virginia hiking – Page 9 – Virginia Trail Guide

Appalachian Trail – Powell Gap to Loft Mountain

September 25, 2011May 7, 20124 Comments

This post covers the ten miles from Powell Gap to Loft Mountain, with an overnight stop at the Pinefield Hut. Sleeping inside a hut is typically something reserved for people out on multi-night trips, so we tented in a spot uphill from the hut. Hut sites offer the convenience of a spring-fed water source or stream (usually), a picnic table to cook on, a place to have a campfire (the only permissible place in Shenandoah’s backcountry) and access to a privy (no catholes to dig).

Adam and Christine Say …

We’ve found that with our backpacking trips, it’s usually easier to combine our thoughts into one large post. Here we go!

Even though this backpacking trip was scheduled weeks ago, we weren’t sure until the last minute that we were actually going to pull it off. It rained all week, Adam was having back spasms, our friends couldn’t make the trip and we were both coming off a particularly busy week at work. Sitting in the air-conditioned house, pajama-clad, and watching TV from the couch seemed quite a bit more appealing than heading out into the damp, buggy woods with 30+ pounds of gear strapped to our backs.

The thing that ultimately tipped the scale in favor of hitting the trail for an overnighter was actually all the 9/11 anniversary coverage. When Friday morning rolled around, Christine was feeling overwhelmingly sad. All week long, virtually every news outlet had been covering 9/11 – bringing all the horrific imagery and stories back to the forefront. Remembering and paying tribute is important to her, and she felt drawn to having a quiet, peaceful place to reflect without seeing any more images of people dying or cities burning. We both wanted to be in the woods – away from the TV, away from the internet, away from the radio.

Powell Gap View — Adam takes in the view after the first climb out of Powell Gap. Below: There is not a paved parking lot at Powell Gap. Instead, you can leave a car in the grassy field next to the trail entrance.

We had a leisurely Saturday morning. Christine made a big breakfast with eggs and biscuits (for Adam), blueberry pancakes (for herself) and bacon (for both of us). After cleaning up dishes, Christine packed our camp food into Ziploc bags and put together bathroom kits. Adam worked on loading our backpacks. We decided to eat lunch at home and then headed off to the park around 1:00. We chose to hike south along the Appalachian Trail from Powell Gap to Loft Mountain, with an overnight stop at the Pinefield Hut. We brought two cars into the park to make the trip logistically easier, parking the return car at the Loft Mountain wayside.

We left one car in the grassy field next to the trail entrance at Powell Gap. After doing last minute pack checks, we headed off. The trail climbs immediately upward from the gap. You gain about 300 feet in just a few tenths of a mile. Within the first half mile, you pass a pretty eastern-facing view of the valley below. We stopped and made some pack adjustments. Adam insisted on taking over the burden of carrying our extra water. The south district of Shenandoah is famously dry, so we hauled a 3 liter Nalgene canteen so we’d have plenty of water for cooking and hiking on Sunday. Even with all the rain, we weren’t sure if the spring at the hut would be running. Christine bickered with Adam over the extra weight of the water, because she didn’t want him to make his back pain worse. In the end, he won and we headed down the trail with the extra 6.6 pounds of water hooked and freely swinging from a carabiner on the back of his pack. He was definitely carrying too much and it did slow his pace down a bit!

Young Bear — We spotted a young bear on a hillside before the descent to Simmons Gap. Below: Stopping for a snack and map break at the Simmons Gap crossing; Our trekking poles make backpacking trips so much easier; Monarch butterflies were everywhere!

The Appalachian Trail between Powell Gap and Pinefield Hut is pretty uneventful. There are a few road crossings, several climbs and descents, and just the one open view. Most of the trail is just typical walking along a forest trail – pretty, but not remarkable.

On the descent toward Simmons Gap, a black shape caught Christine’s eye. She turned back and mouthed ‘BEAR!’ to Adam. Sure enough, a handsome yearling bear was perched on the hillside, quietly watching us pass. She managed to get an OK photo of the bear, but he was really too far up the hillside for our pocket camera’s zoom capabilities. We stood still and had a little stare-down with the bear for a few moments before he turned and lumbered up the hill. We’ve decided the park has two kinds of bears: 1) indifferent bears and 2) scared bears. The scared bears run as soon as a human comes into view. Indifferent bears may cast you a sidelong glance, but otherwise ignore you and continue along with whatever they were doing before you spotted them. We like the indifferent bears; they’re easier to photograph! We’ve never come across an aggressive bear in Shenandoah – thankfully.

At the trail crossing near the Simmons Gap Ranger Station, we stopped and had a snack of cashews. The cement post indicated that we had 2.2 miles to cover before reaching Pinefield Hut. We figured we’d make it there well before dinner time. As we were sitting on the grass eating cashews, another backpacker came up to us and asked which way it was to reach Brown Gap. We pointed the way (12 miles to the south), rested for a few more minutes and then continued. The trail climbing out of Simmons Gap was probably the hardest climbing of the day, but still fairly moderate. Christine noticed that Adam was really struggling with his pack weight, so we made some more adjustments and she took the big Nalgene canteen back.

Timber Rattlesnake — We saw this timber rattler after climbing out of Simmons Gap. Below: A good look at the rattle.

As we continued climbing, we spotted the hiker headed toward Brown Gap stopped in the middle of the trail. We didn’t see anything, so we continued climbing until we were right behind him. He turned and said ‘There’s a rattlesnake on the trail!’ Christine replied ‘Ooooh, where?’ But as soon as she peered over his shoulder, she immediately saw the large snake laid out, almost completely spanning the trail. He wasn’t moving or rattling. We speculated that maybe he was dead or in a state of torpor. We stood and looked at him for a good five minutes. Finally Adam climbed off the side of the trail, making a wide arc around the snake (since he is definitely more fearful of snakes than Christine). Christine followed suit, as did the other hiker. As soon as we all passed, the snake slowly slithered off the trail and coiled up in the leaves about a foot off the path. We got a few exciting photos of the snake before we headed off to finish our climb uphill.

Eventually the trail leveled off for a while before gently descending to Pinefield Gap. Climbing downhill, we both noticed how much bear scat there was along the trail. This area obviously has a pretty healthy population of black bears. After one final road crossing, we had just two tenths of a mile left until we got to the shelter.

Pinefield Shelter lies just a couple hundred yards off the AT. As we were walking down the side path to the shelter, we heard voices and laughter. We were greeted at the shelter by six other hikers – a mix of thru-hikers, section hikers and weekenders. Peak use of AT shelters happens May- June, so we were a little surprised to see so many people at Pinefield. Everyone was really friendly and they already had a great campfire going. We chose a tent site up the steep hill behind the shelter.

We quickly set up the tent, inflated our sleeping pads and fluffed our bags before heading back down to the shelter to socialize and cook dinner. We had a repeat favorite dinner from Backpacker’s Pantry – Pad Thai and Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert. Two of the others hikers in for the night, Brendan and Ayla, had purchased a bag of marshmallows and were roasting them over the fire. Talk centered heavily on food for much of the evening. If there is one thing hikers have in common, it’s hunger! We set our camp chairs near the fire and enjoyed an evening of conversation and a little music. Ayla had a flute and Brendan carried a small guitar. It was a pleasant evening, and you really can’t beat a good campfire!

Adam By the Fire — Adam relaxes by the fire. Below: A comparison – the first photo is the park’s representation of Appalachian Trail backpackers. The second and third photos are what backpackers really look like! Sometime soon, I think Adam and I are going to pose to recreate the park’s image – spacy expressions and all!

Sometime after dark, we climbed back up the hill to our tent by the light of Adam’s headlamp. Christine listened to the new book in the Game of Thrones series on her iPod and Adam continued to read his John Muir book. As we relaxed in the tent, we began to notice that our tent site wasn’t quite flat. It was on just enough of a slope that you can feel, even if you can’t see it!

Christine had a decent night of sleep – occasionally waking to the hoot of an owl or the sound of Adam thrashing around next to her. He didn’t sleep well at all! He still hasn’t figured out the best way to get comfortable with his sleeping set-up. In the morning, everything had shifted to the downhill side of the tent. Adam was crammed up along the tent wall and Christine was practically on top of him!

Almost everyone was up early, cooking breakfast and packing up their gear. We took down our tent and shoved everything back into our packs. We fired up our JetBoil and made oatmeal and coffee. We didn’t even use all the extra water we had hauled down to camp, so we shared with everyone else. Incidentally, the spring was running at Pinefield so we didn’t even need to carry all that extra water. Oh well… better safe than sorry.

Our second day of hiking was a little tougher, but a little more rewarding in terms of views and scenery. Ivy Creek, which we passed near the end of the hike, was actually running much more than usual Our packs were lighter, since most of the food and water were gone. The forest was beautiful and misty, with golden sunrays cutting down between the trees. Spider webs covered with dew glistened in the morning sun. We crossed paths with the hiker we had met at Simmons Gap the day before. He was headed north, and looking for water. We were kind of surprised, because he must have passed at least three decent water sources that morning returning from Brown Gap.

View of Skyline Drive — We got a great view of Skyline Drive and the mountains beyond on our second day. This view looks to the west. Below: Morning fog created some nice sunrays in the forest; Ivy Creek was running nicely; Spider webs glistening in the morning light.

We reached the junction of the AT and the trail down to the Ivy Creek maintenance building around 10:15 a.m. It was a quick downhill walk of .6 miles back to Skyline Drive. We got to the Loft Mountain Wayside around 10:30. Even though it was still on the early side, we wanted lunch! The cook behind the counter was nice enough to make us fries and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches even though they were technically still serving breakfast. It really hit the spot!

After lunch we passed through the gift shop and picked up a couple 75th Anniversary Shenandoah souvenirs – a magnet and a Christmas ornament. We’d been meaning to get something from the anniversary all season. Park shops are only open for a few more weeks, so we figured it was now or never.

Lunch at the Loft Mountain Wayside. Below: Our hike down to Skyline Drive from the Appalachian Trail took us past the PATC’s Ivy Creek trail maintenance building; Adam crosses Skyline Drive and heads toward the Loft Mountain Wayside where we left our car. Unfortunately, someone whacked our car pretty hard while we were away. We have a huge dent and a paintless streak on the passenger side now. Boo!

We were back home before 1:00, which was perfect! We had the rest of the day to relax and clean up before heading back to work on Monday.

Trail Notes

Distance – 10 miles
Elevation Change – 2500 feet over five different climbs
Difficulty – 3. Mostly uphill climbing on this hike.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail was in pretty good shape. Some areas were slightly overgrown and there were a few tree blowdowns, but otherwise, it was fine.
Views – 3.5. Some nice eastern views on the climb up from Powell Gap and nice western views near the Rockytop overlook.
Wildlife – 4. We saw many signs of bears along the trail (and saw one), we saw our first timber rattlesnake, and several pileated woodpeckers.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Not many turns on the Appalachian Trail, but a few turns to make it to the Loft Mountain wayside.
Solitude – 4. You will likely see people near Powell Gap and Loft Mountain, but not a lot in between.

Directions to trailhead: Mile 70 on Skyline Drive, park in the large field. You’ll see the post for the Appalachian Trail from the lot and head south.

Old Rag – via Weakley Hollow

September 13, 2011August 26, 201513 Comments

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

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

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

Christine Says…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adam Says…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trail Notes

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

Download a trail map (PDF)

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

Flat Top

July 4, 2011August 26, 20156 Comments

Flat Top is one of the two ‘Peaks of Otter’. While not as popular as the other peak (Sharp Top), this 5.4 mile hike to Flat Top’s summit offers some nice views of the area.

A View of Sharp Top from Flat Top — A view of Sharp Top from just below the Flat Top summit. Below: Starting out on the Flat Top trail; The trailhead was decorated with lilies; The junction of the trail down to Cross Rock is right at the Pinnacle.

Christine Says…

Last week, we were home on a week long ‘staycation’. Most of the week, we relaxed at home, sleeping in and watching movies. When Wednesday turned out to be cool and breezy with low humidity, we decided to get up early and go for a day hike in the Peaks of Otter area of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We’ve hiked Sharp Top many times, but I had never really considered hiking the companion peak. Adam had always described the hike up Flat Top as steep and lacking any spectacular views. But, we’d read a few more positive descriptions of the views, so we decided to give the trail a shot.

When we got to the trailhead, it was almost chilly. Personally, I think chilly weather is always welcome in the middle of summer! The hike was all uphill, passing hillsides of ferns, giant boulders and patches of red columbine. The first point of interest we came to was the Pinnacle. It offered panoramic views of the valley. We could even see the Blue Ridge Parkway snaking through the mountains across the valley.

View from the Pinnacle — A view from the Pinnacle. Below: The trail was often lined with ferns; There were many giant boulders along the trail; Cross Rock was underwhelming.

At the Pinnacle, there is sign marking a side trail down to Cross Rock. We assumed Cross Rock would be another outcropping with nice views. We were quite wrong. Instead, it was a brutally steep descent to a rock formation in the shape of a cross. Others might find Cross Rock to be fascinating, but I think I would have passed on the side trail if I had known I was just going to look at some rocks.

From the Cross Rock junction, the trail became steeper and rockier. We continued climbing for the last half mile to the summit of Flat Top. At first, we were a little confused because the summit marker was buried in the trees. Our hiking book had described the views from the top as panoramic and majestic. We eventually found a little path through the brush leading to a rocky outcropping with views. It was a little below the actual summit. The views from that point were nice, but I wouldn’t describe them as generously as our hiking guide did. If you climbed out to the edge, stood and peered beyond the trees, you could see Sharp Top. Overall, I think the view from the Pinnacle was much nicer than the view from the summit.

We relaxed on the rocks for a while, then made our way down the trail. The trail going down was really slick from the thunderstorms the night before. On one steep section, I slipped and fell hard on my left knee. At first, I was really worried I may have banged it up badly enough to jeopardize our planned backpacking trip. Fortunately, I was able to walk it off and only suffered a bruise.

The downhill hike seemed endless at times after I hurt my knee, but we got back to the car in less than an hour. Afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Peakview Dining Room in the Peaks of Otter lodge.

Adam Says…

The Peaks of Otter place has a special place in my heart, since this was where my family would often visit for a picnic. I have hiked up the sister peak, Sharp Top, countless times, but I have only been up Flat Top a few times. The times that I had approached the peak of Flat Top, we had started out from the trailhead from the Peaks of Otter picnic area. I remember that path being very steep and forested, with views that were mostly through the trees. After consulting our Falcon Guide of Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway, it mentioned great views and starting from the actual Blue Ridge Parkway to shave off some of the elevation gain. We decided to check out this path instead of the way I had experienced.

View Just Below the Flat Top Summit — View just below the Flat Top summit. Below: The actual summit of Flat Top is in the trees; Adam took a photo of Christine with the camera’s manual settings customized for a sunny landscape shot – oops!; Inside the Peaks of Otter lodge.

The start of this trail begins around mile marker 83.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, north of the Peaks of Otter Lodge. There is a parking lot on the eastern side and you will see a brown sign denoting the beginning of the Flat Top trail. The trail starts off by slowly elevating through the forest in more of a gradual ascent. Around .6 miles, the trail turns sharply to the left and you begin a series of switchbacks that last until you reach the junction with the Cross Rock trail at 2.1 miles. At this junction you reach what is termed the pinnacle. If you crawl out on the outcropping of rocks near you, you are at the Pinnacle, which provides the best views on this hike. You have the option of climbing down to Cross Rock, but this is not a great viewpoint, just an interesting rock formation. Follow the signs up the last .5 miles to reach the Flat Top summit at 4,001 feet. You will see the summit marker in the middle of the woods. Continue past the summit marker slightly for a short sidepath onto a rock outcropping that will give you some nice views. Continue back the way you came.

This path up Flat Top was better than my memories of hiking up from the picnic area. The views from the Pinnacle are gorgeous and you would miss out on this if you did the hike from the picnic area. The hike back down from the summit felt steeper than going up and there were loose rocks that required you to keep an eye on your footing. Take trekking poles to help secure your footing. There is one geocache on the hike, but I forgot to plug in the coordinates before we left:

A Flat Top Reflection

The one thing that Flat Top has over the Sharp Top hike is more solitude. Sometimes it seems that Sharp Top is crawling with large groups of hikers, but you will likely only see a few people on the Flat Top hike. Sharp Top does have better viewpoints, but this is a nice hike to do if you have more time to spend in the area. If you are interested and not too exhausted, you can also cross the road from the parking lot for a short 1.6 mile hike to Fallingwater Cascades.

Trail Notes

Distance – 5.4 miles (including the optional .2 mile side trail to Cross Rock)
Elevation Change – 1391 feet
Difficulty – 3. The hike is steady uphill climbing and get rockier the higher you climb.
Trail Conditions – 2. The trail is very rocky and is rather overgrown in places.
Views –3.5 The view from the Pinnacle is beautiful, but views from the summit are somewhat obstructed.
Wildlife – 0. We didn’t see anything.
Ease to Navigate – 3.5. The trail itself is easy to follow, but at the summit there is no clear pointer to the best overlook. The technical summit is buried in the woods, but by following community trails you can climb onto rocky outcroppings to gain a view.
Solitude – 2.5. Compared to Sharp Top, this trail is lightly traveled. But due to the popularity of the Peaks of Otter area, you will likely see other hikers.

Directions to trailhead: At mile marker 83.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, north of the Peaks of Otter Lodge. Park in the lot on the eastern side and a brown sign denotes the beginning of the Flat Top trail.

Appalachian Trail – Powell Gap to Swift Run Gap

June 27, 2011August 26, 20154 Comments

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

Adam Says…

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

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

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

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

Christine Says…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wookie Says…

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

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

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

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

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

Trail Notes

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

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

Twin Pinnacles Trail

June 18, 2011August 26, 20153 Comments

The Twin Pinnacles trail is a gentle trail that takes you to the highest point in Grayson Highlands State Park. The views from each of the Pinnacles are nothing short of spectacular.

View from Little Pinnacle — The view from Little Pinnacle. Below: Although this blog post primarily covers the Twin Pinnacles trail, don’t miss hiking up through Massie Gap to where it meets the Appalachian Trail. You’ll see ponies and spectacular scenery.

Christine Says…

When visiting the southwest region of Virginia, a visit to Grayson Highlands State Park is practically mandatory. That park and the high country around Mount Rogers might be my favorite spot in the entire state of Virginia for many reasons. The lovely boreal forest seen in much of that area is uncommon elsewhere in our state. The bald, open high country is stunningly beautiful. And, the kicker… there are WILD PONIES. Honestly, if there was nothing besides the wild ponies to set Grayson Highlands apart, I would still love it best. I grew up a horse crazy girl and that sentiment has never really abated in my adulthood.

Last time we visited Grayson Highlands, we hiked up Mount Rogers. This time we wanted to try something new, so we decided to hike the Twin Pinnacles trail, which lies completely within the state park’s boundaries. But before we set off on our new hike, I insisted that we hike far enough up the Appalachian Trail that I could see and photograph some of the ponies and their spring foals. The wild ponies of Grayson Highlands are not everywhere in the park. The best chances to see them are hiking through Massie Gap and then south along the Appalachian Trail.

As it turned out, the ponies were all tucked into the shade and relaxing at the higher elevations. We ended up hiking a little over halfway up Mount Rogers before we found the herd. We enjoyed watching a small family group of ponies – two mares, two foals and a stallion for about an hour before we headed back down to do our ‘real’ hike.

Foal along the AT — This foal looked so beautiful with the mountainous background. Below: Adam walking along the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail; A couple shots of the Catawba Rhododendron in bloom.

We also spent a little time headed slightly north on the Appalachian Trail so Adam could look for a geocache. While he did that, I enjoyed the spectacular blooms of the Catawba Rhododendron. They’re so colorful, and really set the mountainside awash in brilliant purple.

By the time we got to the trailhead for Twin Pinnacles, which is located behind the park’s Visitor Center, I was already sunburned, tired and hungry. Thankfully, Twin Pinnacles is a very, very short hike. At 1.6 miles, it barely makes my personal cut-off of one-mile for actually being considered a ‘hike’. Anything shorter than a mile is just a walk in my book!

For such a short hike, Twin Pinnacles packs in a ton of majestic scenery! The trail climbs very gradually to the highest point in the park – Little Pinnacle – at 5084 feet. You would think Big Pinnacle would be the taller, but the name is a slight misrepresentation.

From the top of Little Pinnacle, we had views in every direction. We could see Christmas Tree farms down in the valley. We could see Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain off in the distance. All through the forest, bands of red spruce were visible. They really stand out among other conifers due to their richer, russet colors.

Trail Leaving Little Pinnacle — The trail leaving Little Pinnacle.

Walking across the rocky, bare top of the mountain was reminiscent of hiking in New England. We quickly dipped back into the trees and walked through a small saddle over the Big Pinnacle. After a short, very steep climb, we stepped out onto bare rock overlooking a gorgeous vista. Of the two Pinnacles, I think Big Pinnacle has slightly nicer views of the park – especially looking down into Massie Gap. We enjoyed the breeze atop the Pinnacle, and I spent some time daydreaming more about the ponies and what they might be up to. (yes… really – I love those ponies!)

After leaving the second Pinnacle, we had a short walk back to the Visitor Center and a long ride back home. I wish we had more time to spend in the area – I love Grayson Highlands!

Adam Says…

The last time we had visited Grayson Highlands, we spent most of the day at Mount Rogers and had little time or energy left for anything else. I thought it would be nice to see some other features of this wonderful state park. Since the weather and views were lovely, we tried out the Twin Pinnacles Trail.

Storm Shelter — The 1.6 mile loop trail has several storm shelters built by a local boy scout troop. Below: The trail starts behind the visitors center.

During our morning in Grayson Highlands, Christine was determined to see wild ponies. She stated that she didn’t want to leave until she saw ponies and hopefully foals. In my best Mr. T impression, I said “I pity the foals” and we started our search. We ran into an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. I wish we had stopped to get his trail name, because he was such a happy guy. He was from Florida and just said that he is just amazed every day at what he is doing. He said that he often goes blue-blazing (since all of the AT is white-blazed, trails off the AT are typically blue-blazed) to see other things that people recommend. He wasn’t out to set any records for speed, he was just enjoying every moment. I hope he makes the trip the whole way. I kept thinking that he is adding on a lot of extra miles that I know many other hikers wouldn’t want to do. I was asking if he had seen any ponies and he said he walked through about four herds getting to this spot today, so I knew we were on the right path. Shortly after we parted ways, we ran into our first two ponies. They were a little stand-offish, but they didn’t run away from us. These ponies looked a little rough, like they needed some time with a grooming brush. Christine wanted to continue to try and find some more groups of ponies. Shortly after we continued to climb up the AT, I looked back to enjoy the view (and catch my breath) and I saw some ponies not far from where we were hiking. We decided to climb back down and check them out and Christine saw there were two foals with them. We spent about 45 minutes just watching their behavior from a safe distance before I nudged Christine away to continue on with our day. I’m sure she could have stayed all day looking at this set of ponies.

There are two different options for this trail. You can start from the parking lot at Massie Gap and hike steeply uphill via the Big Pinnacle Trail. We decided to go the easier way, since we had already spent a good time hiking before this.

To get to the trailhead, just continue on the park road, Grayson Highland Lane, until you reach the parking lot to the Visitor’s Center. Once you park the car, you will have to climb up several stairs until you reach the Visitor’s Center. As you are looking directly at the Visitor’s Center, the red-blazed trail begins behind and to the left of the Center. After a short distance, you will reach a larger bulletin board with a map of the trail where the trail forks. Take the left fork. You will soon come across the first of four storm shelters along the trail that were created as an Eagle Scout project. You will reach the first rocky outcrop, Little Pinnacle around .7 miles. The Little Pinnacle is actually higher than the Big Pinnacle in elevation. The trail continues on for a few tenths of a mile until you reach the sign for the Big Pinnacle overlook. The trail up to the Big Pinnacle consists of steep stairs leading to the top, but it isn’t too far of a climb to the top. Once there, you should be able to see the Massie Gap parking lot below. Go back to the sign and continue to follow the signs leading back to the Visitor’s Center. You should finish your trip at 1.6 miles.

I did do a little geocaching on the trail while I was there. In one of the geocaches, I found a toy Pinnochio from the Shrek movies. I decided to grab it (in geocaching, you typically take something and leave something in the container). As we continued to hike, I kept thinking that I heard something barking or voices that were in the distance. I asked Christine a couple of times if she heard anything and she said she didn’t. After thinking that I was going crazy, I finally realized that this Pinnochio was making noises. He makes some grunts and occasionally says, “I’ll never become a real boy”. We had a good laugh at my expense over that. If you would like to find the geocaches on the trail, they are:

The Littlest Pinnacle – an earthcache
‘Tween the Pinnacles
Big Pinnacle – an earthcache

For a hiker in Virginia, it really doesn’t get any better than a visit to Grayson Highlands State Park. This is truly a magical place!

Trail Notes

Distance – 1.6 miles
Elevation Change – 250 feet
Difficulty – 2. The trail is mostly flat and easy with the exception of one short, steep climb up Little Pinnacle.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is heavily-traveled and in great shape.
Views – 5. Spectacular views from one of Virginia’s highest spots.
Wildlife – 1. We saw some birds. There might be bears and deer in the area, but we didn’t see anything.
Ease to Navigate – 4.5. There are a couple turns, but if you follow the signs you’ll easily be able to stay on the loop.
Solitude – 2. The short length and excellent views make this trail very popular.

Directions to trailhead: From Abingdon, take 58 East until you reach Grayson Highlands State Park on the left through SR 362. Continue on Grayson Highland Lane until you reach the parking lot for the Visitor’s Center. The trailhead is behind and to the left of the Visitor’s Center.

Sky Meadows Loop

May 6, 2011August 25, 201512 Comments

This 5.5 mile loop through Sky Meadows State Park offers spectacular valley views and the opportunity to hike in high, open meadows.

Adam Takes in the View from the Piedmont Overlook — Adam takes in the view from the Piedmont Overlook. Below: Mt. Bleak House was built in 1843 and is open for tours; An Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker makes his way down the trail (he is in the far left of the photo, beyond the dogwood trees); A cute village in the valley below.

Adam Says…

This hike was amazing! I can’t believe that we had never been to Sky Meadows State Park until now. Each year, Christine and I pull a list of hikes together that we want to try and cover. When I was looking through the Falcon Guide Hiking Virginia book, they mentioned under “other hikes” to try the Sky Meadows State Park. I am shocked that the authors didn’t feature a trail through this area rather than leaving it as a footnote. I think this is one of the best hikes in Virginia for views. I would liken the scenery and open views to those you would find at Cole Mountain or Grayson Highlands/Mount Rogers. Put this on your list of “must hikes” – you won’t regret it!

Across from the Visitor Center, you will see the Park Office on the hillside. Walk past the large board showing the map of hiking trails and walk up the gravel path that leads into the woods. Once you reach the fork, take a left and continue down the gravel Boston Mill road. Continue on this road, passing by the junction with the Gap Run trail, until you come to the junction with the South Ridge trail at .45 miles.

The Chimney at the Snowden Ruins — The Snowden House ruins. Below: We crossed this small stream early in the hike. It’s probably dry most of the year; Adam makes his way up the South Ridge Trail; Adam reads information about Snowden; Dogwoods were at their peak.

Take a right on to the yellow-blazed South Ridge Trail. The trail begins to quickly climb up the steep hillside. At .5 miles, there is a short spur trail to a nice view. At .58 miles, you will come to the Snowden Ruins. You’ll see the foundation of the old homestead along with what is left of a stone chimney. Further up the trail, you will come to the South Ridge overlook which sits under a dogwood tree. Continue along the trail which tends to ascend most of the way. At 2.2 miles, you will reach a junction with the North Ridge trail. Take a left up the blue-blazed North Ridge Trail. At 2.6 miles, you will reach a junction with the white-blazed Appalachian trail. Take a right, heading north on the Appalachian Trail. At 3.5 miles, you will come to a fork.

Take a right at the fork to go on to the light blue-blazed Ambassador Whitehouse trail. At 3.9 miles, you will come to the Paris overlook viewpoint, which also provides gorgeous panoramic views. After this viewpoint, the trail descends back through the woods. At 4.53 take a left back on to the North Ridge trail, but in just a few feet you will take a left up the red Piedmont Overlook trail.

Adam under the Dogwoods. Below: Hepatica; Tiger Swallowtail; Mayapple Flower

The trail ascends through a steep section here, but you will climb up a few stairs and then reach a wider trail that leads to a few benches and the Upper Piedmont Overlook. Enjoy the views here and as you climb down to the Lower Piedmont Overlook. After passing by an old farm building, you will climb over a few stairs and then down until you come back to the Boston Mill Road at mile 5.1. Take a left on the road and you should be making your way back to your vehicle and the Visitor Center.

The land that became Sky Meadows State Park was donated by Paul Mellon (son of Andrew Mellon – U.S. Secretary of State from 1921-1932), a famous philanthropist, art collector, and Kentucky Derby-winning horse owner. He donated 1132 acres of the land in 1975 and later more donations (including the land for the Appalachian Trail) have taken it up to the current 1862 acres. The history of the land also dates back to Lord Fairfax and previous owners had ties to Belle Grove.

This really was a perfect day to do this hike! We started off the day with a trip through Shenandoah National Park to view some early morning wildlife and to take in some breakfast at Skyland. We then made our way to Front Royal and headed to Sky Meadows State Park. The weather was perfect for hiking with highs in the 70s and a breeze throughout. The sky was very clear with a few clouds, but no threat of rain. The views were extraordinary and I can’t wait to come back some time.

Adam find the Hiking Upward Cache. Below: Lunch on the trail; Turning onto the AT; Making our way across the high meadows.

If you are interested in geocaching, there are several geocaches to find on this loop:

Sky Meadows SP Crossroads
Sky Meadows SP Snowden Manor Ruins
Sky Meadows SP South Ridge Trail
HikingUpward – Sky Meadows – High Meadows
Sky Meadows SP Ambassador Whitehouse Trail
Sky Meadows SP Piedmont Overlook Trail
VSP Sky Meadows 75th Anniversary Adventure – not on the trail, but worth doing if you have the time since it is part of a state park series.

Christine Says…

Last Saturday was a perfect spring day. We got up before sunrise and drove through the central and north districts of Shenandoah National park en route to Sky Meadows State Park for a day of hiking. (Passing through Shenandoah, we saw a bear and had a good breakfast at Skyland!)

Sky Meadows was established in the early 1980s and is home to a beautiful restored Civil-war era farm and twelve miles of hiking trails – including a little snip of the Appalachian Trail. Sky Meadows is unique in that its campground has no car access. Anyone wishing to stay overnight has to hike in to their campsite.

We parked at Mt. Bleak House. From there, we hiked down a gravel path leading to the park’s network of trails. Finding the trail we wanted to start on was a little tricky, because park maps were not to scale. After a little fumbling around, we were on our way up the South Ridge Trail. The trail climbed slowly and steadily uphill, past the ruins of Snowden – another old farm within the park’s boundary. All that’s left standing of Snowden is a crumbling chimney and a number of foundations from outbuildings. The site has a plaque describing the house and the people that lived there many years ago.

From Snowden, the path ascended continually passing through open meadows and pretty forest. The dogwoods and redbuds were all near their peak of spring glory. The flowers on the trees were truly spectacular against the perfect blue sky. The breeze kept bugs (and sweating) at bay! It really was ideal weather to be outdoors.

Leaning Redbud — A Beautiful Redbud along the trail. Below: A view into the valley from the Piedmont Overlook; More Views; A spectacular dogwood.

For a while, the trail was pretty level as it passed through thicker woods. We startled a turkey and watched it fly off, chortling and gobbling in dismay at being disturbed. I must say… turkeys look really funny in flight. The trail in this area was lined with lots of tiny wildflowers – mostly violets and hepatica.

Eventually, we started climbing again and came to the junction of the North Ridge and South Ridge trails. We contemplated stopping for lunch at this point, but decided to press on, following the North Ridge trail to where it meets Appalachian Trail. Another nice thing about Sky Meadows… there are benches at most trail junctions and overlooks. It’s nice to have a comfortable place to sit and eat lunch – away from ticks, poison ivy and other crawly things. We ended up using the bench along the Appalachian Trail for our picnic spot.

For lunch, we feasted on sandwiches, brownies, grapes and cheese. Adam was eating his cheese and looking especially contemplative, when he turned and asked me “What kind of cheese is this?” I responded “It’s mozzarella and cheddar twisted together. You don’t like it?” He said “No, it’s really GOOD… it sort of tastes like lobster dipped in melted butter!” It’s weird, but he was actually kind of right – something about the texture of warmish mozzarella blended with the flavor of sharper cheddar ended up tasting remarkably like lobster. We’ve taken to calling this particular cheese snack ‘Lobster Cheese’.

While we ate lunch, we watched several other groups of hikers pass by. No one really seemed to know where they were going. Someone asked us if Harper’s Ferry was where the Appalachian Trail began. Someone asked if they were already in Shenandoah National Park. Two guys with cigarettes, sodas and no hiking gear contemplated aloud to one another “Should we go to Shenandoah or Harper’s Ferry?” (they were 20+ miles from either destination.)

After lunch, we headed north along the Appalachian Trail for a short while. Along the ridge, the forest completely opened up to high meadows with amazing views into the valley below. We were walking along the trail, chatting, when a fast hiker snuck up and passed us from behind. He turned out to be the first AT thru-hiker we’ve seen in Virginia this year. He’s definitely ahead of the pack!

Old Barn — We passed this old farm building on the hike down the Piedmont Overlook Trail. Below: A pretty lone tree; Adam stands in the middle of a huge four-trunked tree.

We really enjoyed walking across the open meadow terrain. Most hikes we do are through thick forest, so this was a welcome change of pace.

At the junction of the Ambassador House Trail, the Appalachian Trail continued north and we turned right to make our way across more meadows and downhill to the Piedmont Overlook Trail. We dipped back into forested area and passed a really cool four-trunked tree. It was big enough for Adam to stand inside between all the trunks.

We took the optional arm of the trail uphill to get to the actual Piedmont Overlook, which was beautiful! I loved seeing all the little houses and farms below in the valley. From the overlook, the remainder of the hike was steeply downhill across open meadow.

Mt. Bleak House Grounds. Below: A couple other shots from the Mt. Bleak grounds.

We arrived back on the gravel road and made our way back to the Mt. Bleak House area. We stopped in the gift shop and chatted with the ranger. We overheard her asking everyone walking in “Did you hike today?” and pretty much everyone answered “No – we’re just here to picnic!” So, I made a point to tell her that we had hiked, had a great time and thought the park’s trail system was fantastic and very nicely maintained. Adam got his passport book stamped and got credit for finding the state park’s official geocache. We took a few minutes to poke around the farm and talk to two historical interpreters – one of them in a wonderful Zouave uniform.

We enjoyed our day in Sky Meadows very much. It’s definitely a park we’ll visit again.

On our way home, we stopped briefly in Linden, Va to buy apple butter-cinnamon donuts from the Apple House. If you’re in the area – you should do the same – they’re delicious!

Trail Notes

Distance – 5.5 miles.
Elevation Change – 1100 feet with one large climb in the beginning of the hike. It’s mostly downhill or flat afterwards.
Difficulty –2.5. The beginning section is the toughest and is not for every person, but if you take it slow most people will be fine.
Trail Conditions – 4. It is very well-maintained. The only rocky section was the .3 mile section on the North Ridge Trail. The trail is wide in most places for two people to walk side-by-side. Some sections you are even walking on soft grass.
Views – 5. You have lots of views along this hike of the valley and farm below. On a clear day, you can see for miles!
Waterfalls/streams – 1. You cross one small stream in the beginning. It’s probably dry most of the year.
Wildlife – 2. We only saw one wild turkey and some other birds (there are bluebird boxes along the road). They have spotted golden eagles in the area recently.
Ease to Navigate – 3. There are many options and junctions with other trails and the trails are not that well marked along the way. While I don’t think a lot of people get lost up here, I do think some people take wrong turns before deciding they may have not gone the best way.
Solitude – 2. You will likely see people along the trail. However, I think most of these people will be within a mile of the visitor’s center. While we did see several people, you should be able to find your peace along the trail to soak in the views.

Directions to trailhead: From Route 17, turn on to Edmonds Lane as you see the sign for Sky Meadows State Park. Follow this road until you reach the parking lot in front of Mt. Bleak House. Park your car here and then walk past the large billboard with hiking trails on the small gravel path near the Park Office House. All of the hiking trails start once you reach the junction on the edge of the woods. Take a left to start your hike.

Appalachian Trail – Skyland to Thornton Gap

April 10, 2011August 26, 20151 Comment

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

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

Christine Says…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adam Says…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trail Notes

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

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

Appalachian Trail – Beagle Gap to Rockfish Gap

March 20, 2011August 26, 20158 Comments

The section of the Appalachian Trail from Beagle Gap to Rockfish Gap gives you nice, open views of the mountains and farmland surrounding the city of Waynesboro.

Walking up to Bear's Den Mountain — Adam makes his way along the Appalachian Trail up to the top of Bear’s Den Mountain. Below: Adam and Wookie pose at the Beagle Gap sign; This white blaze looked like it was painted on a headstone; Adam passes some giant rocks along the trail.

Adam Says…

Those that have been following our blog may know that we have been working on hiking the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah National Park in smaller sections. On this day, we decided to handle the stretch between Beagle Gap to Rockfish Gap in the south district. We left one vehicle at the junction of I-64 before the pay station at the park’s south entrance. We then drove into the park and parked at the Beagle Gap parking area (not the Beagle Gap overlook).

The Appalachian Trail crosses the road at this gravel parking lot. We crossed the road from the parking lot and headed through the gate. Take a left as soon as you go through the gate and walk through the field . The south-bound AT then climbs rather steeply through some open areas and crosses over a fire road early on the trail. At .5 miles, you reach a communication tower and some old tractor seats. I’m sure that many AT thru-hikers have enjoyed taking a brief rest on these seats. At one point, I’m sure these seats provided a nice place to view the western sunset, but now the trees in front have blocked some of the scenery from view. Continue past this area and keep following the white blazes to stay on the trail. At the one-mile marker, you will come to another communication tower. Stay on the white-blazed AT and the trail begins to descend. At 2.0 miles, the trail reaches McCormick Gap and crosses Skyline Drive. Cross the road and you will come to a small ladder stile that will lead you on to private land.

This part of the trail is on private land, but hiking on the AT is allowed. As soon as you cross over the stile, you will see a weathered sign pointing the way to continue on the Appalachian Trail. This section of the AT is very steep as it winds up Scott Mountain. At 2.4 miles, the trail levels off and you will begin to enjoy some obstructed views (probably very limited during the spring and summer months) of Waynesboro and the farmlands around the city. At 3.0 miles, you will begin several miles of very gradual descent (with some uphills thrown in) until you come out onto Skyline Drive. Continue to follow the road for a brief walk back to your car, crossing a bridge over I-64 before reaching your vehicle.

AT Crossing the Meadow — This is one of the few open, meadow-like sections of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park. Below: This section of the trail uses an easement on private land; Some colorful dried plants on the mountainside; An open and barren view from Bear’s Den Mountain.

The hike from Beagle Gap to Rockfish Gap was an interesting section of the AT. The way up to the communication towers included some of the more open areas of the park. Most hikes in Shenandoah National Park involve hiking through the woods, but this first two-mile section gives you nice views around. When we got to the communication tower, it was interesting to think of what would have been here before these towers existed. I can just imagine people in the 1950s hiking up from the road to view the sunset and perhaps having a picnic at the top. You can also read an interesting history on the area on PATC’s website here which explains the use of Rockfish Gap during the Revolutionary War. I’m glad we did this hike before Spring hit, since many of the views through the woods would have been obstructed with leaves on the trees.

Christine Says…

Well, winter is over and we didn’t meet our goal of finishing the entire AT through Shenandoah. In fact, we’re still less than a quarter of the way there. The road through the park was closed so often this winter, that it was really tough for us to get to the sections we needed to hike. The section we hiked most recently, Beagle Gap to Rockfish Gap was a shorter segment than we usually like to hike. Adam’s knee was bothering him, we wanted to take Wookie and we had a limited amount of time, so the 5.7 mile segment ended up being perfect for the day.

Tractor Seats on Bear's Den Mountain — Old tractor seats are planted in the ground next to the radio towers on Bear’s Den Mountain. Below: The radio towers; Wookie enjoys relaxing on a tractor seat.

The day was so pretty and warm! The skies were crystal clear and blue, but there weren’t really any signs of spring in the mountains yet. I led Wookie on his leash – which was a little bit tricky to do with my trekking poles. He kept yanking them slightly forward or to the side, especially on uphills and downhills. Wookie is actually really well-mannered on a leash – but he likes to walk up and down hill much faster than I do! I envy his energy.

We took a short break atop Bear’s Den Mountain to enjoy the open views. The radio towers are a distraction from the natural beauty of the area, but I suppose they’re necessary. Upon leaving the summit, the trail was actually a little bit confusing. There were some unmarked side trails that crossed the path. The fire road that runs alongside the trail was also somewhat misleading. Luckily, the AT through Shenandoah is generously marked with white blazes and even when we took the wrong path, we were quickly able to notice the lack of blazes and set ourselves right.

Climbing the Stile — Adam climbs the stile heading south out of McCormick Gap. Below: A beat up old AT sign; Wookie and Adam share some trail mix; The PATC does a great job maintaining trails and shelters along the AT in Shenandoah.

I noticed that this section of Appalachian Trail was a bit more up and down than typical for the park. The climb down and up through McCormick Gap is actually quite steep – especially the southbound climb up leaving Skyline Drive. That was really the only tough section of this hike.

Once we were out of McCormick Gap, the remainder of the hike was a gentle series of rolling ups and downs (mostly). We passed a lot of giant boulders, had a snack, crossed a shallow stream, and enjoyed the views looking down into Waynesboro. We passed a couple other hikers headed north and saw one southbound backpacker. Soon, Skyline Drive and the distant interstate came into view and we were back at the car.

Wookie Says…

When I heard Christine and Adam talking about hiking from Beagle Gap, I knew I had to come along. I was assuming that this was an area that beagles gathered, so I thought it would be great. But alas, there were no beagles around. We hiked up to the communication towers and I got to sit on the old tractor seats. I was a little skeptical at first, but I found a good seat to enjoy the views and relax a little. I had two big highlights on the hike. The first was meeting Winnie. Winnie was another pug that I met on the trail. Her master was a PATC member that actually maintains this section of the trail. It was impressive to learn that Winnie’s master also backpacked the entire Shenandoah National Park over ten days for her 70th birthday! I’m always a little nervous meeting new dogs on the trail, but it’s nice to see some other hiking pugs out there. My second highlight had to be the snack that I had. Adam gave me a few bites of Cinnamon Apple Pie trail mix which included some dehydrated apple bits, cinammon-covered yogurt, and pecans. It was a great boost to give me some energy to finish the hike. Overall, the trail wasn’t too tough for me. There are a few steep sections in the beginning and from McCormick Gap up to Scott Mountain, but by the end I was proudly leading the way.

Trail Notes

Distance – 5.7 miles
Elevation Change – 800 feet
Difficulty –2.5. There are a few uphill steep sections heading southbound, but the longest stretch of them is .3 miles.
Trail Conditions –4. The trail is well-maintained and the footing was great.
Views – 3.5. The best views are during the beginning of the trail before you reach the communication towers. There are obstructed views towards the second half of the trail.
Waterfalls/streams – 0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 1. Other than birds, we didn’t see much wildlife here.
Ease to Navigate –3. The only tricky section was around the communication towers. You just want to be sure you follow the white-blazed trail. I believe the other trails from the communication towers will still bring you the same way, but I would stick to the white blazes.
Solitude– 3. We only ran into a few people on this trail. During the summer, the hike from Beagle Gap to the summit of Bear’s Den Mountain is quite popular, though.

Directions to trailhead: On Skyline Drive, park at mile 99.5 at the Beagle Gap gravel parking lot on the eastern side of the road. The trail begins across the road on the western side and through the gate.

Beaver Lake Trail

March 13, 2011August 26, 20151 Comment

The Beaver Lake trail is a 2.5 mile loop around a 24 acre (and shrinking) lake in Pocahontas State Park.

Reflections on Beaver Lake. Below: Some of the trail around the lake is traversed by boardwalks; Two docks overlook the lake; a shallow stream feeds the lake.

Christine Says…

We happened to be in Richmond for the CAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (JMU lost in the first round – Boooooooo!) last weekend. Since we had some free time on Saturday morning, we headed over to Pocahontas State Park for a short leg-stretcher hike. It was a warm, but cloudy, day – spring is definitely in the air. On our way to the park, we even saw some cherry trees starting to flower.

I was surprised by how big Pocahontas State Park is – especially so close to Richmond. As it turns out, Pocahontas is actually Virginia’s largest state park. After paying our $5.00 parking fee, we headed over to the CCC Museum and Nature Center area, where our trail began.

The hike traces the perimeter of Beaver Lake, using a series of gentle paths and boardwalks. We followed the trail counterclockwise. The near side of the path was relatively flat, while the far side climbed up a small ridge and followed a series of easy ups and downs.

Adam finds a geocache. Below: Trails in the park are clearly marked; Fallen trees have been carved into chairs; An abandoned beaver dam.

Beaver Lake is slowly being consumed by the landscape around. Erosion and plants are reclaiming the water, and turning the area into a freshwater marsh. There wasn’t much growing when we visited, but in the spring and summer, the area is covered with water lilies, cattails, and other aquatic plants. We saw a few buffleheads on the water, but they were too far off to get a decent photo. We also saw evidence of beavers – an old dam and lots of gnawed trees. Though, I doubt any beavers still live in the lake. It’s probably too shallow.

One of the things I really liked along the trail were the tree stumps that had been sawed into chairs. What a clever way to make use of a fallen tree!

The hike was short and easy, so we were done within the hour. I’m really looking forward to nicer weather, longer hikes and hopefully several overnight backpacking trips. On the way back to the hotel, we even got the chance to stop by REI! That was a real treat for us because we only have one very small outdoor store in our area. We were able to pick up some new backpacking gadgets and I got a new pair of hiking shoes. I can’t wait to try them out!

Adam Says…

When we were thinking about checking out the CAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, I suggested that we try to find a hike in the area. I had been a few years ago to Pocahontas State Park and thought it would be a great place to start.

It is great that Richmond has a nice park just about 20 minutes away in Chester, VA. This park is quite popular with people trying to get outdoors without having to drive too far. This park is definitely a multi-use area. We saw lots of mountain bikers through the park and we saw several trail runners on the Beaver Lake Trail. The footing is perfect for trail running and only has a few hills, making it great exercise or cross-country training.

Buffleheads on the lake. Below: The park has a lot of holly growing; The first buds of spring; The trails are popular with bikers.

We parked at the nature center and found the signs for the blue-blazed Beaver Lake trail. The trail passed by an old furnace and then descended until you reach the lake. At the lake, there is a nice pier to view the water and do some birdwatching. We then took the trail counter-clockwise, which went around the lake. During most of the beginning of the trail, the lake was in view. We were serenaded by frogs in the lake, which reminded us both of the sounds of didgeridoos. Along this northern part of the lake, there are a couple of places to get close-up views of the lake. After about .75 miles, the lake shows evidence of being shrunk from what it once was as a boardwalk leads you across the swampy, marshy remains of the lake. I can only imagine the mosquitoes along the marsh during the summer.

After reaching the halfway point, the trail begins to climb up the hillside, being rather steep in some sections. The trail winds around and crosses a small stream at 1.5 miles. The trail then climbs up the hillside until views of the lake are seen again around 1.75 miles. You will then descend for a short distance and continue the trail walking along the southern side of the lake. Around 2.1 miles, you will come to a nice view of a dam at the lake. After crossing the bridge at the bottom of the dam, you will take a short ascent. You can either make your way back to the pier at this point or take the orange-blazed spillway trail back up, passing by the CCC museum, before reaching your vehicle.

Dam and Spillway — There is a dam and spillway at the end of the lake.

For any geocachers, there were two geocaches to find along this trail:

The Death of Beaver Lake – an earthcache that explains the geological features of the lake succession
Piglet’s Cache – a nice geocache in honor of someone’s pet

I enjoyed our trip to Pocahontas State Park. If you’re ever in the area and want a decent leg-stretcher, try out the Beaver Lake Trail.

Trail Notes

Distance – 2.5 miles
Elevation Change – Maybe 150-200 feet
Difficulty – 1.5. There are several easy climbs on the ridge side of the lake.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is very well-maintained and easy to walk on.
Views – 3 The lake views were lovely.
Waterfalls/streams – 3. The stream through the woods was pretty and the dam creates a nice waterfall at the end of the lake.
Wildlife – 3. This seems to be a good place to see water birds.
Ease to Navigate –5. The trail is a well-marked loop.
Solitude –1. This park is located next to densely populated Richmond. We saw lots of trail runners, hikers, bikers and dog-walkers.

Directions to trailhead: From Route 10/Iron Bridge Road in Chester, VA turn on to Beach Road/State Route 655 (near shopping center). Continue on this road following the signs for Pocahontas State Park. Enter the main entrance on State Park Road. Pay the parking fee ($5 on weekends) and park at the nature center. You should be able to start seeing signs from the parking lot to the Beaver Lake Trail.

Appalachian Trail – Big Meadows to Bearfence

January 23, 2011August 26, 20155 Comments

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

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

Christine Says…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adam Says…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trail Notes

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

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