefield so we didn’t even need to carry all that extra water. Oh well… better safe than sorry.
Our second day of hiking was a little tougher, but a little more rewarding in terms of views and scenery. Ivy Creek, which we passed near the end of the hike, was actually running much more than usual Our packs were lighter, since most of the food and water were gone. The forest was beautiful and misty, with golden sunrays cutting down between the trees. Spider webs covered with dew glistened in the morning sun. We crossed paths with the hiker we had met at Simmons Gap the day before. He was headed north, and looking for water. We were kind of surprised, because he must have passed at least three decent water sources that morning returning from Brown Gap.
We got a great view of Skyline Drive and the mountains beyond on our second day. This view looks to the west. Below: Morning fog created some nice sunrays in the forest; Ivy Creek was running nicely; Spider webs glistening in the morning light.
We reached the junction of the AT and the trail down to the Ivy Creek maintenance building around 10:15 a.m. It was a quick downhill walk of .6 miles back to Skyline Drive. We got to the Loft Mountain Wayside around 10:30. Even though it was still on the early side, we wanted lunch! The cook behind the counter was nice enough to make us fries and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches even though they were technically still serving breakfast. It really hit the spot!
After lunch we passed through the gift shop and picked up a couple 75th Anniversary Shenandoah souvenirs – a magnet and a Christmas ornament. We’d been meaning to get something from the anniversary all season. Park shops are only open for a few more weeks, so we figured it was now or never.
Lunch at the Loft Mountain Wayside. Below: Our hike down to Skyline Drive from the Appalachian Trail took us past the PATC’s Ivy Creek trail maintenance building; Adam crosses Skyline Drive and heads toward the Loft Mountain Wayside where we left our car. Unfortunately, someone whacked our car pretty hard while we were away. We have a huge dent and a paintless streak on the passenger side now. Boo!
We were back home before 1:00, which was perfect! We had the rest of the day to relax and clean up before heading back to work on Monday.
Trail Notes
Distance –10 miles
Elevation Change – 2500 feet over five different climbs
Difficulty – 3. Mostly uphill climbing on this hike.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail was in pretty good shape. Some areas were slightly overgrown and there were a few tree blowdowns, but otherwise, it was fine.
Views– 3.5. Some nice eastern views on the climb up from Powell Gap and nice western views near the Rockytop overlook.
Wildlife – 4. We saw many signs of bears along the trail (and saw one), we saw our first timber rattlesnake, and several pileated woodpeckers.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Not many turns on the Appalachian Trail, but a few turns to make it to the Loft Mountain wayside.
Solitude – 4. You will likely see people near Powell Gap and Loft Mountain, but not a lot in between.
Directions to trailhead: Mile 70 on Skyline Drive, park in the large field. You’ll see the post for the Appalachian Trail from the lot and head south.
The Fisher Springs Run – Rohrbaugh Plains hike is a five mile out-and-back that leads to spectacular wilderness views from a cliffside.
Rohrbaugh Cliffs at Sunset. Below: Gearing up at the car before starting the hike; Making the short walk down Forest Road 75; Adam points out our route on the trail sign.
Christine and Adam Say…
For this particular post, we decided to team up and write one massive post, instead of the normal ‘He Says, She Says’ versions. Enjoy!)
Last year, we participated in a Potomac Appalachian Trail Club workshop called Backpacking 101 (read part one, part two, and part three). Initially, we were scheduled to do an overnight trip to the Dolly Sods Wilderness as a ‘graduation’ from our class. Sadly, we ended up missing that trip because Christine’s ankle sprain still hadn’t healed enough for the rigors of backpacking. While the make-up trip we eventually did to Hazel Mountain in Shenandoah National Park was great, we still wanted to do an overnight trip in Dolly Sods.
Dolly Sods is such a unique area for the mid-Atlantic region. It’s the only area close to us with a sub-Arctic tundra climate – loaded with heath barrens, blueberry bushes, acidic bogs and coniferous forest. You feel like you’re somewhere far north of West Virginia when you visit this wilderness area.
The route we chose through Dolly Sods was of a length and difficulty we would typically choose for an easy day hike. (5 miles with 900 feet of elevation change) But we decided it would be fun to do an easy hike and enjoy camping at one of the most beautiful sites in the entire Monongahela National Forest’s wilderness area.
We also were lucky to have some awesome company for this trip. In Backpacking 101, we met a nice couple – Suzanne and Anthony. We enjoyed hanging out with them on our class trip to Hazel Mountain and had stayed in touch with them ever since. We tried planning trips together a couple times, but until this trip our schedules just hadn’t matched up. We were thrilled when plans finally came together for this Fourth of July weekend trip.
Day One:
Suzanne and Anthony drove down to our house on Friday night so we would have time to go through all our gear before getting an early(ish) start on Saturday morning. We spent most of the evening fiddling with our packs, splitting up shared gear and contemplating how many Clif bars we truly needed to survive our expedition. That evening, it looked like an REI store exploded in our basement. We laughed about how much stuff we had to pack for just one night of camping. We ran through our checklist to make sure we had everything – stove, tent, sleeping bag, clothes, food, emergency kit, etc.
On Saturday, we had a big breakfast and were out the door a little after 9:30. We didn’t make it to the trailhead until after 1:00. We made a stop at Seneca Rocks Visitor’s Center and ended up buying another trail guide and a new map for West Virginia hiking. (Not for use on this trip, but just to have for the future.) We also stopped at the Subway in Franklin, WV to grab sandwiches to have for lunch on the trail.
When we got to the Fisher Springs Run trailhead, the parking lot was overflowing with cars. A couple people had decided to park sideways in the lot instead of straight-on, so they took up space that could have accommodated five or six more cars. It was a little annoying and worrisome – would we get out to Rohrbaugh Cliffs and find all the prime campsites already occupied? We ended up parking a short distance down Forest Road 75, in a patch of dirt just wide enough to get our car off the road.
The forest floor was a sea of ferns. Below: Adam hikes along the Fisher Springs Run Trail; The trail junction of Fisher Springs and Rohrbaugh Plains; Subway for lunch; Our huge pile of packs; Adam traverses a rocky section of trail, Suzanne crosses a small stream.
We found space to shove the sandwiches into Suzanne’s pack, slathered ourselves with sunscreen and bug spray, and got to the business of walking. Almost immediately after stepping off the dusty, gravel forest road onto the trail, we found ourselves ensconced in a cool, lush, green forest. Ferns spread across the ground for as far as the eye could see. The trail descended gradually, occasionally crossing small, mostly dry streams. The trail got rockier as we followed it for a little over a mile to its junction with the Rohrbaugh Plains trail. We stopped at the trail junction and ate our lunch. We chatted with a passing backpacker who was doing a 19-mile loop through Dolly Sods. She was on a solo trip and told us she was headed down into the Red Creek basin. We asked her if she had noticed many camps set up near the cliffs. She said she hadn’t seen anyone, so we took that as a hopeful sign.
After lunch, we took a left onto the Rohrbaugh Plains trail. The trail at this point was all rocks. They almost looked fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle. Almost immediately after the rocky patch, we dipped deeply into a ravine with a pretty flowing stream. It was a perfect water source for backpacking. We figured that in the worst case scenario, we could hike back to this point to fetch water for cooking and cleaning at camp.
The last 1.2 miles to our campsite ascended ever so slightly, winding past giant mossy boulders and through dense thickets of rhododendron. With about a half mile to go, we passed another trail junction with the Wildlife Trail. Taking the Wildlife Trail to the Rohrbaugh Plains trail is probably the most popular route for day hikers to reach Rohrbaugh Cliffs. After this trail junction, we crossed a swampy, muddy area and walked across a grassy meadow. A couple tenths of a mile past the meadow, we came to a beautiful clearing where we ended up making camp.
Crossing the meadow. Below: Christine and Adam’s camp; Adam collects water for cooking and cleaning; Anthony and Suzanne’s camp.
There were so many soft, flat spots that were perfect for our tents! We chose a couple spots located out of sight of the trail. We had a fire pit, a nice place for cooking, a view and shady trees. It was nothing short of perfect.
It felt great to shed our packs and get to work setting up camp. Our Mountain Hardwear tent (the Drifter 3) is super-simple and was pitched in just a few moments. While Adam worked on staking the tent, Christine inflated our Big Agnes pads. We put them in the tent along with our sleeping bags, so they’d have some time to re-fluff after being compressed in stuff sacks all day.
On this backpacking trip, we had a few new and exciting ‘creature comforts’. Since our last backpacking trip, we acquired Alite camp chairs. They’re so comfortable and lightweight! We also both got the large Thermarest pillows. They’re really bulky and take up a ton of pack space, but they’re very lightweight and make a world’s difference for getting comfortable at night. Christine also brought a fitted sheet for her sleeping pad. Even though the sheet is made by Thermarest, it fits the Big Agnes pad perfectly. A sheet is not a necessity, but it definitely improves the texture and breathability of your sleeping pad. Christine especially hates feeling clammy or slippery when she’s trying to sleep, so having the sheet made a huge difference. Neither of us actually sleep inside our sleeping bag unless it’s freezing cold. We prefer to open our bags up and use them like quilts.
After we finished setting up our tent, we carried our cooking stuff down to our kitchen area. We also pulled out all our ‘smellables’ and set them aside so they could easily be stowed away in our hanging bear bag. Christine found a couple branch stubs to hang our trekking poles and our packs. We both covered our packs with garbage bags in case it rained overnight.
Anthony and Suzanne were still working on getting there camp set up, so we decided to go on a water run. We hadn’t passed a better water source after the stream near the trail junction, so we took our collapsible bucket and headed back down the trail. Filling up was easy, but getting two gallons of water in a soft-sided bucket back to camp without spilling anything over a 1.2 mile distance was substantially trickier! We were very thankful we went as a pair to get water, because it was nice to trade off carrying the bucket. We joked that it was like being in a challenge on some adventure reality show. We made it back without much spillage at all! (Note: We hiked this trail as a dayhike in 2014 and found a closer water source just a few hundred yards past where we stopped to camp… so you don’t have to hike back like we did!)
When we got back, Anthony and Suzanne were all set up, so we decided to walk a few hundred feet further down the trail to explore the cliffs. Rohrbaugh Cliffs were spectacular. The view into the valley below was all wilderness – not a single road or farm or house – just mountains and streams for as far as the eye could see.
Adam on Rohrbaugh Cliffs. Below: Wild, ripe blueberries; A cute frog that visited our camp; Rosebay Rhododendron were in bloom; Our group on Rohrbaugh Cliffs; A couple more views of the cliffside.
We visited the area at a truly beautiful time of year. The Rosebay Rhododendrons were just starting to bloom. The mountain laurel was a bit past peak, but there were still plenty of flowers to enjoy. And best of all WILD BLUEBERRIES were everywhere along the cliffs! Suzanne and Christine were significantly more excited about the berries than the guys and spent a lot of time searching for ripe berries tucked into the bushes.
Most of the late afternoon was spent relaxing near camp and getting dinner ready. Around 5:30, Adam got out the JetBoil and boiled water for all of our dinners. We had wanted to come up with some homemade backpacking recipes, but never got our act together. Adam and Christine ended up eating Backpacker’s Pantry Chicken Risotto with Mocha Mousse Pie for dessert. It was satisfying and very filling! Anthony and Suzanne had macaroni and cheese and blueberry cobbler from some backpacking meal company (AlpineAire) none of us had heard of before. They were pretty happy with their dinner, too.
Chef Adam filters and boils water for dinner. Below: Chicken Risotto for dinner; Anthony and Suzanne relax after dinner; Playing Monopoly on the cliffs; Hanging our bear bag.
We cleaned up our dishes, brushed our teeth (We love Colgate Wisps for backpacking) and hoisted our bear bag into the highest, safest tree we could find. We decided to play cards and watch sunset from the cliffs. We found a big flat rock near the edge and played the card version of Monopoly. The game took a long time, and Adam eventually won. The sky turned to hues of pink and soft purple and the sun dipped down behind the mountains. It was so beautiful!
Shortly before full dark, a couple more groups of backpackers showed up – maybe five people and two dogs. They set up their camps down the trail from us. So even though we weren’t the only people up there, we still felt like we had a good measure of solitude. It definitely was not the situation we feared when we saw the packed parking lot at the trailhead. We’re guessing most of the other backpackers ended up along Red Creek.
Once the sun was down, we all retreated to our tents. Christine listened to a book on her iPod for a while. By the light of his headlamp, Adam enjoyed reading some of his book by John Muir. He’s been reading this book exclusively on backpacking trips. It’s a nice tribute to read something by the ultimate outdoorsman while having our own experience with nature.
Christine started getting really sleepy, so she stowed her iPod away and dozed off, only to be woken almost immediately by the sound of fireworks in the valley below. We think we heard fireworks shows from three different locations, because there were definitely three distinct grand finales. The booming sounds and bursts of light in the sky came from different directions, too. We contemplated leaving our tent and going back out to the cliffs to see if we could see the fireworks from above, but we ended up staying put. Christine didn’t feel like getting dressed again. When all was said and done, we kind of regretted not going back out to see the fireworks.
Eventually the fireworks drew to a close, and Christine drifted back to sleep. Unfortunately, Adam did not sleep that well on this trip. He was physically comfortable, but he just wasn’t tired enough to sleep soundly. Going to bed shortly after sunset just isn’t what his body is used to, so he did a lot of tossing and turning during the night.
Our sunset card game. Below: Layers of mountains frame the Red Creek Valley; We had a pretty sunset; Suzanne takes a few final photos of the evening sky.
Around 2:30 a.m., Adam shook Christine awake to close the rainfly on the tent – a storm was approaching. Christine stumbled and grumbled and totally failed at closing the fly. Adam had to crawl over her to get both sides of the tent closed. Christine completely lacks dexterity when she’s half asleep. The storm never really materialized beyond some lightning and wind. We both fell back to sleep and didn’t wake up again until about 6:15. Christine said it was the best night of sleep she’s ever had in a tent.
Day Two
Shortly after sunrise, we got out of the tent and took a walk over to the cliffs. Christine thought there might be some pretty morning light, but it was completely cloudy. Back at camp, we started breaking down our tent, deflating our sleeping pads and re-stuffing our sleeping bags. We got the bear bag down and got everything ready to cook breakfast.
Christine tried Starbuck’s instant coffee, Via, for the first time. It was surprisingly delicious. Once she added sweetener and powdered Coffeemate, it tasted almost identical to a cup of brewed coffee. In addition to coffee, we had boxes of apple-grape juice and instant maple-brown sugar oatmeal. We figured that would be plenty of food to give us energy for the short hike out.
After everyone was done with breakfast, we finished packing up and cleaning up our camp area. We were back on the trail by 8:45. Our exit route simply retraced the trail we had hiked in. We were back at the car by 10:15.
Breaking camp in the morning. Below: Fat Boy’s Pork Palace for lunch!
On the way home, we stopped at Fat Boy’s Pork Palace (now permanently closed) for lunch. With a name like that, you know it’s going to have perfect options for a post-backpacking calorie splurge! We enjoyed BBQ sandwiches with coleslaw and French fries. Suzanne got breakfast and Anthony got a burger. It was all delicious!
Once we were back at our house, we split up our group gear and saw Anthony and Suzanne on their way. Christine said her post-backpacking shower might have been one of the best showers of her entire life. It always feels awesome to wash away DEET, sunscreen and sweat!
We all had a great time on the trip. We’re already trying to plan our next backpacking adventure for some time in September! Although, it’s going to be hard to top the scenery at Dolly Sods!
Trail Notes
Distance – 5.2 miles total
Elevation Change – 900 feet. The Fisher Springs Run trail descends about 500 feet and the Rohraugh Plains ascends about 400 feet.
Difficulty – 2. The hike was not that difficult, even with 35 pounds on my back.
Trail Conditions –2.5. The Fisher Spring Run trail was well-maintained, but there are lots of rocky spots on the Rohrbaugh trail where you could turn your ankle.
Views–5. The views from Rohrbaugh cliffs were quite spectacular and it was nice to see the sun disappear over the mountains.
Wildlife – 1. We were expecting to see some wildlife up here, but we didn’t see anything other than squirrels, frogs and some birds. We did wake up to the sounds of dark-eyed juncos in the morning.
Ease to Navigate – 3.5. There are not any blazes on trails at Dolly Sods, but the trails are very well-defined and signs are in place to mark junctions. Stay on the trail as much as possible and you won’t have any trouble. I can imagine that when leaves fall and cover the trail in the fall, it would be more challenging to find the trail.
Solitude –4. On a nice day, you may see some people at the overlook.
Directions to trailhead: From Seneca Rocks, go North on WV 28 for 12 miles. Take a left on Jordan Run Road. Go one mile up Jordan Run Road and take a left on to Forest Road 19. In 6 miles, Forest Road 19 comes to a T on to Forest Road 75. Take a right, heading north on Forest Road 75. Drive for three miles until reaching the small parking lot and the trailhead for Fisher Springs Run.
Virginia Trail Guide 
