long hike – Page 5 – Virginia Trail Guide

Appalachian Trail – Hog Camp Gap to Punchbowl Mountain

December 8, 2014August 26, 20153 Comments

This 17 mile overnight backpacking trip had beautiful views from Cole Mountain within the first two miles of the hike. The rest of the hike was less scenic – mostly walking through quiet woods and along seasonally low streams. The Lynchburg Reservoir and the swinging bridge over the Pedlar River were noteworthy features on the second day. Adam will cover day one and Christine will take over with day two!

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

Adam Takes in the View from the Summit of Cole Mountain — Adam takes in the view from the summit of Cole Mountain. Below: Coming out of the woods onto the grassy meadow is always breathtaking; Great views from the top of Cole Mountain; Hints of fall color near the summit.

Day One (8.1 miles)…

We started off our trip by leaving one car where the AT crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Punchbowl Mountain overlook. From the lot, we could see the AT southbound, but we didn’t see where we would return to our car from the north. It turns out it was just below us on the other side of the parking lot, but the morning fog made it a little hard to spot. We dropped our car off and then headed to Hog Camp Rd, to start our journey.

From Hog Camp Gap, we headed south on the Appalachian Trail. The trail started off through a wooded section uphill, fairly steeply in some parts. Around 1.1 miles, the trail opened up to the beautiful, wide-open bald clearing that is Cole Mountain. We have hiked Cole Mountain before as a loop and I do think it is one of the more under-appreciated hikes in Virginia. The panoramic vistas make this look like something you would picture in an outdoors magazine. You can’t help but want to stop and take a look at the scenery around you. The way we split this section might not have been the best plan for enjoying vistas. We knew we had the best views of the trip done in the first 1.5 miles of the hike. But that is one of the biggest lessons I learned from hiking this section – you have to hold on to what you may have just seen, because there is no certainty about what is to come ahead.

Climbing Bald Mountain — The climb of Bald Mountain wasn’t terribly long or difficult. Bald Mountain also is not Bald! Below: Adam checks out the map at our lunch stop – a clearing near the top of Bald Mountain; A little snip of a view through the trees along the top of Bald Mountain; Huge tree!

After reaching the summit of Cole Mountain, the trail descends and again enters the forest. Around 2.5 miles, we reached a junction with a spur trail that led to the Cow Camp Gap overnight shelter and a water source. We continued on the trail which starts an ascent up Bald Mountain. We reached the summit at 3.5 miles and were hoping for some nice views at the top, but found that Bald Mountain wasn’t very bald (there were a few obstructed views through the trees). We found a clearing and camp spot and had our lunch there before continuing on. The rest of the day, the trail was a descent so our climbing was done (at least until tomorrow).

We crossed over USFS 507 at 5.5 miles and eventually came to US 60 and the Long Mountain wayside at mile 6.3. We stopped at one of the picnic tables and took a break to eat a snack and give our backs a relief from the weight. Local people just park on the roadside here and have a picnic at this spot. It is also a way to do a longer out-and-back to Cole Mountain without parking or driving on a rough, gravel road. After resting, we crossed US 60, spotting a sign for the continuation of the Appalachian trail to the right. We continued our descent and at 7.1 miles, we reached Browns Creek, a reliable water source for a good stretch of trail. At 8.2 miles, we reached the Brown Mountain Creek Shelter, our stop for the night.

The Brown Mountain Creek area is interesting from a historical/archaeological standpoint. Much of the land along the creek was part of a large plantation predating the Civil War. After the war, the land was primarily a settlement for freed African-Americans. Houses, farms, orchards and even a gristmill could be found along the creek. You can still see stone walls/stairs, pieces of metal, and other artifacts along the creek.

When we first got to the shelter, there was still a smoldering fire in the fire pit, so we realized someone had been there recently. We also noticed a large pile of fresh bear scat next to the shelter. While we didn’t think a bear had been roasting marshmallows by the fire, we felt it may be wise to not set up camp directly at the shelter. We found a nice campsite right by the creek and decided that would be a better spot. There was a boy scout troop that was camping on the other side of the creek. We worried about them being too loud over the course of the night, but they were fairly well-behaved (except for trashing the privy – but that’s another story). We set up our tent, filtered water for tonight and tomorrow, and began to unwind.

We cooked dinner up at the shelter (Good To-Go Herbed Mushroom Risotto)* and played Zombie Fluxx, a card game where the rules and objectives for winning constantly changed. I always enjoy bringing a card game along the trail – the weight isn’t too bad for the entertainment it can provide. We played a few hands (I recall Christine being better at killing zombies than I was) and then went back to our campsite after I hung our bear bag. We started off reading books by headlamp outside our tent (continuing with the zombie trend I was reading Night of the Living Trekkies), but the bugs were awful. We retired to our tent probably around 7:30, read for a little while longer, and went to bed very early. We always typically go to bed around nightfall when backpacking, but hiking with the extra weight always makes you feel a little more physically exhausted.

* Good to Go is a new backpacking food manufacturer. They use healthy ingredients and much less sodium. We thought it was one of the best dehydrated meals we’ve had on the trail! We added a foil packet of chicken breast to our dinner.

Games — We arrived at camp fairly early, so after the tent was pitched and water collected, we spent some time playing Zombie Fluxx. Below: A group of 14 Boy Scouts camped along the opposite bank; Collecting water for cooking and drinking; We tried a new brand of dehydrated meal – Good to Go (tasty!)

Day Two (9.1 miles)…

Day two started earlier than expected (and with the added bonus of a huge, swollen mosquito bite on my eyelid – I looked like I’d been punched!) Like most Boy Scout troops we’ve met along the trail, the one camping near us on this trip was awake, packed up, and on their way before sun-up. This had pros and cons. One con was all the crunching boots and headlamps moving around our tent in the dark. A pro was the opportunity we had to enjoy the creekside in peace and solitude before starting our hike for the day. The solitude also meant I could find a place to dig a cat hole in complete privacy without having to worry about Boy Scouts spotting me! I would have used the privy near the shelter, but let’s just say the privy turned out to be another con of camping near a big scout group. One of them had completely defiled the privy and there was no way I was going in there!

Breakfast was instant oatmeal, honey buns and coffee. I’ve learned the hard way after running out of gas on past backpacking trips that one packet of instant oatmeal (140 calories) is not enough to fuel me across nine miles. The Little Debbie Honey Bun has been a revelation for me. I think it has the magical balance of fat and sugar I need to power through my morning miles. They also hold up great in my pack – no smushing and no crumbling. Some people like a healthier, protein-packed breakfast, but give me a honey bun!

Morning on Brown Mountain Creek — The morning was beautiful and quiet (after the Scouts left). Below: When water is running higher, this is probably a pretty little waterfall; Adam hikes along the Appalachian Trail: One of several small stream crossings.

The first five miles of our second day were easy. The terrain was a very gradual overall descent with a couple brief uphill climbs. The first mile or so followed Brown Mountain Creek. The trail followed roughly parallel to the stream for much of the way. I kept thinking how beautiful this area would be when water levels were higher. We eventually crossed the creek via a wooden footbridge. At this spot there was a small, but pretty, waterfall cascading into a plunge pool. The flow was down to a trickle, but it was still a lovely spot.

Departing Brown Mountain Creek, we walked through serene, quiet forest for a couple more miles. There were two small stream crossings along the way. The first didn’t seem to have a name, but the second was Swapping Camp Creek. Both of these creeks end up flowing into the Lynchburg Reservoir. At around 3 miles into our hike, we started seeing glimpses of the reservoir through the trees. We followed an off-trail footpath steeply down to the shores of the water for a couple photos. We saw several herons hunting in the mud. There were ‘no camping’ signs posted everywhere, but there were also several well-used fire rings. I’m guessing there are quite a few people that ignore the regulations and attempt to stealth camp in this area.

The trail skirts around the Lynchburg Reservoir. Below: The dam at the south end of the reservoir; The Pedlar River; The Pedlar River footbridge.

We climbed back up to the Appalachian Trail and continued south, skirting the eastern side of the reservoir. At around 4.8 miles we came to the lowest elevation point of our hike – the Pedlar River crossing. The trail crosses the river on a picturesque, bouncy suspension bridge. From the middle of the bridge, we could see early fall colors reflecting from the trees onto the water’s surface. After crossing the bridge, we came out on gravel-surfaced Reservoir Road. We followed that briefly until we spotted another white blaze for the Appalachian Trail.

At this point, we began our toughest climb of the whole 17 miles. The 2-mile ascent of Rice Mountain begins pleasantly enough. The trail follows parallel to Little Irish Creek (which was running low and barely noticeable) and passes through a small plot of old growth forest. There is an extremely weather-beaten sign explaining tree sizes in the area and how the area is used to study the local watershed. Early parts of the climb are well-graded and moderate, but about .75 mile in, the trail pretty much goes straight up the mountain without the moderating benefit of switchbacks. I wanted to push through the climbing and put it behind me, but Adam was ready for a snack. We found some big rocks about 1.5 miles up the mountain and took a candy break. After a half mile more climbing, we reached the ridge of Rice Mountain. The forest was especially pretty along the top of the mountain – very open with lots of nice shade trees.

Climbing Rice Mountain was tougher than it looked on the topo map. Below: Another little peek at a view through the trees; A curly laurel thicket; The finish line!

On the descent of Rice, we had one nice view through the trees. We also saw more brilliant red fall colors and a lot more thickets of rhododendron and mountain laurel. There really wasn’t anything remarkable to see or say about our last couple miles of hiking. The terrain was rolling – there was a general uphill trend, but with small downhills as well. There were no views or streams to speak off. The lack of scenery gave me lots of time to fret over my feet. Two toes on my right foot had dislocated earlier in the day and were becoming increasingly painful. With each step, it got a little harder to bear my weight plus the weight of my pack. I think if there had been waterfalls or great views, I would have been more easily able to distract myself. But on this particular day, all I could think was ‘Ouch – when will this hike be over?’

At almost the end, we had one final road crossing at the junction of Robinson Gap Rd. and Panther Falls Rd. After just another third of mile, we came up a small hill and found ourselves back at the parking area for Punchbowl Mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I don’t think I’d ever been so happy to end a hike. It felt great to take my boots off and change into a pair of Oofos. While I enjoyed the great weather, the opportunity to be out, and the nice views from Cole Mountain, this wasn’t one of my favorite backpacking trips.

Trail Notes

Distance – 17.2 miles [Day One] [Day Two]
Elevation Change – About 2900 ft.
Difficulty – 4. Mostly for distance, but the descent of Bald Mountain is a real knee-grinder and the climb up Rice Mountain (Day 2) is surprisingly challenging.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is in nice condition all across this stretch of AT.
Views – 5 (for Day 1) – The views from Cole Mountain are indisputably spectacular. Enjoy them early in your hike… they’ll be the last real views of the trip.
Streams/Waterfalls – 3. This was hard to judge because of the unusually dry late summer/early fall. I think under normal circumstances, Brown Mountain Creek would be beautiful with lots of small cascades and rapids.
Wildlife – 2. We didn’t see any wildlife beyond a cute bullfrog in the creek. But, there was LOTS of bear scat around Brown Mountain Creek Shelter.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Just keep following the white-blazes and pay attention at road crossings/trail junctions to stay on the Appalachian Trail.
Solitude – 3. We saw quite a few people around Cole Mountain and spent the night at Brown Mountain Creek with a Boy Scout Troop. We saw only one person along the trail on the second day.

Directions to trailhead: Requires a shuttle. We parked one car where the AT crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway near Punchbowl Mountain. This is mile 51.7 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, about 6 miles south of where the Blue Ridge Parkway meets with US 60. From this point, we drove our other car back north on the Blue Ridge Parkway for 6.0 miles and took the exit leading us to US-60 East. We headed 4.3 miles on US 60 E before taking a left on SR 634/Coffeytown Road. Follow this for 1.6 miles before taking a right on SR 755/Wiggins Spring Road. Follow this gravel, bumpy road for 2.7 miles until you reach the parking area where the AT crosses the road. Follow the white-blazed Appalachian trail heading south.

Mt. Madison (NH)

October 21, 2014September 4, 2018Leave a comment

Introductory Guide to Visiting the White Mountains

This 8.8 mile hike takes you past Madison Spring Hut and up to the summit of majestic Mt. Madison. The Valley Way Trail is known for being one of the safer, more protected routes into the heart of the White Mountains. While the terrain is less extreme than other trails in the area, the hike still requires a little over 4,100 feet of climbing. It’s a tough hike, but the views make it well worth the effort.

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

Hiking Mt. Madison — Adam makes his way across the summit ridge of Mt. Madison. The big mountain in the background is Mt. Washington. If you look closely, you can see the Auto Road snaking down the peak. Below: Plenty of parking and access to many trailheads at the Appalachia Parking area; Warning…. danger ahead – seriously, the White Mountains can be pretty extreme; The early part of the trail was fairly soft and gentle.

Adam Says…

My top goal for our 2014 New Hampshire trip was to hike up Mt. Madison. We both went to James Madison University and have worked there for years, so it only seemed fitting to take on the mountain that shared a name with our college. I even wore JMU Dukes gear almost like the guy that goes to a concert wearing a t-shirt for the band’s previous tour to show his super-fandom.

We started out the day on a rough note. Christine had put her hiking shoes and socks in the back of our car, so she could wear sandals on the car ride up. When we pulled over at one point, we realized one of our Camelbak tubes had pressed open and leaked all over the car, soaking her shoes and socks. We debated about if we would have been able to even do the hike in fear of blisters, but Christine decided to push forward.

There are a lot of ways up Mt. Madison, but in our research we found the most popular way was to make our approach by going up the Valley Way trail. We parked at the large Appalachia parking lot (which was so full we needed to park on the road) directly on US-2. We were worried there would be so many people on the trail, but this parking lot holds the beginnings of lots of trails that lead up to many peaks (including Mt. Adams and Mt. Quincy Adams).

The early part trail follows Snyder Brook. By taking a short spur trial, you can visit beautiful 25′ Tama Falls. Below: We saw a couple Croo members on their way down from the Madison Spring Hut; Adam checks out all the rocks on the ‘not as rocky’ New Hampshire trail; The final push to the Madison Spring Hut was very steep and rugged.

The trail starts off from the back of the parking lot. The trail branches off in different directions but follow the signs for the Valley Way trail. The trail begins relatively flat and easy walking, as it runs along Snyder Brook. There were a few places where we could get some nice stream views and even a glimpse at the picturesque Tama Falls at .4 miles. At .7 miles, you reach another large junction, but continue to follow the signs to the Valley Way trail. The trail then begins the steeper uphill climb. Overall, I felt that the trail, while very rocky was not as steep and rocky as some of the other trails in the White Mountains. There is a relentless amount of climbing and many rocks to navigate, but it wasn’t as grueling on my feet as some hikes in New Hampshire have felt to me. At 3.0 miles, the trail gets very steep and rocky (often filled with larger small boulder-sized rocks to hoist onto) and will remain so until you reach the Madison Spring Hut at 3.8 miles. If you’re interested in camping on the mountain, but don’t want to stay at the hut, the Valley Way tentsite is at mile 3.1 on this hike.

Once we arrived at the hut, we saw there were a couple of ways up to the summit of Mt. Madison. At this point, we were above treeline, so we saw the rocky summit up above us. I went in and found one of the Croo members and she told me the Osgood Trail had the most direct route and was a little easier than making our way via the Watson Path. The final ascent up to Mt. Madison was .5 miles along the Osgood Trail (which is also the Appalachian Trail in this area). You basically needed to walk acrpss large boulders, following cairns along the way until you reached the summit. When you are above treeline, the summits of mountains seem so close to reach, but it is very misleading. As we climbed up, we looked back and saw the hut shrink with each step, finally giving us some perspective of how far we had come. We stayed a while at the summit. The views were breathtaking and you could see for miles all around. It definitely was one of the most beautiful scenes I have witnessed hiking and to realize the work we had put in to attain the peak, made it feel even more worthwhile.

Looking Back to the Hut — Christine makes her way up the Osgood Trail to the summit of Mt. Madison. Below: About to go above treeline; Even though the summits are far away, they always look close; A view of Madison Spring Hut with Mt. Adams in the background.

While we were at the summit, we met a woman who had a sign pinned to her that had 48 over 50 written on it. She was over 50 years old and she had a goal to do all 48 peaks over 4000 ft. in elevation in New Hampshire. She had saved Mt. Madison as her last hike to meet her goal, so we were thrilled to be able to see her experience accomplishing her goal. What an inspiration! We also talked to a gentleman at the summit who was from Colorado that had done this same hike 30 years ago. He was staying at the nearby Crag Camp, run by the Randolph Mountain Club, just as he had done when we was a teenager. He wanted to see if this hike was just as amazing as he had remembered and he told us it definitely was. It made me further realize that everyone likes to hike for their own reasons and it is always a privilege to get to hear people’s stories on the hike.

We made our way back down and ate some lunch at the Madison Spring Hut. We then ventured .2 miles on the Parapet Trail to see Star Lake. This is a spot you definitely shouldn’t miss. The lake is more like a small pond, but it was so beautiful to view the summit of Mt. Madison, as it reflected into Star Lake. We debated about tackling Mt. Adams to bag another peak, but we realized that the summit looked close, but it was still a steep 1 mile away. Not wanting to add even more to our hike, we decided to make our way back down. The trail seemed to be even rockier on the way back down. While you can normally fly down some parts of downhill trails, you need to take your time on this one to navigate all the rocks. On our way down, we came into a rain shower, making the rocks a little slick. The last .8 miles were quite easy again and we did pick up some time at this point. We made our way back to the parking lot to make the round trip 8.8 miles.

Christine Says…

The morning of our Mt. Madison hike started off cheerfully enough. We stopped for breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. I ate both a bagel with cream cheese and a Boston Cream donut. If I’m going to hike almost nine miles with over 4,000 feet of climbing, I’m going to enjoy any and all the baked goods I want! However, I was jolted out of my happy post-carb afterglow when I discovered my socks and sock liners completely soaked in the back of the car. A tough hike with wet socks sounded like a really bad idea. But, driving out of our way to find an outfitter with Thorlo socks seemed like an even worse idea. I’m super picky about socks, and Thorlo’s thick-cushion hiker socks are the only ones that keep my feet happy. I decided wet Thorlo socks were better than dry socks of another brand. (and they were … I hiked all day in wet socks and didn’t get a single blister!)

As Adam said in his post, the Valley Way trail is pretty moderate for White Mountain terrain. The trail is not as rocky and stays under the shelter of trees until you get to Madison Spring Hut. It’s a great choice if you want to visit the northern Presidentials, but stay largely sheltered from wind and other weather. There is still plenty of climbing, but until the last mile, it’s all gradual and moderate. Trails like the Valley Way exist due in part to people like J. Rayner Edmands. He was an early volunteer for the Appalachian Mountain Club. Starting in the 1880’s, he spent over 20 summers building trails in the White Mountains. He believed trails to the high peaks should be passable without stumbles, even in the dark. Backpacker Magazine did a neat article about Edmands in their October 2014 issue. Check it out if you have a few free minutes.

JMU Dukes — We paid tribute to our alma mater (James Madison University) on the namesake mountain. Go Dukes! Below: The trail was extremely rocky and rugged between the hut and the summit of Mt. Madison; Cairns mark the way; Christine and Adam enjoy a summit view; The descent.

I very much enjoyed the little rapids and waterfalls along Snyder Brook early in the hike. Tama Falls was especially impressive. After we moved away from the stream, the hike was basically just a climb in the woods. As we ascended the trail got rockier, bit by bit. The last half mile to the hut was insanely steep and rocky. In one spot, my shoe got so solidly wedged between two rocks that I had to unlace it and contort my ankle to free myself. It took efforts from both of us to release my shoe from the rocks. It’s a good thing trail runners are so soft and flexible, because my feet definitely needed both shoes on this hike! I think the steepness of the terrain is actually what stopped me from getting hurt when my foot got caught. We were moving very slowly, picking our way across the rocks. Had I been moving at any significant speed, I think I could have easily broken my ankle.

When we arrived at Madison Spring Hut, it was already starting to cloud up a little. It wasn’t really overcast, but the sky had that heavy, hazy look about it. The weather was definitely changing and I wanted to make sure we enjoyed the best views possible. We headed up the Osgood Trail toward the summit of Madison. I don’t know if you can really call the path to the top a ‘trail’. It’s more of a scramble across rocks, following cairns leading you to the summit. The climb to the top is slow going, simply because there is never a simple place to put your feet. On our way up it was fun to look back and marvel at the towering peaks and the tiny hut tucked into the col.

Inside Madison Spring Hut — We decided to eat lunch at Madison Spring Hut. Below: Even pretty dogs aren’t allowed inside AMC huts; We always enjoy the baked goods for sale at huts; Compass on the hut porch.

At the top we enjoyed spectacular views of the Presidentials. Seeing the Mt. Washington Auto Road snaking down the mountain was really impressive! While the wind was a little brisk at the summit, it was really a warm, mild day for the White Mountain high peaks. Lots of people were hiking in shorts and t-shirts. Some people even basked shirtless in the summit sunshine. My blood is a little thin for that, but I wasn’t cold like I had been on the summit of Mt. Washington in 2013.

After taking lots of photos and doing our JMU rituals, we climbed back down and enjoyed our packed lunch at Madison Spring Hut. Of course, we supplemented our packed food with baked goods from the Croo. I always hear people talking about how huts are packed with dayhikers all summer long. I’m not sure if it’s our timing (we hike early), but we’ve found almost every hut we’ve visited nearly empty.

After lunch, we walked out to Star Lake. What a beautiful spot. The lake itself is small and shallow, but it makes a gorgeous reflecting pool for Mt. Madison. We were lucky to visit on a picture perfect day! While we were admiring the lake and taking in our final peak views, we started to hear distant rumbles of thunder in the distance.

Being caught in a thunderstorm in the Whites is definitely something I’d be happy to NEVER experience. Lightning strikes happen frequently, wet granite is very slick, and stream levels can change drastically in mere minutes. In fact, just last week I read a harrowing account from a solo hiker caught by storms in the White Mountains. Seriously scary!

We made our way down as quickly as we safely could. With a couple miles of hiking left, the rain started to fall. Fortunately, it was light rain and none of the thunder/lightning seemed close. We got back to the car right before the skies opened up and poured! What a great day with perfect timing. I’m really thankful that we had weather that allowed us to visit two more Presidentials on our 2014 trip!

Trail Notes

Distance – 8.8miles
MapMyHike Stats *
Elevation Change – 4150 feet
Difficulty – 5. The trail started off easier, but it is still a very tough, uphill climb.
Trail Conditions – 2.5. The trail was well-maintained, but the rocky parts of the trail make this a challenge. The final push to the summit on the Osgood Trail also took a lot of precision. Bring trekking poles.
Views – 5. It doesn’t get much better than this. If you are lucky enough to catch this on a day where clouds are off the mountain summits, you will be able to see all around you for miles.
Waterfalls/streams – 3. The Snyder Brook runs alongs the trail early on the hike and you can see a few smaller waterfalls along the trail.
Wildlife – 1. We didn’t really see any wildlife on the trail. I wouldn’t expect much at all once you get above treeline.
Ease to Navigate – 2.5. There are a lot of junctions and side trails on the route because there are a lot of trails in this area. Keep following the signs for the Valley Way Trail until you reach the hut and then follow the Osgood Path via the cairns to the summit.
Solitude – 2. We picked a gorgeous day in the summer to do this hike, so we weren’t surprised to see lots of people. We saw the most at the summit and the hut, but there was still places to find our own bit of solitude.

Download a trail map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: From I-93: Take Exit 35 for Twin Mountain. Follow 3N for 12.4 miles. Turn right onto 115N for 9.7 miles. Turn tight onto 2E for 8 miles. The parking lot will be a large gravel area on the right.

* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.

House Mountain

July 26, 2014July 28, 20141 Comment

This tough 8.75 mile hike follows a vaguely Y-shaped route to two outstanding viewpoints. There are ample opportunities for backcountry camping on this route. If you’re lucky, you may be joined on part of your hike by the famous House Mountain hiking goat!

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The view from Goat Point on Big House Mountain. Below: Parking on this hike is limited and clearly marked; Early portions of the hike take place along a fire road through private property; Some nice views from the fire road.

Christine Says…

Like most hikers in Virginia, Adam and I are fans of Hiking Upward. It’s one of our primary resources for route information. We’ve been in touch with Bryce and Tony (the creators of HU) off and on the past few years. We had casually tossed around the idea of meeting up for a hike or backpacking trip, but our schedules never seemed to work out. Finally, in June, we found a date that suited everyone and made plans to meet up for a hike of House Mountain. The HU guys were working on updating information for the re-routed trail up Little House Mountain and we were hiking the area for the first time.

The morning started off gloomy and gray. I was a bit worried about missing out on views, but we got in the car and hoped for clearing skies. Everyone got to the trailhead around 8:30 a.m. We made our formal introductions and started the hike right away. Our hiking party was made up of Adam and me, Tony and Bryce (HU team), and two of Bryce’s friends from work – Wayne and Bharath. It was a great group to hike with and we all fell into easy conversation on the hike up.

The first couple miles of this route follow the Saddle Ridge Trail. This portion of the hike starts off as a gravel road and passes a number of private residences. After the first half mile, the route becomes more trail-ish and passes through shady woods. There is one decent view of rolling hills and field on the right side of the trail.

At about two miles in, you reach the saddle between the Big House and Little House summits. The saddle was historically a homestead and a fruit orchard before being turned over to public use. There is still plenty of open pasture space for tent camping in the saddle. Take a few minutes to read the informational signs about the area while you’re at the saddle. They provide information about the area’s history and the conservation efforts that made these trails possible.

Little House Trail — The Little House trail was recently re-routed to make the climb more gradual. Below: Christine and Adam at the trail board for the new route up Little House; Adam checks out the other informational board in the saddle between Big & Little House. You can see Big House in the background; The ascent of Little House is still pretty steep.

When we visited, we decided to hike Little House first. The trail to the summit is a recent re-route. The old trail was extremely steep, climbing straight up the mountainside without the amelioration of switchbacks. The new trail is still quite steep, but the switchbacks definitely ease the climbing. The trail was just blazed in spring of 2014, so if you hike anytime soon you’ll see plenty of fresh blue blazes marking the way.

We caught some nice views through the trees on the way up before finally gaining the ridge. The ridge made for more moderate walking and included lots of interesting rock formations. There were several small campsites along the ridge walk, too.

Eventually, we reached the end of the trail and a beautiful viewpoint. It was still pretty overcast, but the low clouds had lifted enough to give us a view of the valley below and surrounding mountains. We took time for a snack and a few photos before making our way back down to the saddle. On the return trip, Tony and Bharath decided to take the old trail back down. They beat us back to the saddle by a few minutes.

With everyone regrouped, we headed up the trail to the Big House summit. Within the first couple tenths of a mile, we passed the House Mountain backcountry shelter. It was a nice spot with a new privy and a side trail leading to a spring. We found the shelter stocked with lighter fluid, plastic silverware and other often-forgotten necessities. This hike would make a great beginner backpacking trip! You’d have a couple miles of hiking with a pack. But then you could set up camp and visit the two summits pack-free.

Most of the climb to Big House is along a rugged ATV trail. It’s straight up the mountainside until you reach one large switchback. At the switchback, look carefully for a very rocky, less-worn footpath departing the trail. Depending on the vegetation, this might be an easy spot to miss. If you take the switchback and continue the trail in that direction, you’ll just have a longer walk in the woods and no views.

View from Little House Mountain — Nice views from the summit of Little House Mountain. Below: Walking along the ridge was rocky; There were some interesting rock formations; We saw a small eastern box turtle.

We started scrambling up the rocks when all of a sudden a black and white animal wearing a red collar bounded out of the woods. At first, I thought it was another random hunting hound that was lost in the mountains. But no… it was a GOAT! She hiked with us the rest of the way to the viewpoint.

At the summit, she followed us around – begging for food and vigorously licking the salty sweat off our arms and legs. It was a hoot and we really enjoyed such a friendly and novel companion on the trail. We ate more snacks, took more photos and spent time hanging out with our new goat buddy.

On the hike down, the goat left us shortly after the switchback. She gave us several loud farewell bleats before she bounded back into the woods. The return hike to our car was all downhill, passing the saddle one last time before retracing our steps on the Saddle Ridge Trail. Near the end of the hike, we had the privilege of meeting Brian. He lives in one of the houses along the trail and is one of the primary people who works on building/maintaining the trails on these mountains. If you see him, be sure to say thanks!

At our cars, we decided to head into downtown Lexington for some post-hike food and beers! As Bryce put it ‘Every good hike should end in a pub!’ We had a good meal and more fun conversation at ‘The Palms’. It was mid-afternoon and not very crowded when we visited – probably a good thing to not subject too many fellow diners to the smell of dirty hikers. 🙂 After lunch, we made our farewells and parted ways. We had a great day and can’t wait to hit the trail with these guys again.

Adam Says…

It was great to finally meet up with Hiking Upward. We do most of our hiking with just the two of us, so there is always a little anxiety about hiking with new people. Because of all the miles they have covered, I wondered if we would be able to keep up or were going to get left in the dust of their hiking boots. Along with our pace, I also wondered what we’d talk about. However, within a few minutes, I knew we were quite the kindred spirits. We talked about many things from hiking experiences to favorite microbrews. As we were sharing some of our favorite trails, we were bringing up names of trails as if we were consulting maps. I guess when we all write these hiking entries, that knowledge sticks with us. I know this was the first of many adventures we will share together.

We started off from the parking lot (pay attention to the sign to know where to park and respect the boundaries). We made our way up the road and at .3 miles, you reach a gate that begins the official trailhead. Past the gate, you start a gradual ascent up a fire road, passing by a residence to the left. At 2.25 miles, you reach the saddle between Big and Little House Mountain and the junction between the two trails.

The Group on the Summit of Little House Mountain — It was great to meet the guys from Hiking Upward. Below: Another nice view from a different rocky outcropping on Little House; The old route up Little House was blocked by a bramble of sticks; Making the steep descent; A view through the trees along the trail.

We started off by hitting Little House Mountain first, taking a right at the information signs and following the blue-blazed trail. The trail starts off relatively flat, but as you round the mountain the trail is very narrow and requires you to be mindful of where you step. At 2.5 miles, the trail then begins to climb up the ridge very steeply and you begin a series of switchbacks until you gain the ridge at 3.1 miles. The trail at this point goes through a thick area of rhododendron and remains slightly flat or downhill until you reach the viewpoint. Along the way, you pass through some areas of larger rocks. At 3.6 miles, the trail opened up to breathtaking views. We paused here for a while to eat a snack and take some photos. There are a few different places to get views from the rocks nearby.

We made our way back to the junction and saddle area, which we reached at 5.0 miles. Now, it was time to take on Big House Mountain. We took the opposite trail at the junction (as you were originally climbing up the trail, it is the trail to the left), making our way through some grassy areas before the trail opened up. Within a short distance, we passed a nice overnight shelter to the right. This shelter had it all – there was a sleeping bag someone left behind and even some cans of Yuengling for someone else to enjoy (if warm beer is your thing). There was a privy building a short distance away. We noticed another blue-blazed trail, which we were told later (by Brian, the trail maintainer) leads to a water source.

After we passed the shelter, the trail opened up to a larger fire road again which kept up a steady, tough climb gaining 400 feet in .4 miles. The trail came to a junction with a switchback trail to the right that leads to the true summit of Big House Mountain, but the views are gained by staying straight on the trail. The trail becomes very rocky at this point and we were soon joined by our goat friend. Her nimbleness on the rocks amazed us and she led us to the rocky Goat Point viewpoint at 5.9 miles. There was an upper perch and a lower perch for taking in some of the gorgeous views. As I was heading to the lower outcropping, I spotted a geocache behind one of the rocks. As I was signing the log, the goat jumped down from the high perch, scaring me and almost making me fall down the mountainside. Be careful out there, especially when there are salt-craving goats waiting to pounce.

We Met a Goat — This cute goat joined us on the final climb to the summit of Big House Mountain. Below: The goat was a strong and agile climber; In the end, she mostly wanted food.

We headed back after taking in the views for a while (and being thoroughly licked by the goat). I will say that I think I was the favorite of the goat. This wasn’t the first time I had been amply licked by a goat while hiking – the other time was when we hiked the Massanutten Ridge trail. Maybe the salt from my sweat tasted the best or I was the most agreeable to being licked – I’m not sure. But, as we headed back down the goat followed us until we reached the rocky junction with the switchback to the summit. She stared at us from the top as if to beg us to come back to his place for more licking. We said our goodbyes to the goat and then made our way back. We reached the saddle junction again at 6.6 miles and made it back to our car at 8.75 miles.

Friendly Goat — She was a friendly goat! Below: More nice views from Big House summit; It was a hazy, mostly cloudy day; The goat liked the salt in Adam’s sweat.

If you are interested in geocaching, there are 17 different geocaches to find on the Little House Mountain and Big House Mountain trails. I won’t list them all here, but here are the two at the summits:

After we arrived back at our vehicles, we decided to hit The Palms in Lexington for some great food and a few beers. We had such a great day with our new friends! I can’t believe that we had not heard much about this hike before. This is a true gem of a hike with so many panoramic views!

Trail Notes

Distance – 8.75 miles
MapMyHike Stats*
Elevation Change – 2850 ft.
Difficulty – 4.5. There is some pretty serious climbing on this hike. Not many hikes of this length in Virginia have quite so much elevation gain.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail was in great shape and the hard work put into maintaining this trail is evident. The newer trail to the summit of Little House Mountain is narrow and steep with some loose sections. We recommend a hiking stick or trekking poles to help keep yourself upright!
Views – 4.5. Gorgeous! I’d love to visit on a crystal clear fall day sometime!
Streams/Waterfalls – 0. None – but there is a small piped spring near the camping shelter.
Wildlife – 3. Any trail that has a wild(ish) goat gets a few wildlife bonus points!
Ease to Navigate – 4. The trails in this area are very well-marked. The one tricky spot might be finding the viewpoint on Big House Mountain. If you miss the rocky path departing the trail at the hairpin turn, you might miss the views altogether.
Solitude –3. We saw a fair number of hiking groups along the trail, but had both overlooks to ourselves.

Download a Trail Map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: From I-81, take the I-64 exit 191 toward Lexington/Charleston. Follow I-64 for six miles to exit 50 (US 60 East). Follow US 60 East for 2.2 miles, turn right on Route 639. Go .8 miles and bear left onto Route 638. Follow 638 for 1.1 miles. Turn right on Route 641, go 1.1 miles. Turn right onto Route 643. Parking is on the left side of the road in .3 miles. Make sure you follow the parking signs on private property.

* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.

Bear Church Rock – via Bootens Gap

July 19, 2014May 12, 20225 Comments

This 10.2 mile hike to Bear Church Rock from Bootens Gap (on Skyline Drive) is a great alternative to the route that begins down in the valley at Graves Mill. While this route doesn’t include the scenic Staunton River or the Jones Mountain Cabin, it crosses some of the deepest, least traveled parts of Shenandoah National Park. And in the end, you reach the same great viewpoint. While this route is a little longer than the alternative, it has less climbing and feels a little more moderate.

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

View from Bear Church Rock — The view from Bear Church Rock reveals nothing but wilderness. The Staunton River flows through the valley below. Below: The hike begins on the AT northbound at Bootens Gap; Christine passing large boulders on the Laurel Prong trail; Mountain laurel starting to bloom.

Adam Says…

Bear Church Rock really impressed us when we hiked it a few years ago, approaching it from Graves Mill. However, we were thinking it would be nice to take a different route that would be more accessible from Skyline Drive. This approach is a bit longer, but it has 400 fewer feet of elevation gain, making this an overall easier climb.

We started off from the Bootens Gap parking lot at Mile Marker 55 on Skyline Drive in the Central District of Shenandoah National Park. We took the Appalachian Trail from the parking lot, heading north. In .5 miles, we reached the junction with the Laurel Prong Trail. We took a right to join this trail. The Laurel Prong Trail ends up going through a relatively steep decline through a loose, rocky section. The trail eventually bottoms out and you reach a junction with the Cat Knob Trail at 1.5 miles. We took the Cat Knob Trail and began a steep incline. The trail hits another junction with the Jones Mountain Trail at 2.2 miles. Take a right on the Jones Mountain Trail. At this point, the trail is relatively flat or downhill for most of the way to Bear Church Rock. As you near your goal, you’ll see some pretty amazing standalone boulders along the trail. You will know you’re getting close to the viewpoint when the trail takes a sudden, precipitous downhill drop. At 5.1 miles, you will reached an unmarked side trail that takes you up a about ten feet through the laurels onto a large rock outcrop with majestic, wilderness views. Return the way you came to make this a 10.2 mile out-and-back.

Adam Hiking the Jones Mountain Trail — The Jones Mountain Trail traversed an expansive bed of lush, green ferns. Below: Adam climbs Cat Knob – one of the few steep portions of the trail; Park boundaries were well marked; One of many pink ladys slippers along the trail.

One thing to note on the trail is you do come across several times where the National Park crosses back and forth across boundary lines with the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area. You may see some US Boundary markers in several places that marks the portion that is under National Park control versus Virginia control.

When we reached the highest point of the Cat Knob Trail, we found the largest concentration of pink lady slippers I have ever seen. Everywhere we turned, we kept seeing more and more and they were at the peak of their bloom. That was such a nice reward by coming this route.

Many Lady's Slippers — Usually photos of lady’s slippers are close-ups. This wider shot gives a better idea how these wildflowers are situated in the forest. Below: The portion of the trail outside the park is blazed differently; The Rapidan Wildlife Management area; Adam makes the last final, steep descent to Bear Church Rock.

Somewhere along the Jones Mountain Trail as we were making our approach to Bear Church Rock, my knee buckled and gave me a lot of pain for the rest of the day. One hard part about hiking is if you get injured, you don’t have a lot of choice but to keep going. I stopped about .25 mile before we reached the summit and rested. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it all the way. Christine went ahead to scout the way and see how much further. Not wanting to be separated too long, I pushed myself onward and found her at the rock overlook. We stayed there to rest for a while and we had the rock all to ourselves. We were joined in about 20 minutes from a man from China who had come up the route from Graves Mill. He didn’t speak English and we heard him on his walkie-talkie talking to someone that we presumed to be his wife. We were guessing she was farther behind and he was assuring her he made it. The climb the other way is quite steep, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she had either turned around or was just taking longer to get to the rock.

The views were spectacular. While we had a bit of a cloudy day, it was nice to see the shadows from the clouds creeping along the mountain ridges in the distance.

We decided to make our way back. I felt like the time at the viewpoint allowed me to rest my knee enough to make the return trip. I was hobbling slowly, but I had to keep pushing forward. We got back to the car and I was glad to not have to take any more steps.

Christine Says…

It was National Trails Day, the weather was great – and even though neither of us was in the mood to go on a long car ride to a distant trailhead, we had to get out and hike! We settled on the hike from Skyline Drive to Bear Church Rock – mostly because it was close to home, but also because we’d never hiked it before. A few years ago, we hiked from the valley bottom in Graves Mill up to Bear Church Rock. That was a challenging and beautiful hike, so we thought it would be fun to visit the rock from the other approach.

From the parking lot at Bootens Gap, we headed north on the Appalachian Trail, gradually ascending Hazeltop Mountain. I was amazed by how lush and green everything in the park looked. It almost looked as green as the Smokies! Our last hike in the park had been in late April, before the leaves fully emerged. Spring always take a long time to fully arrive in the mountains.

After a short, easy stretch on the AT, we reached the junction with the Laurel Prong Trail. We turned right onto the trail and followed it downhill, over many rock jumbles along the shoulder of the mountain. In a saddle between two mountains, we reached the junction with the Cat Knob Trail.

Taking in the View at Bear Church — Adam takes in the view at Bear Church Rock. Below: You’ll pass these rock formations on the final descent to Bear Church; The rocks were covered with blooming mountain laurel; There were also lots of ripening blueberries.

That trail climbed steeply over Cat Knob before reaching the junction with the Jones Mountain Trail. The Jones Mountain trail bears to the right. This section of trail actually departs Shenandoah National Park and enters the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area. You’ll notice park boundary signs and different orange/red blazes (as opposed to Shenandoah’s blue blazes) when you’re on this part of the hike.

This section of trail is incredibly beautiful! We enjoyed the expansive understory of ferns and countless pink lady’s slippers. The mountain laurel was just starting to bloom. The terrain along the Jones Mountain trail was rolling – lots of ups and downs, none of them too steep. This route to Bear Church is probably less popular than the route from Graves Mill, so the trail was narrow and overgrown. Tall grasses brushed our legs all along the way. Adam said, “All I can think of is ticks. I feel like I’m crawling with them!’ Luckily, the permethrin we’ve been using on our clothes and gear really seems to be working. Neither of us found any ticks during a thorough post-hike check.

Around 4.9 miles into the hike, the trail took an incredibly steep downward turn. We lost about 200 feet of elevation in just over a couple tenths of a mile. We passed a few rocky outcroppings that looked like they might potentially have views, but they all turned out to be obscured by trees. Watch carefully for the spur trail to Bear Church Rock. It’s not a marked spur, so one could easily miss it.

On the hike, Adam had begun to wonder if we passed the view or if maybe it had been closed in by trees. I told him that it was a really open, spectacular view and that it had to be nearby. I told him I’d scout ahead and shout back if I found it. I ended up walking almost another half mile before I reached the spur trail! The distances in our guidebook were way off on describing the last mile of the hike to the viewpoint. Other sources I checked afterwards all put the distance anywhere between 9.5 and 11 (rather than the 8.5 miles indicated by our book).

Lush Green — Everything was so abundant and green on this pretty June day. Below: Adam makes the steep ascent on the return from Bear Church Rock. Fortunately it is only this steep for a short time; Coming off Cat Knob; We spotted a doe and fawn in the understory. The fawn was pretty well hidden.

There was a large hiking group on the rock, so I felt weird about shouting for Adam. They told me they were headed out the way we came and would send Adam down when they passed him. But, just as the final hiker departed, Adam arrived.

We had lunch on the rock and enjoyed the unspoiled, pristine views of the park. One of the nice things about Bear Church is that you really don’t see civilization from the viewpoint. You get great views of Fork Mountain, Cat Knob and the Staunton River Valley – but no roads or houses or farms. It’s beautiful! The mountain laurel around the rocky viewpoint were in full bloom and quite spectacular!

After a nice rest, we hiked back the way we came. Most of the return trip was uphill, but other than a short section of climbing right after leaving Bear Church it was very moderate, gradual climbing. The last little bit along the AT was smooth downhill. We saw a doe and fawn hiding in the ferns right before we got back to the car. Once we were back in the car, we decided to head up to Big Meadows for blackberry milkshakes (yay!) and to say hello to our PATC friends. We were glad to catch up with the pair of PATC volunteers who led our Backpacking 101 course several years ago. Good day!

Trail Notes

Distance – 10.2 miles
Elevation Change – About 1800 feet
Difficulty – 4. The climb down and back up are not overly tough, but the distance gives it an above average difficulty.
Trail Conditions – 2.5. The rocky slope climbing down the Laurel Prong trail did have some loose rock. The Jones Mountain Trail was quite overgrown along the way and we were walking through a lot of knee-high grassy areas. Wear bug spray and check for ticks afterwards.
Views– 5. Great mountain views from Bear Church Rock.
Streams/Waterfalls – 0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 2. We didn’t really see much wildlife on this trail. We thought much of it would be a great place to spot a bear since it is in a very wide part of Shenandoah National Park and not as well-traveled.
Ease to Navigate – 3. You do take four different trails to get to Bear Church Rock, so pay attention at the junction markers.
Solitude – 3. Most of the people we saw on the trail were on the Laurel Prong portion (typically making their way to the Rapidan Camp). I would expect that you would see someone at Bear Church Rock.

Download a Trail Map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: Follow Skyline Drive to mile marker 55. Park at the Bootens Gap parking area on the east side of the drive. The AT departs from the end of the parking lot.

Rich Mountain Loop (TN)

July 8, 2014September 4, 20186 Comments

Introductory Guide to Visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This 8.7 mile loop didn’t offer much in the way of natural scenery – no great views, no plunging waterfalls, but we did see a bear! Apparently, this is a great trail to spot bears, as all ten hikers we spoke to on the loop saw at least one bear over the course of their hike. This trail also passes the historic John Oliver cabin.

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

View Into Cades Cove — There was one decent view into Cades Cove on the Rich Mountain Loop. Most views were obscured by trees.

Adam Says…

The Cades Cove section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a lot to offer – camping, drives around the loop to view wildlife, biking (covered in a previous post), and a historic view into the way people lived and farmed in this area. Honestly, I have a little love/hate relationship with this section. The biking and wildlife viewing can’t be beat around this area. However, the traffic is so incredibly slow through this area. Expect people to go WAY below the posted speed limit, so getting to Cades Cove can take a lot longer than expected. I think most of the way traveling from the Sugarlands Visitors Center, multiple people were driving about 10-15 mph for the entire 17 miles, so it was a drag getting there. Christine and I typically like to get out early in the morning to beat traffic and heat through the day, so I would recommend the same if visiting Cades Cove.

Since we had biked the loop and hiked Abrams Falls (also on the Cades Cove loop) before, we looked for some other options for hikes. Our book Day Hikes in the Smokies (by Carson Brewer) had this listed as a nice option for a hike. According to the description, there was a waterfall, some views, and a historic homestead so we felt this would be a nice option to take.

The open meadows and mountain backdrops define Cades Cove. Below: Adam at the trailhead; A meadow view early in the hike; Stream crossings were shallow and easy when we hiked.

We parked in the lot past the information kiosk as you enter the Cades Cove loop. There was plenty of parking in the lot, as most people either park their car to bike the loop or just ask the rangers at the kiosk some questions about the area. We parked at one of the furthest parking spots and then crossed the road. In a short distance, the trailhead appeared and we started off on the Rich Mountain Loop trail. This trail was relatively flat. It was mostly wooded, but there were a few spots where it opened up to views of meadows. In .5 miles, the trail reached a junction with the Crooked Arm Ridge trail. We took a right here to start the Crooked Arm Ridge trail. At .8 miles, you reach the Crooked Arm Cascade, which was no more than a small trickle when we viewed it. This trail is the steepest section of the hike, as you are climbing up the entire trail gaining close to 1800 feet by the time you reach the end of the trail at mile 2.7. The humidity this day was very high and there was no breeze, so we felt like we were pouring buckets of sweat on our relentless climb through many switchbacks along the trail.

At 2.7 miles, we passed the junction with the Scott Mountain Trail, but the junction wasn’t clearly marked to let you know it was the Scott Mountain Trail (Note: This might be because the Scott Mountain Trail is closed from campsite #6 to Schoolhouse Gap. However, Campsite #6 is still open. Check park information for the latest updates on trail closures.) Staying straight, the trail turns into the Indian Grave Gap Trail. It continues to climb gradually, and there are some occasional obstructed views from the ridge. You finally reach the peak of climbing around mile four, near Cerulean Knob (3686 ft. – no views). We continued walking the ridge for a while, then the trail then starts its descent. At 5.3 miles, the Indian Grave Gap Trail reaches a junction. Continue on the Rich Mountain Loop trail.

Our hiking guide said that Crooked Arm Falls ‘was no Niagara’. They really weren’t kidding! Below: The trail was eroded and had a deep chute in the middle; The ridge walking was pleasant and breezy; We saw several of these cute toads.

The trail continues to descend and you do get some nice views along the way of a branch that leads to Abrams Creek. Around 7.2 miles, the trail leads to the John Oliver Place, a historic cabin. If you are interested in learning more about the Oliver family and life in the 1800’s in Cades Cove, I would recommend checking out the history of the Olivers and the cabin and what pioneer life was like in Cades Cove. We paused to check out the cabin and as you face the house, take the rightmost trail behind the house (there are several small paths here) to continue on to the Rich Mountain Loop. You will have a few stream crossings (minor rock hopping is required) until you reach the first junction you met at mile 8.2. Continue straight to take the Rich Mountain Loop trail to arrive back at your car at mile 8.7.

As mentioned in the short description at the top, we kept coming across people that had seen bears along the trail. Until we started the descent from Cerulean Knob, everyone we crossed told us they had seen various bears across the trail. Of course everyone also said they watched the bears and then they ran off. Always excited to see bears, we felt like everyone else had chased them away. As we were descending we were convinced that we probably wouldn’t see anything, but as soon as we voiced this doubt, Christine spotted a bear right off the side of the trail. The bear just watched us indifferently while it ate some leaves. Then it took a slow walk and then squatted to do what bears do in the woods. As soon as it was done, it shot through the woods at a breakneck pace like its poop had scared him. I guess that is why they call it “bear scat”, because he really did scat after doing his business.

One lesson that I quickly learned on this trail was that humidity is relative. While we were doing the tough climb up to the ridgeline, we came across another couple (who of course were telling us about a bear they saw). Feeling that I was quite the sight from all the sweat coming off my body, I commented on how hot and humid it was. They said, “Wow. We haven’t been sweating at all today.” They then explained they were from Mississippi so they were more accustomed to the heat and humidity and thought it was quite comfortable. Of course this reminded me on some of our trips to Maine and talking to people that couldn’t handle the heat of 85 degrees without humidity and we thought it was quite pleasant.

While we felt the hike wasn’t overly impressive based on the description we originally read, we felt grateful that we saw a bear in the Smokies. If you’re looking for a bit of a challenge and some variety of terrain in this area of the Smokies, this is a hike to consider.

Christine Says…

After a third day of shorter, easier hikes, I was finally feeling better and we were on the move from Bryson City to Gatlinburg for the remainder of our week in the Smokies. We decided it was time to hike something a little longer/tougher. We considered a few trails on the northern side of the park, including Gregory Bald, Ramsey Cascades, and Rich Mountain. In the end, we settled on Rich Mountain because our guidebook said it had views, a waterfall and a historic cabin. I like trails with a variety of attractions, so it seemed like the perfect choice for the day.

Another perk of the Rich Mountain loop is that the trailhead can be accessed at the head of Cades Cove, before the start of one-way traffic. The Cades Cove loop is something every GSMNP visitor should drive (or bike) at least once. It’s a great place to spot wildlife and it showcases the park’s fascinating human history. But, if I’m being fully honest, the traffic in Cades Cove can be insufferable when you just want to get to a trailhead and start your hike. On this particular day, I was very happy to be avoiding the gridlock!

We followed the Rich Mountain Loop trail for about half a mile to our first junction. At the marker, we took a right onto the Crooked Arm Ridge Trail. Most people seem to hike the trail clockwise, but we decided to go the other way for to get the climbing done a little earlier and a little faster in the loop.

One of the first landmarks we passed was Crooked Arm Falls, which our hiking guidebook described as ‘not Niagara, but still very nice’. That turned out to be quite the understatement! The ‘waterfall’ was barely a trickle of water over a short rock shelf. Maybe it’s more impressive when there has been a ton of rain!

Bear — We spotted an adolescent bear along the trail! Below: Adam checking out trail distances at one of the junctions; Flame azalea; Mountain laurel.

After passing the waterfall, our climb began in earnest. Neither of us was used to hiking in the heat and humidity. Virginia had been having lots of cool, pleasant days that spring, so it was very tough going. When we got back to the car and had smartphone access again, I checked the temperatures and real feel estimates – it had been about 88 degrees with a real feel of 95. Honestly, that’s kind of the outer limit of heat in which I’m willing to hike.

We slogged along uphill for a couple miles. The air was really still and steamy, with any chance of a breeze blocked by the shoulder of the mountain. The trail was deeply eroded in several sections, with the middle of the footpath looking like a chute in the ground. The views promised by our guidebook were mostly closed in by the leaves on the trees and we started to think we may have picked a dud of a hike. I was feeling really overheated and crabby.

Eventually we reached the junction with the Indian Grave Gap Trail. At this point, the climbing became easier and we felt a breeze across the ridge. We started to see more wildflowers – mountain laurel and flame azalea. We spotted several cute toads hopping across the trail. We stopped for a snack near an opening in the trees. We had a decent view into Cades Cove. Along this section of trail, we passed two other hiking parties – both mentioned that they’d had bear sightings before the junction with the Rich Mountain Loop. One group had spotted an adolescent bear and the other a mother bear with two cubs. Between the breeze, the wildflowers, and the likelihood of a bear spotting; my attitude turned a little more positive. Adam was more skeptical than I was, saying ‘If all these people already saw bears, we’ll probably be the only ones who don’t!’

We walked along, trying to stay quiet for the wildlife. We reached the junction of the Indian Grave Gap Trail and the Rich Mountain Loop Trail without spotting a bear. I figured that we were out of luck, and started chatting with Adam again. As we were descending toward a stream bed, I caught a shuffle of movement through the trees. I stopped abruptly, waved my hand up to stop Adam behind me and whispered ‘BEAR!’ Ten feet from the edge of the trail, we spotted a handsome yearling bear foraging for food. He knew we were there, but continued to move along at a normal pace. Other than once upward glance, he completely ignored us. Suddenly, he broke into a full gallop and went crashing deeper into the woods and out of view. It was a GREAT sighting and made the hike totally worthwhile.

The rest of the hike between the bear and the John Oliver cabin was downhill, steeply at times. For a couple hundred yards, we were followed by a cute yellow warbler. The bird hopped from tree to tree right alongside us before finally flying off. We had a couple easy, shallow stream crossings on the section of trail.

We reached the Oliver cabin and were met with crowds of Cades Cove tourists. Most people visiting the cabin park along the loop road and then walk a short distance up to the house. I think this cabin is the oldest structure in the Cove. After spending a little time exploring the cabin, we headed back onto the Rich Mountain Loop trail.

After the cabin there wasn’t anything remarkable left on the trail to see. I don’t think I took a single photo! It was just an easy walk for about a mile back to our first junction of the day, followed by a half mile stretch back to the parking area on the loop road. It felt great to be back in the air-conditioned car!

On our way out of Cades Cove, we stopped by the snack bar at the campground. I got a gigantic Gatorade and a bag of generic Cheetos. The Gatorade tasted miraculous after miles of drinking lukewarm Camelbak water! About an hour later, we were checking into our hotel in Gatlinburg. After showering, we headed out to the Smoky Mountain Brewery. On the way, we got caught in one of the biggest downpours I’ve ever experienced. We ate dinner soaked, but the beer and steak were so good I didn’t care.

So, I guess in closing… would I recommend the Rich Mountain Loop? Probably – it seems like a great place to hike if you want good odds of seeing a bear in the wild, but don’t go expecting great views and waterfalls.

Trail Notes

Distance – 8.7 miles
Elevation Change – 1800 ft.
Difficulty – 3.5 The hike up the Crooked Arm Ridge trail was tough.
Trail Conditions – 3. The trail was clear, but there were some eroded parts on the climb up the Crooked Arm Ridge Trail. On the hike down, there was some loose rock also.
Views – 2. There were some obstructed views from the ridgeline.
Streams/Waterfalls – 2. The Crooked Arm Cascade was a disappointment with little water, but the streams on the back end of the loop were nice.
Wildlife – 4.5. We did see a bear and it looked and sounded like a lot of bear activity here. We also saw some deer along the way.
Ease to Navigate – 1.5. Trails were not marked very clearly, especially at junctions. Also, there is confusion around the John Oliver place on which way to go to complete the loop back.
Solitude – 2.5. Cades Cove is a very popular area. I would expect to see some people on the trail most days, but less in the upper elevations. There will also be lots of people that will park on the main road to check out the John Oliver Place.

Download a Trail Map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: From the Sugarlands Visitor Center in GSMNP, follow signs towards Cades Cove. Follow Little River Road for about 17 miles. At the intersection near Townsend, the road will become Laurel Creek Road. Follow Laurel Creek road for 7.4 miles to the parking area at the head of Cades Cove. Park in the lot on the left hand side of the road right before the traffic becomes one way. The trail starts about 25 yards ahead on the opposite side of the road from parking.

Black Balsam & Tennent Mountain (NC)

June 9, 2014September 4, 20183 Comments

North Carolina Hikes

This 6.6 mile loop offers some of the area’s most amazing high-elevation, Appalachian bald scenery! It was right up there with Roan Mountain. The views are 360 degrees and showcase mountains in every direction. If we were to hike it again, we’d do it as an out-and-back and skip the return arm of the loop along Graveyard Ridge and Mountains to the Sea.

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

Black Balsam Knob — Hiking Black Balsam and Tennent reminded us of both the Whites (in New Hampshire) and Roan Mountain (in Tennessee). Such spectacular, wide-open views! Below: The most scenic parts of the hike followed the Art Loeb Trail; The Graveyard Ridge section was wet and had a stream crossing; The end of the hike took us across numerous boardwalks/bridges.

Adam Says…

When we were planning our trip to the Smokies, we decided we wanted to spend the first few days near the Asheville, NC area and check out a few hikes along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had set out in the morning to check out the Graveyard Fields waterfalls. On a trip here many years ago, we remembered how beautiful the series of waterfalls were. We brought a book with a description of the hike that would include a visit to Black Balsam and Tennent Knob on the loop. However, we didn’t have a map of the area other than what our book had provided. After driving along the parkway for some time, we pulled up to where the parking lot would be (mile marker 418.8) and it was all blocked off by fencing. It appears they are doing some major renovations of the parking area and stairs down to the Second Falls. They had blocked off any access to the trail and instead had signs saying that you could access the trail from many miles away. We were very disappointed, but decided to drive up further along the Parkway. We took a right on the gravel road 816 (mile marker 420.2) and followed that until we saw a trail marker to the right that led up to Black Balsam Knob. We were relieved we were going to be able to see the balds and I realized we were picking up our loop trail but just a little differently than we had originally intended.

From the road, you start on the Art Loeb trail. In a few hundred feet, you will see a side trail to the right. This is the Mountains to Sea Trail that will be your return from the loop. Stay straight to continue on the Art Loeb Trail as it ascends past amazing vistas. You will reach the summit of the Black Balsam Knob at .9 miles and will see many campsites at the top. On a clear day from here you will have 360-degree views all around with the Smokies to the west and Mt. Mitchell to the north. The trail took a sharp left at this point as you continue on the Art Loeb trail. On Black Balsam Knob, there are many other trails cut-in over the years along the balds which makes it tricky to know if you are on the right trail. As we left the summit area, we came to a junction between two trails that both looked legitimate. One seemed to go over a hillside and the other went to the left and around. We took the one to the left and saw a very worn sign that read “Art Loeb” so we knew we made the correct choice. The trail wrapped around the hillside and went through a narrow path with waist-high shrubbery growing along the trail. Our legs got a little scratched along the way, but we pressed on. After a while the trail went through a few switchbacks while descending and then flattened out. At this point, we could see Tennent Mountain ahead of us, so we felt comfortable that we were going the right way. Soon, the shrubbery opened up into a clearing and we climbed up the rocky path and reached the summit of Tennent Mountain at 2.5 miles.

Approaching Black Balsam — Hiking across open, grassy balds at 6,000 ft. is such a treat! Below: The trail looks like a ribbon across the mountain tops; Lots of colorful tents on Black Balsam Knob; You can see a glimpse of the parking lot at the trailhead.

The summit of Tennent Mountain was just as scenic with more views in every direction. From here we could also see Looking Glass Rock, one of the most iconic images along the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the distance. We had our lunch on the top of this spot and then made the decision to do the full loop instead of just the out-and-back to the summits. We continued forward on the Art Loeb Trail. From here, there were a few more nice views but then the trail descended into a more wooded trail. The trail passed a few more campsite options before we reached the area known as Ivestor Gap at 3.1 miles. Ivestor Gap is a large open junction point where many trails converge. There was a map that showed where we were, but none of the trails were marked to let us know which was the right one to take. When you reach Ivestor Gap, take the larger trail to the right that looks like an old road. This was the Graveyard Ridge Trail. We were on this for only .3 miles, before passing a small spring in the rocks on the lefthand side of the trail, and took a sharp right to stay on to the Graveyard Ridge Trail, another unmarked junction [staying straight on the trail would begin the Greasy Cove Trail]. The Graveyard Ridge Trail was very rocky and had a lot of water on the trail, so there was some times of rock-hopping and getting your shoes wet. While on this trail, you may have a few glimpses at Tennent Mountain above to see where you came from and there are a couple of spots for viewpoints.

At 5.1 miles, we reached another junction. Deciding to forego the trip to see the waterfalls to Graveyard Fields (which would have probably added another 4.5 miles roundtrip to our hike), we took a sharp right up the Mountains to Sea Trail. This trail was extremely steep and at times felt like a bushwhack as the trail was very overgrown. In about .5 miles, you’ll gain over 500 feet of elevation, so it is a slow effort. Eventually at 5.75 miles, the trail reached the top of the bubble and you got a few more views from a rocky outcropping. Blazes were painted on the rock that led the way as the trail descends below. The trail moves away from the ridgeline before switching back – it feels like the wrong direction, but it’s not. The trail descends for a few hundred feet before climbing up again. You’ll pass over several wooden footbridges along this section of the trail. At about the 6.5 mile mark, the trail goes into a deep wooded area again and you reach the junction again with the Art Loeb Trail. Turn left and you head back to 816 in a short distance.

Open Hiking — Spectacular views with every step! Below: In the saddles between the high points, the trail was narrow and lined by dense shrubs; Adam stands atop Tennent Mountain; Summit of Tennent Mountain.

At the top of Tennent Mountain, there is a plaque on the rocks dedicated to Gaillard Stoney Tennent (1872-1953) who “established organized hiking in North Carolina.” I couldn’t find any more connections or information about Tennent online, but this sounds quite impressive.

If you are interested in Geocaching, there are several you could find along the trail (and it wouldn’t hurt to have a GPS handy):

While we tried to cover some extra ground on this trail by making it a loop (and leaving the option to inspect the waterfalls), I would recommend doing this trip as an out-and-back to Tennent Mountain. The trail system is very confusing here since trails are rarely marked and junctions are not labeled (we’re a little spoiled here in Virginia). We had to ask several people along the way if we were going in the right direction, so I can imagine a lot of people will feel lost at some point along this trail. All that being said, the views from Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain are breathtaking. On a clear day, you can see for hundreds of miles and can see ridgeline after ridgeline of mountains around you with few glimpses of anything resembling civilization. Don’t miss this one if you are looking for a hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway!

Christine Says…

Our first full day in Asheville, we got up early and had an amazing breakfast at Biscuit Head. Seriously – if you’re in Asheville, go eat those biscuits! We had planned a 5.2 mile hike starting near Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We drove the hour from Asheville to the trailhead to find the area completely closed off with an 8-foot tall chain link fence and orange plastic mesh. Even the wooden stairs leading to the entire larger trail system were blocked off. So, we grabbed our Falcon Guide for Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway and started scrambling for alternatives. We settled on a different hike that would still let us see Black Balsam Knob, and give us the option to visit the waterfalls (if we had energy to spare).

Christine Enjoys the View — Who wouldn’t want to spend all day enjoying views like these! Below: Views from the ridge after crossing the summit of Tennent Mountain; Adam approaching Ivestor Gap; Shining Rock Wilderness sign at Ivestor Gap.

The Falcon Guide offered vague (at best) descriptions of the hikes along the parkway, so we weren’t really sure how long the hike would be, what kind of elevation change we’d experience, what the terrain would be like or even the names of all the trails we would traverse. We had a rough map of the area in the book, so we could make some educated guesses, but we definitely went into this hike with a lot less information than we normally do.

We found the trailhead parking area packed – the lot was full and cars lined both sides of the rough, potholed road. We started off on a white blazed trail that climbed gently to sweeping views from bald Black Balsam Knob. The first great views are less than a mile of relatively easy hiking from the trailhead, so we saw tons of people. There were at least 3-4 tents sent up atop the bald. It was gorgeous – but it was a zoo!

From there, the trail got a little confusing. There are so many social paths to campsites worn into the mountain. We had a hard time knowing for sure that we were still on the white-blazed Art Loeb trail. There weren’t any blazes to be seen, and the only sign was so weathered that it looked like a blank piece of wood on a post. We stood pondering our book/map for a few minutes, when a foursome passed and confirmed that they had hiked this area many times and we were indeed on the correct trail. A little later, we passed an actual Art Loeb trail sign.

Adam hikes in the stream that was the footbed on the Graveyard Ridge Trail. Below: Adam at the junction of the Graveyard Ridge and Mountains to Sea trails; Painted trillium; The early part of the Mountains to Sea trail was essentially a bushwhack.

The trail descended through thick, dense scrub – lots of berry bushes and rhododendron. Eventually the trail opened back up and we began another ascent to the summit of 6,000 ft.+ Tennent Knob. This outlook was even more spectacular than Black Balsam. We could see for miles in every direction. We stopped at this point and had lunch on the trail. I had packed an apple, a Kind bar and some cookies from a bakery in the top of my pack. The strong sunshine had warmed the cookies to the point that they tasted like they had just come out of the oven. So good!

After the summit of Tennent Knob, we descended again before reaching Ivestor Gap. At the Gap, there was a troop of Boy Scouts at the information station. We consulted our map again before heading down another unmarked trail that we believed to be correct.

The trail at this point became wet and streamlike. We came across another hiker and his backpacking beagle! The beagle was really sweet and apparently a good hiker – able to do 12 mile days! The man was filling up his water bottles at a spring along the trail. Right after the spring, the there was a trail junction. We took the sharp hairpin turn onto the unmarked Graveyard Ridge Trail. It was a mostly flat, but very sloppy trail. It was wet and muddy for most of the way.

Green — The Mountains to Sea trail eventually became less of a bushwhack, but it was still tricky to follow in places. Below: Near the end of our hike, storm clouds filled the sky over the high peaks; One of the trickier spots along the Mountains to Sea trail – the blazes were not readily visible and the trail went the opposite way it seemed it should; Pretty wildflowers along the trail.

We eventually reached one of the only marked junctions on the hike, with a sign pointing toward the waterfalls and parkway one way and the Black Balsam Parking area the other way. This is where we picked up the Mountains to the Sea trail. This trail was also white blazed. The trail was more of a bushwack than anything for a while. It was very narrow and overgrown and headed steeply uphill. We soon came to a rocky ledge with more nice views… and no sign of the trail continuing. Again… we got the book out and were getting ready to make another guess. The trail we needed to follow seemed to go in completely the wrong direction. Adam looked at me and said ‘I’m just not confident this is the right trail!’ Fortunately, a couple hikers came up behind us. They told us they were following the same loop we were, had done it before and had gotten lost before! However, this time they were confident and able to point us in the right direction. The trail that looked totally wrong turned out to be exactly correct!

From the ledge, we descended into dark woods, traversed numerous wooden footbridges across swampy areas and made one final ascent back to the parking area along the road. All in all, we hiked 6.6 miles. It was a great hike with spectacular scenery from Black Balsam and Tennent. If I were to recommend the hike to others, I’d also suggest doing it as an out-and-back to see just the two bald summits. The loop option was poorly marked and didn’t offer much in way of scenery.

Boardwalks — The last section of the hike had lots of planks, bridges and boardwalks that crossed swampy areas. Below: After the hike, we drove back to Asheville via Waynesville and stopped at Frog Level Brewery – nice stream-side setting and good beer!

After our hike, we decided to drive back to Asheville through Waynesville. We heard it was a cute town and that Frog Level Brewing was worth a visit. We were able to easily find the Brewery, and ended up enjoying samples at a nice picnic table by the river. Nice finish to the day!

Trail Notes

Distance – 6.6 miles
MapMyHike Stats
Elevation Change – about 1300 feet
Difficulty – 3. The real difficulty is the Mountains-to-Sea Trail as it goes brutally up the mountain in some points.
Trail Conditions – 2. The trail up to Black Balsam was the best maintained. The Art Loeb Trail around Black Balsam to Tennent Mountain was very brushy and overgrown. The Graveyard Ridge Trail had a ton of water on the trail and The Mountains-to-Sea Trail was also very overgrown.
Views – 5. Amazing views from Black Balsam and Tennent Knob.
Streams/Waterfalls – 1. Just a couple of small crossings through some water on the trail, but nothing scenic.
Wildlife – 1. We didn’t see anything other than a few birds on this trail.
Ease to Navigate – 1. You may often feel unsure if you are going the right way. Trails are not blazed well and junctions are not marked. The connection to the Graveyard Ridge trail is not marked. There are also lots of other trails that have been cut through by hikers, but they aren’t labeled, especially near the top of Black Balsam Knob on the Art Loeb trail.
Solitude – 2. On a nice day like we had, there were lots of others on the trail.

Download a Trail Map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: At Mile Marker 420.3 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, turn onto 816. Stay on that road for about 1 mile. Park on the side of the road and you’ll see the trailhead on the right side of the road.

Strickler Knob – via Massanutten Trailhead

June 1, 2014August 26, 20158 Comments

This 9.1 mile hike is challenging, but offers wonderful view payoffs and a fun rock scramble. There is a shorter option for this hike for people wanting to skip the toughest part of the climb.

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

Crowds on Strickler Knob — Crowds gather on one of Strickler Knob’s perches. One person we met at the summit had a Cavalier King Charles spaniel in her backpack. If you look closely at the photo, you can see the dog’s head sticking out of the pack. Cute! Below: The Massanutten Trailhead on Crisman Hollow Rd.; Adam, Suzanne and Anthony begin the hike; Native pink azaleas.

Christine Says…

Strickler Knob was the second hike we posted on Virginia Trail Guide… way back in May of 2009. In the years since we first did this hike, there was a bad forest fire in the vicinity, the Forest Service painted over the purple/pink blazes to the knob (and then someone put them back), and the trail became vastly more popular.

On this particularly beautiful morning, we were planning a hike in Shenandoah National Park, but at 7:45 a.m. a text popped up on my phone. It was from our friends, Suzanne and Anthony (we met them at PATC’s Backpacking 101 workshop several years ago). They had made a spur of the moment decision to drive down from Maryland to hike Strickler Knob and wondered if we might want to join them. We don’t see them often enough, so the answer was clearly YES!

However, I had a few concerns going into the hike. The first was the possibility of swift/deep streams and run off from the deluge of rain we had received a day earlier. Roads and bridges were washed out all over the area. The second was the fact that the MMT 100 was being run that weekend. I wasn’t sure if the trail would be crowded or have limited access due to the race. We decided to put those concerns aside and go for it.

We met our friends at the defunct Massanutten Visitor’s Center on Rt. 211 near Luray. From there, we proceeded in one car to the Massanutten Trailhead on Crisman Hollow Rd. Right as we arrived, a carload of six was also unloading at the trailhead. We ended up playing leap frog with them along the trail all day long.

Lady's Slipper — We spotted this beautiful pink lady’s slipper orchid along the trail. Below: Anthony and Suzanne make the steep descent of Waterfall Mountain; Mountain laurel is starting to bloom; Streams were running high.

The trail initially crossed a flat, open area and a view into the valley. But soon, the trail dropped very steeply downhill on Waterfall Mountain. I’m not really sure why it’s called Waterfall Mountain. We didn’t see any waterfalls along the way – maybe they’re someplace else, or maybe ‘waterfall’ just refers to the extremely quick drop in elevation. Along this section of trail, we all joked about what a tough climb uphill this would be at the end of the day. I enjoyed the flowers blooming along the trail. We spotted mountain laurel starting to bud and even a pink lady’s slipper!

Eventually the trail leveled out near a stream. We passed a large campsite near the water just before coming to our first stream crossing. The water was pretty high and fast, but some well-placed logs made the crossing doable. From there, the trail followed a series of ascents and descents with lots of little stream crossings along the way. Most of the small stream crossings are probably dry under normal circumstances. We soon came to a second large stream crossing. After that crossing, the trail followed the stream – literally. Due to the 4-5 inches of rain the area experienced, the trail was completely underwater. It didn’t even look like a trail, and the only way we were sure it was the trail was the presence of a blaze on a tree about 50 yards ahead. We walked for more than a mile in ankle deep water. It was fun, but it was also wet, sloppy and muddy!

We reached trail junction 408. This is where the folks coming up from Scothorn Gap join the trail. At this point, we turned right and followed the orange-blazed Massanutten Trail uphill in the direction of the Gap Creek Trail. This part of the trail is really easy – wide and very gently graded. There were lots of pink native azaleas on one side of the trail. On the other side, the area burned out by a forest fire stood, charred – but slowly growing back.

When we reached the ridge, there was an obstructed view where the trail continues over the crest and then downhill. If you find yourself going downhill on the orange-blazed trail, you’ve passed the turn to Strickler Knob! At the top of the ridge, look carefully for purple/pink blazes on rocks and a reddish disk stapled to a tree. This is the way to Strickler Knob.

The walk to the knob starts off as a rocky but easily passable trail. But gradually the rocks become bigger, more jagged and trickier to traverse. It’s easy to lose the blazes as you pick your way along the rocks. You’ll come to one stunning viewpoint and think you’ve reached the end, but you still have the most intense part of the scramble to go! There are several steep, tall rock faces to negotiate before you finally come to a collection of towering rock stacks overlooking the Page Valley, Fort Valley and the Shenandoah River. The view from the knob is majestic!

On this particular day, Strickler Knob was packed. There were so many people at the overlook, it was hard to find a spot to sit. I think part of it was because the presence of two hiking clubs. But in addition to the clubs, there were also a number of couples and foursomes. Honestly, I’m shocked that this trail has become so popular! The crowds rivaled what I expect to see on a nice day on trails like Dark Hollow Falls or Hawksbill Mountain (in SNP).

We spent some time at the overlook eating lunch and taking photos. The hike back went really quickly. We walked in the water, we crossed the streams, we did all the little ascents and descents… and then we came to the base of Waterfall Mountain.

That climb was every bit as brutal as we all expected – gaining over 800 feet in about half a mile. The section isn’t climbed with mediating steps or switchbacks – it’s pretty much straight up the mountainside. We were all pretty glad when we got back to the flat, grassy section again!

When we got back to the car, the parking lot was much more crowded than when we had left it. We made the short drive back to the Massanutten Visitor’s Center and bid farewell to Anthony and Suzanne. It was a great hike and great to see them!

Burned Area — This area was burned by a forest fire several years ago. There is still a lot of black char, but new growth is starting to emerge. Below: The beginning of the Strickler Knob trail; Adam enjoys the first nice view; The scramble begins!

Between the two routes to Strickler Knob, I would probably recommend the shorter route from Scothorn Gap to most hikers. You get all of the excellent scenery, and only miss the extremely challenging descent/ascent of Waterfall Mountain. The section on Waterfall Mountain doesn’t really offer any remarkable scenery, but it’s a great training hike if you’re looking for a cardio challenge or practice on elevation change. We probably benefited from the longer, tougher ascent to prepare for our upcoming Smokies Trip.

Adam Says…

Normally, when I describe the hike to Strickler Knob, I tell people that it’s an introductory rock-scrambling hike to see if you are ready for Old Rag. While there is not as much rock-scrambling and navigating as Old Rag, there are a few spots towards the summit that will test you enough to see if you can pull yourself up some of the rocks and let you gauge your comfort-level with scrambling over some drops. If you’ve already done Old Rag, this should be easy, but if you are intimidated by Old Rag from stories you’ve heard, try Strickler Knob first. I would agree with Christine that this hike has become more popular over recent years. When we had done the hike five years ago on a beautiful day, we only ran into one other couple on the entire trail; this time, it was crawling with people.

This is also a hike where people often get lost. You won’t find the purple-blazed summit trail on any maps currently, so I would suggest bringing a copy of the map I’ve provided below. I had a co-worker that tried to find the trail a few years ago (possibly when the blazes were still removed) to no luck. We also came across a larger hiking group from Northern Virginia that had missed the trail completely. When we gave them better directions, they turned around to attempt it again. Part of this also has to do with what few blazes are actually on the trail. You’ll know you are on a trail, you may just not be entirely sure which trail.

We started off the hike from the small parking area on Crisman Hollow Road. The orange-blazed Massanutten trail starts off on nice, level terrain through a wooded area. The trail soon opens up to more of a brushy, open field. As the trail winds around through this area, there is even one spot that has a view into the valley below at .2 miles. Shortly after this point as the trail winds around, the trail begins its very steep descent down Waterfall Mountain at .5 miles. The entire time that we were hiking down, I was thinking this was going to be a pain to hike back up at the end of the hike. The trail does have a few switchbacks, but the overall descent is tough on the knees as you descend about 800 feet in that half mile. At the 1.0 mile marker, we finally reached the bottom of the descent and a junction with the Massanutten Connector Trail. Take a left at this junction to stay on the main, orange-blazed Massanutten trail. The trail begins to climb slightly at this point and at 1.2 miles, you will reach a nice back-country campsite along the side of the Big Run stream. You’ll soon cross the stream (usually by balancing yourself along logs that have been laid across) and continue your climb. After the second stream crossing, the trail begins a steeper climb with a large switchback to help ease the elevation gain.

Summit Crowd — The summit was very crowded, but the views were still fantastic!

Eventually the trail met the stream again and due to the heavy rains, the trail was completely submerged. We ended up hiking what felt like almost a mile through a submerged trail by rock-hopping or just getting our feet wet and muddy. The trail finally separated from the water and leveled out and we reached the junction with the yellow-blazed Scothorn Gap trail at 3.0 miles. Take a right at this junction to stay on the orange-blazed Massanutten trail. The trail feels more like a fire road at this point, as you’ll climb up slightly. We were able to see a lot of the fire damage to the trees around, so there is little more than some lower brushy, understory on the trail at this point. At 3.6 miles, you reach the crest of the trail and can see some obstructed views straight ahead. At this point, look around to your right. We found a small cairn on the ground and were able to see some red and purple blazes higher than eye-level on a few trees to mark the beginning of the purple-blazed trail to the summit of Strickler Knob. The purple blazes at this point are typically marked on the rocks where you step. The trail is very rocky at this point and you will be walking the ridgeline until you reach the summit. The trail can also be a little hard to follow, but if you keep looking for the blazes and just remember you are walking the crest of the ridge, you should be fine.

At 4.2 miles, you reach a very nice viewpoint where you can get great views to the west. Keep pressing forward and you’ll soon need to climb up a larger rock wall and then pass by a primitive campsite. Just a few 100 feet away, you will reach the larger boulders of Strickler Knob at 4.5 miles. You’ll see a large rock overhang that you’ll climb under. There is a small area to take in a few views to the right. For those that are most adventurous, the best views are to the left where the overhang is. If you feel comfortable, you will need to navigate a crack between the two larger rock formations and hoist yourself up to the top of the rocks. The views from both rock formations are absolutely breathtaking as you have 360-degree views from all around the valley.

Climbing Down — The climb down is as challenging as the climb up! Below: More views from the top; The hike down; One final stream crossing.

After eating a packed lunch, we made our way back the way we came. We did have to face the waterlogged trail again. We came across several groups on our way back that were also looking for directions. One girl asked me if there was any other way back to the car other than going back up Waterfall Mountain. I suggested that they make their way back through Scothorn Gap and then walk Crisman Hollow Road back. We all definitely wished we didn’t have that steep trek back up Waterfall Mountain to do. It is a very steep trail almost straight up the mountain and it takes quite an athlete to do this without taking a breather at some point on the return. When we finally reached the top, we congratulated our success and then made the last .5 miles back to our car.

When we were hiking the trail, I kept thinking about the MMT 100 racers that were running this trail. We had come across one of the race-workers and he told us that most of the fast runners were coming through this area near Waterfall Mountain around 8 p.m. So, if you were a little slower than that you would be running this trail in the dark with a headlamp. I can’t even imagine how tough this would be and how any of them would escape injury from running into a tree, twisting an ankle, or falling down the trail.

Brutal — The brutal ascent back up Waterfall Mountain at the end of the hike.

I would also recommend for most people to do the hike from Scothorn Gap instead of the route we took. It is a lot of extra effort with nothing overly impressive to see along the way.

It was great to see our friends again. We were all getting ready to head to the Great Smoky Mountains soon, so this was great training before we had to handle some of the tougher terrain that the park had to offer.

Trail Notes

Distance – 9.1 miles
Elevation Change – About 2250 ft.
Difficulty – 5. This rating is earned by both the hike length, the scramble to the knob, and the ascent of Waterfall Mountain that comes right at the end of the hike. For an easier version of this hike, start at Scothorn Gap.
Trail Conditions – 2. No switchbacks, soggy streambeds, a couple crossings that can be challenging in wet weather, and a tough scramble. This is not a beginner’s hike.
Views – 5. Views from the knob are spectacular.
Streams/Waterfalls – 2.5. The usually low streams were beautiful and running high when we visited, but they’re probably usually less impressive.
Wildlife – 0. This trail is popular enough to scare away most wildlife.
Ease to Navigate – 2. Trails are sporadically blazed and can be hard to follow. The junctions for trails leading to to the knob do not mention Strickler Knob. We suggest bringing a map on this hike.
Solitude – 2. This trail has become extremely popular!

Download a Trail Map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: From I-81, take exit 264 heading east through New Market. Head east on West Old Cross Road for .2 miles. Turn left on to US-11/N. Congress Street. In .3 miles, turn right on to US-211/Lee Highway. Go 3.6 miles and turn left on to Crisman Hollow Road (it is right before the green building on your right that is the Massanutten Visitors Center). Follow Crisman Hollow Road for 2.2 miles (passing by the parking lot for the Massanutten Storybook Trail) until you reach where the orange-blazed Massanutten Mountain Trail crosses the road and the small parking area. Park here, cross the road and start the trail.

Appalachian Trail – Hog Camp Gap to the Tye River

May 22, 2014October 8, 202011 Comments

This 19.1 mile overnight backpacking trip has amazing views and pretty stream scenery. The terrain is relatively easy, so it’s a great stretch if you’re looking to cover higher miles without a ton of uphill climbing. Since this is a longer post, Adam is going to cover day one, and Christine will cover day two.

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

First Views — The first views on our hike came within about a mile! Notice Christine’s new purple backpack! She upgraded from her Gregory Z55 to an Osprey Viva 65. It has a lot of useful features – her favorite: the hydration sleeve is on the outside of the pack, which is very convenient! Below: Parking at Hog Camp Gap; Adam climbs out of the gap; Old stone walls.

Day One (10.4 miles)…

This hike had a very rough start and almost became the hike that never happened. The morning of our trip, we loaded up our cars and headed out. We needed to take two cars since we were doing a shuttle. About ten minutes into the drive, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Christine turning back around and heading home. She had forgotten her hiking shoes and was only wearing flip-flops in the car – not the best idea for a backpacking trip. We made a quick return home. When I pulled into the driveway, black metallic smoke started rolling out from underneath our hood. Not good at all! But we didn’t want to throw in the towel yet. We took the smoking car to Bob Wade Auto World (the Subaru dealership where we bought the car), but found they weren’t open yet. So, we decided to fill up on a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel and stop by again when they opened at 9:00. We got to the dealership and explained the problem. They have great customer service! We ended up with a free loaner car to use while our Outback was in the shop. They were so quick with the paperwork and processing that we were back on the road in less than 15 minutes. Saved!!

Mayapples — Beautiful green mayapples! Spring is finally here! Below: Trillium along the trail; Lunch stop!; A perfect swallowtail.

We dropped our first car at our finish line where the Appalachian Trail crosses VA Route 56. We then headed to the starting point. It took us about 50 minutes to get to Hog Camp Gap, since there is no direct road that parallels the AT. The last piece of road to get to Hog Camp Gap is very rocky and filled with potholes, but we made it there safely. The parking lot was already crowded as this is a great starting point for many hikes, whether you’re going to Mt. Pleasant, Cole Mountain, Spy Rock, or camping near Cow Camp Gap shelter. We got all of our gear together quickly and walked through the large break in the fence to start our hike on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, heading north. The trail began to climb up a hillside and within 1 mile, we were blessed with astonishing views, looking over the Tar Jacket Ridge to catch views of the bald on Cole Mountain, Mount Pleasant, and Pompey Mountain. I knew at this point our luck was turning for the best. I found it hard to pry myself away from the views, but knowing that we had a lot of distance to cover, we pressed on. The trail then begins to gradually descend from the ridgeline and we crossed USFS 62 and Salt Log Gap at 2.2 miles.

The trail was relatively flat for a good stretch of the trail going forward. There were some views through the trees occasionally as we walked on, but the true treat was all the trillium that was on the trail. This is by far Christine’s favorite wildflower. She was hoping to see some along the trail and we were pleased to find entire hillsides filled with these flowers in perfect bloom. We crossed USFS 246 at mile 3.6, Greasy Spring/USFS 1176A at mile 4.1 and reached the crossing of the North Fork of Piney River at mile 5.9. We stopped and ate our lunch on the side of the trail. The only excitement along this piece of trail was Christine swore she saw a bear, but it was just a person (dressed all in black) taking a lunch break far uphill from the trail (which we thought was an odd place to stop). We pressed on along the trail and finally reached the Seely-Woodworth Shelter at mile 7.4. When we arrived at the shelter there were several backpacks at the shelter, but no sign of people anywhere. We took a long break and rested our feet. We were joined shortly by Christine’s “bear man” who was doing a longer section hike and covering a lot of Virginia. We shared some hiking stories (like how he never purifies water but has only got sick once). Knowing that we had more miles to cover today, we strapped our heavy packs back on and continued.

We reached a junction with Porters Field (a fire road that used to be a railroad trail) at mile 8.4. We had read on the hiking blog of a friend (thanks, Wandering Virginia), about a water source near this junction. We took this short side trail past a campsite and then headed downhill towards the sound of water. Water was coming out steadily from under a large rock. We decided to cook some dinner here. While we both weren’t overly starving since we had eaten lunch not too long ago, this seemed like the best place to cook some dinner and refill water. We were shooting to camp at Spy Rock, which is a dry camp, so we needed to carry enough water for breakfast After dinner, we made our way back to the AT. Christine typically doesn’t like hiking with a full stomach, but because we needed to get to our camp site for the night, we pushed on. We crossed over the Fish Hatchery Road at Montebello at 9.6 miles. On the other side of the road, we saw the steep ascent up to Spy Rock. The trail climbed up about 400 feet in .5 miles, but when we reached the top of the hill, we found our perfect campsite at the base of Spy Rock.

NOTE: Hikers are no longer allowed to camp at the base of Spy Rock. Usage rules for this area were changed in 2019. We camped there long before the rule change, and we’re thankful we had that opportunity!

Spy Rock View — Spectacular views from Spy Rock. Below: Getting to the top takes some scrambling; Christine reaches the dome; Beautiful evening light on Spy Rock.

We took off our packs and began to set up camp. There were already a few campsites already claimed, but we found a nice flat spot with no rocks or protruding roots. We had just bought a new two-person tent, the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2, which was much lighter than our 3-person tent, and we were excited to try it out. We set the tent and fly up and then made our way to check out the views from the summit of Spy Rock. There is a little rock scramble up to the top of Spy Rock, but the 360-degree views from this spot are not to be missed. We stayed up there a while to soak in as many views as we could, before making our way back to camp. We had a long, tiring, day that started off stressful, so we were ready to go to sleep before the sun fully set. We both read books for a while and then went to sleep. Or rather, tried to go to sleep. Right after sunset, the wind started to pick up. At first it was an occasional rustle across the treetops, but by midnight it was moaning and howling over the mountains.

Beautiful Spot — Adam enjoying a beautiful spot! Below: Reflecting pools on Spy Rock; Sunset is ‘hiker midnight’. By the time the sun went down, it was already cold and windy. Christine was glad for the hood on her sleeping bag!

Day Two (8.7 miles)…

That was a rough night to spend in a tent! Even with it staked and guylined, it rattled and shook all night long. The wind continually caught under the fly and funneled through the tent’s mesh. Even in long pants, a hat, and layers of fleece, I was cold in my 35 degree bag. It wasn’t even that cold outside – the wind was just really brutal! Neither Adam nor I got much sleep. I found myself wide awake when the first hints of dawn light started to brighten the tent.

Sunrise on Spy Rock — I had some canine companionship at sunrise. This beautiful dog is half German shepherd, quarter Malamute and a quarter wolf! Below: Day Two got off to a very cold start; Spy Rock has several spacious, flat campsites; Adam checks out the few from Maintop Mountain.

I told Adam I wanted to climb Spy Rock again to watch the sun come up. He decided to stay back. I grabbed my camera, scaled the rock and found a perch facing east. It was a beautiful, though cloudless, sunrise. I thought I was alone on the top of the rock, but suddenly a huge white dog we had met the night before came bounding across the rock and decked me. He was friendly, and I was fine, but his owner was embarrassed and came chasing after the dog. I stayed on Spy Rock watching the sun come up until I couldn’t take the wind and cold anymore.

When I came down, Adam was already in the process of breaking down camp. We had a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, and were back on the trail by around 7:30. Day two of this trip had a bit more climbing than the first day. Our first ascent was that of Maintop Mountain. It was a moderate ascent with one nice view near the summit. I started the morning in a fleece jacket and gloves. By the time we reached the summit, I had stripped them off. Climbing really warms you up!

Confessions — Adam writes his confession in the Priest Shelter journal. Below: Adam approaches FR826; Adam checks out the distance covered at the information board marking the beginning of the Priest Wilderness; The Priest Shelter.

From there, we descended into Cash Hollow. We passed a southbound section hiker and a group of Boy Scouts. We crossed a couple gravel roads – 826 and 526. Off-roaders really enjoy these roads – they’re very rugged and tough to drive unless you have a serious 4WD vehicle. After the second road crossing, signs and an informational board informed us that we had just entered The Priest Wilderness.

We had about a mile of climbing to reach the Priest shelter and the ridgeline of the mountain. The climbing is really pretty moderate, but it seemed tough to my tired legs and sleepy mind. We stopped at The Priest shelter for a snack and rest. I changed into shorts – the day was warming very quickly! Adam and I both made our ‘confessions’ in the Priest journal. It’s one of the funniest we’ve seen along the AT – reading everyone’s confessions is definitely worth a stop!

Priest Summit — Christine enjoys the view near the Priest summit. Below: Spring slowly creeps up the mountainsides; Trillium were everywhere; Adam approaches a nice view from the Priest.

From there, we completed our last couple hundred feet of ascent to the top of the Priest. Near the top, we enjoyed amazing views of the valley and had a chance to see an adult bald eagle soar by on the wind. The rest of our hike was a long, 4-mile, 4,000 foot descent to the Tye River.

We took it slowly, enjoying wildflowers along the way! The trail was abundantly lined with trillium, wild violets, and wild geraniums. Both of us remarked that we were glad to not be climbing up this side of the mountain! Southbound AT hikers experience one of Virginia’s toughest climbs when they encounter the Priest!

The first mile of the descent was the steepest. As the grade moderated, we came to another outstanding overlook. The opening in the trees revealed lush Virginia countryside – farms and ponds. At this elevation, the trail was much greener. Leaves were opening in the canopy and the ground cover was brilliant green. We crossed Cripple Creek in several places. The rain a couple days earlier had filled the stream and created several beautiful waterfalls. We enjoyed walking through the woods and listening to the sounds of falling water. We saw even more wild flowers – a hillside of scarlet catchfly was especially beautiful!

Priest Views — Classic Virginia terrain! Below: Walking alongside Cripple Creek; The latter part of the descent was smooth and gentle; Scarlet Catchfly wildflowers; Post-hike at Devil’s Backbone. Is it totally horrifying that we go out to eat without showering? Nah!

Eventually, we could see the sunlight catching on car windshields through the trees. We were both pretty tired and happy to be back at the car! We had covered almost 20 miles in roughly 24 hours. It’s the furthest we’ve ever hiked in that time period, so we felt pretty accomplished.

We had a long car shuttle to get back to Hog Camp Gap. After picking up the other car, we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway to Reed’s Gap so we could have lunch at Devil’s Backbone. It’s always great to eat a HUGE plate of food after a big hike – fries, a grilled brat and beer for me!

Trail Notes

Distance – 19.1 miles [Day One] [Day Two]
Elevation Change – About 3172 ft.
Difficulty – 4. Mostly for distance. This section of the AT has little climbing uphill overall, but the hike down The Priest is quite steep.
Trail Conditions – 3.5. The trail is well maintained and in good shape. We did feel the hike down from The Priest was really rocky and hard on the feet and ankles.
Views – 5. This hike has AMAZING views from Tar Jacket Ridge, Spy Rock, and The Priest.
Streams/Waterfalls – 3.5. The best views are along Cripple Creek, near the end of the hike, where you can see a small waterfall and a scenic creek surrounded by wildflowers. There are options for filling up water near Greasy Spring, Porters Field, the Seeley-Woodworth Shelter, and Cripple Creek.
Wildlife – 2. We didn’t see much wildlife other than birds along the trail. We did have a great encounter with a male black-headed grosbeak, who was singing beautifully along the side of trail.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Just keep following the white-blazes and pay attention to junctions to stay on the Appalachian Trail.
Solitude – 3. We didn’t run into too many people on our trip. Spy Rock had a decent number camping at the top.

Download a Trail Map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: Requires a shuttle. Park one car at the finish. From the Blue Ridge Parkway, head east on VA-56/Crabtree Falls Highway for 11.2 miles. Park car in large parking lot where the AT crosses the road. From this point to reach Hog Camp Gap with your second car to start the route, continue east on VA-56/Crabtree Falls Highway for 6.9 miles. Turn right on to VA-151S/VA-56E. In 10.5 miles, take a right on to US-29 South. In 3.1 miles, take the US-60 exit towards Amherst. Take a right at the exit ramp to go on US-60 heading west. In 18 miles, take a right on to State Route 634. In 1.6 miles, take a right on to State Route 755/Wiggins Spring Road. This road turns to gravel with large pot holes. Follow this for 2.7 miles until you reach the parking lot where the Appalachian Trail crosses. Park your second car here. Go through the wooden fence and pick up the Appalachian Trail, heading north.

Appalachian Trail – Jenkins Gap to Front Royal (Route 522)

May 18, 2014August 26, 20157 Comments

This 8-mile hike completes our Appalachian Trail mileage in Shenandoah National Park. There isn’t much to see along this section of trail – the views aren’t great and the stream is fairly run-of-the-mill, but we’re still happy to say we’ve walked every step of the AT in Shenandoah!

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

Adam Finishes — Adam coming off the trail on Route 522 in Front Royal.

Christine Says…

We finally finished hiking the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah! For two years, less than 5 trail miles were keeping us from that distinction. It’s really quite silly, but this final stretch of trail has been somewhat of a mental burden for me! The reason was sort of two-fold. The first sticking point – in order to most efficiently cover the miles, we needed to do a car shuttle. I didn’t want to spend the gas money, and honestly, I just don’t like to drive by myself. Shuttles are just a pain when both cars are yours! The second problem was that this stretch of trail just seemed… boring. I will admit that a bad day hiking is still better than a good day doing many other things, but I had a hard time getting myself psyched-up to hike this stretch.

Finally, faced with a beautiful spring day and a lack of plans, I acquiesced. We dropped our first car off in a small AT parking lot on the side of 522. Then we headed into the park and left a second car at Jenkins Gap –where we came off the trail after our last section of the AT in SNP.

From Jenkins Gap, we had a steady uphill to the summit of Compton Peak. At the summit of Compton, there are blue-blazed trails leading to viewpoints on both the east and west sides of the mountain. Each viewpoint lies .2 miles off the AT. We decided to only visit the west summit (it has better views.) The east summit has some interesting columnar rock formations. If you’re into geology, they’re definitely worth a peek!

After the summit, we descended for almost a mile into Compton Gap. After Compton Gap, the AT is shared with the yellow-blazed Compton Gap trail for about 1.7 miles. The hiking is along this section is wooded trail without many distinguishing features – no streams or overlooks to speak of. The trail is wide, flat and very easy to walk. You’ll likely pick up a lot of speed along this stretch!

At roughly 4.9 miles into the hike, we reached the park boundary. There is a sign marking the beginning of private land. Just south of the park boundary, there is also a backcountry permit station. Permits are free and self-service in Shenandoah. If you’re going to camp in Shenandoah’s backcountry, all you need to do is fill out a tag and tether a copy to your pack. It’s really easy!

Right after we departed the park, we came to the one viewpoint from this stretch of Appalachian Trail. Possums Rest has a decent, but slightly obstructed view, of rolling foothills. It’s worth a stop, but there are definitely many better views along the AT in Shenandoah.

From Possums Rest, the trail descended briefly but steeply through a jumble of rocks. In about another .7 miles, we reached the Tom Floyd Wayside – the first backcountry shelter located north of the park. It’s a nice spot with a nearby water source. We chatted with a section hiker from Washington, DC. He had completed a thru-hike the year before, but evidently the trail called him back!

After Tom Floyd, the trail continued very gradually downhill. As we walked along, we could see the advance of spring on the lower elevations. Redbuds were blooming, tiny green leaves were opening in the canopy and the grass along the trail was growing quickly. We crossed Rt. 601, and a little over a mile later, Moore Run and then Rt. 602. The stream was crossing was just an easy rock-hop.

After crossing 602, we had a short uphill before one final descent to Rt. 522 in Front Royal. The last part of the hike followed a chain link fence for over a mile. I’m not sure if the fence was just marking private land, or if it was part of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Either way, it is one of the less scenic parts of the AT.

The last quarter mile of the hike passed between fenced pasture land and a residential neighborhood. After crossing a small wooden footbridge, we found ourselves back at the car. On our way out, we saw a few of the Smithsonian’s animals walking down a hillside. They appeared to be some type of antelope – kind of neat! Before going back to pick up our second car, we stopped at Spelunker’s in Front Royal for lunch. They make fantastic burgers and milkshakes! I was thrilled to see gingersnap was their shake flavor of the day!

While this hike didn’t provide much reward with views or waterfalls, I’m still really glad we did it. I’m happy to be officially and technically finished with Shenandoah’s AT miles!

Adam Says…

It was great to finally finish the AT section through Shenandoah National Park! With the entire trail being 2180 miles from Georgia to Maine, the section through Shenandoah National Park is less than 5% of the entire trail. Daunting to say the least, but we still feel we have accomplished something measurable. There are about 550 miles of the AT through Virginia, making it the longest section through any one state. Virginia is also a state where a lot of thru-hikers quit, feeling that they will never get through the state (often called the “Virginia Blues”). The section through Shenandoah is more like 19% of the AT through Virginia. Most of the thru-hikers fly through Shenandoah National Park, averaging over 20 miles per day. The climbs are not as tough as in many sections and they have worked into their “trail legs”, gaining the strength to cover many miles per day.

Tom Floyd Wayside is outside the park boundary and is the last shelter before reaching Front Royal. Below: Redbuds blooming at the lower elevations; Christine crossing Moore Run; The last mile or so of the trail followed a long, chain link fence.

After we dropped our car off at the trail crossing of Route 522, we made our way into the park and parked at Jenkins Gap. While you will drive about 12.4 miles on Skyline Drive, the trail through the park and out is a lot shorter. From the parking lot, you join the Jenkins Gap Trail for just about 100 feet and then take a right to join the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, heading north. The trail took us through some storm-damaged areas of trees, leading us through one of the two ascents on this trail. We gained about 500 feet up to Compton Peak. At 1.4 miles, we reached a post which pointed out to two short blue-blazed trails that lead to views from Compton Peak. Since we knew there wasn’t going to be many views on this trail, we decided to take a left and check out the West Compton Peak view. This side trail of .2 miles was a rocky uphill trail that led to a small, but scenic viewpoint. We made our way back the way we came to reach the post and then took a left to continue on the Appalachian Trail heading north. The trail descended again, as we dropped 500 feet in about .8 miles. If you did the side trail to Compton Peak, add another .3 miles to any of the distances given from this point forward. At 2.2 miles on the AT, you cross over Skyline Drive at Compton Gap. At 2.4 miles, you reach a junction with the Dickey Ridge Trail and at 2.7 miles, you reach a junction with the Springhouse Trail. The Springhouse Trail allows for horses and actually shares the next section of the AT, which is why you will see both yellow and white blazes. The trail is fairly level at this point.

At 3.8 miles, you reach a junction with the Compton Gap Trail. This is where horse-riders would come off the AT, since they are not allowed further on the trail. Take a left here to stay on the white-blazed AT. You will soon come across an area where backpackers can fill out paperwork for backcountry camping permits and continuing further, you will reach the Shenandoah National Park boundary at 4.0 miles. Within a short distance, you reach the area known as Possums Rest, a very small overlook that has some views. The trail at this point goes down a very steep and rocky area as you go below Possums Rest. The trail descends for most of the rest of the way At 4.7 miles, you reach the Tom Floyd Wayside shelter, which also has tent sites, a privy, and a nearby spring. Continuing from the Tom Floyd Wayside, you descend further, passing by other signs for the spring. At 5.1 miles, you reach a junction with a side trail to VA-601. From here, you have a couple of stream crossings over Moore Run and at 6.5 miles, the trail crosses VA-602. The trail at this point goes up a steep upgrade, as you gain over 300 feet in .4 miles. Once you reach the crest of the hill at 6.9 miles, the trail descends again as you go through a grassy area. You walk along a long fenceline and behind some people’s houses before reaching the boardwalk which takes you back to your car at 7.7 miles.

Once we made our way back to the car, we stopped at Spelunkers. There was a large bike ride being conducted nearby, so the place was quite crowded. One of the great things about hiking for us is that it allows us to eat whatever we want after a hike and not worry about the calories. We made our way from there back to our first car and then headed out of the park. It was a gorgeous day for a hike with perfect temperatures.

While this hike isn’t the most scenic, this was definitely one I will remember since it was our “finish line” though SNP. I’m so grateful to have a wonderful hiking partner to share all of these experiences.

Trail Notes

Distance – 8 miles (includes a visit to the Compton Peak viewpoint)
Elevation Change – About 1900 ft. but mostly downhill.
Difficulty – 2.5. There are really only two climbs on this hike – one up Compton Peak and one shorter one near the end of the hike. All in all, it’s a moderate, mostly downhill hike.
Trail Conditions – 4. Nicely maintained section of the Appalachian Trail. In fact, we saw a crew member trimming grass back when we hiked.
Views – 2. The view from Compton Peak is decent, but it’s not actually on the trail. Possums rest is small and a bit obstructed.
Streams/Waterfalls – 2. Moore Run was flowing nicely when we visited.
Wildlife – 2. You may get to catch a glimpse of zoo animals at the Smithsonian facility at the end of this hike!
Ease to Navigate – 3. There are lots of trail junctions and shared paths. Just make sure you follow the white blazes and you’ll be fine.
Solitude – 2. We saw many dayhikers and backpackers on this stretch of trail.

Download a Trail Map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: We parked one car at the parking lot on US-522 in Front Royal, which is 4.7 miles from where US-340 intersects with US-522. We then drove to northwest on US-522 for 2.8 miles. Take a left on E. Criser Road. In .7 miles, take a left on US-340. In .2 miles, take a left to enter Shenandoah National Park. Drive 12.3 miles to park at the Jenkins Gap parking lot on the right. Join the Jenkins Gap Trail from the parking lot for a short distance, before taking a right on to the Appalachian Trail, heading north.

Trayfoot Mountain – Paine Run Loop

April 29, 2014April 29, 202214 Comments

This 9.5 mile loop in the southern district of Shenandoah National Park offers vistas, streams and quite a bit of solitude! We think it would make a great short backpacking loop with a beautiful stream-side campsite along Paine Run.

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike

Adam Enjoys the Blackrock Summit — Adam Enjoys Blackrock summit. Below: Adam hikes the Appalachian Trail just north of Blackrock Gap; Christine climbs on the rock pile; Adam spots the spur trail that leads to the Trayfoot Mountain Trail.

Christine Says…

Every weekend this April has provided glorious hiking weather! I’m feeling so grateful that we’ve been able to get out so often and take full advantage of the warm, sunny days. On the Saturday before Easter, we chose to hike the challenging 9.5 mile Trayfoot Mountain – Paine Run loop.

This hike begins at the Blackrock Gap parking area (not to be confused with Blackrock summit parking). From the lot, cross to the eastern side of Skyline Drive and make your way north along the Appalachian Trail. After a couple tenths of a mile, the trail crosses back over the drive and heads steadily uphill for a little over a mile. As you climb, you’ll come to a junction – stay on the white-blazed AT, the turn to the right goes to the Blackrock shelter.

At 1.3 miles into the hike, you’ll reach a cement marker for the Trayfoot Mountain Trail. Do NOT take this turn unless you want to miss the splendor that is Blackrock Summit! Continue another tenth of a mile to the massive jumble of boulders and jagged rocks that makes up this impressive summit viewpoint. We took some time to enjoy the views and climb on the rocks. The views from this spot are probably the best on the entire hike, although there are a couple more nice spots yet to come.

Christine in the Maze — The trail passes through a corridor of rock. Below: Adam passes through the narrow opening; Climbing Trayfoot Mountain; From the ridgeline of Trayfoot there are several openings in the trees that give you views of a distant Skyline Drive.

The Appalachian Trail skirts around the front edge of the summit before coming to a spur trail that leads down to the Trayfoot Mountain trail. The spur descends through a corridor of flat-sided slabs. When spur reaches the junction with the Trayfoot Mountain trail, turn right and follow the trail uphill along an old fire road.

The uphill climb along this section is steady going! Near the top, you’ll pass another marker pointing toward the Furnace Mountain trail. Pass this and continue on the Trayfoot Trail until you reach the cement post marking the summit and high point of your hike. There are no views from this summit, but this starts the beginning of a lovely, easy ridge walk.

The ridge rolls gently along, offering nice views of the Paine Run valley and a distant glimpse of Skyline Drive. The trail eventually begins a long gradual descent to Paine Run. Your last sweeping vista on this hike comes at a pretty outcropping of rocks overlooking pointy Buzzard Rock.

Switchbacks take you swiftly down to Paine Run. Near the first stream crossing, a cement marker points you left onto the yellow-blazed Paine Run Trail, which is essentially an old roadbed. There were several stream crossings on this section of trail. All of them but the second crossing were easy. We found the stream wide and flush with water. Most of the stones people use to cross were underwater. Instead of trying to attempt the rock-hop, we took off our shoes and waded across. Refreshing!

Buzzard Rock View — You get a nice view of Buzzard Rock before descending to Paine Run. Below: Some interesting rock formations along the trail; Lunch stop; Glimpses of farm land.

The Paine Run trail is very pleasant for a couple miles – sounds of running water and mountain views through the trees. When we hiked, the stream was flowing with lots of rapids and tiny waterfalls. I imagine it will run low and dry later in the summer. The path climbs so gradually you hardly notice you’re ascending! Eventually, you leave the streamside and head back toward Skyline Drive. After one final sharp switchback, you have one more moderately steep ascent back to your car.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with both the views and streams on this route. We had a great time! MapMyHike said this hike is only 9.3 miles, but all other sources put it at 9.7-9.8… so who knows!

Adam Says…

We feel like we have covered so much of Shenandoah National Park on our blog, but it seems there is always another trail or loop that you can try. We talked about a hike to Blackrock summit before in our coverage of an AT segment, but this is a longer loop version that offers a few additional views and a stream to enjoy. Other than the Blackrock summit, you will likely not see a lot of people on this trail. We only saw a few people the entire day, which was a little shocking for a beautiful weekend day that happened to also be a free National Park entry day.

As Christine mentioned, you could skip the Blackrock summit trying to follow the signage, but you don’t want to miss the best part of the hike. When we hiked previously, our route bypassed the spur trail that leads to the Trayfoot Mountain Trail. This spur immediately gives you some additional views and some interesting rocks to scramble around. Most people that are doing an out-and-back just to the summit from the northern approach will miss this area also.

First Attempt — Adam makes a first attempt to cross (with shoes). The second (successful) attempt was barefoot. Below: Adam descending to Paine Run; The shoeless crossing attempt, The trail goes right through the middle of the stream.

One thing that Christine and I both mentioned throughout the day is how this would make for a great overnight backpacking loop. If you choose to do so, I would tackle all of the tough uphill climbing the first night, making your way through the Trayfoot Mountain trail and camp somewhere near Paine Run. This will provide a great water source and there were some nice campsites near the water. The following day, you’ll just have a steady, but not too strenuous hike back uphill to your car.

When we started walking the ridgeline of the Trayfoot Mountain trail, I felt like we stumbled across the best place I’ve ever seen to spot grouse. We encountered three along our walk. A couple of years ago, while hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we encountered our first grouse on a trail. The beating of its wings created a strange echoing syncopation in our chest which made us both wonder if our heartbeats were going haywire. Seeking sources online, we found it was a common sound for mating grouse. We actually spotted several on this trail and when they took off in flight, we could briefly hear that same noise that perplexed us before. What a relief to actually spot the culprits this time.

Christine walks the wide, gradually ascending Paine Run Trail. Below: We found several blown-down bird’s nests along the trail; Pretty Paine Run; Another stream crossing.

Further along the Trayfoot Mountain Trail, we climbed up on a few rocks to enjoy our lunch and get some views. I managed to pick some rocks which were not in the least bit contoured to our bodies, which made for an uncomfortable sitting. It reminded me of how fast food chains design their seating area so the chairs are only comfortable for a short amount of time to prevent loitering. We quickly ate and moved on.

Around the 4.0 mile marker, the ridge line ends at a nice rock outcropping which gives you some last views before descending towards Paine Run. Some local families like to park on the western outskirts of the park and hike up to this area for views.

When we reached Paine Run, the water was a little high from the recent rains. There were a few places to rock-hop across. In one spot, we did have to shed our shoes to make our way across. Christine said I looked like a hobbit with my pantlegs pulled up halfway as I crossed. I responded back in my geekiest way, “May the hair on my toes never fall off.” I will say the water was very cold, but it felt so refreshing to my feet. The sensation of the freezing water made me feel as if I had just received a nice massage on my feet. After the refresher, I felt I could hike a lot longer.

Horses — The Paine Run Trail is popular with horseback riders. Below: The final ascent to the parking area; We spotted a bear on the drive home; Before we went home, we stopped for famous Shenandoah blackberry ice cream.

The stretch on the uphill Paine Run trail was very gradual. While some people may think this was more of a boring stretch, I enjoyed the views of Paine Run along the side. There were even a few very small waterfalls to enjoy since the water level was high. We also came across a group horseback riding along the trail. All yellow-blazed trails, like the Paine Run trail, in Shenandoah National Park allow horses on the trails. This would be a great trip to take down to the water and let the horses rest and get a drink before returning.

We got back to our car and then heading north along Skyline Drive. Within a few miles, I spotted a young black bear on the side of the road. We were excited to have our first bear sighting of the year. The bear quickly ran away once it knew it was spotted, but we hope we get to see many more this year. We stopped at the Loft Mountain wayside to get our first blackberry milkshake of the year. Appalachian Trail thru-hikers talk about these treats for days in advance of getting to Shenandoah and the hype is worth it. However, their milkshake machine was broken and we had to settle for blackberry ice cream. It was still a just reward for a long hike.

While we realize this hike is longer and not as popular as some of the others in the park, this hike really has some nice gems along the trail. I was pleasantly surprised at what this had to offer!

Trail Notes

Distance – 9.5 miles
(Check out the stats from Map My Hike)*
Elevation Change – About 2200 ft.
Difficulty – 3.5. The climbs to Black Rock summit and Trayfoot Mountain can be a little steep, but the climb from Paine Run back to the parking area is very pleasant and gradual. The length adds to the difficulty rating of this hike.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail was clear and in great shape!
Views – 5. The views from Black Rock summit are spectacular. While the summit of Trayfoot Mountain has no view, there are other nice views from the Trayfoot Mountain trail – especially the outcropping that overlooks Buzzard Rock.
Streams/Waterfalls – 3. Paine Run was surprisingly pretty and broad in the early spring. As we hiked up the Paine Run trail, we had many stream crossings and nice views of the water.
Wildlife – 3. We saw deer and lots of grouse on the trail. We also saw a black bear shortly after leaving the parking area to come home!
Ease to Navigate – 4. There are only a few, well-marked turns on this hike.
Solitude – 4. We saw a few people near the stream that had come in from the western perimeter of the park, a few people on Black Rock Summit, and a trio of women on horses. All-in-all, we enjoyed a lot of solitude for a long stretch of trail on a pretty ‘free park entry’ day!

Download a Trail Map (PDF)

Directions to trailhead: Located in the Southern Section of Shenandoah National Park. Park at the Blackrock Gap parking lot around MM 87.3. Cross the road and find the cement post for the Appalachian Trail. Take a left, heading north, to start your hike.

* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.