long hike – Page 8 – Virginia Trail Guide

Appalachian Trail – Loft Mountain to Brown Gap

October 16, 2011June 11, 20121 Comment

This 7.1 mile hike picks up right where we left off on our last Appalachian Trail segment. It turned out to be an easy section of hiking with many sweeping, panoramic views.

The View from Atop Loft Mountain — The view from Loft Mountain is one of the nicest in the park. Below: Wookie perches on the tool chest at the Ivy Creek maintenance hut; Taking in the view from the first eastern-facing overlook. You’ll pass this spot on the initial climb up Loft Mountain.

Christine Says…

When we got to the Loft Mountain Wayside to begin our hike, the temperature was hovering right around 40 degrees and the wind was howling through the trees, making it feel quite a bit colder! I donned a fleece pullover, gloves and a hat for the first time since last winter. It was kind of nice to bundle up for a change. I actually enjoy cold weather and snow (although I dislike the short, dark days and bare-limbed trees that winter brings.) This was the valley’s first real cold-snap of the fall season, and I was glad we had a chance to get out for another hike. Since the hike was not too long or hard, we brought our pug, Wookie, along for the trek.

The hike started off with a climb back up the Patterson Ridge trail and past the Ivy Creek Maintenance Hut to reach the point of the Appalachian Trail where our last segment left off. Most of the early part of this section is a gradual hike up Loft Mountain. After about a half mile of walking, I had already warmed up enough to ditch the hat and gloves. Climbing uphill is a great way to heat yourself!

Christine and Wookie enjoy the windy view on Loft Mountain. Below: From Loft Mountain you get nice views of Massanutten peak and Skyline Drive; Wookie stays hydrated.

I went into this section only expecting two nice views – the same ones we had seen when we hiked the Loft Mountain Loop a couple years ago. So, I was pleasantly surprised that the open vistas occurred pretty regularly throughout the entire distance of the hike. Instead of cutting a straight line through the middle of the camping area, the Appalachian Trail swings a wide arc around the area, adding distance but keeping the trail more scenic. In fact, some of the nicest views came from rocky ledges not far off the trail behind the Loft Mountain campground.

When we got to one of the overlooks near the campground, and I had a vivid flashback to my childhood. My family camped at Loft frequently when I was in elementary school. I remember our run-down, brown pop-up camper and the smell of bacon cooking over the campfire in the mornings. I remember my dad’s goofy-scary ghost stories, making s’mores and going for family hikes on the AT. So many fond recollections! But this rocky overlook stirred a memory that wasn’t so pleasant! I remember once when I was maybe seven or so, my parents let my brother and I go unsupervised to the overlook. It was only a hundred or so yards from our campsite and we were well within earshot of mom and dad. For some reason, I decided to sit right on the edge of the rock shelf and dangle my feet over the edge. It was all lots of fun, until it was time to swing my legs around and stand back up. When I tried to get up, I couldn’t do it. I was suddenly and utterly paralyzed with a fear of falling off that rock ledge. I screamed and cried and sent my brother running to get my dad. He dashed down, grabbed me under my armpits and yanked me back from the edge. I had really forgotten about that moment until we passed the spot on this hike. Looking at it again, it wasn’t quite as scary or precipitous as I remembered.

This tree looked like one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ents (see the eyes, nose and mouth?) Below: Butterflies were abundant, but they were all weak and slow due to the cold temperatures.

After leaving the Loft Mountain area, the trail is really easy. It’s either downhill or relatively flat for the remainder of the miles. We covered the distance at a really good clip. We passed quite a few other people out dayhiking – especially in the vicinity of the Doyles River-Jones Run trail. We saw a lot of dogs out hiking, too. All but two were leashed! This was unusual and very welcome! Wookie is always one of the smallest dogs on the trail, and big dogs sort of frighten him a bit when they come bounding up freely.

Near the end of the hike, the trail crosses a scenic overlook along Skyline Drive. Basically, you walk across the overlook and pick the trail back up on the south end of the paved area. A few tenths of a mile after that, the trail crosses to the west side of the Drive for the last mile of walking.

Our other vehicle was parked at the end of the segment – in the Brown Gap parking area. Good hike!

Adam says…

This section of the Appalachian Trail can look misleading on a map. On the road, it passes from mile marker 79 to 83, but the distance is longer on the actual trail since this section separates from the road to the east and winds around Loft Mountain and the Loft Mountain campground before rejoining the proximity of Skyline Drive again. We left one vehicle at Brown Gap and parked our first vehicle at Loft Mountain.

Behind the Loft Mountain Campground — Some great views are a short walk from the Loft Mountain Campground. Below: Another nice view; Walking through the fallen leaves.

To make sure we cover every inch of the AT through SNP, we started off our trail by going down the fire road on the north side of the Loft Mountain wayside, across from the street. You hurdle a small chain blocking off the fire road and then shortly take a right to head down the fire road. You will pass the Ivy Creek Maintenance Hut and spring after about .3 miles. At .6 miles, this fire road joins the white-blazed Appalachian Trail. Take a right to head south and begin your climb up Loft Mountain. At 1.1 miles, you reach a nice view to the east and at 1.6 miles you reach a few nice views to the west (along with an intersection with the Frazier Discovery Trail). The trail then begins to take on a quick descent from Loft Mountain. At 2.7 miles, you reach a post that shows a short side-trail to reach the Loft Mountain camp store. At this point, you will begin to make your way around the Loft Mountain campground. There are even a few trails to the campground, but you will see tents on a busy weekend through the trees. Around 4.0 miles, you will also find some nice views if you step out on to the rocks near the campsites. The trail begins to descend again. At 6.1 miles, you will cross Skyline Drive and at 7.1 miles you should reach your vehicle at the Brown Gap parking lot.

Wookie Post Hike — Wookie was pretty happy with the hike. Below: As soon as the car started moving, he fell asleep.

This section of the AT had several great viewpoints. The views from the top of Loft Mountain are in my opinion the best views from hiking in the southern section of SNP. You’ll get to see views of mountains for miles and you can even glimpse Skyline Drive snaking through the mountain ridge. It was also great to smell campfires from the Loft Mountain campground. The smell of campfires on a cool day defines outdoors in the fall to me.

The day that we hiked this section happened to be JMU’s Homecoming. Since we graduated from there a while ago, most of our close friends no longer return. So, we typically try to avoid Harrisonburg that weekend, since it is packed with people at the restaurants, grocery stores, etc. When we were just about a mile from the end of our hike, a group was coming up the trail and I heard someone say “Adam”. It turned out to be a student assistant for our office and one of our JMU tour guides (of which, I used to serve as an adviser). He was backpacking for a few days with some other students in his law program at the College of William & Mary. It was great to catch up with him for a few minutes and it gave me a sense that we had our own version of Homecoming out on the trail.

Wookie Says…

It was great to get outside and do a hike. On most trails, I tend to not be very confident with where I’m going. I typically have Christine walk me, but I heel closely right behind her ankles with Adam walking behind. This gives me a good buffer against anything we may come across on the trail. But, if we are doing an out-and-back hike, on our return trip I remember where we’ve gone before, so I’ll walk proudly in front. Since we did this with one car serving as a shuttle, I stayed in the middle on the hike.

The hike wasn’t too tough, since I’m in pretty good shape for a pug. However, with about 1.5 miles left I started kicking my back foot out a little and was kind of limping along. When Adam noticed this, we stopped. It turns out I just had some mud between my pads which was making me step a little funny. They don’t make hiking shoes for dogs like me, so occasionally this happens.

I did enjoy this hike, taking in the views and sniffing near the campgrounds for the smells of hot dogs cooking on the fire. When we stopped for a quick break, I even found some peanuts on one of the rocks, left behind by some careless hiker. I tried to wolf down before Adam & Christine noticed, but they were quick to grab me before I did. I did have a few bowls of water to keep me hydrated and I got to eat some extra food when I got home.

Trail Notes

Distance – 7.1 miles
Elevation Change – about 800 feet
Difficulty – 2. The hike was really pretty easy, but 7 miles might be long for some people.
Trail Conditions – 4. The Appalachian Trail is typically in good shape, but this section was especially nice and not too rocky at all.
Views – 5. Many excellent places to take in the scenery below.
Streams/Waterfalls – 0. None
Wildlife – 1. We didn’t see anything beyond birds and squirrels.
Ease to Navigate – 4.5. Just follow the white blazes and sign posts. The trail is very direct. When crossing parking lots and the Skyline Drive, keep your eyes peeled for cement trail markers to continue your hike.
Solitude – 2. This hike passes Loft Mountain Campground and the very popular Doyles River-Jones Run trail, so you’ll like see quite a few people.

Directions to trailhead: Park one vehicle at Brown Gap, near mile marker 83 on Skyline Drive. Then drive up to the Loft Mountain wayside, near mile marker 79 on Skyline Drive. The trail begins across the street on the north side of the wayside.

Appalachian Trail – Powell Gap to Loft Mountain

September 25, 2011May 7, 20124 Comments

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).

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.

Powell Gap View — 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!

Young Bear — 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.

Timber Rattlesnake — 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 By the Fire — 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.

View of Skyline Drive — 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.

Old Rag – via Weakley Hollow

September 13, 2011August 26, 201513 Comments

We hope you enjoyed our Acadia series… but now it’s time to get back to Virginia hiking. We decided resume our normal posts with an exceedingly well-known mountain – Old Rag. This 8.8 mile loop hike is Shenandoah’s most popular hike. It’s so well-loved and traveled that the official Shenandoah website has a whole section dedicated to hiking this mountain. [View NPS Map for this hike]

Note: Some of the NPS website details (and mileage markers along the actual trail) were a little outdated as of summer 2011, as they refer to the hike distance before the park service closed the upper parking lot in April of 2010.

Nearing the Summit of Old Rag — Large boulders near the summit of Old Rag. Below: Adam walking along the road headed toward the Ridge Trail’s start; Views from the summit of Old Rag; Adam drops down into a narrow passage between the rocks.

Christine Says…

After two and a half years, we’re finally getting around to covering Virginia’s most popular, most well-known hike – Old Rag. I’ll make an outright confession. Old Rag, as beloved as it might be by (seemingly) everyone else, is not my favorite hike. But, when you have a Virginia hiking website, you’re practically obligated to have a write up about this mountain. So, on to the post!

We’d been tossing around the idea of hiking Old Rag for the blog for well over a year. Adam would suggest it and I’d invariably tell him that it was too hot, too cold, possibly wet and slippery, I heard there was ice, my feet hurt, I don’t feel like driving that far, etc. Basically, I floated every excuse in the book to delay the hike. But then I went and did something incredibly stupid and it really blew up in my face! I had a day off work coming up. It was going to be a beautiful August day – crisp and unseasonably cool! I had visions of getting up early, doing a photo shoot in the park, maybe eating some donuts and then taking myself to a matinee movie. But before I could stop myself, I found that I had blurted out “Tomorrow would be a GREAT day to hike Old Rag!” I assumed this was purely hypothetical because Adam had to work. But he immediately responded “Yeah! Let’s go! I’m taking tomorrow off too!” Ugh – I didn’t see that one coming! I don’t like to back out on plans, so the next morning we were up before dawn, snacks stashed and Camelbaks filled.

We got to the parking lot before 8:00 a.m.. Getting to Old Rag early is something I consider to be a necessity. The trail is always crowded – even on weekdays. The Old Rag parking lot is actually my first point of contention with the hike. It used to be if you got up early, you could always get a parking spot in the small upper parking area located right at the trailhead. In April of 2010, a couple years after our last hike up Old Rag (fall of 2008 – see photos), the park service closed the upper lot to all vehicles. Now, all vehicles must park in the lower lot, which is just a shade under a mile from the trailhead. The added mile follows a paved road uphill to the beginning of the Ridge Trail. I’m not going to make any apologies; I just don’t like road walking on outings that are supposed to be hikes.

The Scrambling Begins — The first section of rock scramble is just a little sampling of what is ahead. Below: Giant boulders along the trail; Christine climbing up the Ridge Trail; Christine taking in the view; A view of the valley; A dog who has panhandling all figured out!

Once we got to the Ridge Trail, things improved a bit. The trail climbed upward for about two miles. It’s not terribly steep or difficult climbing, but it is steady uphill. There are occasional switchbacks, lots of gigantic boulders along the trail and even some glimpses of views through the trees.

The higher you climb, the better and more open the views become. After the first real panoramic view, you get your first little sample of the extensive rock scrambling you’re about to encounter. The first pass is short, but requires hoisting yourself up through a small opening, then across a flat pancake of rock. At this point, my boot slipped and I almost toppled over backwards. Luckily, I was able to hang on long enough for Adam to give me a hand up.

Shortly after that little scramble, you’ll come to what I think is the nicest view on the hike. Instead of overlooking mountains with a distant peek at Skyline Drive, this viewpoint overlooks the valley below. The vista is dotted with little farms and winding country roads. It’s really pretty! At this point of our hike, we encountered an emaciated, but super-friendly dog. He had a collar but there didn’t seem to be any human to claim him. Dogs are not allowed on Old Rag’s hiking trails, so we figured someone brought a dog up anyhow, and then abandoned him when he could no longer follow along the rock scramble. The dog looked so pitiful and hungry that we ended up sharing some cashews and half a Luna Bar.

The dog followed us along until the scramble began in earnest. He looked sad to see us go, so we decided to report him to park rangers at the end of our hike, in hopes that they could send someone up to retrieve him and lead him back down to the base of the mountain.

After saying goodbye to the dog, we began nearly one-mile of rock scrambling required to reach the summit of Old Rag via the Ridge Trail. Anyone wishing to reach the summit without the scramble can follow the Saddle Trail (accessed by either the Weakley Hollow or Old Rag fire roads). The scramble is the part of this hike that I enjoy most, but also simultaneously fear. I have vertigo, so there are a couple passes that play tricks on my visual and balance centers. Otherwise, the scramble is a lot of fun! It’s almost like a hiking puzzle. You have to look at each obstacle and plan the best strategy for traversing it. The scramble is tough – it’s not so much a cardio challenge as it is a strength challenge. There are lots of places where you’ll rely on both your upper and lower body strength to carry you across the rocks. It’s nice to have at least one hiking buddy to help you along. One particularly steep place, I had to shove Adam up (one hand on each butt cheek) and then he had to tow me up behind him.

Narrow Passage — Near the beginning of the scramble, you have to drop down into this narrow passage. Below: A variety of obstacles along the rock scramble. Below: Adam shinnies down into the narrow passage pictured above (note the blaze is numbered R22. Each blaze on the scramble is numbered to help rescuers find injured people more quickly); More scenes along the scramble.

The summit of Old Rag is beautiful and decorated with many large and interesting boulders. It’s the perfect place to enjoy a snack while taking in the view. We watched the clouds clearing away, ate cheese and trail mix and watched falcon soaring on the breeze. It may have been a peregrine, as they are known to nest on Old Rag, but we’re really not sure.

After leaving the summit, the hike becomes sort of tedious. Yes, it’s all downhill, and you’ll pass a couple interesting trail shelters (Byrd’s Nest and Old Rag). Both are available for day use only. There is one more decent view. But right after passing the Old Rag Shelter, you’ll reach the Berry Hollow fire road. You’re only on that for a short while, until you meet the Weakley Hollow fire road. You’re on that road for the remainder of the loop until you come back to the paved road at the trailhead. Honestly, everything after the scramble on this hike is just not fun to me – too many miles of featureless road walking. All in all, the Old Rag hike has close to 4.5 miles of road walking (over half the hike). Adam and I were eager to finish up our hike, so we jogged most of the way back along the fire road and paved road.

Adam Pretends to Balance a Giant Boulder — Adam pretends to balance a giant boulder. Below: More scenes along the scramble.

When we got back to the car, we told the ranger at the check-in station about the skinny dog. She laughed and said “Oh, him! He’s our resident Old Rag beggar!” Apparently the dog belongs to a local family. He likes to take daily hikes to solicit treats from people climbing the mountain. He sure tricked us!

The parking lot had really filled up since we arrived! We were glad to be done, and on out way to get some lunch (fried chicken – yay!).

When I reflect back on hiking Old Rag, and what could be done to improve the experience, I can think of a few things. One idea I think would work well is to issue a finite number of permits per day to hike the mountain. Perhaps limiting numbers on weekends would be enough. I think if they could limit hikers, they could reopen the upper lot and eliminate almost two miles of road walking. Another thought is to limit the number of people allowed per hiking party. So many church youth groups and college clubs hike Old Rag in huge crowds. This causes massive ‘traffic jams’ along the scramble. No fun! I also think that limiting hikers would go along way toward alleviating the trail damage and erosion on Old Rag. The trail is crumbling, lots of rocks on the scramble have been worn to a smooth polish under years’ of boot traffic, and sadly there is garbage everywhere. It’s a trail that would benefit greatly from being enjoyed by fewer people.

That said, I think every lover of the outdoors in Virginia should hike Old Rag at least once! The scramble is truly without compare.

Adam Says…

Well, Christine summed it up nicely describing the pressure that I have been putting on her to tackle Old Rag. We last did this hike together shortly before we started this blog. The logo that we use for the website is actually taken from a photo of Old Rag, so it was a must do. About every year, I put together a list of hikes that we have talked about doing in Virginia and we hang it on our refrigerator. After we finish the hike, we have a ceremonial highlighter that we use to highlight the hikes we’ve finished. For the last few years of printing a new list, Old Rag has been one of the few that has not been highlighted before the latest version is posted. I let Christine do the honors of marking Old Rag off the list – and she was happy to do so.

Adam on the Summit. Below: Summit scenery; Some kind of bird of prey.

I would also agree with Christine that Old Rag is very overused. One thing that makes this hike particularly challenging during the rock scramble is that the rocks are so smooth, you could easily slip. When it has just rained, you know you will have no footing whatsoever. Many of these boulders have no handholds or footholds, so you do have to be creative with how you will get through the scramble. I would recommend that you do this hike with someone else to help you through the scramble. I think Christine especially enjoyed the opportunity of putting both of her hands on my butt and shoving with all of her might. It’s not very often that she gets to do that.

Old Rag Shelter — The Old Rag day-use shelter. Below: Adam takes in the last nice view on the way down; The Byrd’s Nest day-use shelter; The crowded Old Rag parking lot.

The hike begins from the parking lot and consists of walking up a paved and then gravel road for about .9 miles until you reach a smaller blocked off gravel lot (with a portable toilet) and a sign for the trailhead to the left. This begins the Ridge Trail. The trail starts off as a gradual ascent through the forest. At about 2.3 miles, you reach the first of several switchbacks. There isn’t a lot of note on the main portion of the trail as you are just walking uphill through the woods, without any notable views. At about 3.2 miles, you reach a nice overlook. As soon as you leave this spot, the rock scrambling will begin. You have about .8 of a mile of rock scrambling until you reach the summit. This path is quite dangerous as you have to navigate down tight crevasses, around boulders open to large drop-offs, and up other boulders with slick surfaces. The summit marker will indicate the end of the tough climbing. There are several places to take in the panoramic views at the top and some of the more adventurous will climb up some of the large boulders at the top. Once you are done taking in the views backtrack to the trail and then take a right on to the Saddle Trail. At about 4 miles you reach, the Byrds Nest Shelter No. 1, a day-use only shelter. Continue down the steep trail and at 4.5 miles, you will reach another day-use Old Rag shelter. Continue down the trail and at 4.9 miles, you reach the junction with the Weakley Hollow fire road. Take a right on this fire road and you have about 3 miles of this fire road to walk down before you reach a few bridges and finally the smaller blocked-off Old Rag gravel lot. Go back the way you came and you should reach your vehicle around 8.8 miles.

I do think we have put a lot of warnings about this hike, but the reason that this hike is likely so popular is due to the challenge and the amazing views. The summit of Old Rag does provide some of the best views in Virginia. Some people even do rock climbing at the top to rappel over the edge and make their way back up. On a clear day, you can see for miles of countryside and layers of mountains. I know most people do put this on their list of must-hikes in Virginia. I recommend to tackle this hike as early in the morning as possible to beat the crowds. If you wait until the middle of the day, you will likely face people-jams as the navigating through the rock scramble takes a while.

For any of those interested in geocaching, there are two geocaches nearby the trail:

Old Rag Cache
Old Rag Mountain – earthcache that requires a photo and some answers to questions to prove you found the cache

For further reading about Old Rag and its history, check out the Climber’s Guide to Old Rag Mountain with some interesting information about the history of the area and the USGS’ Hiker’s Guide to the Geology of Old Rag.

I really have to hand it to Christine for confronting her vertigo and facing Old Rag. I told her I wouldn’t bother her again to do the hike since we now officially have it on the blog, but I will probably do it again sometime. I think this hike does have about 1.5 miles of very exciting climbing and wonderful views, but the rest of the hike (especially the way back on the fire roads) seems a little boring and you will look forward to seeing your car in the parking lot after the long hike back. The last time we did this hike was on a fall day at the peak of fall color. If you can find a day like that to tackle this hike, you won’t regret it.

Trail Notes

Distance – 8.8 miles
Elevation Change – about 2600 feet total.
Difficulty – 4. The uphill climbing is gradual and never terribly steep, but the scramble requires good upper and lower body strength.
Trail Conditions – 2. I think the trail is eroded and worn smooth in many places due to years of overuse.
Views – 5. The views are wonderful and include both mountain and valley views.
Wildlife – 3. There have been a fair number of bear sightings on Old Rag. You also have a good chance of seeing birds of prey on the summit.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Follow the signs. This well-traveled trail is well-marked. Distances on the markers are out-of-date and refer to mileage when the upper lot was still open.
Solitude – 0. Can I give this a negative score?

Download a trail map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: From Sperryville, Route 211, turn onto Route 522 and follow it south for .8 mile. Turn right on Route 231, follow 8 miles, turn right onto Route 601 and follow signs to the parking area, approximately 3 miles.
From Madison, Route 29 Business, turn onto Route 231 and follow it for 12.8 miles. Turn left onto Route 602.
Follow signs for the parking area. Old Rag parking is approximately 3 miles from the turn onto Route 602.

Cadillac Mountain South Ridge – Acadia National Park (ME)

August 20, 2011September 4, 20183 Comments

Special: Acadia Edition

The seven-mile South Ridge trail takes you to the highest mountain on the east coast – Cadillac Mountain. At over 1500 feet, it is also one of the first places sunlight hits the U.S. each morning, The views from this hike are panoramic and breathtaking!

A View of the Porcupines from the Cadillac Summit — A View of the Porcupine Islands from the Cadillac Summit. Below: The marker at the trailhead; A view of Cadillac Mountain from along the lower part of the trail; Geodetic Marker at the summit.

Christine Says…

We’ve driven to the top of Cadillac Mountain. We’ve also walked up the 4.4 mile North Ridge trail a few times. But this is the first time we’ve ever hiked to the summit via the South Ridge route. At seven miles (plus some additional length for the side trip to Eagles Crag and walking the summit path) this route probably qualifies as one of Acadia’s longest hikes. It’s also become one of our favorite Maine hikes. It was fantastic!

The trail starts off in the deep coolness of the evergreen forest. Everything is green – covered with moss and ferns. The thin island soil leaves gnarled roots and rocks exposed along the trail. You have to constantly watch where you’re stepping so you don’t catch a boot toe and trip. Planked boardwalks traverse the boggy, marshy places along the trail. This part of the trail is one face of Acadia, with the other being expansive, open domes of granite.

Root-Covered Trail — The lower trail is covered with roots and rocks. Below: The view from Eagles Crag; Abundant blueberries along the trail; The first open views on the climb up.

The first trail junction you come to marks a short side-loop across the Eagles Crag. The trail is quite a bit steeper here and leads out to an open rock ledge overlooking the ocean. We hiked early in the morning, so the view looked directly into the sun, rendering the ocean silver and shiny.

On the return arm of the side-loop, we reentered the woods for a short while. Near the trail junction where we met back up with the South Ridge trail, we found one of the densest patches of wild blueberries we’d ever seen! I stopped to pick and eat some berries before we pushed on. Yum! Blueberries are at their peak in late July and early August, so our trip was timed perfectly for enjoying the fruit.

Near this point of the trail, the forest started thinning out and becoming patchier. There were still trees, but they were broken up by open rocky sections. Eventually we left the shade of the trees completely and stepped out onto the pink granite that Acadia is so famous for. The trail was blazed blue, but we also had cairns guide our way. The granite was punctuated by abundant patches of blueberry bushes and water filled glacial potholes. The view behind and to the side of us was SPECTACULAR! We found ourselves stopping time and time again to take in the majestic views. I’ve been to a good number of national parks. They’re all beautiful in their own way, but there is something really special about Acadia.

There were some sections of rock that required climbing and scrambling, but the way was never really steep or difficult. We climbed one especially large rocky pass and found ourselves looking down into a small forested ravine tucked between two mountains. The trail climbed downward into the trees and past a lovely glacial pond called ‘The Featherbed’.

The Ocean and the Featherbed. Below: Another look at the Featherbed; Trails in Acadia are marked by cairns and blazes; Christine hikes up toward the summit.

After the pond, we began the climb up Cadillac in earnest. The first little bit after leaving the pond was quite steep with some mild rock scrambling. Once we regained the ridge, the trail became moderate again. The sun was bright. The sky was deep blue and painted with wispy clouds. The ocean below was sparkling and so beautiful. I must have said to Adam a couple dozen times “It’s so gorgeous! This is a perfect Maine day! We are so lucky!”

Along the ridge, we began to see distant glimpses of cars making their way up the auto road to the Cadillac summit. But we didn’t come close to the road at all until we were almost to the top of the mountain. Once drawback of the shorter 4.4 mile North Ridge is its proximity to the road for much of the hike. We really enjoyed staying away from the road this time.

Near the summit, we passed through one more section of forest and came out on a gravel road behind the gift shop located at the summit. It’s always kind of bizarre to hike several miles along pristine, quiet trail only to summit a mountain with auto access. More than a few people looked at us strangely with our Camelbaks and trekking poles.

Even though it was still pretty early, the summit was packed with people! Adam got cold drinks from the gift shop and I walked around the summit path to take a few photos. The view from Cadillac offers a great look at the town of Bar Harbor and the outlying Porcupine Islands in Frenchman Bay.

With the thick crowds and the notion of a big lunch, we didn’t linger too long at the summit. On the way down, we passed quite a few people heading up the trail. I was really glad we had started around 7:30 and had been able to enjoy a bit of solitude.

The hike down was bright and hot under the mid-morning sun! I had slathered myself with SPF 50, but I missed one spot between my ponytail and my backpack. I ended up with a strange sunburned triangle on my back. 😦

We really enjoyed the views the whole hike down! I was kind of bummed when the trail eventually descended back into the woods. The shade was nice, but losing the view was not!

When we got back to the car we debated whether we should go back to our room and shower, or head straight to lunch in town. In the end, hunger won out and we ate lunch covered with sweat and grime. We went to one of our favorite lunch spots in town – Rupununi. They have the best Buffalo Chicken sandwiches and clam chowder. We got a great seat out on the patio, the food was delicious and I didn’t even care that I was filthy!

Adam Says…

A trip to Acadia National Park almost requires you to visit Cadillac Mountain. However, most people drive to the top of it rather than try hiking up. Their are also some insane bikers that bike up the mountain, but we’re not in that kind of shape. Since Cadillac Mountain is the highest summit in the park, we used to feel intimidated about trying to hike up. Several years ago, we hiked up the north ridge since that seemed to be the easiest route. We remembered the north ridge hike being a great hike, so this time we decided to try a different route.

View of Eagle Lake — A view of Eagle Lake.

To start the hike, we parked on Route 3, almost directly across from the entrance to Blackwoods Campground. You take a few steps up and then the trail begins. This first section is just about the only part that is completely in the woods. At .8 miles, you reach a junction with the Eagles Crag trail. We took a right and went on the Eagles Crag trail, which joins back on to the South Ridge Trail at 1.2 miles. The Eagles Crag trail was probably the toughest climbing on the trail, but it does take you out of the woods to some nice views to the east of Otter Cove and Gorham Mountain. In retrospect, we feel that it really isn’t necessary to do Eagles Crag, since you will quickly see tons of views right after you rejoin the trail. But, if you want more views and/or some more challenge, go for it. When you rejoin the South Ridge Trail at 1.2 miles, the trail begins to open up to more views in a short distance. You will need to pay attention to the cairns on the trail since there are no tall trees to mark trail paths. The views on this trail are completely amazing! You have to turn around to see the great views on the way up. We found ourselves taking pictures from a gorgeous spot and then going another .1 mile and finding even better views behind us. At 2.4 miles, you reach a summit of a small hill where you can see the small pond, The Featherbed, below. You climb down this small hill and then reach The Featherbed and a junction with the Canon Brook Trail at 2.7 miles. Stay straight on the South Ridge trail as you begin your next ascent to reach the summit. At 3.2 miles, you reach a junction with the West Face Trail to the left, but stay straight. The trail is steeper up this last section of the trail. There are a few areas where you will climb up some rocks (even using one iron rung handrail), but we didn’t find it to be overly difficult. Through this section, you are likely to hear or see people along the Auto Road heading up Cadillac Mountain. At 3.7 miles, you will reach the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Go back the way you came.

Hiking in the Open — Adam hiking along in the open. Below: Trail junctions are well-marked in Acadia; The building at the summit; Another view of the Porcupine Islands from the summit; Views on the hike down.

You feel like you are making an accomplishment when you hike up Cadillac Mountain. While many of these people are driving to the top, you feel like you really earned the views. The actual summit marker for Cadillac Mountain is not as easy to find. As you’re coming up the South Ridge trail, you may walk right past it. I like to get a picture of each summit we make. Unlike most of Acadia that marks the summit with a large wooden summit marker, Cadillac Mountain only has a USGS marker in the rock. To find it, walk behind the gift shop by about 100 steps where the gravel ends. To the right, you will see a greenish-looking marker on a rock. This marker has an arrow, that points about 20 feet to another marker on another rock. This is the true summit marker.

We took a little time to hit the bathrooms, buy some cold drinks (that is always welcome when you are finishing a hike), and take in the views. From Cadillac Mountain, you can see just about all of Mount Desert Island and on a clear day, the views are spectacular. Many people drive to the summit of Cadillac Mountain to see the sunrise. This is the second earliest place where you can see the sunrise on the east coast (only to be beaten slightly by Maine’s own Mount Katahdin). While Christine was off taking some photos, I relaxed and talked to a family that just arrived from New York. They were impressed that we hiked up it and I told them about some other things they should do during their week of vacation. I could tell the father of the family was ready to tackle it all, but I could see some of his family wasn’t as enthusiastic. After talking with me, they were going to try and hike up Cadillac Mountain that afternoon.

Cadillac Mountain does have some interesting history. The area was named after Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, a french explorer and trader. This area was well-explored and controlled by the French and Antoine was given this area (now known as Bar Harbor) with this mountain (then known as Mount Desert). When I was attending a ranger program while I was trying to achieve my rank as a “Acadia Senior Ranger”, I learned about how this man was much-hated and was basically run out of this area for misappropriation of money. He then left this area and founded what became Detroit. The Cadillac car is named after this man and the seal is his family crest. It is funny that this country holds the car in such high esteem, when the man was a criminal (once called “one of the worst scoundrels to set foot in New France”).

If you are interested in geocaching, you can find a geocache near the top of Cadillac Mountain that is located near the beginning of the north ridge trail: Cadillac Mountain Cache.

As Christine and I were reflecting on all of the hiking we have done in Acadia, I will say this is my favorite hike to do in the park. You truly don’t get any better views than on this hike up the south ridge of Cadillac. There were times that I even felt tears welling up due to the awe-inspiring, panoramic landscape. The north ridge trail also has great views along, but several times you are walking very close to the Auto Road and you are limited to views on one side of the trail. With the vast expanses on the south ridge trail, it can’t be beat. If you are up for doing a longer hike in Acadia, make this the one to do!

Trail Notes

Distance – 7.4 miles
Elevation Change – approximately 1300 feet
Difficulty – 3. The hike is steadily uphill but is quite moderate.
Trail Conditions – 3. The trail is occasionally root-covered and has a lot of open granite.
Views – 5. It doesn’t get any better than this!
Waterfalls/Lakes/Streams – 4. The Featherbed is beautiful and you get lots of distant views of the bay and ocean.
Wildlife – 1. Maybe some red squirrels and (if you’re lucky) hawks on Eagles Crag.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Just follow the markers, blazes and cairns, and you can’t go wrong.
Solitude – 1. We started early and didn’t see many people on the trail, but the summit is always very crowded.

Directions to trailhead: Located on Route 3, about 5 miles south of the Jackson Lab. Look for the signs for Blackwoods Campground and park directly across the road from the entrance to the campground. You will see a break in the woods with a few steps that starts your trail.

Appalachian Trail – Elkwallow to Thornton Gap

July 24, 2011July 24, 20114 Comments

This 8.35 mile hike (with an optional .4 mile detour to the Pass Mountain Hut) follows the Appalachian Trail through beautiful forest and past one decent view.

Path to Pass Mountain Hut. Below: Adam walks along the Appalachian Trail descending Pass Mountain; Rocks along the trail descending Neighbor Mountain; We crossed Skyline Drive at Beahm's Gap.

Christine Says…

Last weekend was one of my only free weekends between July and August (lots of art shows and an upcoming trip to Maine!), so we decided to go for a hike. I wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere that required a long drive, so we settled on doing another section of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park. We’ve completed the central district and a couple segments in the south district, but we had yet to hike any of the AT in the park’s northern section. To make the drive time the shortest possible, we chose to hike from Elkwallow to Thornton Gap (Rt. 211).

We started out at the Elkwallow Picnic Area, the same exact spot we began our backpacking loop down to Jeremy’s Run last year. After a short downhill to meet the AT, we began a gradual, steady climb up the trail – the first of three significant climbs on this section of trail. We passed lots of thickets of ripening blackberries along the trail. We also saw a lot of eastern red columbine still in bloom.

Blackberries along the trail. Below: Red eastern columbine; a couple unidentified wildflowers; Indian Pipes

After the first climb, the trail is really gentle and level until you reach the next climb, headed up Neighbor Mountain. The Neighbor Mountain trail, which branches off the AT, is another option for making a loop with Jeremy’s Run. It’s a little longer than the Knob Mountain Loop we chose, but the steepness of the climbs are a little more gradual. At the junction of the AT and the Neighbor Mountain trail, we ran into two gentlemen that turned out to be doing the same exact segment hike we were working on. They offered us a share of their fresh picked peaches and plums from a local orchard!

Near the trail junction, you have the option to take a side loop past Byrd’s Nest #4, but we decided to stay on the AT. Descending Neighbor Mountain is a little steep and rocky. On the steepest part of the descent, we passed three section hikers slogging uphill. Near the bottom of the descent, we stopped for a snack and were eventually passed by the two guys we met at the Neighbor Mountain junction. We continued to play ‘leap frog’ with them for the remainder of the day.

View off Pass Mountain — Adam takes in the view from Pass Mountain. Below: Blueberries ripening; Adam picks berries.

A bit later, we crossed Skyline Drive near the Beahm’s Gap overlook and began the final big climb of our hike – over Pass Mountain. I didn’t really expect any views on this hike, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice overlook just north of the Pass Mountain Summit. It was a little hazy, so the view wasn’t as pretty as it could have been. Even if the views were slightly lacking, the abundant wild blueberries more than made up for it! It was one of the thickest, densest accumulations of ripe berries I’ve ever seen! (and this is coming from someone who has spent many, many summers in Maine).

The park has a policy allowing limited gathering of berries, nuts and seeds for personal consumption, so we ended up picking about a quart of berries. I made vanilla-blueberry pancakes with them. YUM!

After we picked berries, we had a short distance more to climb over the summit. After crossing the high point, the remainder of the hike was an easy downhill grade for a couple miles. With about 1.5 miles left, we passed the spur trail to the Pass Mountain Shelter. I ditched my backpack and hiked the extra .2 miles down to the shelter. It was set in a pretty opening under the trees. I took a peek at the journal and noticed one of the recent entries mentioned a bear visiting the shelter!

After the shelter, we continued downhill back to the car. When we crossed 211 to get back to where we parked, we noticed that there were police cars and park rangers all over the road. It turns out that 211 was closed due to a fatal motorcycle accident – very sad. Since we had to wait for the road to open, we headed back into the park to get some lunch at Elkwallow Wayside. It was a tasty, indulgent treat after our hike.

Adam Says…

Well, we’ve reached about the halfway point in covering the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah National Park. With the Central District done, we have been starting to work on some other sections in the North and South districts. This was our first section through the North District.

We parked one car on 211 near the sign for where the Appalachian Trail crosses and outside the park boundary. We drove the other car to the Elkwallow Picnic Ground. The trail starts right near the privy and heads down into the woods. Continue on this spur trail for a short distance until you reach the junction with the Appalachian Trail. Take a left heading south on the white-blazed trail. In about a quarter of a mile, you reach a junction with the Jeremy’s Run trail but stay on the Appalachian Trail. The trail begins to ascend fairly steeply and you will gain about 500 feet of elevation over the next mile. The trail levels off at this point and even starts to descend for the next two miles. At 3.2 miles, you will start another ascent of 400 feet. You will then pass a junction with the Neighbor Mountain and Byrds Nest 4 trail. We stayed on the AT, but you can take the trail to the Byrds Nest shelter and it will rejoin the AT after the shelter. The trail descends again over the next mile and you reach Skyline Drive at the Beahms Gap parking area at mile 5.2. Cross Skyline Drive and begin the ascent up Pass Mountain as you gain 600 feet of elevation over the next mile. Once you reach the unmarked summit of Pass Mountain, the hard part is over and it is two miles back to your vehicle on 211.

Pass Mountain Hut. Below: The shelter has a picnic table and a firepit; A peek inside the shelter journal; A curious doe along the trail.

The best part of the hike was definitely getting to the summit of Pass Mountain. We were hiking near the summit and we saw a rock outcropping to the west of the trail about 100 feet. Christine was doubtful that there would be any opening for views, but I said that I thought there would be. When I went to investigate I saw there was a decent view, but I was quite pleased to see all the wild blueberries. As Christine mentioned, we have often seen blueberries when we go hiking in Acadia National Park in Maine, but these patches seemed untouched. We spended about 30 minutes picking blueberries and taking in the view. We also thought of our friend, Suzanne, that accompanied us on the backpacking trip in Dolly Sods the previous week. She went crazy for wild blueberries, and we pictured her screaming in glee over these patches. There were still lots of blueberries that weren’t ripe enough to pick, so if you are interested in doing this hike for some blueberries, I would hit this trail in mid to late July. I’m guessing that this trail could also be frequented by bears since they tend to go where the food sources are.

Path through woods — The Appalachian Trail is like a green tunnel through the woods. Below: Christine crossing 211 at the end of the hike; Blueberries at home!

Christine was impressed when I spotted the indian pipes on the trail. Of course, I wasn’t sure what they were called. I just said, “Isn’t this something you’re interested in?” She has quickly become great at identifying wild flowers. Maybe one day I will get there also, but I can at least point some things out for now.

Most of this hike is more or less a walk through the woods. The terrain wasn’t too tough, and this is not a section of the AT that is riddled with views and interesting things along the way. Unless you’re tackling a section of the AT, I would say that most people that you would run into on this section are hiking up Pass Mountain.

Trail Notes

Distance – 8.35 miles (8.75 if you do the optional side trail to the Pass Mountain Hut)
Elevation Change – 1600 feet
Difficulty – 3. This hike is a moderate mix of climbs, descents and flats.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is in great shape, but a little overgrown due to the wet summer.
Views –2.5 The view from Pass Mountain is nice.
Wildlife – 1. We saw a deer but nothing else.
Ease to Navigate – 4.5. The trail is unmistakably easy to follow.
Solitude – 2.5. You probably won’t see many hikers after the peak of thru-hiking season. We saw only a handful of people over the miles.

Directions to trailhead: From Skyline Drive around mile marker 24.3, follow the signs to the Elkwallow Picnic area (not Elkwallow Gap parking lot). Park near the privy. The trail starts next to the privy.

Appalachian Trail – Powell Gap to Swift Run Gap

June 27, 2011August 26, 20154 Comments

This section of the Appalachian Trail gives you stunning views from the summit of Hightop Mountain.

Adam Says…

We started off our hike by parking one car at the Swift Run Gap entrance and one car near the Powell Gap trailhead around mile marker 70 on Skyline Drive. The trail immediately starts with going uphill. Get used to it, because 3.6 miles of this hike is uphill. You gain 1250 feet of elevation during this stretch. For 1.7 miles, the hike from Powell Gap until you cross Skyline Drive again at Smith Roach Gap was overgrown in many parts. I can imagine that maintaining this section of trail was more challenging this year with all the rain, but we wish we had a weed-whacker with us to keep the grass and weeds from brushing up against our legs. The mountain laurel during this section was so abundant. It gave good cause to pause from huffing and puffing up the trail. After crossing Skyline Drive and continuing the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, you will continue your ascent. The trail was not as overgrown in this section. At mile 2.7, you will reach a blue-blazed spur trail that leads to the Hightop Hut, adding .2 mile to your hike. At mile 3.6, you will reach the summit of Hightop Mountain which has an overlook with valley views. The trail begins to descend at this point, through some slightly-rocky terrain. At 5.1 miles, you will cross Skyline Drive again. Continue to follow the trail until you reach Swift Run Gap at 6.4 miles.

Wookie on the Appalachian Trail. Below: The mountain laurel were gorgeous along the trail.

I really think Wookie enjoyed himself on this trip. It was his longest hike ever, but he pushed on through. We are always amazed at how we think he would be exhausted for the rest of the day, but he runs around the house as soon as he gets home like a puppy on crack. I think it is his way of boasting to our other dogs that he got to do something fun.

The views are always nice at the top of Hightop Mountain. This trail does get some decent traffic (especially in the area between Swift Run Gap and the summit), since it is really the first hike you could possibly do in the southern section of the park if you are driving from the north. We had met the thru-hiker “Shenanigans” at Hightop Hut, who talked to us for a while. He had heard of the Bearfence Mountain hut being closed. Rangers had put up a sign letting people know that the hut was closed, which helps the thru-hikers plan on where they were staying next. His goal was to make it up to Big Meadows, which would have given him a hike of close to 30 miles for the day. We went to check out the Trail Days festivities at Big Meadows Lodge and talked to one of the ridgerunners. These ridgerunners are hired by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club to basically hike the maintained trails through the area, talking to hikers, and checking in on the huts/cabins along the way. He told us that the Bearfence hut was going to be re-opened, so hopefully Shenanigans had a closer place to stay if he wasn’t feeling like doing a ton of miles that day.

Christine Says…

A couple days after we returned from our Virginia Highlands trip, we decided we were ready to go for another hike. After all, June 4^th was National Trails Day, and we couldn’t let the day go by without hiking somewhere. We didn’t want to go anyplace that required a lot of driving. We also wanted to do something shorter, so we could bring Wookie along. Pugs are not the best hiking dogs, but Wookie always enjoy accompanying us on less strenuous hikes on cooler days. In the end, we settled on another Appalachian Trail section. Swift Run Gap is only a 10-15 minute drive from our house, so we decided to do the 6.4 mile section between Powell Gap and Swift Run Gap.

We stopped at Hightop Hut and chatted with the thru-hiker ‘Shenanigans’. Below: One of the Skyline Drive crossings; Columbine in bloom.

This section of trail is about 65% uphill. It’s never unbearably steep uphill, but for almost the first four miles, you are almost always climbing. The trail goes by one nice view, from the summit of Hightop Mountain. It also takes you by Hightop Hut, which is another overnight stop for multi-night backpackers and thru-hikers.

On the particular day we hiked, much of the trail was lined with mountain laurel at their peak bloom. 2011 has been a fantastic year for mountain laurel. Spectacular, abundant, lush blooms have been everywhere across the mountains.

At the summit of Hightop Mountain, we encountered two hikers and their dog. Their dog clearly wanted to eat Wookie for breakfast, so we were extra glad she was leashed! We enjoyed the views and the breezes. Hightop has a great view of Massanutten Mountain – one of the most distinct and impressive mountains on our local skyline.

After Hightop, the last couple miles of the hike were pretty easy – lots of downhills and flat. We were back at the car by lunchtime, so we decided to drive up to the Big Meadows area to have lunch and check out the PATC display for Trails Day.

We were able to say hello to one of our instructors from Backpacking 101. We also chatted with trail maintenance crews and participated in a demo of their big two-man saw. We happened to catch one of the ridgerunners at a ranger display and were able to chat with him about a bear incident we heard about near Bearfence Mountain Shelter. Apparently, a bear was getting too bold for his own good near the shelter. He had even started exploring tents in search of food. The last straw was when the bear destroyed an unoccupied tent belonging to a thru-hiker. The bear was trapped and transported to a less populated area of the park. While rangers worked on trapping the bear, the shelter was closed, forcing hikers to push on another 10-12 miles to the next shelter.

We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch at Big Meadows – burgers, fries and blackberry milkshakes (YUM!).

Wookie Says…

This is the first time in quite a while that I’ve been invited out on a hike! It was a nice cool morning, so Christine and Adam decided to bring me along on a 6.4 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail. It’s the longest hike I’ve ever been on!

I had a lot of fun trotting along the trail. I like walking second in line, because I feel safer between my two humans.

When we got to Hightop Hut, I considered stealing some trailmix from the thru-hiker, but Christine wouldn’t let me. Instead, I got to drink a bowl of water from my collapsible dog dish. On the summit of Hightop Mountain, I met a big, black and white spotted dog. She was really loud and scary. I think she would have attacked me if she had free run. Being so small, I always appreciate dog owners that follow the rules and keep their canine hiking companions on six foot leashes.

On the last mile of the hike, I started getting really tired. I could barely hold the curl in my tail, I was so exhausted. When we got back to the car, I stretched out on the floor between Christine’s feet and took a nap until we got to Big Meadows.

At lunch, I even got some well-earned treats – a few fries and some of Christine’s burger patty. I would have liked to taste a blackberry milkshake, but I don’t think anyone was willing to share. Lots of people wanted to pet me and say hello at National Trails Day. I guess hiking pugs are sort of unusual!

Trail Notes

Distance – 6.4 miles one-way with a shuttle required.
Elevation Change – 1250 feet
Difficulty – 2.5 The trail is over halfway uphill, with a few steeper sections.
Trail Conditions – 3. The trail between Powell Gap to Smith Roach Gap was overgrown. Otherwise the trail is fairly well-maintained, but there are a few loose rock sections going downhill.
Views – 4. Great views.
Wildlife – 2. We saw a few deer and a scarlet tanager on the trail.
Ease to Navigate – 4.5. Just stay on the Appalachian Trail.
Solitude – 2.5 The promixity to the beginning of the south district of Shenandoah National Park make this popular for the last three miles of the trail.

Directions to trailhead: On Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park, go to mile 70 in the South District of the Park. Park on the side of the road, near the sign for Powell Gap. You will see the beginning of the trail on the eastern side of the road. Follow the white blazes.

Appalachian Trail – Bearfence to Swift Run Gap

May 15, 2011March 29, 20227 Comments

The Appalachian Trail from Bearfence Mountain to Swift Run Gap is a nine mile section. It doesn’t really offer any majestic views or pretty stream scenery, but it is a pleasant walk through classic Shenandoah forest.

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

Christine Says…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adam Says…

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

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

We left one car at the Swift Run Gap entrance to the park and then drove up to the Bearfence Mountain parking lot around mile 56.8 on Skyline Drive (keep in mind there is also a Bearfence Trail parking lot around mile 56.5, so be sure to park at the correct lot). There is a parking lot on both the west and east sides of Skyline Drive. The Appalachian Trail picks up near the parking lot on the eastern side of Skyline Drive. Head south on the white-blazed AT. The trail descends slightly and you will soon come across a spur trail to the Bearfence Mountain Hut, that can be used for overnight backpackers. The .1 mile spur trail is steep and may be slippery on the way down, but it is always interesting to see these huts along the AT. (Note added 2022: This spur trail has been decommissioned. The hut is now accessed via the fire road from the parking area.)

Continue along the AT and the trail ascends slightly. You will be able to see spur trails along the way to the Lewis Mountain Campground and picnic area. After passing by this area, the trail will descend again. At 2.7 miles, you will cross over the Pocosin Fire Road as you start a 500 foot ascent. At the 4.0 mile mark, you will reach the peak of Baldface Mountain and then begin your descent. At 5.5 miles, you will reach the South River Picnic Area to your right. This is a great place to stop and eat a snack or use the restroom. Once you get past the South River picnic area, you will shortly come across another fire road. Take a left at this road to continue on the AT. You will follow this road uphill a short distance and then you will find the entrance back on the AT on the right-hand side of the road. Keep following the AT as it ascends the Saddleback Mountain. You reach the peak of Saddleback Mountain around mile 7 on your hike. You then descend for the next two miles back to the Swift Run Gap station.

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

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

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

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

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

Trail Notes

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

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

Appalachian Trail – Skyland to Thornton Gap

April 10, 2011August 26, 20151 Comment

The Appalachian Trail from Skyland to Thornton Gap follows ten miles of trail and includes no fewer than four spectacular panoramic views.

Adam and Jason on Stony Man — Adam and Jason take in the view from Stony Man mountain. To the left of where they are standing, you can see the buildings of Skyland Resort. Below: The view looking northwest from Stony Man; A view from Little Stony Man; A section of trail following below and parallel to Skyline Drive; A view from the Pinnacle looking toward Mary’s Rock; A view looking down into Thornton Gap from Mary’s Rock.

Christine Says…

Monday was a real treat – a day off work, an out-of-town friend and an amazing hike along the Appalachian Trail. My friend, Jason, came to visit for a day while his wife attended a conference in Washington D.C. He’s from Seattle and lives surrounded by three of our most spectacular national parks (Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades.) I was a little worried that Shenandoah would disappoint him. We don’t have dramatic peaks, towering waterfalls or the quiet, sapphire blue glacial lakes that western parks have. Our mountains are old and roll gently down into the valley. The streams and waterfalls are typically small and ponds/lakes are uncommon. At this time of year, we don’t even have foliage. The forests in our area are largely deciduous, and are still bare and brown from the winter. Considering all these factors, I wanted to pick a hike that would still show Jason a nice ‘snapshot’ of what Shenandoah has to offer.

After tossing around a number of ideas, we settled on the ten mile section of the Appalachian Trail between Skyland Resort and Thornton Gap. The hike includes four great views (Stony Man, Little Stony Man, the Pinnacle and Mary’s Rock) and passes an AT hiker hut (Byrd’s Nest). I thought Jason would especially enjoy the fact that the hike traverses a (albeit small -.45% to be exact) section of the storied Appalachian Trail.

A Fellow Hiker Takes in the View from Little Stony Man — A hiker enjoys the view from Little Stony Man. Below: Jason checks out the lichen growing on one of the many giant boulders along the trail; Adam walks along one of the rockier section of trail; Another Little Stony Man view.

We met at Thornton Gap and shuttled back up to the north entrance of Skyland Resort to begin our hike. We climbed up along the trail until it joined with the Stony Man spur-loop. Although Stony Man is not technically on the AT, the view from the summit is well worth adding the extra .3 onto the total mileage. The wind was fierce atop Stony Man – backpacks blew open, hats had to be held and we had to shout to hear one another. We stopped to take a few photos, but we didn’t stay long. We got a later start than we anticipated, so we had to be quite business-like about our pace.

We hiked downhill from Stony Man to our next viewpoint from Little Stony Man. We stopped again to have some water and give Jason a chance to eat some lunch. Of the two views, I actually think Little Stony Man is a bit nicer. After a few more photos, we climbed down a few hundred more feet into a saddle between the mountains. This section of trail is fairly level and follows closely to Skyline Drive. Without leaves on the trees, we were able to enjoy many open views along the trail. The lack of leaves allowed the sun to beat down strongly on our heads. It was an unseasonably warm day – a bit humid and around 80 degrees. Jason and I both struggled a bit with the heat. I’m definitely not acclimated to warm weather hiking yet!

After the low point of the saddle, we began a slow, long uphill climb to the Pinnacles picnic area. We rested there and gave everyone a chance to refill their water bottles with cold mountain water. I had my 3 liter CamelBak so I still had plenty to drink. I love my CamelBak! We took a few minutes to chat with a couple section hikers resting at the picnic area. They mentioned that they were on their way to Pennsylvania and were hoping to get into the town of Luray for a night off the trail. I hope they made it, because the thunderstorms were crazy later that night!

After the Pinnacles picnic area, the remainder of the hike followed pretty much the same route we use for Mary’s Rock. The climb up to the Pinnacle gains about 550 feet of elevation. It wasn’t hard climbing, but we were all pretty tired, so we stopped to eat brownies.

The climb up to the Pinnacle passes lots of huge, lichen-covered boulders. Eventually, we arrived at the view. I like the Pinnacle because you can see the entire route all the way over to Mary’s Rock. While we were enjoying the view, Jason remarked that the end of the hike still looked a good distance off. It was! We still had about five miles to go at this point, so we had to start keeping an eye on the sun’s level in the sky. Adam kept checking our distance and walking pace on his GPS to keep us on track to be out of the woods before nightfall.

Photography on the Pinnacle — Jason takes a few minutes to take a few photos from the Pinnacle. You can see Adam peeking up from another rocky outcropping.

After leaving the Pinnacle, we dipped down into another saddle between mountains. At the bottom of the saddle lies Byrd’s Nest #3 – one of the long-distance hiker huts along the AT. I had hoped we would have time to let Jason read some of the hiker log book and poke around the shelter, but we only had a few minutes to stop and chat with a hiker who had settled in for the evening.

Our last uphill climb was relatively easy and led us to our final viewpoint – Mary’s Rock. The viewpoint lies about .1 mile off the Appalachian Trail, but you don’t want to miss taking this short spur trail!

Once we were at the summit, Jason took some time to scramble around on the giant boulders and take some photos. I stayed off the boulders because climbing on them always gives me vertigo. The light wasn’t great, but I’m sure he was still able to get some nice shots of the valley below. One of the prettiest things I noticed from the view was the evening sun shining on all the little farm ponds down in the valley below. Each pond glowed golden-orange in the evening light.

By the time we left Mary’s Rock, we had about 25 minutes of light and 1.8 miles to go. Because it was all downhill, we didn’t have any problem making it back to the parking lot before total darkness.

Adam Says…

There must be something about Mary’s Rock and the threat of darkness for us. The last time we hiked up Mary’s Rock, we were threatened with the setting sun and this time was no different. After some discussion on if we thought we could do the ten-mile stretch, we decided it was doable and we drove to the Skyland entrance and the Stony Man parking lot to begin our hike around 2PM. As many of you know, I do carry a GPS with me, which has the ability to track distance and walking speed.

We were surprised at how hot it was when we were hiking. A few days ago, the temperature was in the 40s, but today the sun was beating down relentlessly on us. We kept up a good pace throughout the hike as sweat was dripping from our brows. For some reason, even though we were walking at a good pace, the mileage seemed like it was going slowly. Jason and Christine both were asking me how far had we traveled and when I first answered three miles, it felt like we had gone almost twice as far.

The trail starts near the northern Skyland entrance off Skyline Drive. As soon as you turn into this entrance, the Stony Man parking lot is on the side. You start on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail. Keep your eye out for black bears if you try this hike during the late spring or summer as we have often spotted bears near the Skyland entrance. In about .5 miles, you will come to a blue-blazed junction with the Stony Man trail. This is a .3 mile loop trail that leads to nice views from Stony Man Mountain. There is an interpretive brochure you can purchase for $1 from the trail start of this loop if you want to learn more about the features along the trail. You can read more about our hike up Stony Man and Little Stony Man here.

Once you rejoin the Appalachian Trail, the trail descends 500 feet until you reach the Little Stony Man overlook at 1.3 miles with more gorgeous views (I believe the Little Stony Man views are nicer than the Stony Man views). At 1.6 miles, you will reach an intersection with the Passamaquoddy Trail, but stay on the white-blazed AT. The trail continues to descend and at 2.3 miles, you have reached the bottom of the saddle and have arrived at the Stony Man overlook on Skyline Drive. The trail begins to climb at this point. At around 4.2 miles you will reach the Pinnacles Picnic area. There are rest rooms right on the side of the trail and a pump behind the rest rooms that provided a nice cooling refill of our water bottles. The trail continues to ascend in the last steep uphill stretch. At 5.5 miles, you will reach the peak of your climb and a nice viewpoint from The Pinnacle. The trail then descends and winds down through the woods until you reach the Byrds Nest No. 3 shelter at mile 6.8. This used to be a day-use only shelter, but recently became an overnight shelter. The trail begins to ascend slightly for the next mile and the footing is a little more rocky as you make your approach to Mary’s Rock. At mile 7.8, you will reach a junction with a short .1 spur trail to lead you to the summit of Mary’s Rock. Once you take in the views from the top, meet back with the AT and continue to follow north through steep switchbacks for another two miles. You will most likely be able to see the Panorama waystation and parking lot when you are almost done. At 9.9 miles, you will see the post that leads to a short walk to the parking lot for Panorama.

Jason on marys rock — Jason climbed to the top of Mary’s Rock to take in the view. Below: Adam was exhausted by the time we got to Mary’s Rock. He enjoyed resting on a rock; A hazy view from Mary’s Rock; Beyond Adam you can see Rt. 211 entering the park at Thornton Gap; Jason makes his way to the top of Mary’s Rock.

We ran into a few long-distance hikers at the Pinnacles picnic area. When I asked where they were heading, they said they were on their way to Pennsylvania. I’m guessing they are tackling the Appalachian Trail in sections. Their goal that night was to make it to the town of Luray. We told them about the thunderstorms that night, but they were hoping to make it down to a hotel and stop by a liquor store. We ran into them again at the Byrd’s Nest Shelter No. 3. My guess is that they stayed their overnight, but I know they were in for a night of torrential thunderstorms, since the lightning and rain woke me up in the middle of the night.

Fading light across the valley — The fading light across the valley was really pretty. It made all the little ponds glow. Below: The rolling mountain layers in the fading light.

We managed to make it back to our vehicle with about 10 minutes to spare of sunlight. We did keep a steady pace, which was why my calves were quite sore for the next few days. This hike is definitely one of the best hikes for views in all of Shenandoah National Park. I would allow for at least 6.5 hours to do the entire hike, since you will want to take time to enjoy the views.

Trail Notes

Distance – 10 miles. This includes the shorter spur hikes to Stony Man and Mary’s Rock.
Elevation Change – 2000 feet with two climbs up and down two mountains
Difficulty –3.5. The distance is the largest reason. It is definitely best to do this section from south to north.
Trail Conditions – 4. It is well-maintained, but the sections near Little Stony Man and Mary’s Rock are very rocky.
Views – 4.5. You have lots of views along this hike of the western valley. On a clear day, you can see all the way to West Virginia.
Waterfalls/streams – 0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 3.5. You will likely see deer and you may even see some black bears during the warmer months.
Ease to Navigate – 4. As long as you read the posts at the junctions with other trails, you shouldn’t have any trouble. Just stick with the white blazes.
Solitude – 2. You will likely see people along the trail and at some of the big draws of Stony Man and Mary’s Rock.

Directions to trailhead: We handled this hike as a shuttle, leaving one car at the Panorama parking lot at mile 31.3 on Skyline Drive. To start the hike, park your other car by turning into the northern Skyland entrance at mile 41.8. The Stony Man parking lot is immediately to your right. You will see the trailhead on the eastern side of the parking lot (along with a box to purchase the Stony Man brochure).

Appalachian Trail – Big Meadows to Bearfence

January 23, 2011August 26, 20155 Comments

This 8+ mile segment along the Appalachian trail offers a couple nice views, a visit to an old cemetery and the opportunity to cross over one of the park’s most fun rock scrambles.

Snow on Hazeltop — Adam hikes through the snow covering the Hazeltop Mountain summit.

Christine Says…

This winter, we planned to hike the 100+ miles of the Appalachian Trail leading through Shenandoah National Park. Sadly, our grand plans have been foiled by frequent closures of Skyline Drive. As mentioned in our last post, the road through the park closes if there is even a slight threat of a dusting of snow. So, this is the first section of AT that we’ve hiked since our Skyland to Big Meadows hike last spring.

Big Meadows Buck — This majestic buck watched us as we started our hike. Below: He ended up leaping off into the woods with another buck friend; they continued to watch us; we parked near the campground check-in station.

We started out at the Big Meadows campground, leaving one car parked there and our other car parked at the southern terminus of our hiking route. The no-fee weekend made doing this segment hike logistically easier. We’d actually been planning to buy a second park pass to accommodate our need for two cars to do these segment hikes. The Big Meadows area was covered with a thin dusting of snow. The whole area was eerily quiet – no campers, no cars, the lodge and restaurants closed for the season. We saw so many bucks hanging out together in small groups – friends again after the animosity of mating season. One especially majestic buck greeted us at the trailhead. He watched us quizzically for a few moments before bounding back into the woods.

The trail was frosted with snow, and our footprints were (in many places) the first human ones set into the path. We saw lots of animal tracks along the way – deer, coyote, turkey, rabbit and bobcat. It took about the first half-mile of walking for me to warm up enough to be comfortable. Within the first mile, we passed two of the three viewpoints on our eight mile route. Both lookouts are directly behind the Big Meadows lodge area, and look into the western valley. I’m always struck by how barren winter is in our area when I get a sweeping view on a January hike. As far as the eye can see, everything is brown and faded – bare trees and a pale winter sky. Winter in places with lots of evergreens is so much prettier!

Blackrock View — Winters are so bleak and pale in the Shenandoahs. Below: Adam takes in the view; A look at the rocks that make up the Blackrock viewpoint from below; The back of Big Meadows Lodge is visible from the trail.

After a couple miles of hiking, we reached a cemetery – the largest I’ve seen within park boundaries. There were lots of people with the last name “Meadows” buried in this one. One tombstone was engraved with the name “Fairy Meadows” – a woman who lived in the early part of the twentieth century. What a neat name!

After leaving the cemetery, we made our way toward Milam Gap. We encountered a hiker dressed all in camouflage. He had a camera with a long lens and was headed in the direction of the cemetery. We could see his footprints in the snow. They were the only human prints in the snow coming from the opposite direction. The odd thing is… they disappeared abruptly and were replaced by dog tracks. There was no trail junction or other place he could have come onto the trail where the boot prints changed to dog prints. So… here’s my theory — werewolf of Shenandoah! I’m all for starting a new myth or legend. 🙂

I knew we were getting close to Milam Gap when we started seeing wizened, old apples in the snow. The area around the gap has many apple trees from an old orchard before the area was incorporated into the park. At the Milam Gap parking lot, we took a break to drink some water, stretch and look at our map. After a short rest, we crossed Skyline Drive and began the long climb up Hazeltop Mountain.

Along the way up we passed a few people at a backcountry campsite. In fact, we saw a couple groups of people on winter backpacking trips. I guess that camping in the snow could be fun, but I’ll just have to take their word for it. You can’t even have a fire in the backcountry in the park. It seems awfully bleak to go out and sleep in the snow without a campfire. I think I’ll stick to fair-weather backpacking.

The snow got sort of deep near the summit of Hazeltop Mountain. It was hard work climbing uphill in the snow. This summit has no view or marker. In fact, the only reason you know you’ve reached it is that the uphill climbing ends.

After the descent from Hazeltop, the hike continues on mostly flat terrain for a while until you get to Bearfence Mountain. For this stretch of of the hike, you’ll be pretty close to Skyline Drive. The road is often in view from the trail. You’ll climb a moderately steep slope until meeting up with the Bearfence Trail junction. If you have the time and energy, it’s worth taking the Bearfence trail loop across the rock scramble. You’ll get a third, beautiful, panoramic view from the scramble. The Bearfence trail crosses the AT again on the opposite side of the scramble, so taking this option doesn’t really add any mileage. Because of the snow on the ground, we opted to skip the scramble and stick to the AT. It was probably a good choice, because we found the trail across Bearfence mountain to be very icy. The ice was concealed by snow and was extremely slippery. I had a startling moment along this stretch of trail when I encountered a dead skunk wrapped around a tree branch. At first I thought it was a live skunk and I was about to be sprayed, but I was soon left wondering how on earth a dead skunk ended up there. Could a hawk have swooped it up and then dropped it? I really have no idea…

From this point, the trail meanders away from Skyline Drive, making the hike longer than you would expect it to be at this point. From Bearfence, the trail zig-zags down via a series of switchbacks. This section of trail is lined by rhododendrons, mountain laurels and hemlocks. It was really the only greenery we saw along the way. Eventually, the trail empties out into the parking lot marking the end of this section of Appalachian Trail.

It was a fun day and great to be out hiking again! The thing that has struck me so far with our two trail segments is how easy to moderate the AT is through Shenandoah. I’ve always heard thru-hikers remark that Shenandoah is “flat” and “all the mountain summits require more than 200 feet of climbing”. Those claims are a bit of a stretch, but walking the AT through Shenandoah is definitely much easier than hiking the blue and yellow blazed trails in the park.

Adam Says…

With Shenandoah National Park having a free weekend, we took advantage and drove two cars up so we could do a shuttle hike to cover more ground. We dropped off our first vehicle at the small parking lot near the Bearfence Mountain Hut at mile 56.8 on the western side. Keep in mind, this is not the main Bearfence Trail parking, which is around mile marker 56.4. We then combined into one car and drove to the Big Meadows Campground. The campground was closed, so we had to walk through the parking lot at the picnic area until we made it to the short spur trail that leads to the Appalachian Trail. We started on the trail heading south to make it back to the car. The Appalachian Trail is always marked with white blazes. The trail at this point is relatively flat. You’ll begin to see the lodge to the left and in about .3 miles, you’ll reach a junction with the Lewis Springs Falls Trail. Just continue on the AT. Around .5 miles, you will start seeing some lovely views of the valley below. There is a short path on the left side of the trail that is marked with a post for a view from Blackrock. This trail is often closed due to the nesting of peregrine falcons. If you decide to add this overlook, it is an uphill .2 miles to the view. The trail shortly begins to descend about 300 feet over the next mile.

At 1.7 miles, you will reach the Tanners Ridge Administrative Road. You will see to your right a large family cemetery. It is nice that families that once lived on the mountain are still allowed to be buried here. I can’t think of a more restful spot than being placed in a national park. Pick up the AT directly across the road and continue south. At mile 2.7, you will come to the Milam Gap parking lot. You will cross Skyline Drive from here to continue on the AT. The trail begins a gradual climb that will gain about 550 feet of elevation over 2 miles. At mile 4.7, you will reach the summit of Hazeltop Mountain. We did not see a marker for the summit, but you will know that you have passed it when you start descending again. The descent is more severe as you lose about 600 feet of elevation in .6 miles. At 5.3 miles, you will reach the junction with Bootens Gap (a parking lot and a horse trail).

Tree Near Bearfence Trail — I knew we were close to Bearfence when we saw this tree. Its very distinctive. Below: We stopped for a snack of Clif Bars along the way; A view of the Bearfence rock scramble from below.

The trail ascends again and at 6.8 miles, you will reach the junction with the Bearfence Mountain Trail. Stay on the AT heading south. After the junction, you reach the steepest and slickest ascent over the rock-covered trail. Passing the Bearfence rock scramble on your left, you will continue to rise for another . 4 miles. At mile 7.3, you will begin to descend and it is less than a mile back to the parking lot and your vehicle.

The trail was more difficult than I was expecting. I had first thought that we should do about 10 miles of the trail, but snow on the trail made for harder work. The most snow was up on Hazeltop Mountain, which we saw some remains of snowshoe tracks. While our feet didn’t sink deeply in the snow at any point, it made for tricky footing and sometimes you had to lift your legs up a little higher than normal. At some point, I slipped through some frosty areas and wrenched my knee slightly. Hiking up and down Bearfence was quite tough for me, but I’m glad we didn’t do an extra two miles.

Snowy Laurel-Lined Trail — The section of trail descending Bearfence was lined with mountain laurels, rhododendrons and hemlocks.

One aspect of the trail that I thoroughly enjoyed was being able to see coyote tracks on the trail. We’ve seen a coyote up in this area frequently during the fall. While some local farmers hate the nearby coyotes for their predatory habits, I enjoy seeing them in the protected park area. I also enjoyed seeing several bucks along the trail that greeted us at the beginning of our hike and followed nearby for the first mile of the trail.

The one regret I had during our hike was that I forgot to pack my Jetboil stove. I would have liked to have paused and had some hot chocolate along the way in the snow.

Trail Notes

Distance – 8.25 miles
Elevation Change – about 1000 feet
Difficulty – 2.5. There are several climbs of 500-600 feet, but the trail is mostly easy walking.
Trail Conditions – 4. Since most is on the AT, the trail is very well-maintained.
Views – 2.5 We enjoyed the western views near Big Meadows.
Waterfalls/streams – 0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 3.5. We saw lots of impressive bucks and saw coyote tracks in the snow.
Ease to Navigate –5. Just follow the white blazes!
Solitude –3.5. You may see some hikers on the AT due to the proximity to Big Meadows. Bearfence is also a popular hike, so you’ll likely see people in that area as well.

Directions to trailhead: We left one vehicle at mile 56.8 in the small parking lot on the western side of Skyline Drive. We then drove to Big Meadows and followed the signs to the Big Meadows campground. Normally, you can drive right up to the trailhead. It is on the westernmost side of the parking lot of the picnic area at the campground.

Thomas Reserve – Cowpasture – Cranberry Glades Loop (WV)

September 21, 2010September 4, 20184 Comments

This nine-mile loop offers glimpses of area history, great views of the tundra and peeks at distant mountains.

Meadow on the Cowpasture Trail — The trail offered many beautiful meadow views. Below: Adam checks out the sign at the entry to the Cranberry Glades boardwalk; The old Mill Point Federal Prison used to sit along the present-day Cowpasture Trail; The Thomas Reserve Trail is lined with ferns; A view of the Glades boardwalk.

Christine Says…

The morning did not start well. We drove into Marlinton, WV before our hike to make some reservations for a bike shuttle. Once we were in town, we learned that Verizon wireless was not available anywhere in the area (and I really needed to check in on a family emergency). We couldn’t find anyone that sold pre-paid phone cards in all of Marlinton. When we did find a phone card, we couldn’t find a pay phone that worked. Apparently, the only pay phone that works in all of Pocahontas County is at the hospital. After filling up at a BP station, the “service engine” light came on in our car and the gas gauge stopped working. (Can I blame BP for that?) Finally, to top everything off, we couldn’t find the trailhead for this hike. In the end, it all turned out OK, as it usually does. We ended up hiking a couple extra miles, but on a beautiful, cool, blue-sky day… that’s not a bad thing!

Our original plan was to hike the 7.1 mile Cowpasture Loop which encircles the entire Cranberry Glades Botanical Area and crosses into the beautiful, wild Cranberry Wilderness. But, the trailhead was not marked and the map we had did have enough detail to indicate the exact location. We ended up parking at the Thomas Reserve trailhead, instead. We knew this trail would intersect the Cowpasture Loop after about a mile or so.

Would Be Waterfall — This rock ledge along the Thomas Reserve Trail is probably a pretty waterfall when the stream isn’t dry. Below: The trailhead for the Thomas Reserve trail; Trails were adequately marked.

I’m really glad we went this way, because the Thomas Reserve Trail took us past some beautiful and interesting scenery. There were ruins that looked like some kind of old pool or water treatment facility. The concrete basin and pillars were still intact, along with several large pipes with wheels attached. I did a quick Google search to try and figure out exactly what the ruins are, but I didn’t have much luck. From that point, the trail passes through beautiful fern-carpeted forest and past a dry stream. The stream has an interesting rock ledge/cave that I think probably makes a lovely, small waterfall when water is actually running. Eventually, the path intersects an old road that is part of the Cowpasture Loop.

After a short walk along the old road, the trail opens up into a gorgeous open meadow with views of the mountains in the distance. This is the site of the old Mill Point Federal Prison. Even though the buildings were all torn down in the late 1950s and early 1960s, you can still see some leftover signs of the site – there are bits of road left, abandoned stairs to nowhere, an old well. There is also a series of informational signs that include old photos and talk about life at the prison. Apparently, it was a prison without walls or gates. Prisoners were treated to weekly movies and could spend their afternoons hiking in the area. I guess you could say it was very low security! We stayed at the prison site long enough to read the signs and enjoy the meadow view.

After the meadow, the trail climbed back into the forest, following rolling ups and downs for a couple miles. We saw lots of bear scat and several deer leaping across the trail. We crossed a small dry stream shortly before passing out into another wide open area. The meadows along this trail were really overgrown. The ragweed and other plants were shoulder-height and constantly batted me in the face as I walked the trail. Even so, the meadow areas of this hike were spectacular! This section in particular offered beautiful views of Kennison Mountain.

Beaver Dam on the Cranberry River — We got a nice view of a beaver dam on the Cranberry River. Below; The bridge over the Cranberry River.

The trail dips down to the South Fork of the Cranberry River. This crossing had a pretty arched bridge and a great look at an active beaver dam. There were crabapple trees everywhere – so I was really wondering if we’d eventually see a bear. We never did – just the deer and a very angry red squirrel.

From the river, the trail ascends to a ridge and follows a series of gentle ups and downs. We passed several beaver ponds and got nice looks at the bogs and glades the area is known for. One pond even has an elevated wooden platform to view the area. Because of the dry months we’ve had lately, the ground was much dryer than it should be. The ponds were so low, I wondered if the resident beavers were able to swim at all. While we were passing one of the ponds, we heard a huge tree come crashing to the ground someplace nearby. It must have been a monster tree – it sounded like gunshots as it splintered and fell to the ground with a huge KABOOM.

Just before coming out on FS Road 102, the trail passes over another pretty arched bridge. The walk along 102 is completely level and pretty uneventful. You’ll pass a gate and the board marking the entry to Cranberry Wilderness. The area looks fantastic for backpacking – lots of loops and shelter options. We’re already talking about making a three day trip sometime in the spring.

After crossing the chain gate, the walk is along the developed portion of 102. Cars passed by and the walking was really boring. When we got to the Cranberry Glades Boardwalk, we decided to add the .6 mile loop onto our larger loop. The boardwalks pass through a beautiful open bog area. If you visit the right time of year, you can even see carnivorous pitcher plants.

After the quick turn along the boardwalk, we walked the last mile along the paved road back to our car. By the time we got back, I was pretty tired and hungry and was looking forward to making homemade pizza for dinner back at our Watoga State Park cabin. Although the day got off to an inauspicious start, it really turned out to be perfect.

Adam says…

Christine had suggested this hike to me when we were planning our trip to Watoga State Park and I’m so glad that she suggested it. This hike is one of my favorites that we’ve done this year. It has some interesting history and the open views of tundra are nothing short of beautiful.

Ruins on the Thomas Reserve Trail — We saw these mysterious ruins along the Thomas Reserve Trail. Below: The Thomas Reserve trail begins; An old well at the prison ruins site.

We had trouble finding the start of the hike, since the trailhead for the start of the Cowpasture Loop was not marked. We saw a sign for the Thomas Reserve trail and I could tell from our map that it hooked up with the Cowpasture Loop. The Thomas Reserve Trail starts bisecting a field, but quickly moves into woods. At about .6 miles, we saw the pillars of the old “pool” that Christine mentioned off to the right of the trail. The trail continues for another .4 miles through the woods until it comes to a sign.

Take a right here to get on to the Cowpasture Loop. The trail is quite level at this point as you move through a field with great views of the tundra around you. Here, and in some places throughout the entire loop, there may be tall plants that you have to push aside, but you shouldn’t need to bushwhack. As you’re passing through the tundra area, you may notice several bluebird boxes. The trail begins to turn towards the left and then opens up to more of a clearing. You will see posts that give information about the Mill Point Federal Prison camp and life for the inmates. You will then come to a sign around mile 1.5. Take a left here to stay on the Cowpasture Loop. This will loop back around the tundra, paralleling Charlies Creek, and then goes back into the woods. You will start to reach some footbridges around the two mile mark that take you above some marshy areas.

A view of the Glades Boardwalk — The glades boardwalk is a pleasant .6 mile walk around the bog. Below: The walk along the forest road wasn’t that exciting; Once we got back to the paved portion of 102, there were some pretty scenes along the road.

After this point, you will begin to climb slightly up. At the height of this gradual hill, you will begin to see views of Kennison Mountain. At mile 3.5, the trail then takes a sharp left (marked by an arrow on a sign) and descends again. This area was quite overgrown, but the trail was still clearly visible. The trail tends to alternate at this point from going through areas of marshy glades to trails through the woods with slight ups and downs in elevation. At mile 5.7, you will see a destroyed sign where there is a side path of about 100 yards to an observation deck. This would be an excellent spot for birding. At mile 6.4, the trail connects again to FS 102. Take a left on the fire road until you reach the gate at mile 6.6. At mile 7.3, you will reach the parking lot for the Cranberry Glades Boardwalk loop. This loop is only about .5 miles and I would highly recommend it. There are interpretive signs along the boardwalk and it does give some more wonderful views throughout the loop. Once you complete the loop, just walk back up FS 102 to reach your car.

There are also a few geocaches along this loop:

Trail Notes

Distance –9 mile loop
Elevation Change – 200 feet
Difficulty – 3. This is really an easy hike, but we’ll give it a 3 due to the longer length.
Trail Conditions – 2.5. The trail was largely passable, but very overgrown. Several bridges over streams were broken and rotted through.
Views –3. You get some nice views of the mountains and great views of the glades/tundra.
Waterfalls/streams – 3. In times with normal to higher precipitation, this trail has great views of streams, ponds and the Cranberry River.
Wildlife – 4. We saw deer, signs of bears, active beaver dams, red squirrels and many kinds of birds.
Ease to Navigate – 3. Once you find the trailhead, the trail is relatively easy to follow.
Solitude – 4. Outside the popular boardwalk area, you probably won’t see a soul!

Directions to trailhead: From Mill Point, WV head west of WV 39/55. After about 7 miles, you will find a sign for the Cranberry Glades area on your right (FS 102). Head down this road for one mile until you reach the trailhead for the Thomas Reserve trailhead.