Simmons Gap is a very easy walk from the ranger station down to the park’s eastern border. It follows an old route used by the mountain people that inhabited the area.
The Simmons Gap fire road extends to the park boundary. Below: We saw a bear less than a tenth of a mile from the Simmons Gap parking area; Apple trees probably attract lots of wildlife; Bear scat was everywhere along the Simmons Gap trail.
Christine Says…
Truthfully, we probably wouldn’t have bothered with this hike if it weren’t so close in proximity to the other two we selected for the day. Our Falcon Guide said it was nothing special, but it was one of the few hikes left in the park that we haven’t done at least once. (There are a few long 10-16 miles hikes still on the to-do list, but we’ll likely do those as backpacking trips)
The walk down Simmons Gap was about what I expected – a quiet walk down a shady path through the woods. There wasn’t much scenery – no views and no waterfalls. The stream running along the trail was nearly dry despite the decent rain we’ve had lately.
As we walked, we kept our eyes peeled for bears. We had seen a bear less than a tenth of a mile from where we parked our car. Also, the fire road was practically paved with bear scat. Besides the ridge of Knob Mountain, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much bear poop in one place. Unfortunately, all we saw was the poop… no bears!
Wildflowers along the Simmons Gap fire road. Below: The trail follows along, and eventually crosses a small stream.
There are many hints of a bygone era along the trail – old stone walls, crumbling foundations and the odd apple tree tucked into the forest. The spot where the fire road meets the park boundary is obviously used as a dump by people who are too rude and lazy to take their garbage to a proper facility. The streambed at the end of the trail was littered with everything from a broken baby stroller, to a beaten plastic Shrek suitcase to a box full of empty 2-liter bottles of Dr. Pepper. It was disgusting. I wish I knew what people were thinking when they did stuff like this. How could anyone back their car up to a beautiful mountain stream, and just empty their trunk-load of discarded property?
Despite the disappointment of seeing the litter, we still had a nice walk down the path. Although, I don’t think I’d recommend this hike to anyone.
Trail Notes
Distance –1.6 miles out and back
Elevation Change – About 200 feet
Difficulty –1. Easy walking with very little elevation change.
Trail Conditions – 4.5. This fire road is smooth and easy to walk on.
Views –0. You’ll be in the woods the whole time.
Waterfalls/streams – 1. The small stream is pretty and is often lined by stone walls, but it may be dry most of the summer.
Wildlife – 3. There’s a good likelihood of seeing bears in this area.
Ease to Navigate – 5. There is no place to go wrong. Follow the fire road straight out and back.
Solitude– 4.5. Because there isn’t much to see in this area, not many people come this way.
Directions to trailhead:
At mile 73.2 on Skyline Drive you will see a small parking lot on the western side of the road (directly opposite of the sign for the Simmons Gap Ranger Station). Cross Skyline Drive, walking on the paved road to the ranger station. You will see a chain guarding a fire road. Cross the chain and start the trail down the fire road.
The Pocosin Mission Trail is a fairly short walk along a fire road that leads to the ruins of an abandoned Episcopal mission.
The Pocosin Mission ruins are slowly sinking back into the forest. Below: The fire road makes this trail pleasant and easy to walk along; The old church steps still stand at the site; Adam explores the ruins.
Adam Says…
We’re back to Virginia hikes! This week, we’ll be sharing a trio of short hikes. In fact, the hikes are so short that we’re going to skip doing our typical dual write-ups. I’ll cover this one, and Christine will cover the next two.
Since we had surprisingly nice temperatures on an August day (it didn’t get above 68 on our hike), we decided to go for three short hikes off Skyline Drive. The last time we did the Pocosin Mission Trail we were with a couple of friends. Shortly after we got to the mission site, we were pounded with a fierce thunderstorm. We were all so soaked to the bone, that we ended up buying clothes at the Big Meadows wayside, looking like complete tourists with all of our Shenandoah National Park gear.
The PATC maintain a cabin, available for rent, along the Pocosin Mission Fire Road. Below: Wildflowers (and bees) were abundant along the trail; We saw many varieties of berries; There were also butterflies everywhere.
On this trip, we had a nice easy stroll down the fire road. After about .2 miles, the road crosses over the Appalachian Trail, but you just want to stay on the fire road for this trail. We took a few minutes on our way down to stop by the PATC Pocosin Cabin, which can be rented by the PATC. The cabin was locked, but we could tell that people renting this cabin would wake to a nice sunrise view. Continue down the trail for another .8 miles until you reach another cement post, marking the junction with the South River Falls fire road. You will see the remains of a cabin nearby and stone steps with a foundation. After exploring, just go back to your car up the fire road.
The Pocosin Mission was an Episcopal mission established in 1904 for the mountain community living in the area. “Pocosin” is a Native American word meaning “swamp”. The mission building is actually where you see the stone steps, a small foundation, and a fallen-down chimney. Be careful as you explore the area – there is a lot of broken glass and twisted metal. The cabin has a rusted metal roof and there are plenty of rusted materials on the ground, so watch your kids carefully in this area. In addition to these sites, there is also an overgrown cemetery that is across the trail from the mission, marked by old nameless headstones.
The old church walls and a fallen chimney are still visible. Below: Buckets and an old sink can still be found inside the mission ruins.
For those interested in the history of the people that lived on this mountain will enjoy visiting this site. While there aren’t any views to speak of, the hike does cause you to speculate on how life was back in the early 1900s being a part of a community that lived and worshiped together.
Trail Notes
Distance – 2.2 miles out and back
Elevation Change – 450 feet
Difficulty – 1.5. Most people should be able to handle this.
Trail Conditions – 4. It’s just a fire road, so not much difficulty for trail conditions.
Views –0. No views.
Waterfalls/streams – 0. No streams/waterfalls.
Wildlife – 2. There should be a variety of wildlife in the vicinity.
Ease to Navigate – 5. Just straight down a road and back.
Solitude – 4. This isn’t a very popular spot, so you should have your peace.
Directions to trailhead:
Around mile 59.5 on Skyline Drive, you will see a small gravel road leading to a parking lot on the eastern side of the trail. Park here, cross the chain, and walk down the fire road to start the trail.
Tibbet Knob is a short, but steep, hike that leads to a beautiful, rocky outcropping that overlooks both Virginia and West Virginia. It’s considered the sister hike to Big Schloss.
The yellow-blazed Tibbet Knob trail offers spectacular views. Below: The first overlook on the trail comes within the first few tenths of a mile; The footing along most of the trail is extremely rocky.
Christine Says…
After a string of eight 90-100+ degree days, we finally got a break in the heat and humidity! We picked a shorter, easier hike to celebrate the cooler weather – Tibbet Knob. We’ve found we’re doing lots of longer hikes lately – partly because we’ve simply run out of shorter hikes.
I don’t know how Tibbet Knob escaped our notice for so long, because it’s a beautiful hike. Tibbet seems to play second fiddle to its sister hike, Big Schloss – though I’m not really sure why. The views are nearly as spectacular and the crowds are much thinner. The terrain is definitely steeper and rockier, but not so much so it would scare hikers off.
We started our morning with breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Woodstock (worst/slowest service ever *and* they burned the bacon!) We finally made it to the trailhead a little after 9:00 a.m. At the very beginning, the trail passes through several lovely, primitive campsites. One even has a picnic table that someone dragged a couple tenths of a mile into the woods. The ascent starts almost immediately and follows a steady, but gradual, uphill to the first open view of the valley below. This overlook is pretty, but pales in comparison to the summit of Tibbet Knob.
You can see Big Schloss way off in the distance (circled in yellow). Below: Adam enjoys his perch on the summit; The trail was often open and out in the sun; There is a lovely (but dry) campsite about 10 yards from the rocky ledge at the summit.
From the first vista, the trail drops gently into a saddle. The footing becomes increasingly rocky from this point on. Through some sections, it’s like walking on a dry riverbed of basketball-sized stones – some smooth, some pointy. The last .8 of a mile is very steep and rocky. There are two short rock scrambles. At the first one, I abandoned my trekking poles because they were seriously getting in the way. I can telescope them shorter, but I decided it was just as well to leave them stashed along the trail to retrieve on my way down.
Shortly after the second scramble, we arrived at the summit. We stayed at the top for quite a long while. Normally, we’re not the lingering type, but the morning was so pleasant that we spent at least half an hour sitting on the rocky outcropping. It was cool and breezy. The sky was crystal clear and blue and the scent of pine trees was all around. There were several rocks to recline on, so I laid back and closed my eyes while Adam hunted for his geocache. We didn’t see another soul on the entire hike. I love having a beautiful summit all to myself.
The return trip was more downhill than uphill, so it went by quickly and we were back at the car within 45 minutes.
Adam Says…
We had been meaning to try out Tibbet Knob for some time now, since we’ve been several times to do the Big Schloss hike, but this was our first experience on this hike. The hike takes off from Wolf Gap campground. This campground is a great area for camping and has a lot of established campsites. We always see plenty of cars in the campground and usually many of the sites are taken, but you should be able to find a spot for overnight camping. We definitely plan on doing a camping trip in the future since this site provides access to some great hiking trails.
As soon as you begin the yellow-blazed trail, you will come across several other campsites alongside the trail – one even had a picnic table near the firepit. At about .6 miles you come to a nice overlook with a decent viewpoint to the south. If you look closely, you can even see cars on the road below you. You descend from this overlook for a short distance, but then you begin your climb. At some points along the ascent, the terrain opens up to larger grassland areas. You will also pass by several blueberry bushes along the trail, which reminded us of our hikes in New England. Due to the already hot and arid summer, the blueberries were already past their peak so we weren’t able to pick any on the trail. The terrain does get quite steep towards the end of the trail. You don’t have to quite crawl up the slope, but it is almost that steep. Once you get pass the two steep areas, you are very close to the summit. The views from the top were gorgeous and I believe give you a little better view than Big Schloss, since you get a better perspective of the valley with mountains around you. To the east, you can see the side of the Big Schloss hike. There is also a primitive campsite near the top of the overlook if you wanted to camp at the top, but there is no nearby water source.
Signs of Fall? Maybe… but more likely evidence of the drought we’ve been having lately. We saw lots of patches of red trees in the distant mountains, too. Below: The only wildlife we saw was a toad; Adam looked for, but did not find, the geocache; It was a beautiful, breezy, blue-sky day; the trailhead starts across the road from the Wolf Gap campground.
The trail does continue on from the overlook, but it just leads to SR 671 after about .7 miles. You can actually approach this hike from SR 671 for a shorter, less steep option to give you a 1.5 mile out-and-back hike. We stayed up at the top for a while to soak in the views and for me to look for a geocache. I wasn’t able to find this one, but there is an alleged geocache here:
We really enjoyed the peaceful hike for the day. We had the entire hike to ourselves on a day that was in the 70s and we even had the bonus of not having any bugs buzzing around our face. This is a great short hike that provides enough challenge to get the blood pumping and marvelous views at the top.
Trail Notes
Distance – 3.1 miles out-and-back. Add another .1 mile to get to your car.
Elevation Change –830 feet
Difficulty – 3. There are two significant climbs on this hike. The first ascent gains several hundred feet in elevation and is pretty easy. After a short, gentle series of ups and downs, the second ascent is significantly steeper/longer and includes two short rock scrambles.
Trail Conditions – 2. The trail is extremely rocky.
Views –4. The view are beautiful and expansive – a little more than 180 degrees of mountains and valleys.
Waterfalls/streams –0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 0. The only creature we saw was a toad.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Just follow the yellow blazes. There are no turns or trail junctions.
Solitude – 4. Tibbet Knob is less popular than its sister hike, Big Schloss. You may see a few hikers, but you probably won’t see large groups.
Directions to trailhead:
From I-81, take exit 279. Follow Rte. 675 until it meets Route 42. Turn right on 42 and then take almost an immediate left on 675 (Wolf Gap Road). Follow Wolf Gap Road until you come to the Wolf Gap Campground (right on the Hardy County Line.) The trailhead is across the road from the campground.
The Knob Mountain – Jeremy’s Run Loop takes hikers along a 12.4 mile route through one of Shenandoah’s most popular backcountry camping areas. This hike could be done as a long dayhike, but the campsites in the area are too inviting to pass up.
The Knob Mountain – Jeremy’s Run Loop offers beautiful stream scenery. Below: Mountain vistas can be seen along the descent on the Knob Mountain Trail; Blue Blazes mark the way across streams on the Jeremy’s Run Trail; Adam negotiates one of the many stream crossings.
Adam Says…
Since the weather looked like it was going to be a cooler, we decided to take off and go on an overnight backpacking trip. Our first overnight trip was the Hazel Mountain-Catlett Mountain trail which we did with a group from the PATC. This trip was our first non-group outing, so we felt it would be a good chance to put into practice what we learned from our Backpacking 101 course.
To do this trail as a loop, leave from the Elkwallow picnic grounds. You will see the entrance to the trail next to the pit toilet, which provides a last chance to “take care of business” before embarking on the hike. You will begin the trail on a short spur trail to the white-blazed Appalachian Trail. Turn left on the AT. In .2 miles, you will reach the junction with the blue-blazed Jeremy’s Run Trail. Continue straight on the Jeremy’s Run Trail. Around 1.2 miles, you will reach the junction with the Knob Mountain Connector Trail. Take a right at the post to join this trail. As soon as you cross Jeremy’s Run with a little rock-hopping, you will begin this steep connector trail. There are lots of switchbacks and this is definitely the steepest part of the entire trip. Around 1.7 miles, you will reach a junction with the yellow-blazed Knob Mountain Trail. Take a left at the trail junction and continue to follow this slowly ascending ridge trail. We would probably name this portion of the loop the Bear Scat Boulevard, because there was a ton of bear evidence in the area. You will see a few views through the trees, but nothing remarkable from the trail. At mile 3.9 you will reach the summit of Knob Mountain, marked by a concrete post. After the summit, you will begin your steep descent down the mountain. This is broken up by several switchbacks. The trail does open up at times to give you views of mountains along the way, including Strickler Knob and the Three Sisters. At 6.8 miles, you will cross Jeremy’s Run and reach the junction with the blue-blazed Jeremy’s Run Trail. Since we were fairly exhausted from our trip, we picked a campsite near the junction of the trail, which gave us great access to water. From the junction, you just continue on the Jeremy’s Run Trail until you reach the parking lot, crossing over Jeremy’s Run fourteen times. In some areas, it was necessary to rock hop across, but most of the time the traversing was quite easy. I imagine during heavy rain seasons, this would be more of a challenge.
The overnight trip started with a brief stop to fill out paperwork for our backcountry permit. Below: Adam makes his way down the Jeremy’s Run Trail; Snacks on the Knob Mountain summit; A view through the trees from the Knob Mountain Trail.
Jeremy’s Run truly provided a great opportunity for camping in the backcountry. We saw several previously-used campsite areas, so we decided to use our Leave No Trace principles and use an existing campsite rather than creating our own. The campsite was short walking distance to a reliable water source. After starting our trip around 9:30AM, we arrived at camp around 1:00PM. We were very hungry, so Christine worked on getting some lunch together and I began working on getting our tent set. The ground was very hard and rocky, so it took an effort to find a good place to get stakes into the ground. After lunch, we finished getting our sleeping pads/bags ready, hung our bear-bag rope, and prepared our kitchen area. We got some water to use for the trip at the nearby stream and I dug a few preemptive catholes. With every thing set, we decided to relax a little in our tents to stretch out our backs. I like to bring a book along the trip so we took turns reading aloud a few chapters from A Walk for Sunshine by Jeff Alt, an entertaining read about hiking the Appalachian Trail. We took a short nap and then played a few hands of the Monopoly card game we also brought. We then broke in our new JetBoil and prepared a great dinner. After cleaning up dishes, we went down to a place along Jeremy’s Run and stretched out on a large rock. We watched several brook trout jump out of the water, catching mosquitoes that were lightly dancing on top of the water. We retired to our tents to the sweet chorus of whippoorwills and the “who cooks for you” hoots of nearby barred owls.
On the hike down from the summit of Knob Mountain, hikers get a few decent views of adjacent Neighbor Mountain. Below: A scenic spot on Jeremy’s Run; Our campsite.
There were so many things I enjoyed about our trip. We saw tons of wildlife – three black bears, a wild turkey, scarlet tanagers in glorious color, and heard lots of birds at night. The temperature was perfect and the bugs were not out as much as we expected. The trip also helped affirm our ability to handle a backpacking trip by ourselves. I think we really learned a lot of great skills in the last few months to help us feel well-prepared. I was a little more apprehensive wondering if we could handle the 12+ mile hike with 35 pounds on my back, since our previous trip was about 8 miles total with a little less weight each. The hike was more strenuous the first day, but we were able to complete the hike without much trouble. I think we’re both looking forward to going on another backpacking trip, but we are now getting into the hot summer months. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find a cooler weekend in the near future.
Christine Says…
When Mother Nature gives you the gift of a sunny, dry, 70-degree day in the midst of a long string of 90+ degree scorchers, you must take advantage of that gift! We chose to make the most of the pleasant weather and go on an overnight backpacking trip. One of the leaders on our last trip recommended Jeremy’s Run as one of his favorite places in the park. As dayhikers (until recently), the Jeremy’s Run hike had always been a little out of reach. At 12.4 miles with well over 2,500 feet of elevation gain, it was always more than we were willing to tackle on a day hike. It seemed like a perfect candidate for this little weekend getaway.
After filling out all the requisite paperwork, we set out from the Elkwallow Picnic Area along the Appalachian Trail. Right away, I was struck by how much heavier my pack was compared to our last trip. On that trip, we had seven people to split the weight of group gear. But this time, we had to carry our own stove, fuel, collapsible bucket, water filter, food and rope. I also chose to carry my old dSLR camera, a couple card games, extra batteries, a fleece and my iPod. In the end, my pack weighed in about nine pound heavier than our last outing.
I brought my iPod along this time for a couple reasons 1) I wanted to be able to listen to my “workout mix” when climbing a couple of the big hills on the route and 2) my iPod is loaded with audio books, which I thought would be pleasant to listen to after sunset in the tent. The first big hill we hit was on the Knob Mountain Cut-Off Trail. It was really steep, so I put in my earbuds and started chugging up the hill. Listening to mindless pop music with a beat – anything from Tupac to Lady Gaga to Gnarls Barkley – makes climbing hills so much less painful. I had worked up a pretty good rhythm, listening to the early 90’s party song, “Rump Shaker”, when I rounded a curve a spotted two black bears about 50 yards up the hill. I’m not sure if they were a mom and a yearling or two adults. We looked at them, they looked at us, then they quickly decided to leave the area. I didn’t have time to free myself from my trekking poles and iPod cord to get a photo, but it was still a great treat to see the bears. Backpacking seems to involve an inordinate number of straps and buckles. Sometimes, it makes me feel like a horse pulling a cart.
After camp was set up, Christine spent some time relaxing on the rocks in Jeremy’s Run. Below: Adam collects water in a collapsible bucket to use for cooking later; Crocs and Socks – they might not be high fashion, but they’re functional; Playing Monopoly at camp.
After the cut-off trail met the Knob Mountain Trail, the tough climbing was over for the day. I listened to my iPod a bit more, but eventually put it away in favor of listening to the birds and the breeze in the trees. We took a snack break on the top of Knob Mountain. There weren’t any views at the summit – just shade and a ton of poison ivy. It felt really good to throw the pack off for a while and have a good stretch. I could really feel the heavier pack weight bruising my hip bones.
The downhill walk lasted a little over 3 miles. We soon arrived at the stream, where the Knob Mountain Trail converges with both the Neighbor Mountain and Jeremy’s Run Trails. We crossed the stream a couple times and decided it was high time to find a campsite. We were both completely knackered after walking about 7 miles with our packs. I honestly don’t know how thru-hikers cover 20-30 miles a day with even heavier packs. I’m convinced I wouldn’t last a week!
We found a beautiful place for camp under the shade of pines and hardwoods. It was clearly a place others have camped before. Stones were arranged like seats in a semi-circle in one of the clearings. It was also about 30 yards from a gorgeous spot along Jeremy’s Run – so we had great access to water.
We designated separate sleeping and kitchen areas right away. Adam pitched the tent while I fixed lunch. I made Buffalo Chicken Wraps – which were delicious. We found a place for our bear hang and dug a couple catholes for future use. With camp all set up, we settled into our tent for a nap.
Post-nap, we collected water for cooking in our collapsible bucket. On our water run, we also took some time to stretch out and lounge on one of enormous boulders in the middle of the stream. The sky above was so blue and it was very soothing to watch the trees swaying above in the breeze. I actually tried out my Crocs again, and found them more comfortable, albeit considerably dorkier, with socks. I may keep them as my camp shoes after all.
We filtered water for our dessert and boiled water for our entree. Below: We had Pad Thai for dinner; Dark Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.
Around 5:30, we started getting things together for dinner. Because this trip was rather impromptu, we brought pre-packaged dehydrated meals instead of taking the time to make homemade food. But it was still delicious. The Backpacker’s Pantry Pad Thai was filling and tasty. It had a yummy, spicy peanut sauce with noodles and vegetables. For dessert, we ended up having Dark Chocolate Cheesecake (instead of Tiramisu, as originally planned). It was really tasty, too! I was stuffed from dinner, so we decided to take a short walk down to a deep pool I had seen along the trail a way back. We sat on a rock and just enjoyed the quiet of the evening.
It got dark quickly down in the hollow, so we retired to our tent a little before nine. I listened to a book on my iPod and Adam read. I started to doze off well before 10:00. All through the night, I could hear a couple barred owls hooting, over and over and over again. Pretty soon, a whippoorwill joined in and sang through almost the entire night. I haven’t heard a whippoorwill since I was a child, so it delighted me to hear the song in the night again. I slept pretty soundly, until the roar of a train whistle woke me up around 2:00 in the morning. I could hear the wheels on the track so clearly; it seemed like the train was rolling through camp. I guess some distant sounds really carry on the quiet night air. When I awoke, I found I was drenched with sweat in my sleeping bag. It was in the mid-50’s outside, so the down bag was a bit too warm. However, if I slept outside my bag, I got cold quickly. I want to get a blanket and sheet for my sleeping pad to make summer camping more comfortable. Despite being hot or cold, I eventually fell back to sleep and stayed so until 6:30 a.m.
I got up before Adam and got the bear bag down, so I could start breakfast. We ended up leaving the bacon home because we didn’t want to carry a pan. Instead we had oatmeal, boxes of apple juice and hot chocolate. It was a satisfying breakfast on the cool morning.
We saw three bears, including one on the Appalachian Trail. Below: Another scenic pool on Jeremy’s Run; We encountered this loose dog on the trail (one of many). He apparently lives on the border of the park and runs the trail often.; Rocks in the stream bed were covered with moss.
We broke camp down quickly and were back on the trail around 8:00. The second day of hiking was substantially shorter and easier than the first day. With about 5.5 miles to cover, we knew we’d be back at the car by mid-morning.
The trail climbs ever so gradually along Jeremy’s Run. We passed lots of fantastic campsites along the stream. It’s no wonder this area is so popular with backpackers! We crossed the stream 14 times over the course of the morning. Because of all the dry weather we’ve had lately, none of the crossings were challenging at all. Most of them were bone dry, and the ones with water were still easily rock-hopped.
We took a snack break where the Jeremy’s Run trail crosses the Knob Mountain Cut-Off. From this point, the trail follows the same route as we’d used hiking out the day before. The grade becomes steeper for the last mile and eventually meets back up with the Appalachian Trail. For this section, I put my iPod back on again to help endure the uphill. “Rump Shaker” came up in the shuffle again, and after the first few moments, I spotted another bear. There must be something about that song that conjures bears! I did manage to get a few distant photos of this bear before he disappeared deeper into the woods.
About ten minutes later, we were back at our car and on our way. We stopped by the Elkwallow wayside, where I rinsed my face and used a flushing toilet! Plumbing is so exciting after being without it. On our way home, we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. Coke and salty French fries taste absolutely amazing after a long hike. As luck would have it, their credit card machine was broken and they gave us our lunch for free! It was a fitting bonus for a perfect trip.
Trail Notes
Distance – 12.4 miles
Elevation Change – 2600 ft
Difficulty – 3. If you were going to do this in one day without stopping, I would up the difficulty slightly due to the length.
Trail Conditions – 3.5. The trail was very well-maintained. We saw evidence that the Knob Mountain trail had been cut back, but I can imagine in late spring, much of the trail could have some overgrown areas. The ground was well-traveled and there were only a few rocky spots around the streams.
Views – 1.5. The best chance of views are on the descent from the Knob Mountain summit down to Jeremy’s Run. After leaves fall, this may be slightly better.
Waterfalls/streams –3.5. You do get lots of chances to cross Jeremy’s Run. There was only a small fall near the base. If you want to photograph streams, you should have plenty of opportunities. You’ll also have a reliable water source.
Wildlife – 4. We saw black bears, a turkey, and scarlet tanagers; we heard whippoorwills and barred owls at night.
Ease to Navigate – 4. The trails are well-marked and just stick to the signs on the cement posts.
Solitude –3. This is a popular spot for backpacking and trail running. However, we felt that we were able to find our own peace in the woods. We also came across a dog that belongs to a nearby family that evidently roams the trails frequently, so we had a companion during part of the hike up from Jeremy’s Run.
Directions to trailhead:
Located in the northern section of Shenandoah National Park. Park at the Elkwallow Gap picnic grounds around mile 24.3 of Skyline Drive. The Jeremy’s Run trail begins next to the pit toilet at the parking lot.
This nearly 8-mile loop takes hikers deep into a beautiful, remote section of Shenandoah National Park. The trail passes bubbling streams, stands of hemlocks that haven’t yet fallen and crumbling stone walls left behind by families that used to live in the park. This post could also be called part four of the Backpacking 101 series, because we did this trail as a backpacking trip with the great folks from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.
Walking the Hazel Mountain Trail was peaceful and green.
Adam Says…
This was our first overnight backpacking trip together and served as our graduation trip from the Backpacking 101 course we took through PATC. We were unable to go on our previously-scheduled trip due to Christine’s sprained ankle she suffered on our Buzzard Rock hike. We were thrilled that our instructors gave us the opportunity for a make-up trip. You can read our other sections of the review of this class in Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
The outing leaders, John and Jeanne, chose the Hazel Mountain – Catlett Mountain loop for the trip. The hike winds around the mountains and through pretty forest, but doesn’t lead to any summit views. The trail starts off from the Meadow Spring parking lot around mile 33.7 on Skyline Drive. Like many trails in Shenandoah National Park, the Hazel Mountain trail descends from the road. You will stay on this trail until you reach the Catlett Mountain Trail. The Hazel Mountain Trail is also marked on maps as a horse trail, so you may encounter horses on many of the trails around this area.
Day One Hiking: Shortly after leaving the parking lot, you will see a junction with the Buck Hollow Trail (a tough loop hike). At .3 miles, you reach a trail junction with the Buck Ridge Trail (that is the loop back from the Buck Hollow Trail). At 1.6 miles, you come to the first junction with the White Rocks Trail (another loop trail). At 2.2 miles, you will see a post marking the junction with the Catlett Spur Trail, marking where you will rejoin the trail after you complete the loop. While you just descended about 1000 feet, the trail begins to ascend from this point, gaining about 400 feet over the next .6 miles. Around 2.8 miles, you will see the other junction with the White Rocks Trail. Around 3.1 miles, you will reach the top of the climb and take a right to continue on the Hazel Mountain trail. At mile 3.7, you will take a right on to the Catlett Mountain Trail. We picked a campsite near the top of this trail, as it does provide a close proximity below to a spur of Runyon Run, a reliable water source on the trail.
Day Two Hiking: Upon leaving camp, you descend down to the stream we used as the water source. Once you rockhop across Runyon Run, the trail ascends fairly steeply up 300 feet. At mile 4.7, you will take a right onto Catlett Spur Trail. The trail descends crossing over Runyon Run in a few spots. You will eventually pass an old stone perimeter wall, marking land that may have marked a boundary for a settler’s house or farm. At mile 5.6, you will come back to the junction with the Hazel Mountain Trail. Take a left on the trail and ascend for the final 2.2 miles back to the parking lot.
Our tent set-up at camp. Below: The backpacking group at the beginning of the trip; We took our packs off and enjoyed lunch at a boulder jumble near a stream; There were many different kinds of tents at camp… one of the group used a hammock.
Christine and I had a great time on the trip. We met up with our group at 9:30AM, reintroduced ourselves to each other, and got our packs ready for the trail. We divided up some group gear that we needed to share for the trip and weighed our packs for curiosity. I ended up with a little over 34 pounds in my pack and Christine had about 28 pounds. I would say that our average for the group was a little under 30 pounds, so it was manageable for an overnight trip. We hiked fairly fast, but we did take a few breaks to get a breather and eat some lunch. We hiked onto the Catlett Mountain trail and found our campsite around 12:30. We set up our tents and our kitchen area. We put up a tarp and brought all of our dishes, utensils and food to the kitchen site. Most of the group then decided to go down to Runyon Run, to load up some collapsible buckets for water for camp. This was a chance for us to try out our new Katadyn Hiker Pro water filter to refill some water bottles. When we hiked back up to the campsite, we happened to see an adult bear running from the direction of our campsite. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), we never saw him again.
Shortly after getting back to camp, we experienced a scary moment. We thought two people had stayed back at camp when we went on the water run, but came back to see only John. We started to hear shouts from the woods, but we couldn’t distinguish if the voice was shouting “Help” or “Hello”. Our instructor grabbed his first aid kit and we continued to call back to the person. We shouted “Are you hurt?” and “What’s your name?”, but we couldn’t distinguish the response. We kept calling out and eventually we saw one of our group members emerge from the dense underbrush. He had spotted a timber rattler that rose up against him. He ran out of the way, but in his haste to get away from the snake, he got turned around and lost. He had lost his whistle along the way, so he resorted to shouting to try and find his way back to the group. It really shows that you can quickly get turned around and lost without your bearing in the woods.
We then learned how to hang a bear bag, tying a rock to a roop and throwing it over a branch (after dinner we substituted the rock with the actual bags to hang and tied the other end of the rope to a tree). Since we had some time to kill in camp, Christine and I decided to take a quick siesta in our tent before dinner. A storm quickly rolled in with loud thunder, high winds, and heavy rain. It rained for close to an hour. After it slowed to a light sprinkle, we made it back to the kitchen site, to find the rest of our group huddled under the tarp. Later, we ate an amazing dinner (which Christine will talk about) and cleaned up. After watching a nice sunset through the trees and hanging out with the group, Christine and I retired for the night.
This friendly buck visited our camp all weekend. Every time we were in our kitchen area, he came over to hang out. Below: Night falls at camp (notice all the rain on the tent!)
The next morning we got up early and worked on packing our gear. We ate a wonderful breakfast and then broke camp around 8:45AM. We finished our hike, arriving back at our cars shortly after noon. I think everyone was planning a victory meal after the trip, so we made a trip to McDonald’s in Luray.
We really enjoyed our first backpacking trip. It was great to have this experience with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Our instructors were absolutely wonderful and really shared a lot of their experience with us. It was also great to meet a lot of nice people through the Backpacking 101 class that share a common interest and experience level. This trip really affirmed to us that we could handle doing an overnight backpacking trip and we are excited to try it again sometime in the very near future.
Christine Says…
On the eve of our backpacking trip, I was feeling exceedingly fretful. I wondered if I’d be able to bear the heat/humidity without passing out. I worried that I’d be such a sluggish hiker that I’d slow the whole group down. I had concerns about the storms forecast for the day. At one point when we were loading our backpacks. I looked and Adam and said “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this.”
But, wow… it turns out that I LOVE backpacking. It was simultaneously fun, challenging and relaxing. I was amazed at how comfortable my pack was – the 28 pounds felt balanced and easy on my back. I may have sweated like crazy in the heat, but I managed to stay hydrated and felt really strong the entire hike. I had such a sense of tranquility falling asleep in our tent after dinner, listening to the sounds of evening birds and the wind rustling in the trees.
I can’t say enough great things about our PATC (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) trip leaders – John and Jeanne. Their expertise made me feel really safe and confident on my “maiden voyage” overnight in the woods. Actually, I have nothing but great things to say about our entire backpacking group. Our fellow adventurers, Anthony, Suzanne and Ed were all friendly and fun people.
Adam throws a rope over the fallen tree to create a bear hang. He used a rock to make the throw easier. Below: A lot of planning went into picking the right spot for the hang; three waterproof bags were hung. The bags contained anything with a scent.
Adam already did a thorough job describing the terrain and features along the route, so that leaves me to talk about FOOD (and maybe a few other things, too). When I think of backpacking, I think of tuna pouches, power bars, beef jerky and freeze-dried, pre-packaged meals. But, Jeanne is a true backcountry gourmand (she brought a lobster roll for her packed lunch!). For dinner, we feasted on Chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce and Rice and Curried Couscous with Peas and Cashews. We even had banana pudding, replete with fresh banana slices and Nilla Wafers for dessert. Cleaning up was super-easy, since we did most of the cooking using Ziploc freezer bags. You can pour boiling water right into the bags, and avoid dirtying a pot. Individual utensils and bowls were cleaned by thorough eating (not a crumb left behind) and then sanitized with more boiling water. People either drank the water or broadcast it into the woods – away from camp. Either method is acceptable for Leave No Trace practices. The main goal is not to send any food particles into the woods.
Breakfast the next morning exceeded all my expectations! Of course… there was instant oatmeal and hot chocolate, but there was also real BACON and cheesy hashbrowns! Jeanne brought Boar’s Head shelf-stable bacon, cheddar cheese, butter and dehydrated potatoes. I decreed to Adam that we shall always have bacon when we go backpacking. I’m totally spoiled for backcountry breakfast now!
How cool is this… nice, crispy bacon in the backcountry. Below: We also had cheesy hashbrowns for breakfast. Below: On the hike out we passed several sections of old, stone walls; The group post-hike… all a lot sweatier than when we started.
Over breakfast, Adam and I spent some time talking to our trip leader, John, about everything from gear to favorite backpacking spots. He’s like a walking encyclopedia of backpacking expertise.
I have so many fantastic memories from our first real backpacking trip… the outgoing buck that hung out with us all weekend, Adam sitting straight up in his sleeping bag (twice) to accuse me of being a bear, the feeling of being away from complications and civilization, but most of all, making new friends who might become future outing companions.
It was a rewarding experience, and I can’t wait to get out there again!
Trail Notes
Distance – 7.8 miles loop
Elevation Change – About 1000 feet, but there are also some ups and downs of about 400 feet on the Catlett Mountain-Catlett Spur Trail loop.
Difficulty – 3
Trail Conditions –3. The trail isn’t too rocky, but is overgrown, especially the Catlett Mountain-Catlett Spur Trails.
Views – 0. There were really no views of anything from this trail, since it is through a thick wooded area.
Waterfalls/streams –2. Good water sources, but nothing too scenic.
Wildlife –4. With people in our group seeing deer, a bear, and a timber rattler, there should be a decent chance to see wildlife here. We also saw an American Redstart and a few red-spotted newts on the trail.
Ease to Navigate –3. There are lots of spurs off of the trails, but everything loops back at some point. Pay attention to the cement posts and you shouldn’t have any difficulty.
Solitude – 2.5. The first section down to the White Rocks Trail seemed to include all the traffic that we saw. This is popular with many day-trippers, since it is one of the first parking lots in the northern portion of the Central District of Shenandoah National Park.
Directions to trailhead:
On Skyline Drive, park at the Meadow Spring parking lot between mile markers 33 and 34. The trail starts at the southern end of the parking lot.
This pleasant section 7.9 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail takes you between Shenandoah National Park’s two large, historic lodges. You can eat breakfast at Skyland, do the hike, and then have lunch at Big Meadows.
This hike offers a great mix of open views and passages through deep, fern-carpeted woods. Below: Hikers pass three talus slopes on Hawksbill Mountain; The forest floor was covered with abundant ferns; The trail is clear and well-maintained, but can be rocky.
Christine Says…
Most popular hikes in Shenandoah National Park lead away from the Appalachian Trail – down into the hollows or up to Shenandoah’s taller peaks. The AT is usually relegated to being used as a connector trail or the return arm of a loop hike. Many hikes on our blog include segments along the AT, but we’ve never posted a hike exclusively along the trail. We decided it was time to change that.
On Saturday, we decided to do a “lodge-to-lodge” section hike – taking the Appalachian Trail from Skyland to Big Meadows. It’s a 7.9 mile section, with an optional .2 mile spur trail to visit the Rock Spring Cabin and Hut. Our original plan was to eat breakfast at Skyland, do our hike, and then eat lunch at the Big Meadows Wayside. But, we woke up hungry and ended up having bagels and fruit before we left the house in the morning.
We left one car parked at the Big Meadows amphitheater and proceeded to the Stony Man parking area at the north entrance of Skyland to set out on our hike. The trail initially cuts through the patch of forest between Skyline Drive and the lodge. Recently, we’ve been seeing a bear with three new cubs along the road running parallel to this patch, so we were hoping we would come across the family. No such luck.
After about a half-mile, we crossed the road at the south entrance of Skyland (you could also park here and cut a small amount of distance off the hike). The trail passes the Skyland Stables and descends into the woods.
The terrain along the Appalachian Trail is varied and diverse. Some sections are smooth dirt, others are jagged and rocky. The vegetation along the trail is beautiful – alternating between lush expanses of fern, thick stands of mountain laurel and majestic groves of trees. Occasionally, the trail passes beneath a scenic overlook on Skyline Drive. Uphill from the trail, you can see families taking in park scenery from the comfort of their cars. Most of them never even notice us hiking below. I always wonder how many people visit the park and never leave the scenic byway. The best of Shenandoah is off the road, and so many people miss that.
We took the short spur trail off the Appalachian Trail that leads to the Rock Spring Hut and the Rock Spring Cabin. Below: The view of the valley from the front porch of the Rock Spring Cabin; We checked out the journal in the hut and found entries from the thru-hikers we met a couple weeks ago; Although we didn’t see any fawns on the hike, we saw a few on the ride back to pick up our second car.
The trail skirts around the western side of Hawksbill Mountain – Shenandoah’s tallest. Shortly after passing Hawksbill, a spur trail leads .1 miles down to two structures maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC). The Rock Spring Cabin is rented out by the PATC and is available to the general public. The cabin has a beautiful view of the valley beyond. We were lucky to run into a woman renting the cabin for the weekend, and she was kind enough to let us take a peek inside. The cabin was quite cozy and well equipped. The other structure in the area is the Rock Spring Hut. It’s a three-sided building with an elevated sleeping platform. A spring for fresh water and a privy are located close by. The hut was put in place to provide shelter to thru-hikers and section hikers along the Appalachian Trail. We took a few minutes to check out the journal at the shelter, and were able to find entries from the thru-hikers we met a few weeks ago.
After leaving the Rock Spring area, we saw a HUGE increase in traffic along the trail – Boy Scout troops, a busload of day hikers out for a leg-stretcher and various other parties. There are lots of easy access points to the trail in this area, so the traffic wasn’t completely surprising. This stretch of trail passes several nice overlooks from rocky ledges. By this point of the trail, clouds had really started to roll in. The weather was really odd on this hike. Skies went from perfect blue to stormy very quickly and the winds varied from dead calm to very brisk. The temperature stayed pleasantly cool – in the low 70’s, even though it was close to 90 in the valley below.
After walking across the Fisher’s Gap Overlook, the trail takes a distinct uphill turn toward the Big Meadows area. In the last mile, hikers ascend almost 700 feet in elevation. It’s the only tougher climb on the entire hike – most other ascents and descents are 200 feet or less. Near the end of the climb, the trail passes very close to the Big Meadows Campground. We were literally 25 feet or less from people’s tents and campers. After passing the campground, the trail levels out for the last few tenths of a mile before arriving back at the amphitheater.
It was a fun hike, and really quite easy for an 8-miler! We were also lucky to finish our hike before the thunderstorms roared across the mountains.
Adam Says…
Since Saturday was National Trails Day, we felt it was absolutely necessary to do a hike in one of our favorite places to hike – Shenandoah National Park. Since we’ve recently met a few thru-hikers, Christine suggested hiking the Appalachian Trail from Skyland to Big Meadows. June is a heavy month to encounter Appalachian Trail thru-hikers in Shenandoah National Park, since most start their trip in March or April. We ended up seeing nine thru-hikers on their way North to Maine. The few that we spoke to were looking forward to a big breakfast at the Skyland Lodge. Christine mentioned how crowded the trail was this day. This was mostly due to thru-hikers, boy scout groups, and tour groups. The boy scout group consisted of several parents that were along for the trip. The parents looked much more miserable than the scouts did themselves. In the bus group, one lady whispered to us as she passed, “I envy your freedom”, meaning that she wasn’t enjoying hiking in such a large group. As you near the Big Meadows Lodge and campground, you will likely see lots of people that are going for a hike, so travel on the AT nearby is one of the closest options for a hike. There was another pair of couples that were doing the lodge-to-lodge hike heading northwards, but I feel going from Skyland to Big Meadows does save you a little on the elevation gain (though the southbound route does save your largest uphill climb for last).
One of my highlights on the trail was walking along the talus slopes near the Hawksbill parking lot. We had completed a hike through the same area almost exactly one year ago to Hawksbill summit. It is impressive to view the talus slopes and watch out for peregrine falcons. We saw several swooping overhead from this point and we also saw some from the Franklin Cliffs overlook. If you are a bird lover, you will likely see some of the closest views of peregrine falcons in Virginia from here.
Due to the big storms we have had in the last few days, there was running water in a few spots on the trail. I wouldn’t expect this normally, but it could give some people an opportunity to fill up water bottles and treat the water if you are running low.
Mountain Laurel was still abundant all along the trail. Below: The Appalachian Trail passes right by the Skyland Stables; Adam enjoys the view from Timber Hollow; There is quite a bit of construction going on along Skyline Drive and the AT has been marked with warning signs; There are several nice rocky ledges along the trail a couple miles north of Big Meadows.
We ended the trip by stopping at the Big Meadows wayside for lunch. It was the most crowded I have seen the dining room in a while. We topped our lunch off with a dish of blackberry ice cream. This is something most thru-hikers have heard about and they can’t wait to try (especially the blackberry milkshakes). We then went over to talk to the volunteers at National Trails Day. There was an exhibition on two-person lumber sawing, information on safety, gear demonstrations and sign-ups for guided hikes. We talked to a few of the leaders from the Backpacking 101 course that were there on behalf of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. We had signed up to join the PATC last year at Trails Day. We were able to talk to our leaders for next weekend’s backpacking trip, so we were able to find out where we are going next week for our first backpacking trip. We’re quite excited! (more about that later)
On our way home, we saw a few fawns with their mothers. Most of the deer give birth in late May/early June, so they are quite tiny at this point in their lives. You will likely see hordes of photographers in Big Meadows trying to get pictures of the fawns, but I encourage people not to harass the wildlife by approaching too closely.
While this wasn’t the entire Appalachian Trail distance of 2175 miles, we enjoyed our small portion of the trail. We are hoping that we can hike the entire 105 miles of the AT that runs through Shenandoah National Park next summer.
Trail Notes
Distance – 7.9 miles as a shuttle trail.
Elevation Change – Constant ups and downs, but the longest uphill climb is about 650 vertical feet at the very end of the hike.
Difficulty – 2. This is an easy hike for eight miles. The Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah is never very steep.
Trail Conditions – 3. There are some rocky sections, but overall the trail is in great shape.
Views – 3.5 – There are nice views from Timber Hollow, Hawksbill, Spitler Knob, and Franklin Cliffs.
Waterfalls/streams –0.
Wildlife – 2. We know there is a lot of wildlife in this area, but we only saw the peregrine falcons soaring over Hawksbill Mountain.
Ease to Navigate – 4.5. As long as you’re following the white blazes, you can’t go wrong.
Solitude –1. We hiked this trail on a pleasant June morning. We saw *many* people – literally dozens and dozens.
Directions to trailhead:
On Skyline Drive, park at the Stony Man trailhead (located at the northern entrance to Skyland – near mile marker 42). You will see an Appalachian trail marker near the parking lot. You will see two AT cement posts, but the one that starts the trail is further away from Skyline Drive. Follow the trail south from this point.
The Massanutten Ridge Trail is part of the network of trails on resort property. This hike departs from the overlook at the top of Del Webb Dr. in Massanutten Resort. The hike is extremely rocky, but offers superb views from an outcropping above the ski lifts.
Update 6/6/2016: As far as we’ve heard, no one has seen goats on this hike for quite a while, so they may no longer be there. Also… watch out for snakes along the rocky scramble. While there have been no reported sightings of goats, we have heard about multiple rattlesnake sightings. Timber rattlesnakes are generally reclusive and non-aggressive. They would prefer to stay hidden and not bite, so be respectful of their space, but don’t be unduly afraid. 🙂
The friendly goats were the highlight of the Massanutten Ridge Trail. Below: The hike also provided beautiful views of the valley below; blueberries (not ripe yet) were abundant along the trail; The goats used us like human salt licks; When we tried to walk on, the goat chased us down the mountain.
Adam Says…
If I could have a movie made about this hike it would be called “The Men Who Are Licked by Goats”. Who would have thought that there would be feral goats on the top of Massanutten?
An online hiking group I had joined, Valley Hikers, completed the Massanutten Ridge Trail Hike recently, but I was unable to attend. While we have been up to the beginning of this trail before, we hadn’t completed the entire hike before. We recently did the Kaylor Knob hike, so we thought we would also take care of the other hike from the top of the Massanutten overlook.
We parked one car at the Massanutten General Store near the ski slopes and then drove to start our hike at the overlook at the top of Del Webb Drive. At the parking lot, you are treated to views of the ski slopes and mountains around. You start the trail by climbing up a staircase to get to the level ridge. The blue-blazed trail starts with a fairly well-trodden wide path. There are spots along the way to peak through to see some views along the first .25 mile. Around the .5 mile marker, the trail becomes much rockier. You will need to constantly look where your feet are stepping or you could easily sprain an ankle. This rocky, difficult portion continues for about 1.5 miles. At mile 1.25 on the trail, you come to a nice overlook on the right side of the trail to see some views to the North. At 2.25 miles, the trail eventually joins a gravel road. You will see some blue blazes directly across the road, but there is not a trail there. Simply take a right at this junction and climb the gravel road to reach the cellphone towers at the top. The trail picks back up just to the right of the highest cellphone tower. As soon as you rejoin this trail, you will come to the best views on the trail at some rocky overlooks. At mile 3.0, you will also see a hang-gliding ramp. It is insane to think of people just running and jumping off of this. To your left, you will be able to see the ski lift drop-off for the top of the Diamond Jim and ParaDice ski trails. During the ski season, the lift area is blocked off (maybe to keep people from illegally jumping on the ski trails). There was a rope blocking it off still, but the cordoned area does not completely block access to the trail. Continuing past the hang-gliding area, the trail continues and you start your descent. At mile 3.25, the trail leads to an opportunity to walk down the ski slope. You could continue further on the actual trail, but we were unsure how close it would return us to our car. We jumped on to the slopes to take a steep descent back to our car at 4.0 miles. During this last .75 miles, you descend about 1000 feet of elevation. I highly recommend taking trekking poles to help keep your balance as you navigate the steep terrain.
The hike followed the ridge and provided many views of Massanutten Resort and the valley on both the eastern and western sides. Below: The middle two miles of the hike was extremely rocky and required quite a bit of rock scrambling; A view of a pond at Massanutten resort; Eastern Fence Lizards in a mating dance; We even stumbled across a Box Turtle on the trail.
The highlight of the trip definitely had to be the goats that we saw at the top of the ski slopes. As soon as they saw us, they came running toward us to lick the sweat off of us. It reminded me of a sign that we saw during our trip to Olympic National Park, warning us not to urinate in public or goats would come. They love salt and were quite eager to lick the salt off of us. So, beware if you are not into that thing, but I thought it was funny. The goats were extremely friendly and followed us around for a while at the higher elevations.
There are a couple of geocaches that you could do from this hike:
This hike was tough due to the trail conditions, but it was great to see the views and the wildlife on the trail.
Christine Says…
I had art shows to work over the weekend, so we needed to find a short hike that was located really close to our home. The Massanutten Ridge Trail seemed to perfectly suit our needs. I thought the hike would be a piece of cake because the ridgeline has very little elevation change overall. So, I was rather surprised to find that it was a real hike with challenging terrain. The middle section had a lot of tricky footing and rock scrambling. It was a constant up-and-down, resembling a small scale roller coaster. Normally, it would be the type of terrain I really enjoy, but I was fighting off a cold all weekend. My stuffiness and fatigue made this squarely moderate hike feel a lot tougher than it typically would. There were definitely a few scrambles where I would have been happy to hang-glide right off the side of the mountain just to avoid climbing over anymore rocks!
The Goats were fun! Below: The cell towers on top of Massanutten are a real eyesore; trail markers along the trail are blue and show mileage; for the brave – there is a hang-gliding launch on top Massanutten; the sign shows gliding regulations and disclaimers; the mountain laurel was in full bloom along the trail; at the summit there were many vultures soaring.
My favorite part of the hike was the unexpected amount of wildlife we saw along the way. It started off with a cute Box Turtle walking along the trail. Then we saw numerous Eastern Fence Lizards – two were even participating in a courtship dance. There were lots of butterflies fluttering about and at the overlooks we saw plenty of vultures soaring on the thermals. But the best part was seeing the two goats living at the top of Diamond Jim. I spotted them first through an opening in the woods, and squealed “GOATS!” I couldn’t stop laughing at the way they licked. They went nuts for the salty sweat. We decided to name the goats. “Diamond” – the white goat – is shy. She follows the other goat everywhere, but does not participate in the vigorous licking. The red and white goat, we decided to name “Salt Lick”. I think the basis of that name is pretty self-evident.
All in all, the Massanutten Ridge Trail was a pleasant surprise. The views and the wildlife both far exceeded anything I expected.
Difficulty – 4. The elevation doesn’t change a lot initially, but the terrain will make it hard work and slow going.
Trail Conditions – 1.5. About 1.5 miles of the trail is rocky and then a very steep downhill at the end requires trekking poles to be safest.
Views – 4. You get some different views along the way, but the best views are from near the cellphone towers and hang-gliding platform.
Waterfalls/streams –0.
Wildlife – 4. There aren’t many places you get to see free-ranging goats and I think most people see them here. We also saw lizards and a turtle.
Ease to Navigate – 3.5. There was a couple of spots where it was a little difficult to see which way the trail goes, but since you’re on the narrow ridge, it is not hard to just stay on that ridge.
Solitude –3.5. We didn’t see anyone there, but you do typically see a lot of people on the initial trail. The people you see will generally be during the first .5 mile. Not many people continue on this trail after that.
Directions to trailhead: From Harrisonburg, head east on US 33 for about 10 miles. Turn left at the Exxon on the left and head on SR 644, Resort Drive. Follow this road and take a left on Massanutten Drive. You will reach a guard house. Let the guard know that you are here to hike and they will give you a guest pass. After about 3 miles, take a right on Del Webb Drive. Follow Del Webb Drive for about two miles until you begin to drive up to the ridge, where there is a parking lot on the left. The trail begins up the small, wooden set of stairs leaving the parking lot.
This 9.8 mile circuit hike offers all the best of Shenandoah – panoramic views, bubbling streams, a swimming hole and even a nice final stretch along the Appalachian Trail. It comes close to our 10 mile limit for a day hike, but it’s definitely well worth the effort.
The view from Chimney Rock is very pretty on a clear day.
Christine Says…
The Riprap trail has long been on my list of hikes to tackle in Shenandoah National Park. Last Friday, we finally got around to it. I have to admit, the nearly ten-mile length and over 2,300 feet of elevation gain intimidated me just a little. The hikes we’ve completed that are close to that length (i.e. McAfee Knob or Mount Rogers) both have substantially less elevation gain. But, we had a free day and beautiful weather, so we decided to go for it. I’m so glad we went because the scenery on this trail showcased everything I love about Shenandoah. And, honestly… hiking 9.8 miles really wasn’t that hard.
We started the hike from the Riprap parking area at mile marker 90. We turned right at the end of the parking lot and followed the Appalachian Trail uphill for about a third of a mile. At the intersection with the Riprap trail, we turned left. The trail went alternately downhill and uphill for about three-quarters of a mile. We passed around a talus slope and came out to a viewpoint near Calvary Rocks. This was a great place to pause and take in the panoramic scene of the valley below. About a third of a mile downhill past Calvary Rocks, we arrived at Chimney Rock. I found this to be the prettier of the two views – but they were both very nice. The trail was especially pretty in late May because of all the blooming mountain laurel, wild azaleas and rhododendron. There were some sections that were so lush, I felt like I was walking through a tunnel of flowers.
Wild Azaleas, Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. Below: The view near Calvary Rocks; Adam taking in the view from Chimney Rock.
From Chimney Rock, the trail follows a ridge for a while, with many nice views between the trees. There is still quite a bit of evidence of forest fire damage from the late 1990’s in this area. The mountainside is still rather barren and charred stumps are visible. Slowly, the trail descends into Cold Springs Hollow. We passed through some of the densest mountain laurel along this section. We saw and heard so many beautiful birds – everything from American Redstarts to Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks.
Near the bottom of the hollow, we started to pick up the stream. It started off as a trickle, gaining volume and speed as we climbed continually downward. There were a few small, unremarkable waterfalls in the gorge, but we didn’t stop walking until the first stream crossing. Adam and I sat on a couple big boulders in the middle of the stream and ate a few handfuls of trail mix.
The swimming hole displayed beautiful rhododendron reflections and was full of brook trout. Below: The trout were hard to photograph through the water, but you get the point.
We stopped again just a couple tenths of a mile later at my very favorite spot along the trail – a wide, green swimming hole shaded by the forest canopy. We sat along the pool for a long while. We watched colorful brook trout lolling in the water. Every now and then, one would splash up and break the quiet surface of the water. The water was so clear. We could see reflections of the rhododendron on the surface and big, round stones at the bottom of the pool. The spot is made even more beautiful by the gentle slide waterfall that cascades down and fills the pool.
After leaving the pool, we had almost about three-quarters of a mile of level walking and a couple more stream crossings. A post marks the intersection with the Wildcat Ridge Trail. We turned left, and enjoyed our last little bit of flat walking for a while. We decided to stop and eat lunch before the big uphill climb began. We had ham and cheese on crackers, chips and some candy – perfect to give us lots of energy!
Climbing along Wildcat Ridge is a steady uphill for almost three miles, but the grade is generally moderate. There were several more decent views through the trees along this section of trail. And of course, more mountain laurel! I think I must have said “This is SO PRETTY!” to Adam a dozen times as we walked through the flowers. This section is where we saw our only other hikers of the day – a young couple hiking the loop in the opposite direction. We got to the junction with the Appalachian Trail faster than we thought we would. We were anticipating another .7 miles of uphill climbing when we reached the marker post. It’s always such a pleasant surprise when an uphill climb ends earlier than you thought it would.
Adam and I both enjoyed the more level terrain along the Appalachian Trail.
We took a left onto the AT for the final 2.8 miles of the hike. This section was typical Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah – rolling hills, nothing too steep. We saw a brief glimpse of a bear diving into the mountain laurel about a mile into this stretch. After about an hour of walking on the AT, we arrived back at our car. My feet were a little sore and tired, but other than that I still felt pretty energetic. Riprap now claims the spot for the longest hike I’ve ever done in a day! The 9.8 mile circuit took us just under six hours – including our very frequent snack and photography stops. On the way home, we stopped and rewarded ourselves with Lime Cream Slushes from Sonic – my favorite post-hike treat.
Adam Says…
This may also be the longest hike I have done but it was well worth it! This hike really does have it all and we hit it at a great time of year. The mountain laurel and rhododendron were at peak on this trail and we often felt like we were in some type of fantasy land while being surrounded by pink flowers.
The views from Calvary Rocks and Chimney Rock give you some great 180 degree views to the north of the mountains. I was a little worried that the payoff for this hike was going to be over in the first couple of miles of the hike, but I was glad to be wrong. After we continued the descent from Chimney Rock, there were still some open views along the way. Once we reached the bottom of Cold Springs Hollow, we saw a glimpse of a waterfall along the way. Shortly after the falls and after crossing the stream you come to the beautiful swimming hole that Christine mentioned above. This was a great spot to relax and enjoy seeing the fish, or you could take a quick, refreshing dip.
View Along the Riprap Ridge. Below: The swimming hole is such a beautiful place – even though we constantly had to bat the bugs away. Note the slide falls coming down to the pool.
Once we were done with relaxing, we took the hike up the Wildcat Ridge Trail. This is a constant uphill for about three miles and does include a couple of switchbacks on the trail. However, we felt that the terrain wasn’t too steep. You continue to observe nice views as it hugs closely to the side of the mountain. Once we met up with the AT, the trail didn’t have a lot of elevation gain/loss. I do suffer from plantar fasciitis, so my feet were quite sore on the rocks of this section of the trail.
Butterfly on Mountain Laurel. Below: Adam hikes through the mountain laurel along the Appalachian Trail.
For those interested in geocaching, I did place an earthcache at the overlook for Calvary Rocks. This is a way to learn about the geology of the area and there are a few steps to get credit for the cache:
I definitely enjoyed my first trip of the Riprap trail, but I know it won’t be my last. This would also be a great place to do a backpacking trip, since there is a reliable water source at the bottom of the trail. We really felt like it was one of the prettiest trails we have done in all of Shenandoah National Park. Part of that largely is due to the abundance of blooming wildflowers, but another part was the views. The Riprap trail really has it all!
Trail Notes
Distance – 9.8 miles
Elevation Change – Around 2300 feet. The hike is a mix of uphill and downhill, with one long, steady uphill stretch of about three miles.
Difficulty – 4.5 While the elevation gain is substantial, the trail is rarely steep. Grades are moderate. We scored the hike a 4.5 mainly due to the length.
Trail Conditions – 4 Nice trail to walk along! The stream crossings are easy.
Views – 4. You get the best views from the Chimney Rocks and Calvary Rocks overlooks.
Waterfalls/streams –3 The stream was on the low side when we hiked, but was still pretty. The swimming hole at the bottom of the hollow is very beautiful.
Wildlife – 4 We saw lots of brook trout, a little toad, many bird species and we even caught a glimpse of a black bear’s rear end diving into the laurel thicket.
Ease to Navigate – 2 A few turns to make along the way. There are a few false trails leading away from the main trail and also one tricky turn after a creek crossing.
Solitude – 3 We saw only two other people on the entire loop. We hiked it on a beautiful Friday in late spring. I imagine the trail is much more crowded on weekends. It’s a very popular short backpack loop.
Directions to trailhead: From Skyline Drive, park on the western side at mile marker 90. There is a parking lot specifically for Riprap hikers.
Most of our posts are about local trails and day hiking. But today, we’re excited to bring you a “special edition” post. We met a trio of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers online. Lightning, Monkey and Ringleader, collectively known as The Traveling Circus, came off the trail and spent some time with us.
The Traveling Circus – Lightning, Monkey and Ringleader. Below: The group gets started on their 17 miles; everyone carried a nearly empty pack on this day; two more thru-hikers (Moose and Tetherball) took up our offer to offload gear.
The trio is hiking the AT and shooting a documentary along the way. The film is going to focus primarily on the community and social aspects of the trail. We can’t wait to see the finished project. The hikers we’ve met are fascinating, so an entire documentary about the people should be quite compelling.
During their visit, there was lots of food and fun conversation. They all got to take hot showers, do some laundry, check the internet, and sleep in a bed. We even had time to watch a movie. Christine made a big breakfast before driving them back up to the trail.
We offered to hold onto their heavy gear for the day and meet them at Big Meadows later in the evening. When we dropped them off in the morning, they ran into a couple AT friends. We ended up stowing their gear for the day, too. I’ve never seen hikers look happier. One exclaimed that he felt like he could fly without his pack.
When we met them near Big Meadows in the afternoon, they arrived right on time. It’s amazing that they can hike 17 miles, and predict within a few minutes when they’ll arrive at a given spot. Most people aren’t that punctual with watches, cellphones and cars. Apparently, after three months of hiking, you get pretty good at gauging your speed. All five hikers said they had a beautiful day of hiking – great weather and pretty scenery.
We made it to the Big Meadows Wayside in time for them to order the famous Shenandoah National Park blackberry milkshakes. We had a little time to chat with Moose and Tetherball (the thru-hikers we met when we dropped The Traveling Circus off). They were both really nice and seemed to be loving every minute of their time on the trail.
We offered everyone a ride a little further down the trail, but they decided to walk their miles. Moose said “If you cheat the trail, she’ll make you pay for it later!”
Kate (Ringleader), Brandon (Monkey) and Emily (Lightning) are such nice people – they smile and laugh constantly. They were full of great stories and tales about what hiking the AT is really like. They were all so fit and strong and had positive outlooks, even after months on the trail. We have no doubt they’ll be climbing Katahdin in a few months.
Beards Mountain is a hike within Douthat State Park that provides lake and mountain views at various stages of the trail.
A view of Douthat Lake from the trail. Below: The trails in Douthat State Park are clear and well-marked.
Adam Says…
This was our first trip to Douthat State Park and we were quite impressed. The park contains over 40 miles of hiking trails. The origin of the name “Douthat” is from a land patent given to Robert Douthat from the Governor Robert Brooke. Part of this land makes up the park today. The best guess as to how to pronounce the name I found was “dow-thut”.
Like most state parks, you have to pay $3 on the weekends to enter. We went to the park office first to talk to someone about the two hikes we were contemplating – this one and Blue Suck Falls. The Blue Suck Falls hike is close to 10 miles, so we opted for the shorter hike on this particular day. Before we started, I wanted to check out two new programs that state parks are now offering. The Trail Quest Program is something created to replace the state park passport program. This program allows you to track the state parks you have visited online and there are some pins given as rewards based on how many you visit. I started the passport system a while ago, which I have enjoyed, but I think this program is also a great idea. The second opportunity is now all of the Virginia state parks are sponsoring geocaches. Each park has a multi-stage geocache that leads you to a wildlife card for each park. When you collect a number of these cards, you can also get some prizes.
Most of the views along the hike were peeks through the trees. Below: Another glimpse through the trees; the stream along the Beards Gap Trail was made up of interesting terraced rocks; another view of Douthat Lake
Due to the tricky network of trails, I would recommend picking up a map at the park office. The hike up Beards Mountain starts to the right of the park office entrance by taking the blue-blazed Beard’s Gap Trail. This trail starts off relatively flat and crosses a creek a few times (it was dry when we crossed) before it starts an uphill climb with several switchbacks. While I normally don’t enjoy switchbacks, this trail was well planned and it really takes the difficulty out of the elevation gain. At 1.2 miles you will reach a trail junction and a hut that was created as an eagle scout project. Take a left on this trail to join the yellow-blazed Mountain Top Trail. At 1.7 miles, you will reach a junction of three trails. You will see the Buck Hollow Trail and the Mountain Side Trail to the left, but you will just head straight continuing on the yellow-blazed Mountain Top Trail for the toughest climb of the trip. At 1.8 miles, you will take a sharp right on a switchback and be able to see Douthat Lake below through the trees. There are better views ahead. The hike continues to climb up, leveling off around 2.0 miles, until you see a marker for the forest boundary around 2.5 miles. At the marker, you will take a left to stay on the yellow-blazed Mountain Top Trail. Around 2.7 miles, the trail begins to descend steeply. Around mile 3.1 the woods will open up to reveal a very nice view of Douthat Lake below. Around mile 3.4, as you are descending, you will come to another junction of trails. Take a left on to the Mountain Side Trail. This will continue be a fairly level trail that will eventually give you a third lower view of Douthat Lake around the 3.7 mile marker. After the view, you will have a slight ascent back up to the familiar junction with the Mountain Top Trail. At this junction, you will take a right down the blue-blazed Buck Hollow Trail. Around the 4.7 mile marker, you will see a branched path that is marked as an Overlook Trail. We did not go down that path this time, but it adds an extra .5 mile on to your trip. Around the 5.4 marker, you will reach a junction and take a left on the white-blazed Wilson Creek Trail and you will cross a small bridge. Shortly after rounding the corner, you will see a water tower that is on a gravel road. Just cross the road and stay on the white-blazed trail. The trail will eventually pass a few staff houses and a stone chimney around 6.9 miles. Just travel the last .1 miles to reach the park office and your vehicle.
While we felt the views weren’t exceptional, we did really enjoy this hike. We had a perfect hiking weather day with a cool breeze to keep from sweating profusely and to keep the bugs away. We definitely plan on returning to visit and explore this park some more. Most of the people that come here seem to come for fishing, picnics, and camping but I do think the trails we saw were very enjoyable. While it was a longer hike, it wasn’t too tough to handle if you’re in decent shape.
Christine Says…
Beards Mountain was an enjoyable hike for a blustery spring day. For a seven-mile hike, it was relatively easygoing. Most of the steep climbing was in the first third of the loop, which allowed for very pleasant downhill or level walking for the last two-thirds of the hike.
This was by far the windiest day I’ve ever been out in the woods – gusts were easily 45-50 mph. The wind was really roaring through the mountains, catching on all the newly leafy trees. Any time I looked up, I could see the treetops swaying and swirling dramatically above our heads. Every now and then, we would hear branches snap – but thankfully none fell close to the trail. It was nearly impossible to talk over the wind, so Adam and I hiked in silence most of the way.
Hiking Upward gave this trail a five-star rating for views, so I was really hoping there would be a pretty overlook to stop and eat our picnic lunch along the way. Unfortunately, all of the views were merely small openings in the trees along the trail. None of the viewpoints really had an off-the-trail space to sit and take in the view. We ended up eating lunch along the ridge of Beards Mountain, near the National Forest border marker. We love Hiking Upward, but have found that our opinions sometimes differ on what makes a five-star view. For me, a top rated view has to be panoramic, unobstructed, offer a deep view into the landscape beyond and have a nice place for a couple people to sit and enjoy the vista. The views on this hike were nice, but I wouldn’t give them top marks.
We saw so many reptiles along the hike. Below: The Visitor’s Center is both the start and end point of the hike.
The descent on this hike was long and followed a (usually) gentle grade. The one thing that made it tricky was the dryness/looseness of the soil and the narrowness of the trail. There were a couple spots along the Mountain Side Trail that had precipitous drops on the downhill side. For some stretches, the trail was only 12-18 inches wide – not even wide enough to use trekking poles. Every now and then, a rock would slip off the edge of the trail, and bounce endlessly down the steep mountainside. It made me think that someone could get hurt pretty badly if they took a wrong step. On these sections, I just kept my eyes straight ahead on the trail and my feet. If I looked downhill, I felt dizzy.
I think in early June, a lot of this loop hike will be extremely gorgeous! I noticed a lot of the trail was lined with mountain laurel. When it blooms in a few weeks, it should be amazing.
All in all, I was really impressed with Douthat State Park. The trail system there is pretty expansive and well-maintained. I’ll look forward to visiting the area again sometime.
Trail Notes
Distance – 7 miles loop
Elevation Change – around 1400 feet
Difficulty – 3. Some sections are tougher than others, but we still felt it was fairly challenging. The first couple of miles are the toughest.
Trail Conditions – 3. The trails were in decent shape, but some were a little overgrown and there were some areas affected by landslides that made for a narrow trail and careful footing.
Views – 3. The views are nice, but they are obstructed. You won’t find overlooks with expansive views on the trail, but you do see pretty mountainous scenery through the trees throughout your hike.
Waterfalls/streams –1.5 There are some streams that might be really beautiful in times with lots of rain. The water was down to a trickle when we visited.
Wildlife – 2. We saw a couple of snakes on the trail, a few fence lizards, and some different bird species.
Ease to Navigate –3. The trail is well-marked, but there are a lot of intersections and different trails to make this a loop.
Solitude – 3. We were surprised since it was a state park, but we only saw one hiker and a couple of mountain bikers on the trail.
Directions to trailhead: Take I-64 to exit 27 near Clifton Forge, VA heading north on state route 629. Continue on this road until you enter the park. Pay your fee at the gate and park at the park office just ahead on your right. The trail starts to the right of the park office entrance.
Virginia Trail Guide 
