Simmons Gap is a very easy walk from the ranger station down to the park’s eastern border. It follows an old route used by the mountain people that inhabited the area.
The Simmons Gap fire road extends to the park boundary. Below: We saw a bear less than a tenth of a mile from the Simmons Gap parking area; Apple trees probably attract lots of wildlife; Bear scat was everywhere along the Simmons Gap trail.
Christine Says…
Truthfully, we probably wouldn’t have bothered with this hike if it weren’t so close in proximity to the other two we selected for the day. Our Falcon Guide said it was nothing special, but it was one of the few hikes left in the park that we haven’t done at least once. (There are a few long 10-16 miles hikes still on the to-do list, but we’ll likely do those as backpacking trips)
The walk down Simmons Gap was about what I expected – a quiet walk down a shady path through the woods. There wasn’t much scenery – no views and no waterfalls. The stream running along the trail was nearly dry despite the decent rain we’ve had lately.
As we walked, we kept our eyes peeled for bears. We had seen a bear less than a tenth of a mile from where we parked our car. Also, the fire road was practically paved with bear scat. Besides the ridge of Knob Mountain, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much bear poop in one place. Unfortunately, all we saw was the poop… no bears!
Wildflowers along the Simmons Gap fire road. Below: The trail follows along, and eventually crosses a small stream.
There are many hints of a bygone era along the trail – old stone walls, crumbling foundations and the odd apple tree tucked into the forest. The spot where the fire road meets the park boundary is obviously used as a dump by people who are too rude and lazy to take their garbage to a proper facility. The streambed at the end of the trail was littered with everything from a broken baby stroller, to a beaten plastic Shrek suitcase to a box full of empty 2-liter bottles of Dr. Pepper. It was disgusting. I wish I knew what people were thinking when they did stuff like this. How could anyone back their car up to a beautiful mountain stream, and just empty their trunk-load of discarded property?
Despite the disappointment of seeing the litter, we still had a nice walk down the path. Although, I don’t think I’d recommend this hike to anyone.
Trail Notes
Distance –1.6 miles out and back
Elevation Change – About 200 feet
Difficulty –1. Easy walking with very little elevation change.
Trail Conditions – 4.5. This fire road is smooth and easy to walk on.
Views –0. You’ll be in the woods the whole time.
Waterfalls/streams – 1. The small stream is pretty and is often lined by stone walls, but it may be dry most of the summer.
Wildlife – 3. There’s a good likelihood of seeing bears in this area.
Ease to Navigate – 5. There is no place to go wrong. Follow the fire road straight out and back.
Solitude– 4.5. Because there isn’t much to see in this area, not many people come this way.
Directions to trailhead:
At mile 73.2 on Skyline Drive you will see a small parking lot on the western side of the road (directly opposite of the sign for the Simmons Gap Ranger Station). Cross Skyline Drive, walking on the paved road to the ranger station. You will see a chain guarding a fire road. Cross the chain and start the trail down the fire road.
The Pocosin Mission Trail is a fairly short walk along a fire road that leads to the ruins of an abandoned Episcopal mission.
The Pocosin Mission ruins are slowly sinking back into the forest. Below: The fire road makes this trail pleasant and easy to walk along; The old church steps still stand at the site; Adam explores the ruins.
Adam Says…
We’re back to Virginia hikes! This week, we’ll be sharing a trio of short hikes. In fact, the hikes are so short that we’re going to skip doing our typical dual write-ups. I’ll cover this one, and Christine will cover the next two.
Since we had surprisingly nice temperatures on an August day (it didn’t get above 68 on our hike), we decided to go for three short hikes off Skyline Drive. The last time we did the Pocosin Mission Trail we were with a couple of friends. Shortly after we got to the mission site, we were pounded with a fierce thunderstorm. We were all so soaked to the bone, that we ended up buying clothes at the Big Meadows wayside, looking like complete tourists with all of our Shenandoah National Park gear.
The PATC maintain a cabin, available for rent, along the Pocosin Mission Fire Road. Below: Wildflowers (and bees) were abundant along the trail; We saw many varieties of berries; There were also butterflies everywhere.
On this trip, we had a nice easy stroll down the fire road. After about .2 miles, the road crosses over the Appalachian Trail, but you just want to stay on the fire road for this trail. We took a few minutes on our way down to stop by the PATC Pocosin Cabin, which can be rented by the PATC. The cabin was locked, but we could tell that people renting this cabin would wake to a nice sunrise view. Continue down the trail for another .8 miles until you reach another cement post, marking the junction with the South River Falls fire road. You will see the remains of a cabin nearby and stone steps with a foundation. After exploring, just go back to your car up the fire road.
The Pocosin Mission was an Episcopal mission established in 1904 for the mountain community living in the area. “Pocosin” is a Native American word meaning “swamp”. The mission building is actually where you see the stone steps, a small foundation, and a fallen-down chimney. Be careful as you explore the area – there is a lot of broken glass and twisted metal. The cabin has a rusted metal roof and there are plenty of rusted materials on the ground, so watch your kids carefully in this area. In addition to these sites, there is also an overgrown cemetery that is across the trail from the mission, marked by old nameless headstones.
The old church walls and a fallen chimney are still visible. Below: Buckets and an old sink can still be found inside the mission ruins.
For those interested in the history of the people that lived on this mountain will enjoy visiting this site. While there aren’t any views to speak of, the hike does cause you to speculate on how life was back in the early 1900s being a part of a community that lived and worshiped together.
Trail Notes
Distance – 2.2 miles out and back
Elevation Change – 450 feet
Difficulty – 1.5. Most people should be able to handle this.
Trail Conditions – 4. It’s just a fire road, so not much difficulty for trail conditions.
Views –0. No views.
Waterfalls/streams – 0. No streams/waterfalls.
Wildlife – 2. There should be a variety of wildlife in the vicinity.
Ease to Navigate – 5. Just straight down a road and back.
Solitude – 4. This isn’t a very popular spot, so you should have your peace.
Directions to trailhead:
Around mile 59.5 on Skyline Drive, you will see a small gravel road leading to a parking lot on the eastern side of the trail. Park here, cross the chain, and walk down the fire road to start the trail.
The Knob Mountain – Jeremy’s Run Loop takes hikers along a 12.4 mile route through one of Shenandoah’s most popular backcountry camping areas. This hike could be done as a long dayhike, but the campsites in the area are too inviting to pass up.
The Knob Mountain – Jeremy’s Run Loop offers beautiful stream scenery. Below: Mountain vistas can be seen along the descent on the Knob Mountain Trail; Blue Blazes mark the way across streams on the Jeremy’s Run Trail; Adam negotiates one of the many stream crossings.
Adam Says…
Since the weather looked like it was going to be a cooler, we decided to take off and go on an overnight backpacking trip. Our first overnight trip was the Hazel Mountain-Catlett Mountain trail which we did with a group from the PATC. This trip was our first non-group outing, so we felt it would be a good chance to put into practice what we learned from our Backpacking 101 course.
To do this trail as a loop, leave from the Elkwallow picnic grounds. You will see the entrance to the trail next to the pit toilet, which provides a last chance to “take care of business” before embarking on the hike. You will begin the trail on a short spur trail to the white-blazed Appalachian Trail. Turn left on the AT. In .2 miles, you will reach the junction with the blue-blazed Jeremy’s Run Trail. Continue straight on the Jeremy’s Run Trail. Around 1.2 miles, you will reach the junction with the Knob Mountain Connector Trail. Take a right at the post to join this trail. As soon as you cross Jeremy’s Run with a little rock-hopping, you will begin this steep connector trail. There are lots of switchbacks and this is definitely the steepest part of the entire trip. Around 1.7 miles, you will reach a junction with the yellow-blazed Knob Mountain Trail. Take a left at the trail junction and continue to follow this slowly ascending ridge trail. We would probably name this portion of the loop the Bear Scat Boulevard, because there was a ton of bear evidence in the area. You will see a few views through the trees, but nothing remarkable from the trail. At mile 3.9 you will reach the summit of Knob Mountain, marked by a concrete post. After the summit, you will begin your steep descent down the mountain. This is broken up by several switchbacks. The trail does open up at times to give you views of mountains along the way, including Strickler Knob and the Three Sisters. At 6.8 miles, you will cross Jeremy’s Run and reach the junction with the blue-blazed Jeremy’s Run Trail. Since we were fairly exhausted from our trip, we picked a campsite near the junction of the trail, which gave us great access to water. From the junction, you just continue on the Jeremy’s Run Trail until you reach the parking lot, crossing over Jeremy’s Run fourteen times. In some areas, it was necessary to rock hop across, but most of the time the traversing was quite easy. I imagine during heavy rain seasons, this would be more of a challenge.
The overnight trip started with a brief stop to fill out paperwork for our backcountry permit. Below: Adam makes his way down the Jeremy’s Run Trail; Snacks on the Knob Mountain summit; A view through the trees from the Knob Mountain Trail.
Jeremy’s Run truly provided a great opportunity for camping in the backcountry. We saw several previously-used campsite areas, so we decided to use our Leave No Trace principles and use an existing campsite rather than creating our own. The campsite was short walking distance to a reliable water source. After starting our trip around 9:30AM, we arrived at camp around 1:00PM. We were very hungry, so Christine worked on getting some lunch together and I began working on getting our tent set. The ground was very hard and rocky, so it took an effort to find a good place to get stakes into the ground. After lunch, we finished getting our sleeping pads/bags ready, hung our bear-bag rope, and prepared our kitchen area. We got some water to use for the trip at the nearby stream and I dug a few preemptive catholes. With every thing set, we decided to relax a little in our tents to stretch out our backs. I like to bring a book along the trip so we took turns reading aloud a few chapters from A Walk for Sunshine by Jeff Alt, an entertaining read about hiking the Appalachian Trail. We took a short nap and then played a few hands of the Monopoly card game we also brought. We then broke in our new JetBoil and prepared a great dinner. After cleaning up dishes, we went down to a place along Jeremy’s Run and stretched out on a large rock. We watched several brook trout jump out of the water, catching mosquitoes that were lightly dancing on top of the water. We retired to our tents to the sweet chorus of whippoorwills and the “who cooks for you” hoots of nearby barred owls.
On the hike down from the summit of Knob Mountain, hikers get a few decent views of adjacent Neighbor Mountain. Below: A scenic spot on Jeremy’s Run; Our campsite.
There were so many things I enjoyed about our trip. We saw tons of wildlife – three black bears, a wild turkey, scarlet tanagers in glorious color, and heard lots of birds at night. The temperature was perfect and the bugs were not out as much as we expected. The trip also helped affirm our ability to handle a backpacking trip by ourselves. I think we really learned a lot of great skills in the last few months to help us feel well-prepared. I was a little more apprehensive wondering if we could handle the 12+ mile hike with 35 pounds on my back, since our previous trip was about 8 miles total with a little less weight each. The hike was more strenuous the first day, but we were able to complete the hike without much trouble. I think we’re both looking forward to going on another backpacking trip, but we are now getting into the hot summer months. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find a cooler weekend in the near future.
Christine Says…
When Mother Nature gives you the gift of a sunny, dry, 70-degree day in the midst of a long string of 90+ degree scorchers, you must take advantage of that gift! We chose to make the most of the pleasant weather and go on an overnight backpacking trip. One of the leaders on our last trip recommended Jeremy’s Run as one of his favorite places in the park. As dayhikers (until recently), the Jeremy’s Run hike had always been a little out of reach. At 12.4 miles with well over 2,500 feet of elevation gain, it was always more than we were willing to tackle on a day hike. It seemed like a perfect candidate for this little weekend getaway.
After filling out all the requisite paperwork, we set out from the Elkwallow Picnic Area along the Appalachian Trail. Right away, I was struck by how much heavier my pack was compared to our last trip. On that trip, we had seven people to split the weight of group gear. But this time, we had to carry our own stove, fuel, collapsible bucket, water filter, food and rope. I also chose to carry my old dSLR camera, a couple card games, extra batteries, a fleece and my iPod. In the end, my pack weighed in about nine pound heavier than our last outing.
I brought my iPod along this time for a couple reasons 1) I wanted to be able to listen to my “workout mix” when climbing a couple of the big hills on the route and 2) my iPod is loaded with audio books, which I thought would be pleasant to listen to after sunset in the tent. The first big hill we hit was on the Knob Mountain Cut-Off Trail. It was really steep, so I put in my earbuds and started chugging up the hill. Listening to mindless pop music with a beat – anything from Tupac to Lady Gaga to Gnarls Barkley – makes climbing hills so much less painful. I had worked up a pretty good rhythm, listening to the early 90’s party song, “Rump Shaker”, when I rounded a curve a spotted two black bears about 50 yards up the hill. I’m not sure if they were a mom and a yearling or two adults. We looked at them, they looked at us, then they quickly decided to leave the area. I didn’t have time to free myself from my trekking poles and iPod cord to get a photo, but it was still a great treat to see the bears. Backpacking seems to involve an inordinate number of straps and buckles. Sometimes, it makes me feel like a horse pulling a cart.
After camp was set up, Christine spent some time relaxing on the rocks in Jeremy’s Run. Below: Adam collects water in a collapsible bucket to use for cooking later; Crocs and Socks – they might not be high fashion, but they’re functional; Playing Monopoly at camp.
After the cut-off trail met the Knob Mountain Trail, the tough climbing was over for the day. I listened to my iPod a bit more, but eventually put it away in favor of listening to the birds and the breeze in the trees. We took a snack break on the top of Knob Mountain. There weren’t any views at the summit – just shade and a ton of poison ivy. It felt really good to throw the pack off for a while and have a good stretch. I could really feel the heavier pack weight bruising my hip bones.
The downhill walk lasted a little over 3 miles. We soon arrived at the stream, where the Knob Mountain Trail converges with both the Neighbor Mountain and Jeremy’s Run Trails. We crossed the stream a couple times and decided it was high time to find a campsite. We were both completely knackered after walking about 7 miles with our packs. I honestly don’t know how thru-hikers cover 20-30 miles a day with even heavier packs. I’m convinced I wouldn’t last a week!
We found a beautiful place for camp under the shade of pines and hardwoods. It was clearly a place others have camped before. Stones were arranged like seats in a semi-circle in one of the clearings. It was also about 30 yards from a gorgeous spot along Jeremy’s Run – so we had great access to water.
We designated separate sleeping and kitchen areas right away. Adam pitched the tent while I fixed lunch. I made Buffalo Chicken Wraps – which were delicious. We found a place for our bear hang and dug a couple catholes for future use. With camp all set up, we settled into our tent for a nap.
Post-nap, we collected water for cooking in our collapsible bucket. On our water run, we also took some time to stretch out and lounge on one of enormous boulders in the middle of the stream. The sky above was so blue and it was very soothing to watch the trees swaying above in the breeze. I actually tried out my Crocs again, and found them more comfortable, albeit considerably dorkier, with socks. I may keep them as my camp shoes after all.
We filtered water for our dessert and boiled water for our entree. Below: We had Pad Thai for dinner; Dark Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.
Around 5:30, we started getting things together for dinner. Because this trip was rather impromptu, we brought pre-packaged dehydrated meals instead of taking the time to make homemade food. But it was still delicious. The Backpacker’s Pantry Pad Thai was filling and tasty. It had a yummy, spicy peanut sauce with noodles and vegetables. For dessert, we ended up having Dark Chocolate Cheesecake (instead of Tiramisu, as originally planned). It was really tasty, too! I was stuffed from dinner, so we decided to take a short walk down to a deep pool I had seen along the trail a way back. We sat on a rock and just enjoyed the quiet of the evening.
It got dark quickly down in the hollow, so we retired to our tent a little before nine. I listened to a book on my iPod and Adam read. I started to doze off well before 10:00. All through the night, I could hear a couple barred owls hooting, over and over and over again. Pretty soon, a whippoorwill joined in and sang through almost the entire night. I haven’t heard a whippoorwill since I was a child, so it delighted me to hear the song in the night again. I slept pretty soundly, until the roar of a train whistle woke me up around 2:00 in the morning. I could hear the wheels on the track so clearly; it seemed like the train was rolling through camp. I guess some distant sounds really carry on the quiet night air. When I awoke, I found I was drenched with sweat in my sleeping bag. It was in the mid-50’s outside, so the down bag was a bit too warm. However, if I slept outside my bag, I got cold quickly. I want to get a blanket and sheet for my sleeping pad to make summer camping more comfortable. Despite being hot or cold, I eventually fell back to sleep and stayed so until 6:30 a.m.
I got up before Adam and got the bear bag down, so I could start breakfast. We ended up leaving the bacon home because we didn’t want to carry a pan. Instead we had oatmeal, boxes of apple juice and hot chocolate. It was a satisfying breakfast on the cool morning.
We saw three bears, including one on the Appalachian Trail. Below: Another scenic pool on Jeremy’s Run; We encountered this loose dog on the trail (one of many). He apparently lives on the border of the park and runs the trail often.; Rocks in the stream bed were covered with moss.
We broke camp down quickly and were back on the trail around 8:00. The second day of hiking was substantially shorter and easier than the first day. With about 5.5 miles to cover, we knew we’d be back at the car by mid-morning.
The trail climbs ever so gradually along Jeremy’s Run. We passed lots of fantastic campsites along the stream. It’s no wonder this area is so popular with backpackers! We crossed the stream 14 times over the course of the morning. Because of all the dry weather we’ve had lately, none of the crossings were challenging at all. Most of them were bone dry, and the ones with water were still easily rock-hopped.
We took a snack break where the Jeremy’s Run trail crosses the Knob Mountain Cut-Off. From this point, the trail follows the same route as we’d used hiking out the day before. The grade becomes steeper for the last mile and eventually meets back up with the Appalachian Trail. For this section, I put my iPod back on again to help endure the uphill. “Rump Shaker” came up in the shuffle again, and after the first few moments, I spotted another bear. There must be something about that song that conjures bears! I did manage to get a few distant photos of this bear before he disappeared deeper into the woods.
About ten minutes later, we were back at our car and on our way. We stopped by the Elkwallow wayside, where I rinsed my face and used a flushing toilet! Plumbing is so exciting after being without it. On our way home, we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. Coke and salty French fries taste absolutely amazing after a long hike. As luck would have it, their credit card machine was broken and they gave us our lunch for free! It was a fitting bonus for a perfect trip.
Trail Notes
Distance – 12.4 miles
Elevation Change – 2600 ft
Difficulty – 3. If you were going to do this in one day without stopping, I would up the difficulty slightly due to the length.
Trail Conditions – 3.5. The trail was very well-maintained. We saw evidence that the Knob Mountain trail had been cut back, but I can imagine in late spring, much of the trail could have some overgrown areas. The ground was well-traveled and there were only a few rocky spots around the streams.
Views – 1.5. The best chance of views are on the descent from the Knob Mountain summit down to Jeremy’s Run. After leaves fall, this may be slightly better.
Waterfalls/streams –3.5. You do get lots of chances to cross Jeremy’s Run. There was only a small fall near the base. If you want to photograph streams, you should have plenty of opportunities. You’ll also have a reliable water source.
Wildlife – 4. We saw black bears, a turkey, and scarlet tanagers; we heard whippoorwills and barred owls at night.
Ease to Navigate – 4. The trails are well-marked and just stick to the signs on the cement posts.
Solitude –3. This is a popular spot for backpacking and trail running. However, we felt that we were able to find our own peace in the woods. We also came across a dog that belongs to a nearby family that evidently roams the trails frequently, so we had a companion during part of the hike up from Jeremy’s Run.
Directions to trailhead:
Located in the northern section of Shenandoah National Park. Park at the Elkwallow Gap picnic grounds around mile 24.3 of Skyline Drive. The Jeremy’s Run trail begins next to the pit toilet at the parking lot.
This nearly 8-mile loop takes hikers deep into a beautiful, remote section of Shenandoah National Park. The trail passes bubbling streams, stands of hemlocks that haven’t yet fallen and crumbling stone walls left behind by families that used to live in the park. This post could also be called part four of the Backpacking 101 series, because we did this trail as a backpacking trip with the great folks from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.
Walking the Hazel Mountain Trail was peaceful and green.
Adam Says…
This was our first overnight backpacking trip together and served as our graduation trip from the Backpacking 101 course we took through PATC. We were unable to go on our previously-scheduled trip due to Christine’s sprained ankle she suffered on our Buzzard Rock hike. We were thrilled that our instructors gave us the opportunity for a make-up trip. You can read our other sections of the review of this class in Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
The outing leaders, John and Jeanne, chose the Hazel Mountain – Catlett Mountain loop for the trip. The hike winds around the mountains and through pretty forest, but doesn’t lead to any summit views. The trail starts off from the Meadow Spring parking lot around mile 33.7 on Skyline Drive. Like many trails in Shenandoah National Park, the Hazel Mountain trail descends from the road. You will stay on this trail until you reach the Catlett Mountain Trail. The Hazel Mountain Trail is also marked on maps as a horse trail, so you may encounter horses on many of the trails around this area.
Day One Hiking: Shortly after leaving the parking lot, you will see a junction with the Buck Hollow Trail (a tough loop hike). At .3 miles, you reach a trail junction with the Buck Ridge Trail (that is the loop back from the Buck Hollow Trail). At 1.6 miles, you come to the first junction with the White Rocks Trail (another loop trail). At 2.2 miles, you will see a post marking the junction with the Catlett Spur Trail, marking where you will rejoin the trail after you complete the loop. While you just descended about 1000 feet, the trail begins to ascend from this point, gaining about 400 feet over the next .6 miles. Around 2.8 miles, you will see the other junction with the White Rocks Trail. Around 3.1 miles, you will reach the top of the climb and take a right to continue on the Hazel Mountain trail. At mile 3.7, you will take a right on to the Catlett Mountain Trail. We picked a campsite near the top of this trail, as it does provide a close proximity below to a spur of Runyon Run, a reliable water source on the trail.
Day Two Hiking: Upon leaving camp, you descend down to the stream we used as the water source. Once you rockhop across Runyon Run, the trail ascends fairly steeply up 300 feet. At mile 4.7, you will take a right onto Catlett Spur Trail. The trail descends crossing over Runyon Run in a few spots. You will eventually pass an old stone perimeter wall, marking land that may have marked a boundary for a settler’s house or farm. At mile 5.6, you will come back to the junction with the Hazel Mountain Trail. Take a left on the trail and ascend for the final 2.2 miles back to the parking lot.
Our tent set-up at camp. Below: The backpacking group at the beginning of the trip; We took our packs off and enjoyed lunch at a boulder jumble near a stream; There were many different kinds of tents at camp… one of the group used a hammock.
Christine and I had a great time on the trip. We met up with our group at 9:30AM, reintroduced ourselves to each other, and got our packs ready for the trail. We divided up some group gear that we needed to share for the trip and weighed our packs for curiosity. I ended up with a little over 34 pounds in my pack and Christine had about 28 pounds. I would say that our average for the group was a little under 30 pounds, so it was manageable for an overnight trip. We hiked fairly fast, but we did take a few breaks to get a breather and eat some lunch. We hiked onto the Catlett Mountain trail and found our campsite around 12:30. We set up our tents and our kitchen area. We put up a tarp and brought all of our dishes, utensils and food to the kitchen site. Most of the group then decided to go down to Runyon Run, to load up some collapsible buckets for water for camp. This was a chance for us to try out our new Katadyn Hiker Pro water filter to refill some water bottles. When we hiked back up to the campsite, we happened to see an adult bear running from the direction of our campsite. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), we never saw him again.
Shortly after getting back to camp, we experienced a scary moment. We thought two people had stayed back at camp when we went on the water run, but came back to see only John. We started to hear shouts from the woods, but we couldn’t distinguish if the voice was shouting “Help” or “Hello”. Our instructor grabbed his first aid kit and we continued to call back to the person. We shouted “Are you hurt?” and “What’s your name?”, but we couldn’t distinguish the response. We kept calling out and eventually we saw one of our group members emerge from the dense underbrush. He had spotted a timber rattler that rose up against him. He ran out of the way, but in his haste to get away from the snake, he got turned around and lost. He had lost his whistle along the way, so he resorted to shouting to try and find his way back to the group. It really shows that you can quickly get turned around and lost without your bearing in the woods.
We then learned how to hang a bear bag, tying a rock to a roop and throwing it over a branch (after dinner we substituted the rock with the actual bags to hang and tied the other end of the rope to a tree). Since we had some time to kill in camp, Christine and I decided to take a quick siesta in our tent before dinner. A storm quickly rolled in with loud thunder, high winds, and heavy rain. It rained for close to an hour. After it slowed to a light sprinkle, we made it back to the kitchen site, to find the rest of our group huddled under the tarp. Later, we ate an amazing dinner (which Christine will talk about) and cleaned up. After watching a nice sunset through the trees and hanging out with the group, Christine and I retired for the night.
This friendly buck visited our camp all weekend. Every time we were in our kitchen area, he came over to hang out. Below: Night falls at camp (notice all the rain on the tent!)
The next morning we got up early and worked on packing our gear. We ate a wonderful breakfast and then broke camp around 8:45AM. We finished our hike, arriving back at our cars shortly after noon. I think everyone was planning a victory meal after the trip, so we made a trip to McDonald’s in Luray.
We really enjoyed our first backpacking trip. It was great to have this experience with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Our instructors were absolutely wonderful and really shared a lot of their experience with us. It was also great to meet a lot of nice people through the Backpacking 101 class that share a common interest and experience level. This trip really affirmed to us that we could handle doing an overnight backpacking trip and we are excited to try it again sometime in the very near future.
Christine Says…
On the eve of our backpacking trip, I was feeling exceedingly fretful. I wondered if I’d be able to bear the heat/humidity without passing out. I worried that I’d be such a sluggish hiker that I’d slow the whole group down. I had concerns about the storms forecast for the day. At one point when we were loading our backpacks. I looked and Adam and said “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this.”
But, wow… it turns out that I LOVE backpacking. It was simultaneously fun, challenging and relaxing. I was amazed at how comfortable my pack was – the 28 pounds felt balanced and easy on my back. I may have sweated like crazy in the heat, but I managed to stay hydrated and felt really strong the entire hike. I had such a sense of tranquility falling asleep in our tent after dinner, listening to the sounds of evening birds and the wind rustling in the trees.
I can’t say enough great things about our PATC (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) trip leaders – John and Jeanne. Their expertise made me feel really safe and confident on my “maiden voyage” overnight in the woods. Actually, I have nothing but great things to say about our entire backpacking group. Our fellow adventurers, Anthony, Suzanne and Ed were all friendly and fun people.
Adam throws a rope over the fallen tree to create a bear hang. He used a rock to make the throw easier. Below: A lot of planning went into picking the right spot for the hang; three waterproof bags were hung. The bags contained anything with a scent.
Adam already did a thorough job describing the terrain and features along the route, so that leaves me to talk about FOOD (and maybe a few other things, too). When I think of backpacking, I think of tuna pouches, power bars, beef jerky and freeze-dried, pre-packaged meals. But, Jeanne is a true backcountry gourmand (she brought a lobster roll for her packed lunch!). For dinner, we feasted on Chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce and Rice and Curried Couscous with Peas and Cashews. We even had banana pudding, replete with fresh banana slices and Nilla Wafers for dessert. Cleaning up was super-easy, since we did most of the cooking using Ziploc freezer bags. You can pour boiling water right into the bags, and avoid dirtying a pot. Individual utensils and bowls were cleaned by thorough eating (not a crumb left behind) and then sanitized with more boiling water. People either drank the water or broadcast it into the woods – away from camp. Either method is acceptable for Leave No Trace practices. The main goal is not to send any food particles into the woods.
Breakfast the next morning exceeded all my expectations! Of course… there was instant oatmeal and hot chocolate, but there was also real BACON and cheesy hashbrowns! Jeanne brought Boar’s Head shelf-stable bacon, cheddar cheese, butter and dehydrated potatoes. I decreed to Adam that we shall always have bacon when we go backpacking. I’m totally spoiled for backcountry breakfast now!
How cool is this… nice, crispy bacon in the backcountry. Below: We also had cheesy hashbrowns for breakfast. Below: On the hike out we passed several sections of old, stone walls; The group post-hike… all a lot sweatier than when we started.
Over breakfast, Adam and I spent some time talking to our trip leader, John, about everything from gear to favorite backpacking spots. He’s like a walking encyclopedia of backpacking expertise.
I have so many fantastic memories from our first real backpacking trip… the outgoing buck that hung out with us all weekend, Adam sitting straight up in his sleeping bag (twice) to accuse me of being a bear, the feeling of being away from complications and civilization, but most of all, making new friends who might become future outing companions.
It was a rewarding experience, and I can’t wait to get out there again!
Trail Notes
Distance – 7.8 miles loop
Elevation Change – About 1000 feet, but there are also some ups and downs of about 400 feet on the Catlett Mountain-Catlett Spur Trail loop.
Difficulty – 3
Trail Conditions –3. The trail isn’t too rocky, but is overgrown, especially the Catlett Mountain-Catlett Spur Trails.
Views – 0. There were really no views of anything from this trail, since it is through a thick wooded area.
Waterfalls/streams –2. Good water sources, but nothing too scenic.
Wildlife –4. With people in our group seeing deer, a bear, and a timber rattler, there should be a decent chance to see wildlife here. We also saw an American Redstart and a few red-spotted newts on the trail.
Ease to Navigate –3. There are lots of spurs off of the trails, but everything loops back at some point. Pay attention to the cement posts and you shouldn’t have any difficulty.
Solitude – 2.5. The first section down to the White Rocks Trail seemed to include all the traffic that we saw. This is popular with many day-trippers, since it is one of the first parking lots in the northern portion of the Central District of Shenandoah National Park.
Directions to trailhead:
On Skyline Drive, park at the Meadow Spring parking lot between mile markers 33 and 34. The trail starts at the southern end of the parking lot.
This pleasant section 7.9 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail takes you between Shenandoah National Park’s two large, historic lodges. You can eat breakfast at Skyland, do the hike, and then have lunch at Big Meadows.
This hike offers a great mix of open views and passages through deep, fern-carpeted woods. Below: Hikers pass three talus slopes on Hawksbill Mountain; The forest floor was covered with abundant ferns; The trail is clear and well-maintained, but can be rocky.
Christine Says…
Most popular hikes in Shenandoah National Park lead away from the Appalachian Trail – down into the hollows or up to Shenandoah’s taller peaks. The AT is usually relegated to being used as a connector trail or the return arm of a loop hike. Many hikes on our blog include segments along the AT, but we’ve never posted a hike exclusively along the trail. We decided it was time to change that.
On Saturday, we decided to do a “lodge-to-lodge” section hike – taking the Appalachian Trail from Skyland to Big Meadows. It’s a 7.9 mile section, with an optional .2 mile spur trail to visit the Rock Spring Cabin and Hut. Our original plan was to eat breakfast at Skyland, do our hike, and then eat lunch at the Big Meadows Wayside. But, we woke up hungry and ended up having bagels and fruit before we left the house in the morning.
We left one car parked at the Big Meadows amphitheater and proceeded to the Stony Man parking area at the north entrance of Skyland to set out on our hike. The trail initially cuts through the patch of forest between Skyline Drive and the lodge. Recently, we’ve been seeing a bear with three new cubs along the road running parallel to this patch, so we were hoping we would come across the family. No such luck.
After about a half-mile, we crossed the road at the south entrance of Skyland (you could also park here and cut a small amount of distance off the hike). The trail passes the Skyland Stables and descends into the woods.
The terrain along the Appalachian Trail is varied and diverse. Some sections are smooth dirt, others are jagged and rocky. The vegetation along the trail is beautiful – alternating between lush expanses of fern, thick stands of mountain laurel and majestic groves of trees. Occasionally, the trail passes beneath a scenic overlook on Skyline Drive. Uphill from the trail, you can see families taking in park scenery from the comfort of their cars. Most of them never even notice us hiking below. I always wonder how many people visit the park and never leave the scenic byway. The best of Shenandoah is off the road, and so many people miss that.
We took the short spur trail off the Appalachian Trail that leads to the Rock Spring Hut and the Rock Spring Cabin. Below: The view of the valley from the front porch of the Rock Spring Cabin; We checked out the journal in the hut and found entries from the thru-hikers we met a couple weeks ago; Although we didn’t see any fawns on the hike, we saw a few on the ride back to pick up our second car.
The trail skirts around the western side of Hawksbill Mountain – Shenandoah’s tallest. Shortly after passing Hawksbill, a spur trail leads .1 miles down to two structures maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC). The Rock Spring Cabin is rented out by the PATC and is available to the general public. The cabin has a beautiful view of the valley beyond. We were lucky to run into a woman renting the cabin for the weekend, and she was kind enough to let us take a peek inside. The cabin was quite cozy and well equipped. The other structure in the area is the Rock Spring Hut. It’s a three-sided building with an elevated sleeping platform. A spring for fresh water and a privy are located close by. The hut was put in place to provide shelter to thru-hikers and section hikers along the Appalachian Trail. We took a few minutes to check out the journal at the shelter, and were able to find entries from the thru-hikers we met a few weeks ago.
After leaving the Rock Spring area, we saw a HUGE increase in traffic along the trail – Boy Scout troops, a busload of day hikers out for a leg-stretcher and various other parties. There are lots of easy access points to the trail in this area, so the traffic wasn’t completely surprising. This stretch of trail passes several nice overlooks from rocky ledges. By this point of the trail, clouds had really started to roll in. The weather was really odd on this hike. Skies went from perfect blue to stormy very quickly and the winds varied from dead calm to very brisk. The temperature stayed pleasantly cool – in the low 70’s, even though it was close to 90 in the valley below.
After walking across the Fisher’s Gap Overlook, the trail takes a distinct uphill turn toward the Big Meadows area. In the last mile, hikers ascend almost 700 feet in elevation. It’s the only tougher climb on the entire hike – most other ascents and descents are 200 feet or less. Near the end of the climb, the trail passes very close to the Big Meadows Campground. We were literally 25 feet or less from people’s tents and campers. After passing the campground, the trail levels out for the last few tenths of a mile before arriving back at the amphitheater.
It was a fun hike, and really quite easy for an 8-miler! We were also lucky to finish our hike before the thunderstorms roared across the mountains.
Adam Says…
Since Saturday was National Trails Day, we felt it was absolutely necessary to do a hike in one of our favorite places to hike – Shenandoah National Park. Since we’ve recently met a few thru-hikers, Christine suggested hiking the Appalachian Trail from Skyland to Big Meadows. June is a heavy month to encounter Appalachian Trail thru-hikers in Shenandoah National Park, since most start their trip in March or April. We ended up seeing nine thru-hikers on their way North to Maine. The few that we spoke to were looking forward to a big breakfast at the Skyland Lodge. Christine mentioned how crowded the trail was this day. This was mostly due to thru-hikers, boy scout groups, and tour groups. The boy scout group consisted of several parents that were along for the trip. The parents looked much more miserable than the scouts did themselves. In the bus group, one lady whispered to us as she passed, “I envy your freedom”, meaning that she wasn’t enjoying hiking in such a large group. As you near the Big Meadows Lodge and campground, you will likely see lots of people that are going for a hike, so travel on the AT nearby is one of the closest options for a hike. There was another pair of couples that were doing the lodge-to-lodge hike heading northwards, but I feel going from Skyland to Big Meadows does save you a little on the elevation gain (though the southbound route does save your largest uphill climb for last).
One of my highlights on the trail was walking along the talus slopes near the Hawksbill parking lot. We had completed a hike through the same area almost exactly one year ago to Hawksbill summit. It is impressive to view the talus slopes and watch out for peregrine falcons. We saw several swooping overhead from this point and we also saw some from the Franklin Cliffs overlook. If you are a bird lover, you will likely see some of the closest views of peregrine falcons in Virginia from here.
Due to the big storms we have had in the last few days, there was running water in a few spots on the trail. I wouldn’t expect this normally, but it could give some people an opportunity to fill up water bottles and treat the water if you are running low.
Mountain Laurel was still abundant all along the trail. Below: The Appalachian Trail passes right by the Skyland Stables; Adam enjoys the view from Timber Hollow; There is quite a bit of construction going on along Skyline Drive and the AT has been marked with warning signs; There are several nice rocky ledges along the trail a couple miles north of Big Meadows.
We ended the trip by stopping at the Big Meadows wayside for lunch. It was the most crowded I have seen the dining room in a while. We topped our lunch off with a dish of blackberry ice cream. This is something most thru-hikers have heard about and they can’t wait to try (especially the blackberry milkshakes). We then went over to talk to the volunteers at National Trails Day. There was an exhibition on two-person lumber sawing, information on safety, gear demonstrations and sign-ups for guided hikes. We talked to a few of the leaders from the Backpacking 101 course that were there on behalf of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. We had signed up to join the PATC last year at Trails Day. We were able to talk to our leaders for next weekend’s backpacking trip, so we were able to find out where we are going next week for our first backpacking trip. We’re quite excited! (more about that later)
On our way home, we saw a few fawns with their mothers. Most of the deer give birth in late May/early June, so they are quite tiny at this point in their lives. You will likely see hordes of photographers in Big Meadows trying to get pictures of the fawns, but I encourage people not to harass the wildlife by approaching too closely.
While this wasn’t the entire Appalachian Trail distance of 2175 miles, we enjoyed our small portion of the trail. We are hoping that we can hike the entire 105 miles of the AT that runs through Shenandoah National Park next summer.
Trail Notes
Distance – 7.9 miles as a shuttle trail.
Elevation Change – Constant ups and downs, but the longest uphill climb is about 650 vertical feet at the very end of the hike.
Difficulty – 2. This is an easy hike for eight miles. The Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah is never very steep.
Trail Conditions – 3. There are some rocky sections, but overall the trail is in great shape.
Views – 3.5 – There are nice views from Timber Hollow, Hawksbill, Spitler Knob, and Franklin Cliffs.
Waterfalls/streams –0.
Wildlife – 2. We know there is a lot of wildlife in this area, but we only saw the peregrine falcons soaring over Hawksbill Mountain.
Ease to Navigate – 4.5. As long as you’re following the white blazes, you can’t go wrong.
Solitude –1. We hiked this trail on a pleasant June morning. We saw *many* people – literally dozens and dozens.
Directions to trailhead:
On Skyline Drive, park at the Stony Man trailhead (located at the northern entrance to Skyland – near mile marker 42). You will see an Appalachian trail marker near the parking lot. You will see two AT cement posts, but the one that starts the trail is further away from Skyline Drive. Follow the trail south from this point.
This 9.8 mile circuit hike offers all the best of Shenandoah – panoramic views, bubbling streams, a swimming hole and even a nice final stretch along the Appalachian Trail. It comes close to our 10 mile limit for a day hike, but it’s definitely well worth the effort.
The view from Chimney Rock is very pretty on a clear day.
Christine Says…
The Riprap trail has long been on my list of hikes to tackle in Shenandoah National Park. Last Friday, we finally got around to it. I have to admit, the nearly ten-mile length and over 2,300 feet of elevation gain intimidated me just a little. The hikes we’ve completed that are close to that length (i.e. McAfee Knob or Mount Rogers) both have substantially less elevation gain. But, we had a free day and beautiful weather, so we decided to go for it. I’m so glad we went because the scenery on this trail showcased everything I love about Shenandoah. And, honestly… hiking 9.8 miles really wasn’t that hard.
We started the hike from the Riprap parking area at mile marker 90. We turned right at the end of the parking lot and followed the Appalachian Trail uphill for about a third of a mile. At the intersection with the Riprap trail, we turned left. The trail went alternately downhill and uphill for about three-quarters of a mile. We passed around a talus slope and came out to a viewpoint near Calvary Rocks. This was a great place to pause and take in the panoramic scene of the valley below. About a third of a mile downhill past Calvary Rocks, we arrived at Chimney Rock. I found this to be the prettier of the two views – but they were both very nice. The trail was especially pretty in late May because of all the blooming mountain laurel, wild azaleas and rhododendron. There were some sections that were so lush, I felt like I was walking through a tunnel of flowers.
Wild Azaleas, Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. Below: The view near Calvary Rocks; Adam taking in the view from Chimney Rock.
From Chimney Rock, the trail follows a ridge for a while, with many nice views between the trees. There is still quite a bit of evidence of forest fire damage from the late 1990’s in this area. The mountainside is still rather barren and charred stumps are visible. Slowly, the trail descends into Cold Springs Hollow. We passed through some of the densest mountain laurel along this section. We saw and heard so many beautiful birds – everything from American Redstarts to Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks.
Near the bottom of the hollow, we started to pick up the stream. It started off as a trickle, gaining volume and speed as we climbed continually downward. There were a few small, unremarkable waterfalls in the gorge, but we didn’t stop walking until the first stream crossing. Adam and I sat on a couple big boulders in the middle of the stream and ate a few handfuls of trail mix.
The swimming hole displayed beautiful rhododendron reflections and was full of brook trout. Below: The trout were hard to photograph through the water, but you get the point.
We stopped again just a couple tenths of a mile later at my very favorite spot along the trail – a wide, green swimming hole shaded by the forest canopy. We sat along the pool for a long while. We watched colorful brook trout lolling in the water. Every now and then, one would splash up and break the quiet surface of the water. The water was so clear. We could see reflections of the rhododendron on the surface and big, round stones at the bottom of the pool. The spot is made even more beautiful by the gentle slide waterfall that cascades down and fills the pool.
After leaving the pool, we had almost about three-quarters of a mile of level walking and a couple more stream crossings. A post marks the intersection with the Wildcat Ridge Trail. We turned left, and enjoyed our last little bit of flat walking for a while. We decided to stop and eat lunch before the big uphill climb began. We had ham and cheese on crackers, chips and some candy – perfect to give us lots of energy!
Climbing along Wildcat Ridge is a steady uphill for almost three miles, but the grade is generally moderate. There were several more decent views through the trees along this section of trail. And of course, more mountain laurel! I think I must have said “This is SO PRETTY!” to Adam a dozen times as we walked through the flowers. This section is where we saw our only other hikers of the day – a young couple hiking the loop in the opposite direction. We got to the junction with the Appalachian Trail faster than we thought we would. We were anticipating another .7 miles of uphill climbing when we reached the marker post. It’s always such a pleasant surprise when an uphill climb ends earlier than you thought it would.
Adam and I both enjoyed the more level terrain along the Appalachian Trail.
We took a left onto the AT for the final 2.8 miles of the hike. This section was typical Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah – rolling hills, nothing too steep. We saw a brief glimpse of a bear diving into the mountain laurel about a mile into this stretch. After about an hour of walking on the AT, we arrived back at our car. My feet were a little sore and tired, but other than that I still felt pretty energetic. Riprap now claims the spot for the longest hike I’ve ever done in a day! The 9.8 mile circuit took us just under six hours – including our very frequent snack and photography stops. On the way home, we stopped and rewarded ourselves with Lime Cream Slushes from Sonic – my favorite post-hike treat.
Adam Says…
This may also be the longest hike I have done but it was well worth it! This hike really does have it all and we hit it at a great time of year. The mountain laurel and rhododendron were at peak on this trail and we often felt like we were in some type of fantasy land while being surrounded by pink flowers.
The views from Calvary Rocks and Chimney Rock give you some great 180 degree views to the north of the mountains. I was a little worried that the payoff for this hike was going to be over in the first couple of miles of the hike, but I was glad to be wrong. After we continued the descent from Chimney Rock, there were still some open views along the way. Once we reached the bottom of Cold Springs Hollow, we saw a glimpse of a waterfall along the way. Shortly after the falls and after crossing the stream you come to the beautiful swimming hole that Christine mentioned above. This was a great spot to relax and enjoy seeing the fish, or you could take a quick, refreshing dip.
View Along the Riprap Ridge. Below: The swimming hole is such a beautiful place – even though we constantly had to bat the bugs away. Note the slide falls coming down to the pool.
Once we were done with relaxing, we took the hike up the Wildcat Ridge Trail. This is a constant uphill for about three miles and does include a couple of switchbacks on the trail. However, we felt that the terrain wasn’t too steep. You continue to observe nice views as it hugs closely to the side of the mountain. Once we met up with the AT, the trail didn’t have a lot of elevation gain/loss. I do suffer from plantar fasciitis, so my feet were quite sore on the rocks of this section of the trail.
Butterfly on Mountain Laurel. Below: Adam hikes through the mountain laurel along the Appalachian Trail.
For those interested in geocaching, I did place an earthcache at the overlook for Calvary Rocks. This is a way to learn about the geology of the area and there are a few steps to get credit for the cache:
I definitely enjoyed my first trip of the Riprap trail, but I know it won’t be my last. This would also be a great place to do a backpacking trip, since there is a reliable water source at the bottom of the trail. We really felt like it was one of the prettiest trails we have done in all of Shenandoah National Park. Part of that largely is due to the abundance of blooming wildflowers, but another part was the views. The Riprap trail really has it all!
Trail Notes
Distance – 9.8 miles
Elevation Change – Around 2300 feet. The hike is a mix of uphill and downhill, with one long, steady uphill stretch of about three miles.
Difficulty – 4.5 While the elevation gain is substantial, the trail is rarely steep. Grades are moderate. We scored the hike a 4.5 mainly due to the length.
Trail Conditions – 4 Nice trail to walk along! The stream crossings are easy.
Views – 4. You get the best views from the Chimney Rocks and Calvary Rocks overlooks.
Waterfalls/streams –3 The stream was on the low side when we hiked, but was still pretty. The swimming hole at the bottom of the hollow is very beautiful.
Wildlife – 4 We saw lots of brook trout, a little toad, many bird species and we even caught a glimpse of a black bear’s rear end diving into the laurel thicket.
Ease to Navigate – 2 A few turns to make along the way. There are a few false trails leading away from the main trail and also one tricky turn after a creek crossing.
Solitude – 3 We saw only two other people on the entire loop. We hiked it on a beautiful Friday in late spring. I imagine the trail is much more crowded on weekends. It’s a very popular short backpack loop.
Directions to trailhead: From Skyline Drive, park on the western side at mile marker 90. There is a parking lot specifically for Riprap hikers.
Most of our posts are about local trails and day hiking. But today, we’re excited to bring you a “special edition” post. We met a trio of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers online. Lightning, Monkey and Ringleader, collectively known as The Traveling Circus, came off the trail and spent some time with us.
The Traveling Circus – Lightning, Monkey and Ringleader. Below: The group gets started on their 17 miles; everyone carried a nearly empty pack on this day; two more thru-hikers (Moose and Tetherball) took up our offer to offload gear.
The trio is hiking the AT and shooting a documentary along the way. The film is going to focus primarily on the community and social aspects of the trail. We can’t wait to see the finished project. The hikers we’ve met are fascinating, so an entire documentary about the people should be quite compelling.
During their visit, there was lots of food and fun conversation. They all got to take hot showers, do some laundry, check the internet, and sleep in a bed. We even had time to watch a movie. Christine made a big breakfast before driving them back up to the trail.
We offered to hold onto their heavy gear for the day and meet them at Big Meadows later in the evening. When we dropped them off in the morning, they ran into a couple AT friends. We ended up stowing their gear for the day, too. I’ve never seen hikers look happier. One exclaimed that he felt like he could fly without his pack.
When we met them near Big Meadows in the afternoon, they arrived right on time. It’s amazing that they can hike 17 miles, and predict within a few minutes when they’ll arrive at a given spot. Most people aren’t that punctual with watches, cellphones and cars. Apparently, after three months of hiking, you get pretty good at gauging your speed. All five hikers said they had a beautiful day of hiking – great weather and pretty scenery.
We made it to the Big Meadows Wayside in time for them to order the famous Shenandoah National Park blackberry milkshakes. We had a little time to chat with Moose and Tetherball (the thru-hikers we met when we dropped The Traveling Circus off). They were both really nice and seemed to be loving every minute of their time on the trail.
We offered everyone a ride a little further down the trail, but they decided to walk their miles. Moose said “If you cheat the trail, she’ll make you pay for it later!”
Kate (Ringleader), Brandon (Monkey) and Emily (Lightning) are such nice people – they smile and laugh constantly. They were full of great stories and tales about what hiking the AT is really like. They were all so fit and strong and had positive outlooks, even after months on the trail. We have no doubt they’ll be climbing Katahdin in a few months.
This 4.2 mile hike leads you to a PATC cabin as well as a cabin once owned by a family from the mountain.
The Corbin Cabin sits alongside the Hughes River in what used to be known as Freestate Hollow.
Adam Says…
It was great to finally get out and do some hiking after the harsh winter! I think it had been since November since we were able to actually enjoy a hike. After some debating on which trail would be “less muddy”, we decided to try this hike. We were surprised that the ground was actually in good shape and not muddy like we were expecting. The hike’s main draw is the historical interest. The Corbins and Nicholsons were two families that lived in this area since the end of the Revolutionary War until the park authorities made them leave.
You begin the trail from the cement post across from the parking lot. You start the trail walking through an area of mountain laurel that will bloom nicely in the Spring. The trail descends through an elevation loss of 1500 feet over 1.4 miles. Around the first half of a mile, you will begin to see a stream off to your left. At .9 miles, you will come across some of the remnants of the families that inhabited this hollow through views of a rock wall to your right. Downhill to the left you will see ruins of John “Russ” Nicholson’s cabin. At 1.4 miles, you will hear the rushing of the Hughes River and see the ruins of an old cabin to the right that belonged to John T. Nicholson. You can walk over to this area and peek inside to see the small one-room dwelling. There is lots of glass and rusty metal, so be careful if you inspect this area. You will see the Corbin cabin across the river. You will need to rock-hop across the river, which is usually not too difficult. This time, the water was higher than normal and we only had to partially put our feet in the water to get across.
The Corbin cabin is available to rent from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. There are access points here to connect to Old Rag. We plan on trying that out in the future sometime for a weekend of living like mountain folk.
The Nicholson Cabin is across the river from Corbin Cabin. It’s slowly sinking back into the forest.
After you cross the creek to the cabin, take a right to join the Nicholson Hollow Trail. After a short distance, you will have to do a little more rock-hopping as it crosses Indian Run. You will start your steep ascent back up to Skyline Drive and at 3.6 miles you will reach the road. When you come to Skyline Drive, take a left, heading south for about 75 yards. You will cross the road and join a short spur trail. After less than .1 mile, you will come across an intersecting trail with a cement post. This is the Appalachian Trail. Take a right, heading North on the Appalachian trail, you will descend and ascend for another .6 miles until you reach the parking lot.
Christine Says…
While this hike doesn’t offer any waterfalls or sweeping views, it does provide one of the park’s best peeks into area history. The trail begins steeply downhill for about a mile until you reach the bottom of the hollow. It’s a big drainage area with many small streams that pour into the Hughes River.
I love seeing all the remnants of old homesteads tucked into the woods. The main homesite, which lies on both sides of the Hughes River is such a perfect and idyllic spot. If I were to choose anywhere in the park to build a home, I think it would be right here. I can understand why John Nicholson was so heartbroken to leave. I love to imagine what it would be like to go to bed each night listening to the bubbling sounds of the river and see the sun rise each morning between the mountain folds visible from the front porch.
We had the homesite to ourselves for a little while. Fifteen minutes later, a couple guys with fishing poles arrived and we were on our way. The long arm of the loop starts from Corbin Cabin and climbs steadily uphill for about two miles. Most of it is moderate uphill climbing, but one section that passes through a thicket of mountain laurel is quite steep. The final .6 miles of the hike follows the Appalachian Trail.
On the AT, we encountered a lost beagle. She leapt out of the woods at us, probably expecting to see her people. She had a collar, an identification tag and the remnants of a broken/frayed leash. As soon as she realized she didn’t know us, she darted back into the woods.
We love dogs, and there was no way we were going to leave the beagle behind. We tried to corral her in, using low voices and lots of “Good dog!” calls. However, she was obviously terrified of strangers and started howling pitifully. Bit by bit, we were able to get closer and closer to her. We were just about to catch her when heard voices shouting down the trail, and the dog sprinted away. Thankfully, this time she was running toward the call of her owners. They were all happily reunited. It turns out the dog broke her leash four hours earlier when she chased something away from camp.
I guess even when they’re leashed, dogs can get into trouble in the park. I’m always surprised how many dogs we see running free with hikers. It’s both good practice and park policy to keep dogs leashed on park trails.
Since this was our first real hike of the season, we were both pretty tired at the end. We’re definitely looking forward to hitting the trails more regularly now that the weather is turning warmer.
Trail Notes
Distance – 4.2 miles – loop.
Elevation Change –1500 feet.
Difficulty – 3.5 The hike descends and ascends fairly steeply.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is in good shape. There were a few blown-down trees covering the trail due to the winter. Leaves on the trail make for a slick surface when going downhill.
Views –0. You are deep in the woods for the entire hike.
Waterfalls/streams –2. Near the cabins, you have a nice opportunity to see the Hughes River.
Wildlife – 1. We didn’t see anything alive, but found remnants of deer that didn’t survive the winter. Expect to possibly see bear in the area. Heard pileated woodpeckers and saw juncos.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Trails are clearly marked.
Solitude – 3. This trail isn’t the most popular due to the steep terrain, so you should likely only encounter people around the cabin and river.
Directions to trailhead: From Skyline Drive, park on the western side at mile marker 37.9. Cross the road. The trailhead begins at the cement post across from the parking lot.
This 4.6 mile hike leads you along the South River to an impressive waterfall that plunges deep into a canyon. When the park has experienced lots of rain, this waterfall hike is one of the nicest Shenandoah has to offer.
The South River is impressive in times of heavy rain.
Adam Says…
We have kept with a tradition the last few years of doing a hike on Thanksgiving morning. It’s a great way to appreciate nature and try to do something active before a big meal. This year, we decided to break the tradition of having a huge Thanksgiving meal with turkey and all the trimmings. We decided to have an easier meal that we would both enjoy – homemade pizza.
We’ve hiked South River Falls before, but we’ve never had as much water in the falls before. We thought it would be impressive, since we could hear rushing water through the South River a lot earlier than normal. Waterfall hikes in Shenandoah National Park tend to be fairly tough ones. Since you park on Skyline Drive at a high elevation, you have to hike down to the valleys where the falls are created. What makes it difficult, at least psychologically, is that you get to the payoff fairly easily and then have to do the hard work on your way back to your vehicle.
The beauty of the South River is found mostly in its small details. The cascades and little falls leading the large waterfall are prettier than the main waterfall. Pictured below: South River Falls from the overlook at the top of the canyon; the falls from the base. You’ll see neither vantage point of the waterfall is terribly photogenic (especially after the leaves have come down). Both of the small photos below are from another date. This time, the falls were much bigger – but it was too sunny to photograph them.
The hike begins at the South River Picnic Area. Look for the large sign about the hike on the northeastern side of the picnic area. At slightly over .1 mile, you will cross the Appalachian Trail. You will continue your descent and around 1 mile, you will rock-hop across a small creek that drains into the South River. Usually this is not much of a challenge due to the water, but we found the water was higher than normal this time. At 1.3 miles, you will come to a nice overlook for the South River Falls. You really get a great view of the 83 foot waterfall. It plunges to a rocky ledge and splits in two about half of the length of the waterfall. If you continue on the trail for another .2 miles, you will arrive at a cement post and join a spur to the South River Fire Road. If you continue on for another .2 miles, you will descend even further and arrive at another cement post. Following the path from the cement post for another .1 mile, you will arrive at the base of the falls. For any adventurous shutterbugs, there are ample opportunities near the base of the falls for long-exposure photography. Make sure you have your strength up, because you have 2.2 miles to hike at a steady incline back to your vehicle.
To follow the trail as a loop as we did, once you make your return from the base of the falls, go .7 miles until you reach the cement post and the junction with the South River Falls Trail. Stay on the fire road instead and after .4 miles more, you will reach the yellow-blazed South River Fire Road. Take a left on the road. In about a mile, you will reach the junction with the Appalachian Trail. Take a left on the white-blazed AT, heading south for about .4 miles. You will then reach the junction with the South River Falls Trail and only have about .1 mile to reach the picnic ground.
The hike was a tough one, but it was nice to get some exercise. The thought of carving into our pizza helped us muster the energy to make it back.
Christine Says…
This was a great trail to burn off Thanksgiving calories! The terrain is rugged and the return arm of the loop is nothing but steady, tough uphill climbing. Even Wookie, who is normally a bundle of boundless energy, got quite tired on this hike. By the time we got to the Appalachian Trail junction, his corkscrew tail was completely unfurled. Even though there are some hikes in the park with more elevation gain, I think the 1300+ feet on the South River trail provides some of the park’s tougher climbing. Anyone looking for an easier version of this hike should consider doing the short loop (3.2 miles) that returns after the overlook at the top of the falls. By taking that route, you reduce the elevation gain to a very manageable 850 feet.
Despite the hard work required to get there, I really enjoyed seeing the South River and its namesake falls so flush with water. The Shenandoah area has had over five inches of rain in the month of November – more than double the normal amount. All of the park’s streams, rivers and waterfalls are flowing beautifully right now. It’s a great time to get out and enjoy the scenery and the less-crowded conditions in the park.
There are many small, but beautiful, waterfalls along the trail. Pictured below: Another pretty spot along the river.
I had hoped to get some photo opportunities along the river on our Thanksgiving hike. I did take a few shots, but the weather was less than cooperative. It was too sunny to take shots of the moving water. Every now and then, I found a shady spot down in a deep ravine. I did a bit of bushwhacking to get to a few pretty spots, but overall I don’t feel like I came home with any special photos.
Honestly, while South River falls is probably the park’s most impressive waterfall, it is not one that translates nicely on film. The falls plunge into an enormous natural amphitheater. The sheer rock walls are amazing, but they aren’t photogenic. I’ve seen a few nice shots of South River Falls in the spring, when the water is flowing and the falls are surrounded by the lush new green of the trees and plants. In the late fall and winter, the falls are really scrubby and barren looking.
I think some of the prettiest and most dramatic places along the South River come at the bottom of the falls. In the last .1 mile of the trail, leading to the base of the falls, the water tumbles over a hundred feet down over giant boulders. There are many small, beautiful waterfalls to enjoy before you get to work climbing back up to your car.
When we got home from our hike, we found several TICKS! Can you believe it – ticks in late November; ticks after the mountains have had snow and temperatures at night are regularly below freezing? These were tiny ticks – about the size of a pinhead. We pulled one off Adam’s sweatshirt and two off of Wookie. I hate having to watch for ticks year round, but it seems that we must.
Wookie Says… Hey all of you fellow hiking dogs. It’s been a while since I’ve been hiking, so I’m going to let you know what I thought of the trail. I enjoy getting the chance to get in the outdoors and I usually run laps around the house when my masters ask, “Would you like to go on a car ride?”
The hike on South River Falls was pretty fun for the most part. I enjoyed going downhill until I reached the stream to try and rock-hop. I’ve done this hike before with my masters, but there was a lot of water this time around. I don’t really like to get my feet wet and when I see any water on the hike, I try to take the driest option. After Adam crossed the creek, I really didn’t want to follow him. Only after Christine gave me a little nudge with her trekking poles, did I take the plunge and hop across the rocks.
Wookie enjoyed the hike, but was exhausted the rest of the day.
All the rushing water on the trail, really made me need to go to the bathroom. I tried to make my mark as much as possible to let all my fellow canines know that Wookie was here. The hike back from the falls was pretty brutal for a small dog like me. My tail was down a lot of the trip back, because it was exhausting. At least I got some pizza scraps and a taste of sausage instead of turkey scraps this year. For that, I was truly thankful.
Difficulty – 3. The return arm of the circuit climbs steeply uphill along a fire road for two straight miles.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is in great shape.
Views –0. You are deep in the woods for the entire hike.
Waterfalls/streams –4. In times of heavy rain, the South River is an impressive stream.
Wildlife – 0. We didn’t see *anything*, but over the summer there was a bear with three cubs in the area.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Trails are clearly marked.
Solitude – 2. This trail’s proximity to a park entrance makes it a popular hike.
Directions to trailhead: From Skyline Drive, follow the drive to the South River Picnic Area (near mile marker 62). The trailhead is located at the back end of the picnic grounds, across from the restroom facilities.
Big Run is a pretty (almost) six mile walk along one of the park’s less-trafficked trails. Although this hike does not offer any grand scenery, it offers plenty of solitude and nice options for backcountry camping.
These lichen covered cliffs are found along the Appalachian Trail segment of the Big Run Loop.
Christine Says…
We said we were going to take a weekend off of hiking so we could catch up on yardwork and housework, but the weekend was far too beautiful to spend it being productive adults. We decided to have breakfast at Big Meadows before hitting the trail. Most of the park facilities closed for the season on Sunday, and the remainder will close the last weekend in November. It was nice to have one final round of pancakes and sausage in the lodge dining room.
After our big meal, we headed south on Skyline Drive to hike the Big Run Loop. Last time we did this trail, it was in the midst of an August heat wave. It was in the nineties and we had to rest and drink water every ten minutes. This time, the weather was considerably cooler – but still unusually warm for November. I couldn’t believe it, but there were actually swarms of bugs pestering me every time I stood still. I even got a giant mosquito bite on my collarbone. It’s not supposed to be buggy in November!
The trail was covered with dry, brown leaves. Pictured below: The only color left in the woods was from moss and a few hardy ferns.
The trail started off with a couple miles of steady downhill. The trees had completely shed their fall foliage, so the trail was covered with a thick blanket of crispy fallen leaves. As we crunched along the trail, I remarked to Adam that we would certainly not be sneaking up on any wildlife on this hike. The leaves made it hard to see obstacles on the trail, and we both stumbled over rocks and branches hidden under the leaf layer.
At around the two mile mark, we reached Big Run. The water was very low and the stream was mostly obscured by several newly fallen trees. Although the trail is named for this stream, I think Big Run is fairly unremarkable. We didn’t stay long at this spot.
Big Run was prettier last summer. Since this photo was taken, several large trees have fallen across the stream where the trail crosses.
Shortly after the stream, the trail took a distinct uphill turn. For about a mile and half, we climbed steadily uphill. Some parts were rather steep, but overall it’s really not too bad of a climb. I used my trekking poles on this hike and they made the ascent markedly easier. I think the poles help me hike more efficiently and take pressure off my knees. Whenever I use them I feel like I have extra magical energy.
We eventually came to a four-way trail junction at the top of the ridge. The remainder of the hike followed the Big Run Loop trail until it joined the Appalachian Trail. The last segment along the AT took us past some impressive granite cliffs and crossed the Doyles River Overlook on Skyline Drive. After about a mile and a half along the AT, we completed the loop and returned to our car.
Adam Says…
We were debating a few different options for our hike today, but we decided to do Big Run. One of the reasons that we chose this hike is due to the challenge of trying to find one of Hiking Upward’s hiking sticks. A few hand-carved hiking sticks are placed along the trails that are up for grabs to whoever can find them. They provide GPS coordinates for any geocachers out there. I wasn’t able to find one, I believe due to a typo on the website.
Buck in the rutting season. Pictured Below: Most places in the park allow catch and release fishing. Big Run actually allows fish to be harvested.
Due to all of the leaves falling, the hike was a little more challenging than normal. We started the trail going downhill fairly quickly and the leaves made it for tricky footing. The swoosh of the leaves with every step drowned out our own voices and everything else. We had to stop to hear each other when we wanted to talk along the hike.
The blue-blazed trail descends about 1500 feet in 2.2 miles when you reach the branch of Big Run. The water was still and barely more than a trickle this time. After rock-hopping the stream, you will come to a cement post. Take the left branch of the fork. The trail is now marked by yellow blazes and starts a steep ascent. You will gain about 1000 feet of elevation in a little over a mile. At 3.5 miles, you will come to another cement post. Turn left, heading east, to continue on the Big Run Loop Trail, which is now marked by blue blazes again. While you still are going uphill for most of the rest of the hike, it is definitely more manageable. At 4.2 miles, you will reach the junction with the Appalachian Trail. You will take a left, heading north, to follow this white-blazed trail. At 4.5 miles, you will cross Skyline Drive, to stay on the AT. At 4.7 miles, you will reach the Doyles River Overlook, which provide you the best views on the hike. The AT continues on the north side of the parking lot. You will stay on this trail for another mile. When you reach the cement post at 5.7 miles, you will take a left which will take you back to your car at the Doyles River Parking Lot only about 30 yards away.
While this hike is not spectacular for streams or views (until you reach the Doyles River Overlook), it was still an enjoyable walk through the woods. As I mentioned earlier, the leaves led to some difficulty with seeing the trail. At one point on the AT, I slipped on a rock hidden by the leaves and went tumbling down. Luckily, I was unscathed and more importantly, I was able to protect Christine’s camera gear I was lugging on my back.
Trail Notes
Distance – 5.8 miles
Elevation Change – 1400 feet
Difficulty – 3.5. There is a mile and a half of steady uphill shortly after crossing Big Run stream.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is in great shape. It was a little trickier than it should have been with all the downed leaves covering the trail. Footing was tough at times because we couldn’t see rock and branches on the trail.
Views –1.5. You get one nice view when the Appalachian Trail crosses the Doyles River Overlook. If you hike when leaves are down, you get some other glimpses of views along the way.
Waterfalls/streams – 1. Big Run is not as impressive as it sounds. It’s not big and it doesn’t really run much either. 🙂
Wildlife – 2. We saw deer and lots of different kinds of birds.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Although there are turns, this trail is very well marked.
Solitude – 4. Because this trail lacks grand views and waterfalls, it tends to be more lightly trafficked than other Shenandoah trails. The area is popular with backcountry campers.
Directions to trailhead: Follow Skyline Drive to the Doyles River Trail Parking area near mile marker 81. Cross the drive and begin your hike on the western side of the road. The hike departs from the Big Run Overlook. There may be room for a car or two at the overlook, but we recommend parking in the larger Doyles River parking area.
Virginia Trail Guide 
