Wandering Virginia

Chimney Hollow Trail

2012-01-17T22:12:00.005-05:00

How many times through the years have I driven west on U.S. 250, past Staunton, past Churchville, heading to some hike or another in the Allegheneys, or maybe out to West Virginia or Monterrey? Several dozen times at least I have made this drive, and every time I have passed the trailhead sign saying "Chimney Hollow Trail" on 250 just before turnoffs for Braley Pond and Deerfield and wondered what the trail looked like.
I can't think of another trail in the national forest that so obvious to the the driver. Other trails are in the area, but you need to know where to go to find the trailhead; you need to know which intersecting dirt road contains a parking area. The Chimney Hollow Trail (CHT) is right out there with a big brown sign for everybody driving 250 to see. And it had always been in my trail queue, but somehow never made it to the top of the list.
About a month ago I took my 11 year old son part way up this trail for the first time, and since have been on it three more times. I feel like I know the trail now.

Chimney Hollow Trail from US 250 (at the top of the map) to the top of Crawford Mountain.
Note the phantom road crossing the trail about a third of the way down from the top.

My first trip, with my son and dog, went after a geocache part way up the mountain and just off the trail. The geocache was left by a guy who claims he was back in these woods looking for Bigfoot, as there have been sightings. I have never heard of such sightings! We followed the trail through a beautiful ravine after crossing a bridge constructed as an Eagle Scout project by a member of a Churchville troop. The hike through the ravine was beautiful, with large, healthy hemlocks and lots of white pine. There are several minor stream crossings for the first mile before the trail begins a steady ascent up the mountain. We came upon the ridge holding the geocache, then continued up the mountain until we reached a ridge that ends at a place called Coalpit Knob. The trail follows a ridge here, and there are nice views to the north to Hankey Mountain, which complement the views we saw before reaching this point, southwest to Shenandoah Mountain, Walker Mountain, and the Deerfield Valley.
It was at this point that my son decided he had climbed enough, so we headed back down the mountain. I was holding on to secret hopes of circling around to another one of the Bigfoot caches, but my GPS indicated that it was still several miles off and the distance wasn't changing very quickly. Walking along these trails, who knows how far the geocache really is.
I found out how far a couple of weeks later. This other geocache had not been found in over 3.5 years, though the owner had checked on it early last year and found it present. The previous finder had claimed that there was virtually no chance of it being taken by non-cachers, as it is in such a remote location. The possibility of obtaining a find that had been unclaimed for so long proved irresistable, so on the last day of December I decided to make this my last find of the year, a find which would make that month my biggest month for geo-finds in my history.

The problem was that this cache was not easily accessible from U.S. 250, even though it was only a quarter mile from the road. The highway is lined with private properties here, except for a couple of gated access roads that I wasn't about to block with my parked car.
I finally decided the best access would be via the Chimney Hollow Trail. One map (the latest edition of the National Geographic Trails Illustrated map #791 for Staunton, Shenandoah Mountain) even claimed that a dirt road intersected with the CHT that would take me to the cache area. The same road shows up on the Garmin's Basecamp map. I didn't remember a road, but I've missed bigger things when hiking, and the cache owner claimed the road existed in his description of his hide.
So I again drove the 60 miles out to the trailhead after using software to waypoint the location of the road intersection. About a half mile up the trail, powerlines crossed the trail high overhead, but no road. Since an older edition of the Trails Illustrated map indicated the road ended at the base of the transmission tower to the east, I bushwacked up to the next ridge to see if there was a road. Here I found Forest Road 1761 at its western terminus.
FR 1761 turned into FR 1764, which wound around the transmission towers and eventually took me to the cache site after a long walk. After reaching the area, I noted right away that the previous cacher's comment that the cache "has virtually zero chance of being muggled" was wrong, as I found a makeshift hunting blind within 20 feet of the cache coordinates, along with several fresh looking Keystone Light beer cans, no doubt left by one of Augusta County’s finer citizens. I spent over 20 minutes looking around for this cache – I had come too far to give up easily on this find! But no luck. Bummer – it was a long walk back to the car! I ended up spending five hours hiking over 14.7 miles and, though the views were nice, the return to the car was a little disappointing.

I returned again to the trailhead 10 days later, as the Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the PATC was doing a midweek hike on the same trail. They have been measuring all of the trails out in this area, in part to help provide content for a guidebook under development that would cover the nascent Great Eastern Trail. I had read about other mid-week hikes these folks had done, and they have a wheel they use to measure actual trail distances. Since I was going to help lead a PATC-Charlottesville Chapter hike of the entire CHT that Saturday, I decided to tag along to see if I could learn anything about the route that I could tell the Saturday group.

Only three other hikers showed up - Jason and his father Richard, and old hiking friend Nancy - with whom I had hiked several times before. It was a leisurely stroll to the top of the mountain. We reached the end of the Chimney Hollow Trail in 2.5 hours, including 45 minutes of stopping time. Though I would have preferred a faster pace, I felt this was a good indictor of the time the group on Saturday would require to get up the mountain. On this day, Richard wanted to extend the hike, so we hiked to the Crawford Knob Trail and then east to Crawford Knob. Through the trees on the way out to Crawford Knob we could see Elliot Knob to the north. Elliot Knob is the highest point in the George Washington National Forest and has several transmission towers on top.

Nancy and I discussed the hike I was leading on Saturday, and we agreed that if she was in town Saturday she would take the Crawford Knob Trail from its trailhead and meet our group on the top of the mountain. We might consider turning Saturday's out and back hike into a shuttle hike.

What we also discovered is that there isn't any great (or even good) place to sit for lunch. This is a critical feature for group hikes! There aren't any spots where you can sit and enjoy a view, and where we did stop was cold even though it was protected and temperatures that day were supposed to reach the 50s.

On Saturday, we collected at 9AM in sub-freezing weather expecting to find maybe 5 or 6 hearty souls up for a cold hike. Instead, there were 16 of us at the high school meetup spot. I was amazed! Iva, who was leading the hike with me (and has been pushing me to quit talking so much about great hikes and start leading a few), had brought a few folks from her Outdoor Social Club because she cheats and gets dual credit for leading one hike. And Dan had brought one of his daughters, who is preparing for a marathon. But there were still a ton of other folks joining us!

Also on the list was Nancy, due to meet us at the top of the mountain, and Bryce, who is one of the guys behind the website hikingupward.com. I had emailed Bryce in the past about coordinates to a local plane crash, and absolutely love his website. Bryce had asked about hikes out near Harrisonburg that would be new ones for him, and I was excited to have him join us and give me someone new to talk trails with.

We stopped in Churchville so some folks could get provisions, then pulled into the parking lot at the exact time I told Bryce to meet us: 10:30. After some quick introductions, we hit the trail. I had been assigned lead and quickly found that the stream crossings that had been pretty minor the previous three times I was on the trail were more of a challenge on this day, thanks to rain thoughout the day on Thursday.
About a mile into the hike, though, the trail leaves the ravine and starts up the mountain slope at an amazingly consistent rate of 16%. We topped one ridge, walked along it, then traversed the western slope of the mountain until we reached Coalpit Knob and another ridge. After leveling out for a while, we were back to the 16% grade until we reached the top of the mountain and the end of the trail. The trail's consistent climb had to be by design, and the trail was very nicely built.
It was well maintained, also. There were very few blowdowns and there was evidence that some folks had taken saws to several large trees that once blocked the trail. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a mountain biking group, as a Google search of "Crawford Mountain Virginia" turns up multiple tales of folks screaming down this trail on two wheels. We were fortunate not to run into any of that (or, more importantly, have any of that run into us!)
At the top of the mountain we all settled in for lunch. Bryce bid us farewell as he had to be back at JMU for his daughter's music performance, and not 5 minutes later we saw Nancy coming up the trail from the opposite side of the mountain. We decided to go back the way we came rather than using Nancy's car for a shuttle, and headed back down the mountain with Nancy after promising her we would give her a lift back to her car. Bryce later put several very nice photos of the hike on Hiking Upward's Facebook page for all to see.

This hike started out at an elevation of 1945 feet at the parking lot and rose to 3855 feet at our lunch spot. It lasted a hair over 4 hours including about an hour for stops, and was 7.5 miles long.

So after more than 15 years of driving past this trailhead, I finally stopped and checked out the trail - 4 times in a month. It is time to find a new trail.

Jones Mountain Trail/Staunton River Trail Loop: December 8, 2011

2011-12-09T15:58:00.001-05:00

After days of rain and reported snow in the mountains, I took off with a couple of friends and the dog for Graves Mill in Madison County to hike portion of Shenandoah National Park's Central District directly south of Old Rag and near Hoover's Rapidan Camp. The Skyline Drive was closed due to the weather, and I wanted to investigate a trail I remember seeing off of the Jones Mountain Trail a few years back that is not on the PATC's map of the area.

Bear Church Rock

The hike started at 10:23 AM along the Rapidan River, which was roaring from all the recent rain. After a half mile, we cut west on the Staunton River Trail. The SRT is probably most used to take overnighters up to the PATC's Jones Mountain Cabin. I endured a frigid overnight in this cabin almost exactly two years earlier, recounted here. About 2.5 miles after it starts, the Jones Mountain Trail splits off towards the cabin. That was the route we took up the mountain, reaching the cabin just before noon.

The two women I was hiking with both plan to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in the Spring, so our climb on this day was not an issue for them. However, neither had seen the cabin, so we made a side trip to let them get the experience. We spent about 10 minutes wandering around and taking a couple of photos. From the cabin, we climbed steeply for about 20 minutes from the cabin turnoff to Bear Church Rock, where we had lunch and enjoyed the view. We spent a leisurely twenty minutes at the rock before heading further up the trail.

Hiking in the snow.

The Jones Mountain Trail continues heading east, eventually linking up with other trails that go all the way to the A.T. and Skyline Drive. We weren't taking the JMT all that way, but were instead searching for a trail in the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area. We found it after hiking for a little over an hour from Bear Church Rock, arriving at 2:00 PM. We followed the trail about a quarter mile southeast, far enough to get an idea of its general direction, though I didn't get enough information on the trial to be able to add it to the next map.

At this point, we had a decision to make. We had been on the trail for over 3.5 hours, and had hiked a distance I later calculated to be 7.1 miles. We had about 3 hours of daylight left. Looking at the map, it appeared that continuing east then looping down the mountain to the north would be the quickest way back. But we were taking a chance, as we could see that the trail we would be taking crosses the Staunton River twice. We had to hope that we were far enough upstream that crossing would be possible.

Hiking The Sag's access road

So we headed west towards a trail that was identified as the Gap Trail on my GPS, but was really the Jones Mountain Trail again. At Cat Knob, the JMT turns into the Cat Knob Trail, while the JMT itself takes a hard right turn and heads down the mountain. (The JMT for us started heading southeast, then changed to northeast, then changed to southwest, then changed to northwest, then ended going pretty much due north. It is almost as if the SNP trail naming folks ran out of extra names, and just named everything in the area the JMT. Kind of like Rugby Road in Charlottesville.) We reached this right turn at 2:35 PM. This was the high point of our hike - the rest of the trip would be a steady downhill.

The trail was dark and snow covered when we returned
to the Staunton River Trail

The downhill started out steep, and it was in the snow. We completed the JMT about 20 minutes later, having descended for a mile. At the end of the JMT we were surprised to find a government truck (with a major winch on the front), and a road that had seen several vehicles since the previous night's snow. The road heads up to a transmission tower, but it is literally in the middle of the National Park, so it is jarring to see vehicles where we expected trails. This area is identified on the map as "The Sag," but it does not appear different than any other part of our hike, so a special name seems a little strange.

Hike Profile

We had to follow the road for about 7/10 of a mile before reaching one of the ends of the same Staunton River Trail we took at the beginning of the hike. We took the SRT and travelled through some 4 inch deep snow along a strongly flowing stream. Clearly, no one had been on this trail that day. The snow was untouched.

We travelled slowly through this part of the hike, as the snow covered holes and slick rocks, and we had to cross the Staunton River a couple of times. We made the crossings unscathed, but it took a while to find the right spot to cross. Even the dog was nervous about this crossing! We reached the point where we had turned off to the Jones Mountain Cabin that morning at 4:06 PM, approximately 4.5 hours after we had last been there. And it took us about an hour from here to get back to the car. We found a nearby geocache left by prolific geocacher Team.Hepler near the lot, then headed back to town.

Hike Details
PATC Difficulty Factor: 343.9
Distance: 14.5 miles

Total Altitude Gain: 4082 feet (basically a climb equal to The Priest, but over a longer distance)

Lowest Point: 805 feet (at the parking lot)

Highest Point: 3706 feet (at the point where the Jones Mountain Trail met the Cat Knob Trail)

Steepest elevation gain: 19% between Jones Mountain Cabin and Bear Church Rock.

Total hiking time: 6 hours, 40 minutes

100 Great Day Hikes Every Charlottesville Hiker Should Try

2011-12-07T10:27:00.001-05:00

Top 100 Hikes Near Charlottesville

100 Mountain Day Hikes Near Charlottesville
(with a few overnights thrown in.)

This list is a work in progress. I don't think I even have 100 hikes listed!

It comes out of frustration that the local Meetup hiking group insists on scheduling the most boring local hikes because they are close to town. Even on weekends, they are loathe to drive much more than a half hour to the trailhead. There are so many great hikes within a 1.5 hour drive of Charlottesville that every hiker should develop a checklist of hikes that should be taken.

As someone who grew up in flat Illinois, I celebrate the variety of great workouts within a short drive of my home.

Consider this list to be a start; feel free to copy it and adapt it for your needs. There are a wide variety of great books and websites on hiking trails in Virginia which can help everyone put together their own list. Develop your own list and work to check off the trails. An "(N)" below means that I have not yet hiked the trail.

Shenandoah National Park South

Jones Run/Doyle's River Falls

Rocky Mount/Gap Run Loop

Austin Mountain Loop

Trayfoot Mountain/Paine Run Loop

Big Run Loop
Brown Mountain/Big Run Loop

Rockytop/Big RunLoop

RiprapLoop

Turk Mountain
Patterson Ridge/Big Portal Loop

Hightop Mountain via A.T.
Sugar Hollow to Turk Mountain

Shenandoah National Park Central

Dark Hollow Falls

Lewis Falls

Whiteoak Canyon/Cedar Run Loop

Old Rag

South River Falls

Bearfence Mountain Loop

Hoover Camp Loop (Mill Prong/Laurel Prong/AT)

Jones Mountain/Bear Church Rocks via Staunton River Trail
Wilhite Wagon Trail/Doubletop Mountain Trail
Sams Ridge Trail/Hazel River Trail Loop
Leading Ridge Trail out-and-back (N)

Jones Mountain/Staunton River Trail Loop

Shenandoah National Park North

Little Devil's Stairs (N)

St. Mary's Wilderness Area

St. Mary's Trail (N)

Mine BankTrail

CellarMountain Trail/Cold Spring Trail Loop
Bald Mountain Trail

Sherando Area

Mine BankTrail/Torry Ridge Trail Loop

Kennedy Ridge Trail

White Rock Falls Loop

Sherando/Slacks/Torry Ridge Trail Loop

Other Pedlar District Trails, GWNF

Crabtree Falls

Spy Rock from Fish Hatchery

A.T./Mau-Har Loop through Three Ridges

A.T. to Priest Summit from Rt. 56

A.T./Old Hotel Trail Loop over Cold Mountain
Henry Lanham Trail
Fuller Rocks
Lovingston Spring Trail
Whetstone Ridge Trail (N)

Lee Ranger District

StricklerKnob Hike

FridleyGap Hike
Meneka Peak
Big Schloss (N)

GWNF West of Staunton

Chestnut Ridge/Grooms Ridge Trails Loop

Sand Spring Mountain Trail/Timber Ridge Trail to Reddish Knob

NarrowBack Loop

North River Trail (N)

Crawford Mountain Trail
Chimney Hollow Trail
Trimble Mountain Trail (N)

North Mountain Trail to Elliott Knob

Cold Spring Trail to Elliot Knob
Falls Hollow Trail to Elliot Knob
Trimble Mountain Loop (N)
Laurel Fork Overnight
Chestnut Ridge Trail/Grooms Ridge Trail Loop
Shaw's Fork Trail
Shenandoah Mountain Trail
Benson Run Trail

Lexington Area

Jump Mountain

CraneTrail in Rough Mountain Wilderness

Rich Hole Trail

WhiteRock Tower Trail
Big House Mountain (N)
Beard's Gap/Buck Hollow Loop, Douthat State Park
Buck Hollow/Mountain Top/Ross Camp Trail Loop, Douthat State Park
Middle Mountain Loop, Douthat State Park (N)
Beards Mountain Figure 8, Douthat State Park (N)

Thomas Jefferson National Forest
Devil's Marbleyard/Gunter Ridge Loop (N)
Apple Orchard Falls/Cornelius Creek Loop
Dragon's Tooth
McAfee Knob (N)

Ramseys Draft Wilderness Area

Bald Ridge Trail

Jerry’s Run/Shenandoah Mountain/Road Hollow Loop

Georgia Camp Trail
Shaw's Fork Trail
Ramsey's Draft 18 mile loop
Bridge Hollow Trail to The Peak
Bald Ridge Trail to The Peak
Camp Todd to Hardscrabble Knob

Miscellaneous Hikes
Nature Conservancy's Fortune's Cove Preserve
Albemarle County Byrom Preserve Blue Loop Trail

Mid Atlantic Hikes a Little Further Away
Mt. Rogers
Cranberry Wilderness, WV (N)
Dolly Sods, WV (N)
Virginia's Triple Crown - McAfee Knob, Dragon Tooth, Tinker Cliffs (N)
Sharp Top Trail (N)

Greatest Hikes I have Ever Taken
Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Trail to South Rim, Grand Canyon
Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point, Grand Canyon
Knife Edge Trail to Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine (easily the most spectacular hike in the East)
Crawford Path to A.T. to summit of Mt. Washington and down the Ammonusic Trail, New Hampshire
Mt. Mitchell climb, North Carolina
Garden Wall Trail, Glacier National Park
North Kaibab Trail to Roaring Springs and back, Grand Canyon North Rim
Carlo Col/Goose Eye Loop, New Hampshire and Maine
Mt. Adams Ascent, White Mountains, New Hampshire

Cellar Mountain Trail/Cold Spring Trail Loop: September 30 and November 2, 2011

2011-11-21T21:37:00.001-05:00

The Cellar Mountain Trail is a seldom used trail in perhaps the most visited Wilderness Area in Virginia - Saint Mary's Wilderness. Folks in Charlottesville who know of only a handful of trails in the mountains all seem to have hiked Saint Mary's Wilderness to see the waterfalls. But the Cellar Mountain Trail doesn't go to a waterfall; instead it climbs the mountain that looks down on the Saint Mary's Falls.

Kiosk at the trailhead.

I had never hiked this trail, and it is one I've wanted to check off of my list for a while. So while I was out this way checking on possible campsites for my son's Boy Scout Troop, I decided to do an out-and-back hike. I also wanted to check some aspects of the trail for a volunteer job I do with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club's Map Committee.

Overview looking southwest on Cellar Mountain Trail.

The Cellar Mountain Trail starts at about 2000 feet in elevation at a parking area off of the Coal Road (FDR 42), which connects St. Mary's to the Sherando area. There is an information kiosk at the trailhead, and hikers pass through a livestock gate immediately after hitting the trail. The trail itself wanders through the woods past a spring before climbing steeply to a fantastic lookout at about 2600 feet that views southwest along the ridgeline.

And just up the trail from this viewpoint I was excited to see what appeared to be a mature chestnut, complete with fruit. It was off the trail, so I just took a photo and marked a waypoint on my GPS, and brought the photo back to one of the adult leaders of my son's Scout Troop who is also a professional forester. I had read that mature chestnut specimens do occur, though they are exceedingly rare. But the forester burst my bubble, saying he couldn't tell from the photo, but that the tree I had seen was probably the similar chinquapin. (I am sure glad my son enjoys Scouts. I'd hate to have to make him go...)

Chestnut or Chinquipin?

The trail continues to switchback up the mountain until it reaches a ridge top at about 3200 feet. There are several views along the ridge, and a nice campsite with a small fire ring right at the beginning of the ridge. At this point, the plant growth starts to overtake the trail and the hiker has to push through overgrowth. The trail itself is still very visible if one looks at the ground, but vegetation makes the going tougher.

Is there really a trail in here?

I pushed through this all the
way to the end of the trail, at a parking area off of FS 162A. (This parking area is at the end of a road recommended for clearances much higher than found on my Outback.) Throughout much of this overgrown section of trail there is not much elevation gain, with the hike topping out just over 3500 feet. In fact, there was a slight downhill trend as I approached the parking area.

After I reached the parking area I walked the Big Levels Road for a while, as the PATC map I used (Map 12, Edition 11) indicated that the trail ended at a road that continued in each direction. I eventually figured out that this was wrong and returned down the Cellar Mountain Trail in the opposite direction.

After pushing my way back through brush on the level portion of the Cellar Mountain Trail and reaching the campsite mentioned previously, I discovered that my beloved Garmin GPS was no longer attached to my belt! One of the branches must have taken it off of me and I never noticed. So I turned around and hiked back to the last spot I was sure I had the GPS, at the Big Levels Road. But despite the 1.5 mile extra walk in each direction, I failed to locate my GPS.

Upper end of the Cellar Mountain Trail.

I never would have thought such a loss would affect me so much, but I was at a loss for the next week without my GPS, until I finally decided I had to purchase a replacement. I ended up buying a similar, but newer model, the Garmin GPSmap 62s, which has some fantastic new features as well as some frustrating aspects compared to my familiar, older model. I will do a GPS review at some point on this site.

Almost exactly a month later I returned to the Cellar Mountain Trail, with both my new GPS and a strengthened resolve to make sure it doesn't escape me. This one was looped on my belt using the wrist strap. Most of the leaves had fallen by this time, making the ground easier to see, but increasing the likelihood that my GPS would be covered and not found. I again looked for the old GPS, but to no avail. My hope is that I'll one day get a call from some honest hiker or hunter, as you cannot turn on the GPS without my name and phone number coming up.

Cellar Mountain Trail from the Big Levels Road.

Having hiked the ridge of Cellar Mountain four times in the past month, I decided to do something different and take the Cold Spring Trail back down the mountain. The Cold Spring Trail would take me back to the Coal Road, which I could then walk for a mile or so back to my car. Curiously, the latest edition of the PATC's own Hiking Guide to the Pedlar District, which I had in my pack, described this as "an unmarked trail down the mountain" without even naming the trail. But it was listed on the PATC map as a light duty road that went back down to the Coal Road. That was what I hiked to confirm.

Cellar Mountain from the Cold Spring Trail.

The Cold Spring Trail starts from the same parking lot about 100 feet from the end of the Cellar Mountain Trail. This lot is one of the few sections of either trail not within the boundaries of Saint Mary's Wilderness. The Cold Spring Trail was not nearly as overgrown as the Cellar Mountain Trail had been, perhaps because it drops back down the mountain almost immediately, rather than going along a ridge. It had great views of Cellar Mountain as it descended.

The trail eventually drops down off the mountain and crosses the stream from Cold Spring several times. By this point, it is clear that the trail is on an old road that is no longer used. I came to a sign announcing the trail to hikers just starting the trail, then I ended up in someone's yard, as shown from the photos below.

At the bottom of the Cold Spring Trail is a sign for hikers.

But the trail itself exits the woods next to a private building.

I came out of the woods in someone's yard.
(Straight ahead is the trail, while the driveway curves to the right.)

At no point was there a sign telling me to turn around. So I walked down the road (it appeared to service three different houses) all the way to the Coal Road. At that point there was a sign saying "No Trespassing," but it wasn't prominent. If the trail I was walking on really was an old road as it appeared, I should have an easement under common law to use the way. But I am glad I didn't meet up with anyone for fear I'd have to argue the finer points of ancient property law to the end of a gun barrel!

When I got back home I checked several of my guidebooks. Hiking Virginia's National Forests, 6th Edition ©1998, describes this part of the trail as a "short level stretch will bring you to a gate, which marks the wilderness boundary. A bit farther along is a Forest Service steel gate barring access for motorized vehicles. The trail ends on FDR 42, just opposite a dirt road, which is posted." Nothing about houses or trespassing.

Wild Virginia: A Guide to Thirty Roadless Recreation Areas IncludingShenandoah National Park ©2002, specifically features this loop over a couple of pages, but regarding the area in question states only that "the wide, easy-to-follow trail exits the wilderness and intersects with FR 42."

Hiking Virginia: A Guide to Virginia's Greatest Hiking Adventures ©2004, is full of errors and is the least trustworthy of my hiking guides. It doesn't cover this trail but has a map of Saint Mary's Wilderness that indicates the Cold Spring Trail links back up with the Cellar Mountain Trail without ever reaching the Coal Road. I wish!

The only accurate guidebook is the best book on Virginia hiking, Allen de Hart's The Trails of Virginia: Hiking the Old Dominion. I have an older edition, ©1995 (older than any of these other books), which states that the trail "descends 1 mi. on switchbacks to a convergence of streams and springs. It ends 0.3 mi. farther at the wilderness boundary and private property. Backtrack." Yup.

Elevation Profile, Cellar Mountain/Cold Spring Loop.

I spoke to a ranger with the Pedlar District about the Cold Spring Trail. He told me that they had considered a link trail as shown on the map in Hiking Virginia, but decided against it because this is in a wilderness area and they don't want to add trails to wilderness areas. In fact, he thought the Forest Service should basically decommission the Cold Spring Trail because he didn't think there was a public right to access via the private land along the Coal Road. He agreed that I should recommend to the PATC that they change their map to indicate that there is no access over private property.

Along the Coal Road it was a 25 minute walk to cover the final 1.4 miles. Not a single car passed as we walked back to our vehicle.

This experience has reinforced my resolve to contribute where I can to maintenance of the trails. I now carry my Gerber Sportsman's Wood Saw in my hiking pack. It is lightweight and does a good job on trees. I need to also get a pair of high end pruning shears, perhaps these, but I am still researching (and am open to suggestions). I would like also to find more time to join some of the various work crews that give back to the trails, such as the Flying McLeods or joining the PATC's Charlottesville Chapter on their work trips. Perhaps I can get the Scouts out there clipping. As hikers, we cannot let these trails fall back into disuse - we owe it to future hikers!

Hike Details:

PATC Difficulty Factor 176.2

Total Altitude Gain 2440 feet

Total Distance 6.4 miles

Lowest point 2021 feet above sea level

Highest Point 3528 feet above sea level

Time: 3 hours, 13 minutes

Laurel Fork: October 15-16

2011-11-06T07:44:00.006-05:00

The weather guy in Charlottesville said that leaves inHighland County and west were at peak the weekend of October 15^th,so it seemed like a good time to head further west than normal and test outsome new equipment on an overnight backpacking trip. It was just me and the dog, and it was thefirst overnight for the dog – so I was really testing her out, too.

The first of many stream crossings

I chose an area of Virginia that has been on my hikingbucket list for many years, Laurel Fork Primitive Area in the George WashingtonNational Forest. The drive took me a couple of hours, but I stopped along the way to look at the scenery, make a telephone call, and uncover a couple of geocaches. There were lots of motorcycles out on the road, as the leaves were in the Autumnal glory.

This area is so remote that it is best accessed from West Virginia (see map). It requires driving out U.S. 250 through spectacular Highland County, then turning north on West Virginia Route 28 before reentering Virginia on a dirt Forest Service Road. This part of the George Washington National Forest is not connected with any other part of the National Forest, and really would make a lot more sense to be administered by West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest, which operates a campground nearby.

Evidence of an old railroad

I parked in a picnic area about a mile off of the mainroad to start the hike. Three guys in a pickup truckpulled up as I was putting my boots on, and we talked for a while. They were camping at a developed spot a fewmiles away, and came over to day hike the area. I encouraged them to head out the trail straight east as it had quickeraccess to the main waterway, Laurel Run. I headed down another path that took me south.

My path took me though some dark woods that were describedas old growth forest (uncut) in one guidebook. I don’t know if they qualify as old growth, as they appeared to behemlock, and the old growth hemlock in Ramsey’s Draft had much largertrees. But it was a dark and mysterious place– and those places are harder to find these days.

This Sugar Maple on the Slabcamp Run Trail was no doubt spectacular
in red a week earlier.

After about a half hour of hiking, I came to a trailintersection that didn’t appear to be marked on my map. As I was standing by the sign, the three dayhikers came walking down the other trail. Turns out that my map was incorrect, and the trail not on my map loopedback up to the parking lot. They gave mea copy of the crude map provided by the Forest Service at the Picnic Area, amap I had originally chosen not to take. I now notice that every other map I have found of this area correctlyhad the missing trail, including the guidebooks that I left home to saveweight.

I headed further south, crossed the first of many streams, then ascended briefly but steeply to an old rail bed that hugged the side of a mountain and very gradually gained elevation. This trail took me west to a parking lot/campsite and the beginning of the Slabcamp Run Trail. Slabcamp Run is a three mile trail that passes through a wide variety of different areas, including a beautiful field, an old apple orchard, a pine forest, and mixed hardwoods. It starts at about 3600 feet in elevation and slowly drops to about 2800 feet after three miles.

Trail on old rail bed.

I am grateful to others who came before me and painted blue blazes on trees along this route. Although it generally follows the streambed of Slabcamp Run for most of its distance, there were many times when a trail was imperceptible. I pulled myself along, going from blaze to blaze over a leaf covered forest, not sure if I was on an actual trail. For portions of the trail, I found myself on another old railroad bed, which made going easier. But as the trail approached the main waterway in the area, Laurel Fork, the trail hopped the stream bed multiple times, and I relied on those blazes to keep me on route.

At Laurel Fork, the trail relies on rocks to cross this stream. Due to several days of rain before my trip, however, the stream was too strong to try crossing. There is a link below to some video that shows the strength of the stream. At first, I tried to work my way off trail north to the next trail, but cliffs en route proved too difficult to overcome. I backtracked to the spot where Slabcamp Run meets Laurel Fork, and camped in a small site in the mountain laurel for the night.

On this hike I was testing several new pieces of equipment, including some new style, lightweight hiking boots made in France. I bought the Hoka One One hiking boots because I've been experiencing foot pain over the past year and I thought the cushioning would minimize pain on hikes. Honestly, they are not very attractive boots. I look like I am a 5'2" man trying to reach 5'5". And I think they are wider than my feet should use. But my feet feel better than they have in a long time wearing them, so I'll continue using them.

I was also trying out my new GPS after having lost my beloved Garmin GPSmap 60csx on a recent hike over an overgrown trail. After much research, I replaced that GPS with the Garmin GPSmap 62s from REI. The 62 is an upgraded version of the 60, with some really great additional capabilities as well as some frustrating features. I'll address that in a separate posting sometime soon.

The GPS proved useful on the return hike on Sunday morning. Passing through an area I had hiked the day before, it was difficult to tell where the trail headed. I found myself walking through the woods without finding a trail to guide me. I found my way back to the trail using the GPS route from the day before. No amount of map and compass work can help when you know you are within a hundred hards or so of a trail but cannot find the right spot. The GPS saved me several minutes of searching.

Hiking through an old orchard on Slabcamp Run Trail.

Laurel Fork is far enough from Charlottesville that an overnight is pretty much necessary. There is a developed campground about 5 miles away, administered by the Monongahela National Forest, called the Island Campground. I didn't check this out, though I know others who have camped there. Overall, this was a surprisingly hard hike, despite the relatively gradual grades. The stream crossings were always dicey - one slip and it would be hard to return to the car, and there was nobody else for a long way. I was glad I followed proper procedure and left an expected hike itinerary back at the house!

I plan to return, maybe with some scouts, but plan to do so when it has been a little drier. It will be interesting to compare the area at a different time of year. I also put together a YouTube video of the trip using iMovie 11 (this program is also an upgrade with some very frustrating aspects - and the reason this blog posting took so long to put up). Check it out for another view of the area.

Fridley Gap/Massanutten South Trails: September 16, 2011

2011-10-03T11:47:00.001-04:00

On a cool September Friday, my friend Jeff joined me to hike the southern part of Massanutten Mountain. Jeff and I together hiked the South Kaibab Trail and the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon three Septembers ago. And in 2010 we together scaled the highest peak I've ever hiked, the 13,000 foot Mt. Wheeler in Nevada's Great Basin National Park. But work commitments had kept him from hiking with me since Mt. Wheeler 13 months ago, so it was great when he said he could join me for this trip.

The Fridley Gap Trail crosses the Massanutten South Trail.

The Fridley Gap/ Massanutten South Trail loop is a little north of the Massanutten Ski Resort, and is reached by heading north from Elkton on U.S. 340 to the town of Shenandoah, then heading south on Rt. 602 to Runkle Gap Road, which becomes Cub Run Road inside the National Forest. The website describing this hike told us to park in a small parking area just inside the forest boundary (N 27.187, W 41.741; the lot is not on PATC Map H), but a single car took up all the usable space; the rest of the lot was washed out pretty bad. So we found a spot just off of Cub Run Road about 100 yards up the road from the lot.

We started out the hike by walking up the road to the trailhead at about 10:30 AM. Others who left comments on the website we used for coordinates complained that the trail was very hard to find from the road. Granted, there isn't a sign on Cub Run Road. But the trail starts right where the road makes a 90 degree turn from west to north and leaves a stream called Boone Run. How hard can that be?

The trail heads west up the stream bed and after about a mile we came to a trail leading south on the mountain then nearly immediately another trail that leads a couple hundred feet to an Appalachian Trail style lean-to called the Boone Run Shelter. The shelter looked like a great place to overnight with kids, as it had 4 bunks, a latrine, and a small fire pit. On the other hand, there didn't appear to be any good campsites nearby, so if it is already in use you would be out of luck. I have to figure that there aren't a ton of overnighters back on these trails, though. Also on the downside, the shelter was littered with trash clearly left by some hunter - stuff like deer bait bags. A whole lot of hunters don't seem to believe in "Leave No Trace."

Shortly after the cabin, the trail took a 90 degree right turn and continues along a stream bed, eventually climbing from 1650 feet elevation to 2780 feet about 2.5 miles into the hike at a relatively constant grade of 9 to 12%. Before reaching the summit, we crossed a relatively flat section that was somewhat open and could be used for camping. The Fridley Gap Trail intersected here but we stayed on the Massanutten South Trail by taking a sharp left and continuing up the mountain.

Elevation Profile

Massanutten Mountain at this point is a pretty confusing place, as it is actually a series of closely packed parallel ridges. The easternmost one, named "First Mountain" (maybe someone can grab naming rights), we walked through at Runkles Gap while still on the forest road. Boone Run cut through the second one, named "Second Mountain." The Massanutten South Trail ascends Third Mountain at a steady 12% grade before crossing over the mountain about 2.6 miles into our hike (N 28.810, W 41.964). Then it descends, only to ascend again onto Fourth Mountain at the hike's highest point, before dropping down to Fridley Gap, at 5.7 miles.

Fridley Gap swimming hole

At Fridley Gap is a nice, but shallow, swimming spot and several campsites. We stopped here to have lunch, thinking this might be a pretty popular spot in the summer, as there is a parking area on the west side of the mountain less than half a mile away.

The trail is a little confusing here, but we figured out that we had to backtrack a little on the north side of the stream, heading east before reaching a sign indicating the junction of the Massanutten South and Fridley Gap Trails. We turned north (left) and followed both trails together for only a few hundred feet before the purple blazed Fridley Gap Trail turned due east, straight up the mountain.

This section of the hike was exceptionally steep, climbing at a 35% grade. But we ascended the mountain fast, seeing views to the west quickly after attacking this part of the trail. The entire ascent is just under 3/4 of a mile. After popping over the top of Third Mountain, we descended to an intersection with the Martin Bottom Trail and Cub Run stream. The trail here becomes a dirt road, and we walked 0.7 miles south to the intersection with the Massanutten South Trail, at a point we had passed 3:20 hours before.

The trail guides generally say to take the Massanutten South Trail past the Boone Run Shelter, which is the way we came up. We decided to stay on the Fridley Gap Trail, which takes a sharp left turn at this intersection, climbing over Second Mountain, then descending to Cub Run Road. We were hesitant to do this because it meant walking on Cub Run Road for an extra mile, and those Forest Service Roads can be pretty nasty and dusty when traffic goes whipping by you, a lowly pedestrian.

Fridley Gap Trail across Second Mountain.

But we were really glad we went this way, as the Fridley Gap Trail over Second Mountain was the highlight of the hike. The area we hiked through had been the scene of a forest fire in April 2010. A photo of the fire can be seen here.

Click on the adjoining photo to expand it, and you can see how the understory in the fire area has come alive since the fire 17 months ago. Most prominent are chestnuts, though they are ultimately doomed to die back from the Chestnut Blight. We saw evidence of the blight already taking its toll on the fast growing shoots. But it was pretty interesting to see clearly how many spots had chestnuts - with much of the forest wiped clean, the chestnuts stood out much more prominently than in a forest that hadn't been cut back recently.

The town of Shenandoah from the top of Second Mountain,
with a chestnut in the foreground.

The trail took us over Second Mountain, instead of around it like we had come. So we got a great view of the valley to the east and the Blue Ridge Mountains over in Shenandoah National Park. We descended steeply to Cub Run Road. The trail here is unmarked, but easily found with coordinates (N38 28.359 W78 41.205)
as there is a turnoff at the trailhead.

From this trailhead it was 1.6 miles and 30 minutes back to the car. Not a single car came by in either direction while we were on the road, which was in excellent shape for a dirt forest road. There were plenty of old water bottles containing brown liquid in them, however. Tobacco juice, maybe? We were in the car by 4:10 PM.

Hike Details:
PATC Difficulty Factor 240.3
Total Altitude Gain 2923
Total Distance 10 miles
Lowest point 1551 feet above sea level
Highest Point 2929 feet above sea level
Total Time 5 hours, 39 minutes

Georgia Camp Trail, April 23, 2010

2011-07-18T12:18:00.000-04:00

For something different, I drove out to Churchville early to meet up with the PATC's Southern Shenandoah Section for a hike on a trail scheduled to be part of the Great Eastern Trail, currently under development. By the time I met up with the group at Tastee-Freez, they had changed the hike route because of high water fears along the trail. Instead, we started at the Confederate Breastworks historic site on U.S. 250 at the top of Shenandoah Mountain, and headed south on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.

Heading south on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.

We started out by crossing U.S. 250 just before 10 AM, then hiked south for about a mile and a half on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail. The Shenandoah Mountain Trail for the entire distance we hiked is actually a gated road. Because we started on the top of the mountain, there was little elevation gain along this trail - perhaps 250 feet over a mile and a half.

We reached our turnoff for the Georgia Camp Trail at 10:30, having traveled 1.3 miles. The group regrouped here, having spread out widely in this short section of trail. The Shenandoah Mountain Trail continues south for about 25 additional miles, and becomes a real trail (not just a roadbed) about another mile and a half south of this point. I took the trail portion a few months later.

Elevation Profile

Georgia Camp Trail near Shenandoah Mountain Trail

The Georgia Camp Trail is relatively new to the GWNF. My official maps from the early 1990's do not have it listed. Apparently, it is one of a series of trails climbing Shenandoah Mountain developed for equestrian use. Most of the trail is on old roadbed, and is visible on topographic maps covering the trail. The trail is named after Georgia Camp Hollow, which was logically likely a camping spot during the Civil War.

We made it down to the Trailhead on U.S. 250 at about 1:30, about 3.5 hours after we started. Because we set up a car shuttle, this was one of the easier hikes I have taken in a while - mostly downhill!

Details:
Georgia Camp Hike,
April 23, 2011
PATC Difficulty Factor 94.8
Total Altitude Gain 717 feet
Total Distance 6.3 miles
Lowest point 2202 feet above sea level
Highest Point 3315 feet above sea level
Time 3 hours, 38 minutes

Onemile Run Trail: July 11, 2011

2011-07-17T14:44:00.000-04:00

If Shenandoah National Park had data on the relative popularity of every trail in each of its three districts, I bet the Onemile Run Trail would be one of the least hiked trails in the Southern District. There are probably other trails that see fewer hikers, such as the Lewis Peak Trail, but unlike Lewis, the Onemile Run Trail starts at the Skyline Drive.

Elevation profile of Onemile Run Trail hike.

I hiked the Onemile Run Trail with my friend Marit and the dog on a warm, muggy July morning. Projected high temperature in Charlottesville was 98 degrees. Both of us had to work that afternoon. Later in the week was projected to be much cooler, but you can't always choose the day you can hike.

We got to the Twomile overlook on the Skyline Drive and headed off on the trail by 8:10 AM. There was a wonderful breeze blowing on the Drive, but we knew it would end quickly! It was a short walk along the drive to the trailhead, then a steep drop. We started at 2812 feet and dropped to 1800 feet over just over a mile. First, the trail drops along a ridge, then it cuts sharply left at a point where topo maps show another trail continuing straight to the top of Twomile ridge. None of the trail maps show this, however. After the steep drop, we kept dropping more gradually, as we dropped off a ridge to the Onemile Run stream at 1.3 miles. This point is very visible on the elevation profile.

Hiking along Onemile Run

Reaching Onemile Run means that the stream crossings start. One account of this hike I read stated that there are twelve crossings each way, but I didn't keep count. From my perspective, the stream crossings ere great - they gave the dog an opportunity to keep hydrated. We made sure to stop at each crossing to see if the dog would drink from the stream.

At about the 3 mile mark, the trail strays away from Onemile Run and heads toward the SNP boundary. We only hiked as far as the boundary, even though the trail looks like it keeps going. Unfortunately, the PATC map and the ATC Shenandoah Guide both discourage proceeding, even though I've read accounts online of hikers continuing to Twomile Run, then hiking back into the park on the Twomile Run stream bed. After reaching the boundary, we turned around and retraced our steps.

Because we were down in the valley for the entire hike, there weren't any views to speak of. Neither were there any waterfalls along the trail. For this reason, I'd rate this hike below most others in the southern district of the park. It is a great workout, though, especially since all of the climbing is at the end of the hike.

View of Onemile Run Valley from the parking lot at the beginning of the hike.

Hike Details: Onemile Run
July 11, 2011
PATC Difficulty Factor 154.7
Total Altitude Gain 1617 feet
Total Distance 7.4 miles
Lowest point 1379 feet above sea level
Highest Point 2815 feet above sea level
Time: 3 hours, 52 minutes

Torry Ridge/Mills Creek Loop: June 30, 2010

2011-07-06T23:40:00.002-04:00

Sherando Lake and beach from Torry Ridge.
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the ridges in the background.

Thursday, June 30th looked like the best weather day for some time to come, so the dog and I dropped my son off for camp at 7:45 then headed out for Sherando Lake, south of Waynesboro and west of Wintergreen Ski Resort. Sherando is probably the most popular place in the entire George Washington National Forest, with a beautiful campground, popular beach and steep hiking trails. It always amazes me when people from Central Virginia tell me they have never visited this gem of a place.

There are several hikes in the Sherando area I have done numerous times. I had hiked much of the Torry Ridge Trail as part of loops I have taken dating back almost 20 years. There was one hike I had never taken. The Mills Creek Trail goes up the valley on the other side of Torry Ridge from Sherando. It is a 7 mile trail that doesn't begin or end at a trailhead, so it requires a long hike to complete. In the past, 15.3 miles just seemed a little too long to take, but since I had done 20+ earlier in the week, I figured I was in shape for this hike.

Rocky trailbed

To get to the Mills Creek Trail, I had to take the Blue Loop Trail up Torry Ridge from the Sherando Campground. This is a steep climb, as the trail ascends at a 20% grade for the first mile, climbing from 1866 feet to 2733 feet over exactly a mile. From there, there is another ascent then it is a long and gradual descent over rocky terrain, past the intersection of the Torry Ridge Trail and Mills Creek Trail at 4 miles, to a stream crossing at 5.6 miles. At this point, the trail heads back up a valley in the opposite direction I took descending on the Torry Ridge Trail.

Mills Creek Trail

It is interesting to think that the Mills Creek valley is probably very similar to what the Sherando Lake area once looked like, before the WPA dammed up the stream to form Sherando. The trail showed areas where there had been mining years ago and was a pleasant forest walk, but didn't have much to make me anxious to return. Although several guidebooks mentioned nice campsites along the trail, I did not see any that looked too inviting. The elevation gain was very gradual until I hit the 9.8 mile mark. At this point, the trail ascended via switchbacks at at 17% grade, going from 2462 feet to 3406 feet in elevation over just over a mile. At the end of the climb, I am in a campsite on the edge of St. Mary's Wilderness, on a road I hiked last year with friends.

Elevation Profile

I hiked FR 162 for only about 3/10ths of a mile, but it was far enough to confirm that this road is not for my Subaru. It is open to the public, but advised for high clearance vehicles only. For good reason.

We left the main road onto a side road to get back to the other end of the Torry Ridge Trail. None of these areas are marked with signs - a guidebook was essential. In fact, I had enjoyed the view from the campsite at the end of the Mills Creek Trail last November, without knowing that I was within 20 feet of the trail. Where the side road intersected with the Mills Creek Trail was the high elevation point of our hike - 3563 feet.

Mills Creek valley, with Torry Ridge towards the right
and Humpback Mountain in the background.

We hiked 2.9 miles on the Torry Ridge Trail until we reached the trail back down to Sherando. At this point, I again attached the dog to a leash, and we returned to the campground where the dog could get a big bowl of water. We then hopped in the car, drove back to Charlottesville, and arrived back in town just as my son's camp bus was pulling in. Did we cut it too close? It would seem we measured it out perfectly!

Hike Details
PATC Difficulty Factor 322.7
Total Altitude Gain 3408 feet
Total Distance 15.3 miles
Lowest point 1782 feet above sea level
Highest Point 3563 feet above sea level
Time 7 hours, 26 minutes

Cold Mountain Backpack: June 17-19, 2011

2011-06-27T21:00:00.000-04:00

I spent Father's Day weekend in a part of the Virginia mountains where I first fell in love with Virginia hiking. My son and I joined his Boy Scout Troop for a two night, three day trip around and over Cold Mountain on the Appalachian Trail west of Amherst. This is a great intro hike for new backpackers, and one source rates this as one of the top 10 day hikes in Virginia.

Friday night camp with large White Oak to the right
of the fire pit.

Our group numbered 11 adults and about thirteen scouts. The drive from Charlottesville to the Mt. Pleasant trailhead parking lot took about 90 minutes, via U.S. 29 south to Amherst, then U.S. 60 west, past the Long Mountain Wayside where the A.T. crosses the road, then up into the George Washington National Forest.

We started on the Old Hotel Trail Friday evening and only walked slightly over a mile to a campsite I have eyed for years as an ideal overnight location. Surprisingly, we had the campsite to ourselves. I've hiked past this spot several times over the past couple of decades, and always thought how great it would be to camp here. The Scouts were to spend a couple of nights on the trail away from outhouses, and this spot fit the bill perfectly, though it is a dry campsite.

Will and his patrol mates pump spring water
for use while hiking

The campsite was appealing not just because of its beauty and location, but because it could be hiked to over a trail that had relatively little elevation gain. We didn't want to burn the young hikers, but we also didn't want to overtax a couple of dads who have knee issues but wanted to join the group. Nevertheless, our quick hike on Friday night had some huffing and a few kids asking if were there yet. But after 43 long minutes and 2 breaks as directed by the acting Senior Patrol Leader, we climbed a total of 400 feet to the first night's campsite.

One of the adult leaders is a professional forester and I learned much from him along the trail. We talked a lot about the spectacular White Oak at our campsite - how it must have grown in a field because its branches spread out so far horizontally (one boy climbed the tree by taking a branch that reached the ground and tightroping it all the way to the trunk). And when I asked why the tree was short compared other White Oaks, he observed that it didn't need to grow high to get sunlight.

Scouts resting at the Cow Camp Gap Shelter.

On Saturday morning we packed up and most of us continued on the Old Hotel Trail. (Two adults backtracked to save their knees and make sure we reserved space for Saturday night's camp.) Passing an old stone fence that reportedly dates back to the 1800's provided a history moment for the scouts, about how the fences were used to keep cattle and hogs penned in, and the hogs came up from the valleys in the summer to eat chestnuts. But there are no chestnuts any longer because of the chestnut blight that wiped out the trees. I tried to impress upon the boys that this is one of the most important historical developments over the last 100 years in the mountains, but I don't think I got through to the group. Think about it - entire communities based their existence on chestnut trees, from feeding themselves and their animals with the nuts, to using the durable wood for their shelters, and using the bark for tanning. Wikipedia claims that 25% of the trees in the Appalachians were chestnuts. The trees were all wiped out and, though new ones took their place, the forest isn't the same.

Turkeybeard at 3800 feet elevation.

Several adults brought up the rear of the line with me and we discussed the fate of the chestnut while finding several examples of chestnuts in the woods. Even decades later, the roots of many original trees remain alive and send up shoots, but those shoots develop the blight before they can mature. The shoots were all over the forest, and we could see the effects of the blight on the saplings. We also looked at the chestnut leaves and could see why the chestnut oak is so named, as the leaves look very similar.

We all hiked gradually downhill until we reached the Cow Camp Gap Shelter, which is an A.T. thru-hiker shelter. We stopped for almost an hour, pumping water into our bottles and bodies, some of us using the only latrine we would see on this trip, reading the shelter's log book (and some adding their own entries) and having a snack.

Then came the biggest climb of the trip, up and over Cold Mountain. The mile long ascent took most boys over an hour, though we were only going from 3,500 to 4,000 feet.

Obligatory group shot at the top of the mountain.

At the top we hung out and talked to other hikers. One woman was section hiking and asked us immediately where we planned to camp. She said she'd had bad experiences with Scout troops in the past, so she's wary. But she stayed and had lunch with us when she learned we did not plan to take over an A.T. hut and when we offered to save her from pumping water by refilling her canteen. She was a great source of information about what works and doesn't work on long distance hikes - I am always interested in the opinions of folks who have the real experience.

After getting a group shot at the summit, we walked along the meadows back down the mountain to our Saturday night campsite.

There are few miles of trail in Virginia as glorious
as the A.T. over Cold Mountain.

Even the boys enjoyed the views along this part of the trail, despite several hauling overloaded packs that they were ready to drop. We hiked down to the road near our original trailhead, then established camp in an old field across the road. On Saturday night we weathered a few rainstorms and had the honor of witnessing a boy receive his Eagle rank. Sunday morning we packed up our wet gear and headed home. Overall, a great way to spend Father's Day weekend.

Troop 1028's Scoutmaster could not join us,
but no doubt he will appreciate the single file
line of hikers.

Shaws Fork/Shenandoah Mountain Trail: June 26, 2011

2011-06-27T15:44:00.012-04:00

Nice campground and horse corral at trailhead.

he Shaw’s Fork Trail up Shenandoah Mountain starts near McDowell, Virginia, off of U.S. 250 west of Churchville. I had never taken it before because the Trails Illustrated Map I have indicates that it is a combination of roads and trails, which did not seem interesting. But once on the trail it is clear that the roads have not seen vehicular traffic in many years, and it made for a wide, graded trail for the most part, though a couple of areas were unmarked so as to cause confusion about where to go. It would be fun sometime to get a group to take this trail up the mountain, then head north on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail (SMT) for a mile, then go back down the mountain to a car drop at the Georgia Draft Trailhead on U.S. 250 just east of Ramsey's Draft for a hike that would total around 9-10 miles.

Lines were hissing and popping where the Shaws Fork Trail
met the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.

Instead of heading north on the SMT, I went south when I reached the ridge top. I had started out from Charlottesville very early, was on the trail at about 8:30, and it was only 10:45 AM when I got to the top of the mountain. Not late enough, so I thought I would head south on the SMT to at least Tims Knob (3560’). Maybe there is an overlook. Then I’d see how I felt, and if things were going well, consider making a loop with another trail to get home by mid-afternoon having completed a hike of about 14 miles. A notice on the signpost back at the trailhead suggested this as a nice loop for horses, and the horse trail up the mountain had been great.

At Tims Knob was the most spectacular display of Turkeybeard I have ever seen – hundreds of flowers glowing all over the place! It kept me going strong and I decided to complete the loop. I tried texting home from here because I had no idea that I would end up on this trail when I left that morning and thought someone should know where I was hiking, but the text didn’t go through. Crawford Mountain to the east was blocking me from the towers in Churchville.

Turkeybeard is everywhere on the SMT.

My dog and I were passed by a lone mountain biker a while later. I asked him if we were nearing the road where I would veer off of the SMT and he believed that we were – it was taking longer than I anticipated to make the trip. We did come to a road, and there was a trail signpost there, but the sign was missing. I correctly figured this road was part of my loop, and headed downhill on the road. Coming back up was the same mountain biker. He told me that trail I was seeking was terribly overgrown and full of blowdowns. At this point, however, it was quicker to return by continuing forward, as we had gone more than half way around our loop. And I figured a mountain biker wouldn’t have a lot of patience for a trail with some blowdowns, which would not cause as much problem for us.

Looks like a brand new sign for this trail.

We got to the next trail (which I will call the BRT) and, as you can see from the accompanying photo, the sign marking the trail looked brand new and pristine. A good indicator! And there were bright, unfaded yellow diamonds regularly nailed to trees. Blowdowns were bad at the beginning like the biker had said, but not so bad as to make me think I should have gone the long way back. But I didn’t realize that I was being lured into a trap and what awaited me was the single worst hiking experience of my life – nothing else has come close to my experience over the next few miles.

The trail was overgrown at first with ferns, with blowdowns every couple of hundred feet that we had to scramble around. We had to cross the stream at several points, but the blazes sort of made it clear where we had to go and Gracie lapped up the stream water. As we got further in, the ferns were replaced by another plant, which turned this hike into hell. The roadbed was overgrown with 3-5 feet tall stinging nettles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle), and there was no discernible trail (other than the flatness of the ancient roadbed used by the trail). They were so thick that I could not see the dog if she was more than about 4 feet away from me. It took me a very long time to slowly make my way through all of these nettles, using my hiking poles to push the nettles away from my body as I slogged through the sea of plants. The pain from the nettles caused me to eventually give up on the trail altogether and instead traverse the slick rocks in the BR creekbed itself to make my way back to the Shenandoah Mountain Trail. I did this knowing full well that one slip on these rocks could be disastrous as nobody would find me down here. There was a substantial number of blowdowns across both the trail and the Run, making the route even more treacherous.

Close up of the Stinging Nettle's stem from Wikipedia.

At one point it occurred to me that I couldn’t keep a very close watch on the trail route from the creek bed. The map showed the trail heading up the mountain to the left from the creek, at a sharp angle, like 8 o’clock on a clock face, if you are marching toward the twelve. As I climbed out, I didn’t see anything that looked like either a trail or a roadbed with the carpet of nettles (they were, I assure you, all over nonetheless) and retraced my steps in the nettles. I hadn’t gotten too far when I saw a bright yellow diamond on a tree ahead. Every bit of travel was difficult and painful, so I looked from a distance around that tree, did not see a trail heading up the mountain, and decided there must be a trail continuing in these weeds somewhere.

A sea of stingers. This IS the trail.

I returned to the creek bed and checked my elevation on the GPS. It wasn’t any help, first because it had turned off (I later determined that it was off for 34 minutes, and I managed to traverse approximately 0.4 miles during this time, which should give you an idea of what I was slogging through), and because it said I already was at 2500 feet, which was the elevation of the road according to the map. Eventually I noticed that the slopes heading up from the creekbed were not as steep as they had been previously, and the nettles did not climb the mountain – they stayed near the creek where there was abundant water. So at 2:45 I decided to go offtrail and head up the mountain heading west. I could come upon the path that goes up the mountain, and failing that could continue to climb until I reached the road. Since the road (FS 396) dead ended heading south part way past the trail, I was taking a real chance here that I had hiked sufficiently north on the trail that I could meet up with the road by heading west. I did not want to think about the consequences if I hadn’t hiked far enough north, however I never felt lost on this hike, even when offtrail. I could always go back the way I had come, but I didn't want to expend the time or effort.

We headed uphill and after only six minutes came to a trail. What a feeling! It headed southwest in the same direction as the trail exiting the river, so we followed it southwest towards the road, even though this took us away from the area we eventually wanted to reach. Combined with the fact that there was an occasional yellow diamond, I was confident I’d made the right choice and I would soon meet up with the road that would cut back north to an intersection with the Shenandoah Mountain Trail. After about 15 minutes, however, the trail cut back east, dropped precipitously, and the GPS showed me going in a circle back down to the streambed! It became clear that I had found the road and taken it back south, rather than finding the trail on its way to meet up with the road. Looking again at the map, there is a section of the road that exactly parallels the trail, and I must have reached the road at that point.

I turned around, took the road(trail) and 39 minutes after first finding the trail hiked past where we had originally picked it up. Heading north, the road/trail edged closer and closer to the stream (at this point not marked on the map as a stream at all) until I was back in a sea of stinging nettles once again. At least it didn’t last too long this time. Looking at the map again today, it is clear that the streambed eventually merged into the road so I should have just followed it as far as possible. But I was too tired and frazzled to look at the map closely enough to determine that at the time.

Tired and in wet boots, I made my way back to the Shaws Fork Trail where I tried unsuccessfully to call home at 4:15 PM, almost exactly 5 ½ hours after last passing the same intersection. We made it back down without incident except for the dog running off at one point after some critter (showing more energy now than at the beginning of the hike and causing me to add to my mental list of additional ways the hike could suck even worse than it did so far: 1. Lightning strike; 2. Lost keys to the car or the car was gone when I returned; 3. Lose my iPhone from its clip on my pack’s belt; 4. Dog runs off in the woods and I have to somehow find her). It took us 90 minutes to return from the SMT.

The Shaw's Fork Trail is a very pleasant hike.
Especially after the BRT!

I ended up hiking just over 20 miles in 9+ hours. It is officially the longest hike I have ever taken. Total elevation gain: 4347 feet. I should note that I was not wearing shorts on this hike. Instead I had very lightweight long pants and a long sleeve shirt treated in an insect guard. I almost never hike in shorts anymore, to guard against ticks and chiggers.

That night I Googled the BRT to see if anybody else had the experience. This trail is slated to become part of the Great Eastern Trail, as it provides one of the few reliable water sources along the SMT. (See this photo: http://www.greateasterntrail.net/photo_album/get_photo/Pages/12.html) If so, I’m betting nobody has tried it during the summer.

This map at the traihead promotes the BRT as a legitimate trail.

On the next day I had amazingly little in the way or residual pain, other than a slight headache that I attribute to dehydration, a blister on one foot, and tight calf muscles. The dog has not moved except to eat and spent our dinner under the dining room table wimpering last night.

Elevation Profile

So why haven't I named this trail? I don't want Google searching it. I spoke with someone from the group called the Friends of Shenandoah Mountain, and she told me that mountain bike groups claim the BRT to be a great resource for them, and a reason this area should never get designated a National Wilderness Area (bikes are not allowed in federally designated wilderness areas). Clearly, mountain bikers aren't using or maintaining the trail, and I don't want to give them information that assists them - let them figure it out like I did!

Hike Details
PATC Difficulty Factor 425.2 (a new record)
Total Altitude Gain 4347
Total Distance 20.8 (a new record)
Lowest point 2036 feet above sea level
Highest Point 3844 feet above sea level
Time 9 hours, 14 minutes

Long Mountain - A.T., May 19, 2011

2011-05-30T08:26:00.003-04:00

On a beautiful and cool morning on May 19th, I hiked a couple of sections of the A.T. I had not hiked since back in 1993. I started where U.S. 60 crosses the A.T. U.S. 60 connects Amherst and Lexington, and there is a large wayside at the A.T. called the Long Mountain Wayside. This parking area was 66 miles from Charlottesville, and took an hour and 10 minutes to reach.

Brown Mountain Creek Shelter with an A.T. thru-hiker.

The wayside has an unusual geocache - rated one star for access (so someone on a wheelchair could reach it) and three stars for difficulty (tricky hide). I could not find it! But I came back a few weeks later and located it thanks to a better read from the GPS.

From U.S. 60, I headed south and down the mountain to the Brown Mountain Creek A.T. Shelter. This part of the hike is totally wooded, without views. There is a sign along the trail telling hikers to look for signs of an old community that was down here. People farmed the area until the land was sold to the Forest Service back in the 1920's. Foundations were clearly visible off of the trail.

Gracie the Hiking Dog checks out the bridge
at Brown Mountain Creek.

I spoke with several A.T. thru-hikers at the shelter, and others were camping in the area. The area has great campsites, something I did not remember from my previous hike through here.

After finding a geocache near the shelter I started the long climb back up. The shelter is at about 1500 feet above sea level, and over the next several miles the A.T. climbs up to over 4000 feet in elevation. So this is a long haul hike when started from the shelter, almost as long as the hike up the Priest. I felt my previous inactivity! I was ready to reach the top of Bald Mountain, and was hurting for several days after this hike.

There were lots of hikers on the trail, which was surprising for a Thursday in May. I ran into at least 5 thru-hikers, and a couple of section hikers. I think I was the only day hiker out there. I mentioned my purpose to a couple of section hikers - to check out possible campsites for a Boy Scout backpacking trip - and got some really good advice, as one of them was a leader of a Richmond troop.

Trail sign for northbound hikers at U.S. 60.

And I didn't feel so bad about struggling up the mountain when I came across a thru-hiker halfway down the mountain who asked if we were near the top. She said that the hike was really getting to her that day. And she had hiked there from Georgia!

Trillium in bloom at 3000 feet elevation.

I did not recommend this hike for the Boy Scout Troop, opting instead for a hike a few miles further north that only hikes a small part of the A.T. We will be hiking that section in a few weeks and I'll report on that hike after we complete it.

Near the top of Bald Mountain.

But hiking this section gives me a taste to go back and re-hike sections I haven't hiked in nearly 20 years. Too bad the heat has arrived in Virginia. Today's forecasted 95 degree Memorial Day temps leaves me little incentive to head up into the mountains!

Elevation Profile

Hike Details:

PATC Difficulty Factor 236.1

Total Altitude Gain 3010 feet

Total Distance 9.3 miles

Lowest point 1388 feet above sea level

Highest Point 4049 feet above sea level

Time: 4 hours, 51 minutes

Morning hike of The Priest, May 11, 2011

2011-05-11T20:58:00.000-04:00

Had the time today to take a quick training hike up the Appalachian Trail to summit The Priest. I had last done this hike in June, 2010 when I did it twice in one day training for the Half Dome hike. This time my friend Marit and I had time to do it once.

I chose this as our training hike for our separate summer activities because it is a good workout, climbing from 1000 feet to over 4000 feet, and it is on the Appalachian Trail. When I had completed another nearby section of the A.T. last week, I ran into several thru-hikers. Marit hiked the entire A.T. back in 2009, and I figured she'd enjoy talking to some members of this year's class.

The trailhead is just down the road from the Crabtree Falls trailhead, which is a 5 star hike for many folks in Charlottesville. It takes about an hour to get there, driving past the turnoff for the Wintergreen Ski Area.

The last time I hiked this, I was on the trail around 8:30 and back down by noon. We got there a little later today, and the parking lot was really rutted, so I had to be careful parking the car.

Marit left some "trail magic" at the trailhead for the thru-hikers. In this case, trail magic was a ziploc bag full of Starburst and Hersey's candies, and a gallon jug of water.

For the first couple of miles, we were kind of worried we wouldn't run into anybody. The folks staying at The Priest Shelter could have already passed by, and those who stayed at the more distant Seely-Woodworth Shelter (on the other side of Spy Rock) wouldn't have reached this part of the trail yet. So we enjoyed the flowers (which were very different than the ones I saw last year in early June) and trucked up the trail.

Gracie the dog came with us, and I kept her on leash for much of the lower elevations. There was abundant poison ivy off the trail, and I wanted to make sure she was under control. She fell into a good pace behind me, though she clearly would have rather run free. When we got about 2500 feet the forest understory seemed to clear out, and I let her off leash. After getting her "ya ya's" out (as Marit called it), she again fell into lock step behind me, despite the lack of a leash.

We ran into our first through hiker, "Blue Sky" at the overlook about 2/3 up the mountain. Mysteriously, he is living in California, but chose to come to the Appalachians to hike. He wouldn't be the first we'd meet today with that background. After that, we interacted with a number of section hikers or thru-hikers. I took one photo of Marit talking to a hiker from New Hampshire who called himself "Earl Gray." Earl told us he was looking forward to getting to Waynesboro where he would meet up with his wife.

When we reached the top of The Priest, we turned around. There is no spectacular overlook up there, so one just has to decide, "this is the spot to turn around." We could have kept going to the shelter, but we didn't see the point.

We started at 8:50 AM and ended at 12:40 PM, so the trail overall took us 3 hours and 50 minutes. When I hiked it last year, the first time up took me 3 hours and 38 minutes. No doubt we were slowed down this time by talking to the folks we encountered! Total distance was 6.9 miles. Total elevation gain was about 3000 feet. A good morning workout!

Jump Mountain Hike

2011-03-09T14:25:00.002-05:00

It has been a long time since I have updated this blog, though I have several hike reports in various stages of completion. This is the first one to get finished, even though it is my most recent hike, as I wanted to test out a new camera/camcorder. Please be sure to read the information below on the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' proposal to charge hikers for entering WMA land in Virginia. I doubt that such a fee will change their attitudes towards non-hunters or improve the trails for our use. I recommend that hikers be sure to comment on this proposed regulation (click here).

I don't understand why Jump Mountain isn't considered among the premier hikes in Virginia. I have great memories of this hike from nearly 15 years ago when I last hiked it. I remember it being steep, with incredible views at the top, and I remember almost walking into a gigantic spider at face level. Ugh!

The Kiosk in the parking lot warns you about the bridge!

I've been pushing this hike with the trail club for over a year, so it made sense to make the hike again so it was fresher in my mind. I brought Gracie the hiking dog with me, and also brought my son's new Flip-type camera, which he received for his 11th birthday. The specs make it appear better quality than either the current camcorder or digital camera I have been using, so I was excited to try this thing out in the field.

The hike starts at a parking lot just west of Goshen Pass. If you have never driven Virginia State Route 39 west from Lexington you need to do so! It is unquestionably one of the prettiest drives in the Commonwealth.

The scariest part of this hike is 100 yards into it. To start the hike, you have to cross a cable bridge over the Maury River. A sign in the parking lot says no more than 3 on the bridge at a time, and don't make the bridge sway. So the bridge was not a lot of fun! Gracie the dog was not keen on that crossing.

After crossing the bridge, the Goshen Pass Trail follows the path of the Maury River with nice views of the water. The river was very high on this hike, sometimes flooding the trail due to rains the past several days. There were some trees down on the trail, and a bridge had washed out over one of the side streams. Eventually the trail became so overgrown that I turned back. I had to hope that I had missed the turnoff for the trail up the mountain, so I wouldn't have to go back to the beginning.

The trail along the Maury River.

That turned out to be the case. Hiking back towards the car I discovered that the Chambers Ridge Trail heads uphill just after a downed tree and before the washed out bridge. This turned out to be the first of several times I lost the intended route on this hike.

The trail split occurred approximately 0.6 miles from the Swinging Bridge and is at approximately N37 56.489 W79 27.145. (The Hikingupward site claims the turnoff is after 0.8 miles. Maybe I should have read this before the hike!) I added another .6 mile and 27 minutes to my hike by missing this turnoff. There is no sign warning of the route change, but the trail uphill is marked by white blazes.

The Chambers Ridge Trail heads uphill at a steep 26% grade for the next half mile. It passes along some cliffs that must see rock climbers, judging from the sign.

And it passes a nice little waterfall before climbing to a ridge and leveling out. I don't remember this waterfall when I hiked in August of 1996, so it may be ephemeral.

Walking along Chambers Ridge gives some views of the mountains on the other side of the Maury River, and the first views of Lake Merriweather to the west. Lake Merriweather is the site of a Boy Scout camp, owned by the DC area council. This camp was the cause of much local controversy a couple of years ago, when the national Boy Scouts of America sought to purchase the property as a permanent location for its quadrennial Jamboree. The BSA pulled out and purchased property near Beckley, West Virginia instead. The Army Corps of Engineers has called into question the long term safety of the Lake Merriweather dam.

On the ridge was a small, brackish pond, then an intersection with the Little Peak Trail. Over the next 0.44 miles, the trail averaged a 30% elevation gain, gaining 700 feet in elevation. This trail literally went straight up the mountain! At one point, Gracie the hiking dog had to wait for me (she hates to do that) to show her how to get up a rock scramble. Here is a jumpy video of that scramble:

Until this point, the trail was inside or along the border of the Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve. The trail crossed into the Goshen and Little North Mountain Wildlife Management Area at the top of Little North Mountain, where it followed the ridge for a short distance before dropping down into a ravine between Little North and Jump Mountains. Because a trail continues past this drop off to a campsite, it was difficult to tell at first that I was no longer on the main path. I retraced the path back to the point where the trail dropped off of the ridge (N37 56.788 W79 25.798), then quickly lost the trail again. Because I knew where Jump Rock's location, Gracie and I went off trail until we found the trail leading up to the mountain. I later determined that my trail was difficult to follow because of downed trees and leaf cover.

I should note here the warning from the HikingUpward site, which I did not read in advance of this hike because I hiked this route with no problems 15 years ago:

From this point on, the trail and markings get a little sketchy for a good bit of the rest of the hike; which is why we recommend downloading our GPS track for this hike. Without the GPS track the hike can be done if you have a good sense of direction and orienteering skills. Doing this hike with others is also highly recommended. Be alert and try to follow the path as best as possible. Look constantly down the path about 20-30’ to ensure you are still on it.

Near the top of Jump Mountain

We found a trail leading to the top and the view was worth the effort! We reached the top at 12:32, which was 2 hours and 20 minutes after crossing the bridge (including the extra 27 minutes along the Goshen River Trail). Minus the extra mileage, the hike up was 3.6 miles, and my legs were jelly! The view from Jump Rock at 3160 feet is very nearly 360 degrees. It includes the Shenandoah Valley and Great North Mountain all the way to Buffalo Gap. Even Elliot Knob can be seen peeking behind Little North Mountain. Someday I would like to hike the Little North Mountain Trail all the way to Buffalo Gap or even to Elliot Knob.

Little North Mountain and Elliot Knob, looking north from Jump Rock.

We hung out up at the top of the rock for about 15 minutes, enjoying lunch and wondering about a geocache container in clear sight on the rock. There were no listings in this area on the Geocaching.com website, and it was placed inside the apparent boundaries of the North Mountain Wildlife Management Area, which would not be permitted. I looked at it more closely and discovered a big hole in the Tupperware container (a good reason to use the more expensive Army-issue Ammo Can in the backcountry). I attached the Tupper to the outside of my pack and tossed it in the garbage when I reached home.

WMA boundary clearly marked, with geocache on the left.

On the return trip, I found another unmarked trail that went nowhere, but I was hanging tight to my topo map at this point and didn't wander too far off course. I got back onto the ridgeline of Little North Mountain and followed that in and out of the edge of the Wildlife Management Area boundaries. I think the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries can take credit for the difficulties following the trail. They seem to barely tolerate non-hunting activities on their lands, and my hikes on WMA properties always seems a little like trespassing. I bet they like it that way!

I wonder if these boundary markers glow at night?

I would guess they also discourage trail markers on their lands, but they love to clearly mark their boundaries. Leave No Trace seems to be a foreign concept when it comes to boundary marking for Game and Inland Fisheries. While I can see the need to mark the boundaries of hunting lands, piling a bunch of gold colored rocks on the boundary seems like overkill. It is interesting to note that the Virginia DGIF is seeking right now to change their fee structure so that hikers like me would be charged $3 for the privilege of entering their lands. (Can't really say they are MY lands, as I am sure the DGIF would be happy to tell me.) Information on the fee change is found here. If they want to charge me for using their land, don't I have a right to demand that they properly sign their trails?

Viewing Rock Trail splits off of the Little North Mountain Trail, with Jump Rock in the background.

I continued on the Little North Mountain Trail, following the ridge line until I reached the Viewing Rock Trail. I had coordinates for this trail as a Cub Scout Pack placed a geocache at Viewing Rock. (I am not sure that this is a legal geocache, though it is listed on the website, as it appears that Viewing Rock is within the boundaries of the WMA, and geocaches are not permitted on these properties.) Dropping down to Viewing Rock, there are suddenly lots of signs, with each crediting the Cub Scout Pack that created it.

The view from Viewing Rock was to the west, overlooking the Boy Scout camp. I bet hundreds of Scouts make this trip every summer, and the trail below the rock shows the wear from this use. But the rock itself has a view that makes the scramble up the mountain worthwhile. And the trail to viewing rock is not as steep as the trail I took up to Jump Mountain.

Descending from Viewing Rock, I attempted to follow the same loop that I hiked back in 1996. I took the Viewing Rock Trail to the Hunter's Trail, and intended to take the Hunter's Trail back to the car. At the intersection of the Chamber's Hollow and Hunter's trails, my gut told me that I should follow the Chamber's Hollow Trail towards the Boy Scout Camp. But I wanted to complete the same hike I'd taken in 1996. At some point I lost the Hunter's Trail completely. This was merely irritating, not scary, and I climbed to the top of the ridge I was hiking near, eyeballed the Lake Merriweather dam, then descended the ridge to the Boy Scout camp. From there, I easily found a trail that linked back up with the Hunter's Trail. I was glad I had a topographic map, however, so I could be sure of my general direction at all times. My gut was right - I should have taken the main trail, which is the trail the HikingUpwards guys took.

Near the car was a final Cub Scout sign, set high up on a tree so it could not be easily swiped. I thought it was ironic that a big sign with a bunch of scouts' names would tell me to "Leave No Trace!" It seems like a backhanded way to leave your name on a tree.

To sum up, this hike would be one of the best in the Commonwealth if it were better marked. At the same time, there are some tough climbs, so it is not a hike for everybody. It appears most similar in difficulty to the White Oak Canyon/Cedar Run loop hike I took back in July, 2010.

Will's camera worked great! I think the picture quality was better than what I had been using and I like having both a camcorder and a camera in one tiny package. Maybe I'll save up and get my own.

Details:
PATC Difficulty Factor 228.5
Total Altitude Gain 3000 ft.
Total Distance 8.7 nukes
Low Point 1336 ft.
High Point 3173 ft.
Time of Hike 5:12

Ramsey's Draft Loop: November 10, 2010

2010-11-27T17:56:00.001-05:00

Ramsey's Draft is a federally designated wilderness area west of Staunton and just off of U.S. 250. It is named after the creek, or "draft" that flows through the middle of the wilderness. I have hiked several of the trails in this wilderness area over the past few years, but because some sections of the wilderness are so far away from roads, there are major portions of trail I have never experienced. And since one of my favorite trails skirts the wilderness - the Shenandoah Mountain Trail - I have wanted to get deep into this trail system for a while.


Ramsey's Draft is very dry this time of year.

Normally, this is an overnight backpack trip. That is how all of the guidebooks describe it, and usually they are describing a shorter loop. I prefered not to do this as an overnight and hoped I was still in shape for the hike after this summer's 19 mile Half Dome ascent in Yosemite. I calculated this hike to be a little over 17 miles. I asked a friend who through hiked the A.T. a couple of years ago to come along, and we were on the trail by 10 AM, dressed in orange because you never know when hunting is in season in Virginia. The season seems to be different in each county!

I've been on several parts of this loop in the past where access is straightforward from various trailheads. But parts of this hike are so remote that access is really only possible by backpacking overnight or by a long dayhike. I was excited to experience these parts of the hike.

View from Bald Ridge Trail towards the east.

The loop started near U.S. 250 and the Mountain House Picnic Area. We cut right (east) and ascended the Bridge Hollow Trail for 51 minutes, just over 2 miles, and 973 feet elevation gain before reaching the Bald Knob Trail. The Bald Knob Trail took us along a ridge that, over the next 4.5 miles, took us over or alongside The Peak, Bald Ridge Knob, The Pinnacle, and Gordon Peak.

We briefly stopped at an overlook near Bald Ridge Knob for a snack and to place a new geocache two hours into the hike and just outside the boundaries of Ramsey's Draft Wilderness.

We reached the Leading Ridge Trail at just before 1PM. At this point, we were 6.5 miles into the hike and concerned that we might not have enough daylight to complete the loop. Neither of us had a flashlight, but we elected to move fast and complete the loop before losing light. Maybe one of the campsites near Hiner Springs wouldn't have been a bad option, but we were equipped only for a day hike. Gone was the opportunity to take the one mile side trail to the top of Hardscrabble Knob, the highest point in the wilderness and the 44th highest peak in Virginia. We passed this trail at 2:41 PM, and reached the Shenandoah Mountain Trail at 3:00.

Elevation Profile of the Ramsey's Draft Loop

The Shenandoah Mountain Trail is a wonderfully level trail that constitutes the western edge of Ramsey's Draft Wilderness. We needed a level trail, and moved quickly over the next 5.7 miles, reaching the Road Hollow Trail in less than 1 hour, 50 minutes. The Road Hollow Trail took us back to our car, 2.5 miles by trail. We got back to the car at 5:43, within 5 minutes of total blackness.

Clearly, I'm going to have to get on the trail earlier or choose shorter hikes until we start getting longer days again.

Ramsey's Draft Loop
November 10, 2010
PATC Difficulty Factor 364.9
Total Altitude Gain 3622
Total Distance 18.4
Low Point 2248
High Point 4119
Time of Hike 7:31

Hemlocks still live in Ramsey's Draft.

Rocky Mount/Gap Run Loop: October 31, 2010

2010-11-11T16:00:00.001-05:00

Halloween day opened up as a hiking opportunity quickly, and I took advantage to take the dog on a training hike. It also happened to be her five month birthday, and I aimed to get her out for a seven or eight mile trip, after she had performed spectacularly on a five mile hike around Humpback Rocks the week before.

I settled on the Rocky Mount/Gap Run loop in the Southern District of Shenandoah N.P. Although I had climbed to the top of Rocky Mount years before, I had never done the whole loop.

This is a trail that gets mixed reviews online. On the Hiking Upward site, one user complains that it is just too hard a hike to justify the occasional view, and real, the best view is at the start and end of the hike, from the parking spot on the Skyline Drive. Even the Hiking Upward guys rate this hike a "5," meaning it is one of the hardest hikes in the area, at least in their view.

I concur with the position that there are no better views than from the car on this hike. But is that really the point? Whether the hike is worth taking depends on your own outlook, I suppose. I am now a little closer to achieving my goal of hiking every trail mile in that part of Shenandoah, though this is admittedly not a spectacular hike. And there were some nice views and great solitude. I loved the workout. The day was beautiful. And the dog hiked exceptionally well, staying behind me at my feet for 90% of the hike.

I don't think the hike justifies a reputation as one of the hardest in Shenandoah. Statistically, it is nearly identical to the White Oak/Cedar Run waterfall loop a few miles north that is very popular - if you go all the way up to the Skyline Drive via the Limberlost Trail, and don't cheat by taking the fire road from White Oak to Cedar Run. These two hikes have very similar elevation gains and hike distances.

The difference is that the White Oak loop has all of its elevation gain at the beginning of the hike, while Rocky Mount saves some of its gain for the end of the hike. If you like to limit yourself to an 8 mile hike (as many of us do), the last couple of miles of uphill is not necessarily welcome.

I recommend climbing Rocky Mount first. The hike is not as steep this way, as the steepest section of the trail is a 25% grade on the back end of the mountain. There are some nice campsites in the hollow along Gap Run after you have gone over Rocky Mount, and I doubt there is much competition for these sites.

As I returned to the overlook on the Skyline Drive where I parked, a young couple inquired about hiking opportunities in the area. They were just out for the day and clearly new to the area. I did not send them down this trail, but instead directed them to the waterfalls south of Loft Mountain Campground. That sums up this hike for me - it is not the first hike to take in this part of the Park, but it is a nice workout and a great hike for solitude.

I thought often on this hike about the last time I hiked part of it. It had to be over 12 years ago, and was with my friend and co-worker Beth. As we hiked, Beth and I swapped stories of our weddings. Beth's family has now expanded to include three children, and there is no parent more devoted than Beth. Beth has taken those children around the world and the family has now settled in New England. The family chose to leave because Virginia laws are not kind to her kind of family. Losing Beth, those children, and Beth's partner is a loss for all of us in Charlottesville.

Rocky Mt/Gap Run Loop
October 31, 2010
PATC Difficulty Factor 222.5
Total Altitude Gain 2630
Total Distance 9.4
Time of Hike 3:58

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.

Kennedy Ridge Trail: October 17, 2010

2010-10-19T22:16:00.001-04:00

I joined a group of folks from Charlottesville for a hike on Sunday. I have hiked with many of these folks through the PATC's Charlottesville Chapter. The parameters of Sunday's hike were that it needed to be close by, and to the south or west of Charlottesville. Two of the hikers wanted to make it to a party that started around 3 PM. And I needed to be home to help my son sell popcorn for the Cub Scouts.

The group was 6 people, which meant we needed to take two vehicles to the trail, but we could handle all hikers in one vehicle for a short distance. So a hike with a car drop became a parameter, because the opportunity presents itself so rarely. And closely connected was the requirement that it be a trail we had not hiked before. There are actually a number of these trails still out there!

We settled on the combination of the Kennedy Ridge Trail and FDR-162, a forest road that is one of the boundaries of St. Mary's Wilderness over by Wintergreen Ski Area. We would drop one car on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Bald Mountain Overlook (MM 22), and the other on the Coal Road over near Sherando and the town of Stuart's Draft. Didn't look too far on the map, but ended up being about a 45 minute drive from point to point, ultimately adding an hour-and-a-half to the hike and meaning we got back to town later than we'd planned on. Sorry Iva!

On the Kennedy Ridge Trail.

The other end of this hike is on the Coal Road, which heads off of the Sherando Road (Va-664) near Lyndhurst (south of Waynesboro). My old Hiking Guide to the Pedlar District (Second Edition), copyright 1990, recommends taking Va-610 (the Howardsville Turnpike) to Va-660 (Lake Road) past Shenandoah Acres campground. Va-660 becomes FDR-52 at the NF boundary. Turn left onto FDR-42 (the Coal Road) and park at the second road on the right. The trailhead (unmarked) is the third road on the right.

The group chose to hike this from higher elevations to lower, robbing us of true aerobic benefit. This meant that we started out on the Blue Ridge Parkway. FDR-162 is open to traffic, but is so deeply rutted that we saw little use. We were passed by only a couple of vehicles on the hike. Trails from FDR-162 access St. Mary's Wilderness and Sherando Recreation Area, but you have to know where you are, as we saw no trail signs anywhere on this hike except for on one side trail. Campsites and apparent roads head off from FDR-162 at regular intervals, making it difficult to determine for sure where the trails intersect with the road.

Elevation Profile

Fortunately Ken had hiked this road as a part of a circuit in St. Mary's fairly recently (my only experience on the same loop is over 15 years old), and he had some readings on his GPS. The St. Mary's Loop is a popular one (see here and here), which probably accounts for the majority of the hiking traffic on FDR-162. I am glad we had Ken's coordinates, and recommend that anyone trying this hike should have GPS coordinates to make sure they are on the right trail.

According to my guidebook, the Bald Mountain Trail intersects on the left at 0.7 miles. The Torry Ridge Trail intersects on the right at 1.0 miles, and the Mills Creek Trail intersects on the right at 1.3 miles. None of these trails are marked with signs, though the latter two are pretty evident as roads leading towards Sherando. The Kennedy Ridge Trail intersected at a wide spot in the road at 4.1 miles, and shortly after that a rock cairn signaled the Saint Marys River Trail on the left.

Partridge Family or Into The Wild?

The highlight of FDR-162 was the abandoned bus we came across and used for our group photo. There were a couple of campsites with views, but nothing particularly memorable. I liked the bus because it must have a story, though we could not know what it was. Who drove it there? Why was it abandoned? And why did folks bring paint up here to alter its appearance? The bus held tight to answers.

Green Pond in Saint Marys Wilderness

At 4.1 miles we reached the intersection with the Kennedy Ridge Trail and the Saint Marys River Trail. We took a left and had lunch a little ways off of FDR-162, down the St. Mary's Trail at Green Pond. Ken claimed that this is a glacial tarn, but I do not believe glaciers ever touched this part of the country and could not find any support online for this assertion. It appears instead to be a bog. The Pedlar District Hiking Guide states that this is a bog and adds that it had shrunk by one third between 1980 and 1990. It would be interesting to camp here sometime and have a chance to observe the wildlife attracted to this unique location.

Sassafras in Autumn.

After lunch we hiked .3 miles back to FDR-162 and crossed over to the start of the Kennedy Ridge Trail. No sign here, either. The Pedlar District Hiking Guide describes the Kennedy Ridge Trail has having "no special feature to commend it," other than one view from a rock outcrop. Fortunately, Autumn makes any outside trek a great experience. The Blackgum trees had already shed, but the leaves were still crimson on the trail. And the Sassafras trees were turning bright yellow. Parts of the trail looked nearly free of overhead leaves, while others were still so leafy that the trail was still dark.

The single overlook was actually two overlooks very close to each other, and the downhill one had more room. The view was great from there. You can see where the overlook is on the elevation profile, it is the notch to the right of the profile, before we begin a steady descent. I calculated the descent to be 14%. The trailhead is unmarked at the Coal Road, but we came out at these coordinates: N37 58.731 W79 01.536.

Kennedy Ridge Overlook view.

I am not sure I would recommend this hike, though I certainly enjoyed it. The drive between car drops takes a long time. And if I did this hike by myself, I think I would have found it pretty dull. But it was enjoyable for me because of the company and the time of year. And the Kennedy Ridge Trail portion would be a good workout if going uphill.

I am glad I crossed this one off of my list, but doubt I will return anytime soon. I should do the St. Mary's loop again sometime, though. Maybe over the holidays; especially since Devil's Backbone Brewery is on the way home. A great way to end a hike. Thanks, Ken and Marie, for the beer!

Heading downhill.

Details:

Kennedy Ridge

October 17, 2010

PATC Difficulty Factor 112.0

Total Altitude Gain 819

Total Distance 7.7

Low Point 1797 (at the very end of the hike)

High Point 3525

Time of Hike 2:29 (including lunch)

If I had gone the other way and hiked uphill...
PATC Difficulty Factor 186.5
Total Altitude Gain 2273
Total Distance 7.7
Time of Hike ?

Doubletop/Wilhite Wagon Trail Loop - September 21, 2010

2010-09-24T17:07:00.006-04:00

I joined the PATC Vigorous Hikers Group for a second outing on September 21st. There was very little overlap in attendance from the first group because many of the folks hiking this week had just gotten back from hiking California's John Muir trail when I joined them the first time.

We met at the trailhead, which was off of Rt. 649 (Chapman Mountain Road), a road I had never taken before. The PATC map made it look pretty sketchy, but it turned out to be in great shape. It splits off of the road to Graves Mountain Lodge near Criglersville and would eventually pass Hoover Camp and ascend to Big Meadows Campground if Shenandoah National Park permitted traffic that far.

This is the map the hike leader sent me for the hike,
showing our parking are near the southeast corner.
Nobody in our group ended up taking the entire route highlighted above,
as none of us reached Monkeyhead.
(Monkeyhead is the westernmost section of the loop, on the left.)

We started out at 8:50 AM, heading north on the Chapman Mountain Horse Trail. I believe that this trail is primarily used by guided groups from Graves Mountain Lodge, because it is not marked well. This was not a problem for the first half of the hike, as the trail was clear. But we traveled through a gate onto pasture land, and cattle trails crisscrossed the land, which was on the edge of fields and woods.

Time to agree that we are no longer on the trail!

Maybe the trail continues over here.

At one point we were in some woods and the trail ended, with cow bones strewn all over the ground. And when you are on a cow trail and the only cows appear to be long dead, it is time to look for a new trail! We eventually made our way north to the W Trail (not shown on the map), and then to the Doubletop Mountain Trail.

The Doubletop Mountain trail is not for the faint of heart! For the first half of the ascent, it climbs at a 29% grade over a little over a half mile. The entire ascent lasts 2 miles and averages over 975 feet of elevation gained per mile. And these guys could move. The trail was quite overgrown in spots, particularly on the top of the ridge. Several times I looked down at my feet only to be able to see nobody when I looked back up. I was glad I had done this hike before.

At the top we stopped for lunch very near a spot where I had hiked back in April. Right at the intersection of the Wilhite Wagon Trail and the Doubletop Trail was a large rocky area where we could sit and have lunch.

Having Lunch.

Our view at lunch.

The group lunched for over a half hour while it deliberated about the rest of the hike. Some of the group was very anxious to explore the Staunton River Trail, and nobody seemed jazzed to check out Monkeyhead. I wanted to go as far as the summit of Doubletop so I could retrieve a geocache I left when I'd hiked some of this trail in April. So the rest of the group went west on the Doubletop Trail to the western section of the Wilhite Wagon Trail (which a website says is misspelled on the map), then off of Doubletop to find the Staunton River Trail. I stayed on Doubletop, retrieved my geocache (looking good, though it had fallen out of the tree). I felt like I was Apollo 12, which retrieved part of an unmanned Surveyor spacecraft from the surface of the moon. I doubt anyone had been near my geocache since it had been placed 5 months earlier.

Can you see the cache on the ground?

Heading back to the car, I decided to take the Wilhite Wagon Trail's eastern section. The map says that it is not maintained, but one of my fellow hikers told me that he had taken the trail in the Spring, and it was definitely in good shape. The trip down the Wilhite Wagon Trail from the Doubletop Mountain Trail back to the Chapman Mountain Horse Trail took about an hour, and it was a delightful trail. I believe the map says that the trail is not maintained because it is one of the few trails in Shenandoah National Park that the PATC does not maintain. But though it needed some work and one section was tricky to follow, the trail is in good shape. It was originally a road that was closed when Herbert Hoover bought his camp on the Rapidan River in 1929. It is wonderfully constructed, with rock walls securing the downhill portion of the trail along large portions of its existence. And it drops at a consistent 8% grade, as shown on the right side of the elevation profile above. It had only one difficult section to follow, but after I figured out that the trail was marked via pink ribbons on the trees, had no problem negotiating it. I would recommend this trail wholeheartedly, except during hunting season as it ascends into the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area. It is also somewhat difficult to find at the bottom of the trail, so I have listed GPS coordinates at the end of this report. It looks like an old road here, but there is no trail sign.

Wilhite Wagon Trail, with rock construction.

Upon returning to the parking area, I found 2 of my fellow hikers had taken off in their cars, and the carpool van had another hiker waiting for the Staunton River hikers. Mike told me he had twisted his ankle, but reported that the section of the Wilhite Wagon Trail I did not take was also in great condition. Using the Hoover Camp Road, this makes a nice little loop hike that I am going to have to recommend to the PATC Charlottesville Chapter.

GPS Coordinates:
Parking: N38 27.355 W78 21.662
Eastern Wilhite Wagon Trail/Chapman Mountain Horse Trail Intersection: N38 27.528 W78 21.557
Lunch spot with great view: N38 28.879 W78 22.693
Eastern Wilhite Wagon Trail/Doubletop Mountain Trail Intersection: N38 28.898 W78 22.687
Western Wilhite Wagon Trail/Doubletop Mountain Trail Intersection: N38 29.188 W78 22.957

Hike Details.

PATC Difficulty Factor: 286.9

Distance: 11.5 miles

Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes, including lunch and brief stops.

Steepest Uphill: from 4.13 to 4.64 miles, 29% grade.

Average Uphill: 18% grade
Average Downhill: 8% grade

Lowest point: 745 ft.

Highest point: 3216 ft.

Total uphill: 3588 ft.

Epilogue
In an attempt to get a hike in before mid-week rains, I joined a couple of other hikers for a loop hike here a week after this description. We did the Wilhite Loop, which is described below. Highly recommended during non-hunting season! It starts from the parking lot described above.

Directions: Take 29 north through Madison, then turn off on Rt. 231 towards Sperryville. Turn left in Banco at the sign for White Oak Canyon. Just after Criglersville and the Stonewall Jackson historic marker, turn left onto Rt. 649 and an immediate right. Follow Rt 649 past the End State Maintenance sign and up a couple of hairpins, to a parking area right at the SNP boundary. (You also can drive further, to the WMA boundary where there is a kiosk, and start and end the hike with a walk on the Rapidan Road.). The road, though not paved, is in great shape.

Elevation profile for Wilhite Loop

Start the hike by taking the gated road to the right (North) for 5 minutes (1350 feet) to a road that comes in from the left. There is an SNP boundary sign on a tree here, and it is the first road or trail entering from the left. This is the Wilhite Wagon Trail. Follow this road another 5 minutes to a slight fork, and stay left, where it becomes a trail. The trail rises to an overlook just below the intersection with the Doubletop Trail (not obvious unless you are looking for it, but it is only about 20 feet before the intersection), where we stopped for lunch. This section is 2.2 miles long and took us 1:08. We stopped for lunch, then then followed the Doubletop Trail for a little over 10 minutes (2200 feet) then cut left on the other part of the Wilhilte Wagon Trail (1.4 miles, 38 minutes) to the Rapidan Road. All sections of trail were in good shape and easy to follow. The Rapidan Road is used to return to the car. The road was 3.1 miles long and took us 1:12, including a stop to look at the RWMA kiosk at the boundary between SNP and the RWMA. Though this is a road, we did not see a single vehicle (other than a parked one) the entire route. There are a number of established campsites along the side of the road, with fire pits.

Wilhite Loop
September 29, 2010
PATC Difficulty Factor	165.9
Total Altitude Gain	1813 ft
Total Distance (miles)	7.6
Low Point (ft)	1379
High Point	2970
Time of Hike	3:43

(includes about 20 minutes for lunch)

Ragged Mountain Reservoir - September 12, 2010

2010-09-24T17:07:00.002-04:00

The Cub Scouts of Pack 222 took their monthly hike just west of Charlottesville at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir. After this hike, 3 scouts were awarded their 30 mile staffs at the next Pack meeting. These were the first scouts to get such awards.

After 1/4 mile uphill, this scout wanted to rest.

The Ragged Mountain Reservoir hike was a little over 3.5 miles. I am not a big fan of the place because there are too many rules thanks to the Ivy Creek Foundation which has taken over managment. No running. No loud noises. No collecting. No dogs. No geocaching. Even the national parks allow dogs on most trails! But it was close and convenient.

And to make it worse, I find out a couple of weeks later from an official with Albemarle County that a benefactor wants to donate land adjacent to this property for parkland, but has not done so because she thinks the Ivy Creek Foundation imposes too many rules. So we don't get to enjoy that land. Thanks Ivy Creek Foundation!

Back to the hike. We had a new dad who is a forester, so we got to learn about stinkweed and newts. And the boys got to see the earthen dam and wonder about the strange house in the water. It was a good afternoon journey.

Get out the maps, boys, and tell us where to go next!

Group shot on the dam with the crazy house behind us.

Mary's Rock - September 11, 2010

2010-09-24T16:49:00.002-04:00

It was the last Saturday before soccer season, so Will and I joined the PATC Charlottesville Chapter for a relatively short hike on the Appalachian Trail in a section of Shenandoah National Park that I have never hiked.

Here is the trail club's description:

September 11 Jewell Hollow to Marys Rock: Iva Gillet. 6.8 miles. Walk the AT north from Jewell Hollow to a short side trail to the magnificent view at Marys Rock. Directions: Route 29 north to Madison, then route 231 to Sperryville, route 211 to Thornton Gap, then about 5 miles south on Skyline Drive, parking on right.

There was a good crowd for this hike, though no other hikers from the 10 year old set, which disappointed Will. We drove past Sperryville to get to the trailhead, bringing us into the DC hiking sphere, which is why I don't come up this way often. But it was a great day for a hike, and the trail wasn't too crowded for the most part. There is not a lot of elevation gain here, as the lowest and highest points on this hike are within 500 feet of each other. But it was great for taking kids hiking, and the view from Mary's Rock is a great one.

Most folks seem to hike to Mary's Rock from the north, just off of U.S. 211. It is a much steeper hike this way, and made me think that this is the DC/NoVa equivalent of Charlottesville's favorite hike: Humpback Rocks. There was a big crowd on Mary's Rock, and it was always changing. But the view was worth braving the crowds.

On the way out and back we passed the Leading Ridge Trail. I am very anxious to try this hike sometime, as I am told it may be the steepest hike in this part of the state. That makes it worth trying!

Mary's Rock

Lunching on the Rock.

On the way home, the entire group stopped for ice cream in Sperryville before driving back to Charlottesville. It was a great day for an easy hike!

Three Peaks in Shenandoah - September 7, 2010

2010-09-19T10:05:00.000-04:00

I have not posted in a long time on this site because I have not been hiking in Virginia. I spent a month traveling, some with my son, some with my son and wife, some with a friend, and some by myself. I drove to San Francisco and back and managed some life list hikes during the trip - hiking below the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for an overnight with my son, scaling Half Dome and the 4 Mile Trail in Yosemite with my wife's niece, and climbing the 13,000 foot summit of Mt. Wheeler in Great Basin National Park with a friend.

I returned to Virginia in late August and had little incentive to go to the gym until I noticed the calendar for the PATC's Vigorous Hiker's Group. There were a number of appealing aspects to joining this group. First, they hike on Tuesdays, and I work 9 hour days so can take a day during the week twice a month. Second, they go on aggressive hikes with elevation gains in excess of 4,000 feet, which would force me to stay in shape.

I checked out this group's calendar and found that some of their hikes are in Pennsylvania, but probably 1/2 are near enough to Charlottesville so that I could meet them at the trailhead. The next hike was on September 7th, the day after Labor Day, and started and ended at the White Oak Canyon parking lot. I decided to join them.

Here is the group's description of the hike:

To celebrate the return of sub-90s temperatures we'll take on a tough hike. This hike hits three of the biggest peaks in SNP in almost 17 miles and 5600 feet of ascent in the Central District.

We'll start at White Oak Canyon parking at the entrance to Berry Hollow. Our route starts with a straight-forward ascent of Hawksbill via the Cedar Run Trail. After regrouping, its on to Stony Man summit for lunch via the Salamander Trail, the AT, and the Summit Trail. After lunch we return to Stony Man parking, cross the Skyline Drive to find the Skyland-Big Meadows Horse Trail, which we can take a mile or so to the Old Rag Fire Road. Turning left on ORFR, its again less than a mile and a half to the Robertson Mountain Trail, where we turn left and ascend our third peak for the day. Continuing on we eventually descend to the Weakley Hollow Fire Road, turn right and follow it and the Berry Hollow Fire Road back to the cars.

This dog hiked with us and is a full blooded Walker Hound.
Gives me hope that the family pup will someday be a hiker.

The others all came down from the DC area, so I met them at the trailhead. I was the first to arrive, at 8:30. Shortly afterward, a woman arrived in her car, then a van full of five men showed, along with one dog. A couple of the men did not actually hike with the group as they are in their 80's and can no longer keep up. So they took their own hike. The rest of us started up the Cedar Run Trail, ascending over 3000 feet in 3.6 miles to the summit of Hawksbill Mountain, the tallest peak in Shenandoah National Park. The ascent took me an hour and 55 minutes.

At the summit of Hawksbill was a group of Princeton students. I didn't actually go to the summit because of the crowd of students, and instead hung out at the Byrds Nest day use shelter 100 feet from the overlook to wait for everyone in our group to arrive. We didn't wait long, and were quickly back on the trail.

From Hawksbill, we descended to the Appalachian Trail and headed north to Stony Man. I remember last climbing Stony Man on my first trip to Shenandoah, back when I was about 12. I had never bothered to hike it as an adult, and had forgotten how beautiful the views are from this mountain. Stony Man is not as tall as Hawksbill; my GPS measured it at just under 4000 feet high. We stopped here for lunch and talked with a nice young couple from Austin Texas. The Vigorous Hikers are not ones to stay in one place long, however, and we were back on the trail after exactly 10 minutes. We descended the way we came up, then cut across the Skyline Drive to a horse trail that led to the Old Rag Fire Road.

View from Stony Man summit.

I spent most of the rest of the hike talking with Bob, a retired researcher for the Feds in their weather department. He is quite an accomplished hiker, having completed the entire A.T., the Long Trail, and vast sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. I learned about how weather prediction is related to physics, and the history of the Vigorous Hikers. Together, we scaled the final mountain of our hike, near the 3296 summit of Robertson Mountain, and caught views of Old Rag. From there we descended to the Weakley Hollow Fire Road, which is part of the Old Rag Loop. We saw our first hikers since the summit of Stony Man on the fire road. This road took us back to our cars.

We returned to the parking lot at 4:12 PM, 7 hours and 23 minutes after beginning the 17.7 mile hike. I enjoyed the day and look forward to joining these folks again when they return to this part of the park. A future hike will allow me to return to Monkeyhead, which is a particularly appealing destination.

Hike Details.

PATC Difficulty Factor 418.8

Distance: 17.7 miles

Total Time: 7 hours 23 minutes.

Average Uphill: 17% grade

Lowest point: 1141 ft.

Highest point: 4028 ft.

Total uphill: 4954 ft.

Hiking outside of Virginia.

2010-08-12T11:02:00.000-04:00

No posts lately, but life is good.

White Oak/Cedar Run Loop - July 5, 2010

2010-07-07T17:28:00.009-04:00

Taking advantage of the Independence Day holiday, I set a hiking record I never expect to equal again. I went hiking on a day that the high temperature hit 99 degrees in Charlottesville. Perhaps this is good experience for my Grand Canyon hike, less than a month from now.

Lunch break overlooking White Oak Falls.

Some folks I have hiked with through the Charlottesville Chapter of the PATC wanted to get out to train for their trip later this summer to Glacier National Park. Since Monday was a holiday, I was able to get dropped off in Madison by my family heading south from Northern Virginia, and picked up by this group heading north from Charlottesville.

The transfer occurred at 9:45. I met up with Iva, a PATC trail leader and great party host; Dan, a veteran PATC hiker and rock climbing teacher; Marit, who last year hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine; and John, who always agrees to the hardest club hikes. We had to decide first where to hike. We settled on Shenandoah National Park's White Oak Falls/Cedar Run loop because we would be near water much of the time and the trail has a good uphill section.

At the high point on our hike,
the Skyline Drive near Hawksbill Mountain.

We started out from the parking lot east of the park near Syria and Graves Mountain Lodge. We headed up the White Oak Canyon trail, which ascends steeply starting about a half mile from the parking lot. We passed by a number of folks who had stopped to enjoy the water as we headed uphill, and a couple of hikers from our party did the same. I didn't stop because I didn't want to realize that I'd be much happier doing something besides hiking.

But it really wasn't unbearable to hike - much easier than I would have thought, given the temperature in Charlottesville. I've hiked this loop several times before, but always when the leaves were off the trees. So it was nice to see the falls during the summer.

There are several loops possible with this hike. We took a longer one, which took us over the Limberlost Trail, a handicapped accessible trail. We agreed that we would keep this trail in mind after 30 more years had passed, and we'd meet out here and call ourselves "The Hobblers." We eventually reached the Skyline Drive and Appalachian Trail near Hawksbill Mountain. We didn't climb Hawksbill (the tallest mountain in the park), but had some nice views from a cliff near the Skyline Drive.

After that, it was downhill along Cedar Run. The group had split into two parts at this point, with part taking the Skyline Drive because John's ankle was bothering him, and part taking the AT. We should have checked the map, as the Skyline Drive is shaped like a paper clip here, so it was a much longer trip. The group reconnected at a swimming hole on Cedar Run, however.

And what a swimming hole! There was already a young family there, complete with a 3 year old in a bike helmet. They happily let us try out the water slide, and our group took it several times. This water hole wasn't more than a mile and a half from the end of the hike, so it is an easy reach for families. The rocks look a little dicey at first (you think, "am I really going to make it in the water?"), but you slide so quickly down the rock that it really isn't a problem. I hope to make it back here soon with some children. Maybe I'll even warn them that the water is really cold!

Hike Details.

PATC Difficulty Factor: 229.0 (Roughly equal to the Old Rag circuit.)

Distance: 9.4 miles

Total Time: 6 hours 50 minutes, including lunch, talking and swim breaks.

Steepest Uphill: from 1.42 to 1.58 miles, 31% grade.

Average Uphill: 9% grade
Average Downhill: 15% grade

Lowest point: 1125 ft.

Highest point: 3609 ft.

Total uphill: 2778 ft.

W&OD Trail: July 4, 2010

2010-07-07T12:53:00.002-04:00

Having grown up in Illinois near one of the original rail trails in the United States, getting a rail-trail in Charlottesville would be on top of my "wish list." Unfortunately, because Amtrak would not agree with my priorities, it is unlikely Cville will get a rail-trail any time soon.

The trail is a popular place!

So whenever I have a bike and the opportunity, I love to check out other rail-trails. A family visit to friends in Northern Virginia gave me the opportunity to check out some of the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, which heads west past Leesburg from Arlington.

I took several rides on the trail in the Vienna area. I headed into downtown Vienna to find a couple of geocaches with the children, and later in the day headed west to Reston with Miles before cutting off the trail to go to the host family's swim club pool.

The trail is very popular, with kids learning to bike, spandex-clad power bikers and joggers, and dog walkers among the many demographics on the trail. Will was almost hit by a couple of tiny fawn crossing the path on our ride to town, so I guess we should count wildlife as trail users, too. I could not help thinking about how the county government in Illinois reserved the right to transform the Illinois Prairie Path corridor into a highway in the future when that path was first started. Such an action would likely create a riot, because these trails are such a great resource in their communities.

From the front: Miles, Teddy, Will, Sophie and Phoebe
head through Vienna.

There were some imaginative geocaches that we found along the trail, and these seem to thrive despite the large crowds using the trail. It makes the ride that much more fun. Folks living near the W&OD should count themselves as lucky, because they have a healthy alternative to the traffic-choked streets and highways in the DC area.

Backpacking Overnight - June 19/20, 2010

2010-06-22T10:31:00.024-04:00

I spent Father's Day Weekend attending a Leave No Trace Trainer Course sponsored by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. My thanks go to my wife and son for letting me get away to attend! Although I have often hiked with the Charlottesville Chapter of the PATC dating back to 1993 and have occasionally volunteered to help maintain trails with the subgroup, I have never before attended an activity put on by the Washington DC-based main group.

Alex and Hal instruct the group at the start of the trip.

As part of the training, we backpacked in the Central District of Shenandoah National Park and practiced the Leave No Trace (LNT) principles. Leave No Trace is a program designed to assist people using the outdoors "with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb." It is focused on teaching the user the ethical framework and skills to determine the appropriate activities and the consequences of one's actions on the land. The program I attended seeks to help us train others about the nature of recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts.

Finding room in our packs for the group gear.

LNT consists of 7 principles:

Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors

There were 10 of us including two instructors, which is the maximum group number for the Shenandoah NP backcountry. We started at Skyland on the northern edge of Shenandoah National Park's Central District, at 8AM on Saturday.

Lee presents on "Dispose of Waste Properly" on the hike.

After presentations by the leaders and by Lisa on "Plan Ahead and Prepare" that I helped assess (she did a great job and I'm not just saying that because she gave us all Jolly Rancher candies!), we drove a few miles south to the trailhead at the Meadow Spring Overlook. Our leaders, Alex and Hal, made sure that we knew to stop at every concrete marker announcing a trail intersection before letting us descend off of the Skyline Drive into the backcountry.

Over the next two days, each of the eight participants presented on one of the seven LNT principles. We had two presentations addressing durable surfaces by the mother/daughter pair of Mary and Margo, with Margo presenting on travel on durable surfaces and Mary presenting later on camping on durable surfaces. Some of these presentations were along the trail, and some were at our camp for the night.

Indy tells folks not to take stuff, even if it looks cool.

I was charged with explaining "Leave What You Find," and used the opportunity to make use of my son's Indiana Jones Hat and Sound Effect Whip while engaging the group (playacting as Cub Scouts) why it isn't good practice to take artifacts to put in your drawer at home.

Hal and Alex brought a ton of LNT experience and history to the table and I feel lucky to have been guided by two people who have been practicing and teaching these principles for such a long time.

Our elevation profile of both days' hikes.

The hike to the campsite was 3.7 miles long the first day, and 4.4 miles the second day as we returned by a less direct route. The steepest incline was near the start of the second day's hike and it was a 16% grade for 1/5 of a mile as we ascended near the summit of Catlett Mountain. The climb at the end of the hike (back up to the Skyline Drive) was longer at .6 mile, but was only a 7% grade. Nonetheless we all felt that climb, as it was at the end of the event and I really felt the heat and humidity for the first time on this climb. The highest point on our hike was the trailhead on the Skyline Drive north of Stony Man.

I have been on a brief section of the Hazel Mountain Trail near our campsite once before, back in 2004 when I climbed up from a trailhead off of Route 231. But since there are no real landmarks along the way in this part of the park, I didn't realize at the time that I had passed through before. This is actually a pretty confusing area of the park. You have the Hazel Mountain Trail and the Hazel River Trail. And you have the Catlett Spur Trail and the Catlett Mountain Trail. You pass by the Buck Hollow Trail and the Buck Ridge Trail. We seemed to be passing by those concrete posts every ten minutes announcing new trail name variations!

But the area has some good backcountry camping spots, and that was the real reason we were back there. (I think that was probably the reason the eight or so others we came across were also in this part of the park.) We camped on a relatively level spot near the intersection of the Hazel Mountain Trail and the Catlett Mountain Trail. It was out of sight of the trails, as is recommended to leave no trace of your activity - camping in a spot visible from the trail encourages others to camp in the same spot, which quickly degrades the area.

Lisa borrowed my camera and took the greatest photo. Here is Lee showing how to not harass wildlife.
Note he has his LNT card in his hand in case he forgets anything!

In my BSA Scouter training sessions, I've learned that some of the best takeaways are the tidbits you learn from other outdoors lovers that may have little to do with the course content. Here is a collection of tidbits I took home with me:

I learned what a Hennessy Hammock is like and how to get in one from Bruce. I have always been curious about what these are like and would love to try one overnight.

I learned about the PATC Trail Patrol from Murry. It sounds like a great way to volunteer!

I learned from Alex that real strict LNT would mean that everyone leaves their packs next to the kitchen area so they walk back to their tents less frequently, though thankfully our group did not practice this.

Margo checks her feet for insect bites.
In back, Alex, Murry and Lisa
assesses a recent presentation.

Lee taught me that cigarette butts degrade relatively more quickly than many trash items careless hikers toss away.

Did you know there is a KOA on the Vegas Strip next to Circus Circus? Neither did I! Margo related her camping experience there. (The map on the website indicates they even have special "player's sites" that are close to the bathrooms. Do you suppose Nora would be willing to trade out our 2 night room reservation at the Treasure Island Casino?)

Jay told us about the history of Philmont Scout Reservation which he first visited in 1961, and Lee was once a ranger there.

Alex reminded me that my decision in high school not to join my Explorer post on its journey to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior might not have been the best one I have made in my life.

I learned that I should quit wearing my day glow green perforated wicking tee shirt from Target in the backcountry if I really want to be serious about LNT, but am not sure I am that serious yet because it is darn comfortable on a hot hike and I don't seriously believe the animals really care. (Fortunately I got a couple of sharp new wicking tees for Father's Day when I returned home!)

Dayglow hiker with son (in hat) and friend on a May PATC hike to South River Falls.
Note the absence of any wildlife in the photo!

Mary taught me that some kinds of sleep aids really do help in the backcountry, even if Margo thinks her mom is a "pusher." And Mary also taught me that Ambien is best taken just before going to bed and not if you plan to stay up in your tent giggling with Margo and Lisa (as she did).
And because Ambien has been linked to bizzare sleepwalking behavior, if anybody needs to talk to me about late night incoherent tent visits or wildlife harassment, I am blaming Mary!

Jay discusses
campfires.

I learned that the Steripen water purifier with included batteries that I bought on special at Amazon before Christmas and used for the first time this weekend must be a real battery hog, because it worked exactly once before telling me there was insufficient battery power. I need to get that working before hiking up Half Dome later this summer and stock up on the Double A's.

Lisa taught me about the subject of her master's pursuit: Eco-Psychology, which seems like a pretty interesting profession.

From Hal I learned that digging a cathole too deep means that there will be no organic matter and what you leave in the hole will stay there forever. Ugh!

Our water hunting
and Croc finding run.

From unknown hikers I learned that sometimes people leave perfectly good Crocs by the side of a stream, to the delight of someone camping in the backcountry who has been wanting a new pair and whose mother found them on a water run. (Lee needs to get back to us on how long Crocs take to break down in the wild.)

Hal informed us that the Boy Scouts hated the official leave no trace logo so much that they only agreed to be a part of the system if they could design their own logo, because "boys wouldn't want that patch." I like the official logo better even though it reminds me of the logo for the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team.

All on my own I learned what chiggers feel like, as I have their handiwork all around both ankles right at the sock level. Itchy and scratchy.

I learned that a backpacking stool might be worth the added ounces on your back.

I learned it can be very comfortable in the Shenandoah backcountry in the summer even though temperatures back home are in the mid-90's with high humidity.

And I learned that I can have a blast backpacking with a group of people I had never met before!

Our group. Thanks to all for a great weekend!

Technical Issues in Hiking

2010-06-13T15:14:00.002-04:00

I often think back to when I first started hiking in Virginia the winter of 1992-93. Three of my now "critical" hiking accessories really did not exist. Back then, nobody used hiking sticks - something I consider critical to my hikes today. I remember one fellow on the PATC trips having a cell phone that came in a small suitcase. Otherwise, nothing. And GPS receivers did not become common until after the Clinton administration declassified use of the U.S. satellites allowing for such use. This occurred ten years ago on May 1st. Being an arrogant map guy myself, I didn't bother purchasing a GPS until 2007. I bought a handheld GPS then to introduce Will to geocaching and try to get him more enthusiastic about traipsing through the woods.

The "GPS vs. compass" debate is always kind of humorous, with self-righteous old school outdoorsmen expressing horror that the GPS might somehow replace map and compass. I don't see it happening. But I also would never go on a hike without my GPS. I say that not because I depend on it to tell me where to go, but because it records where I have been. At the end of my hike, I have a record of each minute of the hike, the exact location, the distance traveled (by minute) and the elevation at each data point. This is what allows me to state distance, elevation gains and difficulty of each hike. And I can put this data onto Google Earth and see a representation of where I went from the sky.

Difficulty is computed using something I call the "PATC Difficulty Factor." This is a calculation I first saw on hikes reported in the Potomac Appalachian Trail's newsletter. It is the square root of ((2 x elevation change) x distance). The final number is the square root of the sum of those numbers.

This number isn't perfect. It doesn't, for example, differentiate between two relatively flat trails where one is on dirt and the other is over a rock field. Traversing over rocks that sometimes move and constantly threaten a twisted ankle is much tougher than an equally long and flat section of trail over dirt. But it provides a start.

I use a Garmin 60CSx. Not sure it is what I would buy today, but it has provided me with great reliability for the past three years. Garmin charges extra for such seemingly basic items as detailed maps and topographic data. I have never been willing to fork over the extra $100 for this software because, as I have said, I use the GPS to record my movements, not direct me where to go. But it also means that only main routes like interstates and U.S. Highways show up on the screen.

Garmin is also not real good with the owner's manual information. I have figured out a lot of what I do through trial-and-error. Even three years after owning this unit, I feel that there is a lot I could learn if someone came out with a good "idiot's guide" for the unit. Such a guide should include information on how analyze the data and would give an explanation for the parts of the unit that I never use. There is nothing like that out there. I am glad that I decided, after about 6 months of using the receiver, to save the data on each hike to a flash drive. This has allowed me to go back and work on data after I have increased my knowledge, such as analyzing my last Grand Canyon trip a year after taking the hike.

Using Wikiloc.com, I can sometimes get GPS data in advance of a trip to get a sense of what is in store for me. There aren't a lot of trails on this site, however, so it is hit and miss. And even when there is a trail loaded, sometimes the quality of the data is not that great. For example, note the statement accompanying the Half Dome ascent on the website: "Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad data from Happy Isles to the top of Nevada Fall and beyond due to surrounding terrain. You get the general idea though :)" (Note to hiker: "general idea" doesn't cut it, dude!) These hikes can be accessed through Google Earth though they aren't as fancy as the other G.E. feature for hikes, called Everytrail.

Meeting the Priest: June 8, 2010

2010-06-11T13:35:00.009-04:00

In earlier posts I have written about preparing to hike Half Dome in Yosemite later this year. I've bought a book that is about only this hike. I've hiked progressively tougher trails. Two months are left, and I am running out of options in Virginia that provide a greater challenge than my previous hikes. I asked the experts on the PATC Trails Forum for ideas of hikes that approximate the Half Dome Hike. None of the suggestions seemed better than the one I had come up with: hike from the Tye River to the top of The Priest on the Appalachian Trail. Twice.

Elevation Profile: First half of The Priest Hike on the A.T.

This hike took me back to the same parking lot where I started my Three Ridges hike a couple of weeks previous, on Virginia Route 56 a couple of miles east of Crabtree Falls. The lot is on the A.T. where it meets the Tye River, at an elevation of about 950 feet. From there, the A.T. southbound climbs for about 3.5 miles to the top of The Priest, which is just over 4000 feet. Climbing it twice would give me a 6000 foot gain over about 14 miles, which is actually steeper than the Half Dome hike. A day hike to the top of Half Dome is 14.2 miles long (via the Mist Trail) and requires an elevation gain of 4800 feet, according to this site.

The 14 miles up and back from Half Dome are no doubt much more spectacular than my trip up and down and up and down The Priest. But there are a couple of nice overlooks along the way up The Priest, and I had the privilege of speaking with 4 northbound thru hikers each individually on their way to Maine. One told me that a bear had been grunting around her tent the night before, and she was afraid it would come in and get all the food at her feet (she should check out this video!). Another asked me what I was hiking today and when I told him he responded, "What would you ever want to do that for?"

A big thrill was getting to see my first ever examples of a small plant known as Beartongue or Eastern Turkeybeard, Xerophyllum asphodeloides. Can I say it was a thrill to see a plant? I've seen photos of Beartongue (I like that name much better than "Turkeybeard," though the latter is used more commonly), and it reminded me a lot of its close relative, Beargrass, which is a plant I saw near Glacier National Park back in high school. Each plant had striking white groups of flowers that seemed to glow like lightbulbs. The genus name, from the Greek xeros (dry) and phyllon (leaf), refers to the dry, wiry, basal leaves of this showy plant. It is said to be difficult to cultivate and seldom blooms in gardens.

One source states that Eastern Turkeybeard is "only found in the pine barrens of Ocean County, New Jersey, and mid- to high-elevation (2000-3000 feet) quartzite or granite ridges with xeric [dry] oak-pine glades along the Appalachian mountains of Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama." I found it higher on The Priest, with one plant at 3100 feet, and the rest between 3900 and 4000 feet in elevation. Another source reports that the plant is reported in only 41 counties across its range, though a Virginia Tech site claims that it is found in 23 counties of Virginia alone.

This plant is a mini version of its western cousin. I was surprised at how small it is. And interestingly, it only seemed to grow within 3 feet of the trail; I could not find it deeper into the woods. One source states that the plant "may be aided in its establishment by fire, as it appears to be most common in areas that have a history of burning and increases flowering following controlled burns." From the same source: "The strikingly tall inflorescence of this species produces white, nectar-producing flowers, making it unique among the flora typical of this dry habitat. The flowers may attract moths and other flying pollinators; however, no literature has been published to date on pollination."

The plant appears to be threatened in the central appalachians, as shown on this site. Another source lists the following threats to the plant:

• Trampling and collection by hikers

• Damage by off-road vehicles

• Possible collecting (the species is advertised on the internet as a homeopathic remedy)

• Erosion of shallow-to-bedrock soils due to water diversion or road-building

• Conversion of habitat for residential development (especially pine barrens)

• Fire suppression leading to succession of woody canopy

To that list they can add "well meaning but ineffective landscapers," as I tried to do my part to help a set of plants by clearing out some dead branches that were competing with some of the plants. This backfired, as I managed to sheer off one of the flower heads in the process. I took a photo of that flower in my hand, so you can get a sense of the flower's size.

As for the hike, I did manage to climb The Priest twice. The second ascent felt like it was three times harder than the first one. At one point, I turned my GPS off and back on - I was convinced it must have locked up because it had read that I'd hiked 10 miles for so long. I doubt that I will ever take another day hike that is quite this hard, though I ended the day certainly feeling better than after other hikes I"ve taken - most notably climbing Katahdin via the Knife Edge Trail in Maine. Nothing beat me up like that hike. Maybe it is time to go back, since I am in better shape!

The A.T. at about 4000 feet elevation with Turkeybeard at left.

Hike Details.

PATC Difficulty Factor 407.9

Distance: 13.5 miles

Total Time: 7 hours 52 minutes.

Average Uphill: 17% grade

Lowest point: 970 ft.

Highest point: 4049 ft.

Total uphill: 6157 ft.

Three Ridges Wilderness - May 25, 2010

2010-06-07T14:48:00.000-04:00

I forgot my camera on this hike, so no photos this time!

In trying to get in shape for a strenuous hike in California this summer, I've continued my search for the hardest hikes in Virginia. On a cool and drizzly Tuesday morning I headed out to the Three Ridges Wilderness, which is near Crabtree Falls and Wintergreen Ski Area in Nelson County.

Three Ridges is a relatively new wilderness area. I had hiked it before over a decade ago, before the wilderness designation. I remember the climb to the top of Three Ridges to be very hard - harder than the climb up the Priest, which is on the other side of the Tye River. A decade ago, I only hiked to the top of Three Ridges and returned on the same route. This time I hoped to take the longer, harder version of this hike, which involves returning via the Mau-Har Trail which connects two points on the A.T. and avoids the peaks of Three Ridges. So I would go over the top of Three Ridges, then down the back way via the Mau-Har Trail.

Most descriptions of this hike start out from a parking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Reed's Gap where the road to Wintergreen reaches the ridgeline. (Here is an example.) I chose a harder route, from the point where the Appalachian Trail crosses Route 56 along the Tye River. This trailhead is at 950 feet in elevation, and the AT climbs to 3,955 feet inside the wilderness.

Parking at the lot on Route 56 is always a little nerve-wracking. I've heard tales of folks who parked there for an overnight backpacking trip only to come back the next day to find their car battery gone. When the sheriff gets called, he tells you, "You are in luck, because a guy just up the road sells used car batteries!" Then you get the privilege of buying back your own battery. A sign at the lot says that break-ins have occurred and instructs you to take all valuables with you. But a car battery is pretty heavy to haul up a mountain! I'd never park there overnight, but will take the chance on a day hike.

I intentionally picked a cloudy day with a threat of rain through mid-afternoon. This worked out well as I was able to hike the uphill portion of the route without too much discomfort from the heat. The trail works steadily upward from the great suspension bridge over the Tye River to its first meeting with the Mau-Har Trail after 1.7 miles. At 2.6 miles on the A.T. is the Harper's Creek Shelter. Since I had last been through here the Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club has done much work upgrading the area around Harper's Creek Shelter. I do not remember the several campsites or the signs in the area, though the additions made it more confusing to follow the A.T. Otherwise, the area looks very nice.

After passing the Harper's Creek Shelter it is a steady climb to the top of Three Ridges. I had remembered this to be a brutal hike, and expressed my belief to other hikers through the years that Three Ridges is really a tougher climb than The Priest. The Priest is widely talked about as the toughest hike on the A.T. in Virginia. The Three Ridges climb, however, is only 100 feet less. Now that I have looked over GPS data for each ascent, though, I can see that the A.T. climbs The Priest in 4.0 miles, compared with 5.3 miles for Three Ridges.

That is one reason why GPS data is such a great resource. I got data off of Wikiloc.com giving GPS data for the A.T. to both peaks. The Vertical Profile is shown to the right, with The Priest on the left and Three Ridges on the right. Even though I remember Three Ridges to be a tougher hike, it is clear that The Priest is steeper with a much more unrelenting ascent. I don't even need to hike the Priest before having data that can be used to compare the difficulty of this hike compared with other hikes.

From an "experience" standpoint, I was surprised that the ascent of Three Ridges was not tougher. I remember it being brutal, but it didn't seem too bad when I ascended this time. The ascent never left me out of breath, though the entire hike was long and left my legs pretty sore. After reaching the top the trail leveled out before coming to the Maupin Field Shelter and the northern terminus of the Mau-Har Trail. There weren't any real views at the top because I was hiking in the clouds, but there are beautiful vistas when it is clear out.

I stopped at the Maupin Field Shelter and had lunch. A couple was setting up a tent in one of the nearby campsites, and a couple of backpackers showed up a little confused about where the Mau-Har Trail was and where the A.T. was. When one of them pulled out a cigarette, I took off down the Mau-Har.

I had never done the complete loop before, thinking I was not in shape for the long trip required to complete this. The northern section of the Mau-Har Trail was the section I had not completed. The trail was constructed back in the 1970s as a connector to two parts of the A.T. and so folks could see several small waterfalls on Campbell Creek. The trail is still pretty rough in sections, but it is clear that the AT Club maintaining this trail has worked hard on it. It is steeper than the A.T. because of the way it follows the creek.

After several creek crossings, the Mau-Har climbs steeply out from the Campbell Creek valley, over a ridge, and connects again with the A.T. From here it is 1.7 downhill miles to the trailhead and parking lot. This was the toughest hike yet, as reflected in the PATC Difficulty Factor, listed below. That number is calculated by multiplying elevation twice, then multiplying that sum by the distance, then taking the square root of the resulting sum. This hike has the highest number yet.

Hike Details.

PATC Difficulty Factor 330.3

Distance: 13.0 miles

Total Time: 5 hours 12 minutes.

Average Uphill: 11% grade

Lowest point: 936 ft.

Highest point: 3955 ft.

Total uphill: 4205 ft.

Reddish Knob Ascent - May 10, 2010

2010-05-14T16:50:00.000-04:00

At 4397 feet, Reddish Knob is the 2nd highest peak in the George Washington National Forest, behind Elliott Knob. Research indicates that it is the highest mountain heading north until the Adirondacks in New York, except for a couple of nearby peaks in West Virginia just northwest of this mountain. Reddish Knob is higher than Mount Mansfield and Killington Peak in Vermont, Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, and Hawksbill Peak, the highest mountain in Shenandoah National Park. Reddish Knob is part of Shenandoah Mountain, which has no connection to the national park.

Reddish Knob has a road that goes to a parking area on the top, making it Virginia's equivilent of Mount Washington in New Hampshire or Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. I’ve driven up Reddish Knob several times over the years, usually at off times, because you don’t want to meet another car coming the opposite way on this road. The parking lot is pretty nasty – with much spray painted graffiti, beer cans and even a few old tires. Makes me think it should be called "Redneck Knob."

Elevation Profile

But the views are incredible! Pictures really cannot do it justice; especially from my camera. You can look at Shenandoah National Park to the east, and deep into West Virginia to the west, including a bunch of satellite dishes for a U.S. Navy installation.
This area is presently classified as a “roadless area” and has been promoted for Wilderness Designation. There has been some opposition from mountain bikers as changing the area to wilderness would eliminate biking access from the area (geocaches, too).

To reach the top of the mountain, I parked at a parking area just off the Tillman Road and headed up the Sand Springs Trail. I had hiked this trail a couple of weeks previous when I did the Narrowback loop. It was a much easier climb this time. Maybe it was the cooler temperature, or maybe because I started up this trail at the beginning of my hike. Maybe I am in better shape. Or maybe I was thinking about how I could never do the Yosemite hike I’d like to try in August if I can’t do this one.

The Sand Springs Trail is the most direct route up to Reddish Knob, and is a steep haul for 3.2 miles, as can be seen on the elevation profile. After it ends at the Timber Ridge Trail, Timber Ridge continues at a fairly level pace for about 3 miles before the final ascent up to Reddish Knob. This was an out and back hike, so the elevation profile is a mirror image from front to back.

Timber Ridge from Reddish Knob

The hike itself isn’t a spectacular one. It was a “prove I could do it” hike. A hike I’d like to take this summer at Yosemite up Half Dome is about the same length, but with an additional 1300 foot elevation gain – about 38% steeper. Of course, if I were to chicken out and not do the last portion of the hike, then Yosemite is only 868 feet higher that the Reddish Knob hike. So Reddish Knob was a good test of my capabilities.

The PATC's Charlottesville Chapter will be doing a different Reddish Knob hike on June 12th. They will be taking the Lynn Trail (which I don't find on any of my various GWNF maps) to the Wolf Ridge Trail to the Timber Ridge Trail (at an intersection that was approximately 3.9 miles up trail for me). That out and back isn’t quite as long as the one I took, and starts further up the mountain. The PATC projects their hike to total 11 miles. Maybe some of my friends in that group might consider dropping a car where I parked and coming down that way, just for a change of pace.

Looking down the Sand Springs Trail.

Hike Details.

PATC Difficulty Factor 313.1

Distance: 14.1 miles

Total Time: 5 hours 54 minutes, including hanging out at the top.

Steepest Uphill: from 1.35 miles to 1.88 miles; 16% grade.

Lowest point: 1935 ft.

Highest point: 4414 ft.

Total uphill: 3468 ft.

Narrowback Loop - April 23, 2010

2010-04-24T21:28:00.000-04:00

On a warm, sunny April Friday I went back west of Harrisonburg to do a loop I've wanted to check out for at least 10 years. The Narrowback Loop consists of a group of trails up and down Narrowback Mountain (2500 foot elevation) on the eastern edge of GWNF west of Bridgewater, and up the Sand Spring Trail and then down the Timber Ridge Trail, which ascend Sand Spring Mountain (3720 elevation) and eventually summit Reddish Knob (4397 elevation). This was my Apollo 10 hike - a test run to see if I am in good enough shape to take a trail all the way to Reddish Knob without actually "landing" there. This hike went great, so the next hike I hope to take the plunge and summit Reddish Knob and back on a day hike.

Brand new clear cut.

The Narrowback loop started on the Tillman Trail, which summited Narrowback Mountain. The Tillman Trail heads east from the Tillman Road (FS 101), climbing through a section of reputed old growth forest (see link), and passing by a fresh clear cut. The Tillman Trail was the southern boundary for the clear cut, though who knows where it will be if I return, as the clear cutting does not appear to be over.

The Tillman Trail continues to climb until it comes to a road, where hikers turn left. The trail follows the road until it reaches a tower owned by Clear Communications. The route becomes a legitimate trail again on the other side of the tower, and stays on the ridge for a while longer before dropping back down to the road again.

At the top of the Tillman Trail.

At the road I ran into a couple of turkey hunters decked out in full cammo gear - even cammo shoes! They were interesting to talk to, and I found out that Turkey Season in Virginia in April ends at noon daily, so the hens have some of the day to find food. Of course, it is the toms they are after. These guys really knew the mountains.

Heading up the Sand Spring Trail was a real slog. The trail wasn't as steep as others I have taken, and it is wide enough for a truck to drive up, but it is all uphill and it is relentless. The entire uphill averages 10% and has a section at 16%. The uphill section lasts for 3.3 miles and lasts virtually the entire portion of the Sand Spring Trail until its intersection with the Timber Ridge Trail.

Heading up Sand Spring Mountain

I headed back downhill after meeting up with the Timber Ridge Trail and eating an apple - my only food on the entire trip, thanks to some poor planning. This trail follows the Hearthstone Ridge back to the Tillman Road and my car. On the way down, there were a lot of spring flowers coming up, including bluet, dwarf iris, and star chickweed. A large stand of mountain laurel was getting ready to pop, as well.

Overall, this hike wasn't nearly as difficult as the nearby Hone Quarry Loop I did a couple of weeks earlier, though it is several miles longer. A nice aspect to this loop was the fact that there were eight geocaches within 20 yards of the trail and several others a little further away. I found them all, but passed a 9th that was two tenths of a mile off the trail - 1000 feet is too far to go off trail, in my mind. The trail itself doesn't have a lot to recommend for a return trip, other than to get me up to Reddish Knob.

Mountain Laurel along the Hearthstone Ridge.

Hike Details.

PATC Difficulty Factor 250.6

Distance: 11.0 miles

Total Time: 5 hours 29 minutes, including geocache searches.

Steepest Uphill: from 4.67 miles to 5.06 miles; 16% grade.

Average Uphill: 10% grade

Lowest point: 1751 ft.

Highest point: 3727 ft.

Total uphill: 1960 ft.

Return to Monkeyhead (Sort of...) - April 18, 2010

2010-04-20T16:13:00.000-04:00

I hiked the entire Doubletop Trail with four other folks on Sunday. The weather was beautiful, with sunny skies and highs in the low 60's. I had hiked part of this trail a few years back when I stayed at the PATC's Meadows Cabin, making it up to a rocky overlook called "Monkeyhead." I had recalled this as a very steep trail, but hiked it before purchasing a GPS. So I was excited to get back on this trail and determine whether the trail was as steep as I remember.

Early on the trail.

We all met at Sheetz in Madison before proceeding to Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria. We dropped a car in the lot there and continued west to the trailhead parking at the entrance to the Meadows Cabin. We were on the trail by 10:05 AM. The trail follows a rutted old road for a brief time before starting up the steep Doubletop Mountain, and climbs over 1000 feet in the first mile.

The trail stays somewhat steep for quite a while, forgoing switchbacks in favor of the direct assault on the mountain. Because Spring was still young, we were able to see some of the early flowers and could still see nearby mountains as we ascended. The trail was in much better shape since the last time I climbed Doubletop, with fresh blue blazes marking the way. Last time, we lost the trail about half way up the mountain and bushwacked up the ridge. This time it was clear where to go.

The first Doubletop peak looms ahead.

That clarity ended up being a two-edged sword, however. Because we stayed on the trail, we missed Monkeyhead overlook. We ended up lunching at a similar overlook, but it was at the second mountain peak, and I could not remember any descents on our previous hike. After returning home, loading the trail into Google Earth, and checking with Cullen (who had hiked the last time with me), I can say with certainty that we missed the overlook I had hoped to revisit. The trail hooked east of the rocky point, and we did not see the rocks as we descended towards the second peak.

My memory of the Monkeyhead ascent was that the hiking was brutal. I remember literally pulling myself up the mountain using mountain laurel until we reached the rocks. Although the hike was not that bad the second time around (possibly because we were actually on an established trail), the ascent was still the steepest of any established trail I have taken and measured in Virginia. Going up Doubletop averaged a 21% grade and hit 40% for a brief section. The steepest previous hike I had previously recorded is a brief portion of Old Rag that was a 33% grade. (A flyer for the Wild Oak Trail claims that a steep trail I took a decade ago from Camp Todd to Ramsey's Draft Wilderness Area has slopes "up to 46 percent.")

Looking up the trail and into the sun at its steepest point.

But the descent of the first peak does not compare with the second peak. The second peak had a brief portion (1/20th of a mile) that was a 44% grade. One of my fellow hikers, Iva, was particularly interested in this portion of the trail because she took horses over the trail last Fall, and the horses fell here. She and her crew ended up spending the night on the mountain when the group split up and the terrain became too steep. It was like returning to the scene of a car wreck, as Iva took pictures of snapped limbs and altered trail.

After scaling the second Doubletop peak, the terrain appeared to level out considerably. Because I thought I still had a shot at lunch on Monkeyhead overlook, I delayed the group while I fought the branches of a downed tree and found a route to another large rock overlook. This one was the equal of Monkeyhead, though a couple of hundred feet lower. We decided to have lunch there.

Elevation Profile of Doubletop Hike.

Lunch at Doubletop viewpoint.

A couple of our crew had gone on ahead, but they eventually returned to join us at our lunch spot. We overlooked the Rapidan River valley and could see the fire road that leads up to Hoover Camp. Across the valley was a peak with some FAA relay towers. And, if you stood up and looked back past the twisted rock path that brought you to our lunch spot, you could spy Old Rag in the distance.

After lunch we headed off towards Graves Mountain Lodge. There was some concern at this point because it was after 1:30 and we had traveled less than 2.5 miles. But an hour had been spent on or near our lunch rock, and the rest of the trip was pretty level, so I wasn't too concerned.

Our trail route on Google Earth.

At 2.8 miles we came to the split with the Palatini Trail. This was a somewhat confusing intersection, because the trail map indicated that the Palatini Trail split off sharply to the right, however the actual condition was that our trail split off sharply to the left. We had to look down the Palatini Trail and see the white blazes on that trail, then look back on the extension of the Doubletop Trail to see a blue blaze before we were confident that we had taken the correct path. That was the last blue blaze we would see that afternoon.

Of course there is a trail here!

From that point on, we straddled the ridgetop constantly looking for evidence that a trail had once existed along the way, in stark contrast to the bold dashed line that trail cut on our map. On occasion we would see a tree limb or trunk that had been sawed years ago. Other times (particularly on the uphill portions), a path would present itself. And the map indicated we were headed the right way when we came to a clear border between the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area and Shenandoah National Park.

It isn't like there was real reason for concern, however. We were on a ridgetop, the map indicated that the mountain curved north towards Graves Mountain Lodge, and we could see the surrounding countryside below us and tell where we were in relation to landmarks on the map (including Graves Mountain Lodge). While Iva might claim that the GPSs Tom and I had were critical to this hike, I am confident it could have been done without them, and even a map wasn't really needed (other than because I have to have a map). Except for the intersection with the Palatini Trail, this trip really wasn't that complex, even without a discernible trail for much of the latter half of the hike.

Looking back towards the start of our hike.

Intersecting trails became increasingly faint. While the Palatini Trail was so obvious we could have taken it and ended up on the wrong side of the mountain, the Wilhite Wagon Trail (the next trail dropping south off the mountain) was less apparent. We were never sure if we saw the 4WD Trail, and halfway down the mountain, the Hunter Trail never presented itself.

As you can see from the elevation profile, the final descent was also very steep. From about 5.6 to 6.1 miles into the hike, we dropped almost 800 feet, a 29% drop. I fell a couple of times on the way down, because I would step on a stick that would fly out from under my foot. By this point, the trail had reappeared, wide and clear, and it looked like a superhighway to us.

We can see the trail again! But it is about to drop...

The GPS gave us confidence to take an unmapped perpendicular trail at the end of our hike, which dropped us onto the back end of the Graves Mountain Property. We arrived at the car at 4:20, over 6 hours after we left. Dropping the hour we stopped for lunch still makes this hike about 5 hours and 15 minutes - a long time for a hike under 7 miles. This should tell you how tough the hike was.

A postscript: Because I had enjoyed finding the geocaches over in Hone Quarry the week before, I decided to leave a cache on this hike. It would be one of those caches that might get found once a year because getting to the location is so tough, but it would also highlight a beautiful spot that you might not otherwise visit. I placed it near our lunch spot, so that anyone coming up to find the cache could not miss the fantastic view we experienced.

Graves Mountain Lodge at the end of our hike.

I should have checked local regulations more closely. It turns out that, even though the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries website mentions nothing about geocaching and the DGIF even sponsors events that teach geocaching, they quietly do not permit such placements on their land. "As geocaching is not related to nor does it support wildlife or habitat management, this activity is not allowed on our WMAs," was their response. So I really should go back sometime this year and pick up my cache.

On the bright side, it appears from discussions after my return that our crew has recruited hikers several enthusiastic about a return to the area despite our descriptions of the adventure. We will make sure that we return in a manner that "supports habitat management."

Hike Details.

PATC Difficulty Factor 191.6

Distance: 6.8 miles

Total Time: 6 hours 14 minutes, including stops.

Steepest Uphill: from 2.22 miles to 2.27 miles; 43% grade.

Average Uphill: 21% grade

Starting elevation: 1738 ft.

Highest point: 3460 ft.

Ending elevation: 775 ft.

Total uphill: 2714 ft.

Hone Quarry Hike - April 10, 2010

2010-04-13T14:02:00.000-04:00

Thanks go to Betsy and Gigi for hosting my son on a Cub Scout overnight that did not require my presence over the weekend of April 10-11. I used the opportunity to test out the new tent at George Washington National Forest's Hone Quarry Campground, west of Harrisonburg. It was very peaceful out here, despite a supposed "student riot" going on at Harrisonburg's James Madison University at the same time.

After setting up the tent in the campground, I headed off on a long circuit hike. I started by walking up the Hone Quarry Road past the reservoir, and after 2.4 miles came to the Pond Knob Trail. The Pond Knob Trail climbed at an exceptionally steep 23% grade to the top of Pond Knob where a trail sign was leaning up against a tree. This was the highest elevation of the hike, at 3576 feet, 3.7 miles into the hike.

Here, I turned onto the Meadow Knob Trail. The Meadow Knob Trail is an old jeep trail, though I cannot imagine any jeep ever taking this road. It dropped breathtakingly fast - at a 27% grade - before climbing back up to the summit of Oak Knob.

Oak Knob is slightly lower than Pond Knob at 3506 feet. There is a geocache on the summit of Oak Knob that was easy to find. It had not been accessed since June, the only time someone had nabbed it in the past year.

I continued on the Meadow Knob Trail for another mile-and-a-half to access another geocache. This cache has only been accessed one time since 2006. And I never saw another hiker after leaving the road. Even the guy who placed the geocache on the Oak Knob summit emailed me asking about the trails I used to get to his cache - he'd clearly never taken the most direct trail to his geocache - the Cliff Trail.

Coming back, I re-summited Oak Knob then dropped down a few hundred feet to the Cliff Trail turnoff. There was no sign for the Cliff Trail on the Meadow Knob Trail (not even one leaning up against a tree), but the blazes on the trees were pretty clear. Also somewhat confusing, as I thought when I first passed it ascending to Oak Knob from Pond Knob that it might be the trail to the top, since all trails are blazed yellow.

The Cliff Trail is not a bad trail, but the upper portion of the trail traversed several sections of loose rock where a twisted ankle could happen at any time. This greatly slows the hike and is an added difficulty to a trail that cannot show up in the calculations I make comparing trails.

Closer to the trailhead, there are a couple of great overlooks that look down on the Hone Quarry valley. I had been to one of these a couple of years ago when my nephew Ned came to visit. I'd always wanted to come back and explore the area a little more closely. I am glad I did.

Hike Details.
PATC Difficulty Factor 243.9

Distance: 10.5 miles

Total Time: 4 hours 59 minutes, including stops.

Steepest Uphill: from 2.95 miles to 3.22 miles; 23% grade.

Starting elevation: 1984 ft.

Highest point: 3576 ft.

Meneka Peak Hike - April 6, 2010

2010-04-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

The Glass House is connected to a series of trails on the north side of Massanutten. The connecting trail, known as the Sidewinder Trail, is the only pink blazed trail I've ever seen. It is in good shape, though the blazes were erased (the bark on the trees where the blazes had been were literally painted brown) for the first half of the trail. After approximately a mile, the Sidewinder Trail crosses a road and the blazes appear on the trail.

The day we arrived, Brian and I took the boys on an out-and-back on the Sidewinder Trail, hoping to get to the top of the ridge to get cell service. We didn't make it that far, but made it to where the Sidewinder Trail ends at the Bearwallow Trail before turning back for a 3 and a half mile journey.

The next day, Brian and I set out again just after 7 AM to get to one of the trails on the ridge. I was drawn to the Meneka Peak Trail because a brand-new-yet-to-be-found geocache had been placed up there by some folks behind a hiking website I use a lot, the folks at hikingupward.com. Hikingupward is a great resource for Virginia hikes and I have recommended it to several other hikers in Charlottesville. They offered an additional incentive to find their geocache first: a hikingupward tee shirt.

After 1.7 miles (39 minutes - a lot less than when we were with the boys), the Sidewinder Trail ends at the Bearwallow Trail. The Bearwallow Trail climbs the mountain in a series of switchbacks, reaching the top of the ridge at 3.4 miles (1.5 hours). The Bearwallow Trail crosses a number of rock fields, slowing progress. At the top of the ridge, the hiker has the choice of continuing on the trail and descending the other side of the ridge, or walking the ridge on the Meneka Peak Trail. Thinking that the geocache was on the Meneka Peak Trail, we headed across the ridge.

There were numerous great views at the top of Meneka Peak, our highest point on our hike. And this trail belies the thinking that ridgetop trails are somehow less challenging than trails heading up the mountain. The Meneka Peak Trail was tough going in sections due to the challenge of sidestepping the many rocks along the trail.

We encountered one curious item along the Meneka Peak Trail. It was an old ammo box painted white with the number "14" on the side. We wondered what that was all about! There was nothing inside, however, and no clues elsewhere.

We did not come upon the Meneka Peak Geocache until after leaving the trail of the same name and heading back downhill on the Signal Knob Trail. But we were the first ones to find the geocache, and I got the tee shirt. I'll probably never wear it because it was a medium sized shirt, but it was a great prize anyway. The geocache was 5.1 miles from the Glass House. If it had been on the Meneka Peak Trail, we probably would have gone back the way we came. Because we were closer to Signal Knob, however, we instead took the Signal Knob Trail back to the valley and walked the road from the National Forest Picnic Area to the Glass House.

On the way back down, we stopped at a couple of overlooks, including one that I had reached two years ago when staying at the Glass House. There was another geocache at this spot, and it was one that I could not find when I visited before. Brian found it almost as soon as I said there was a geocache close by. I guess it really does help to have two sets of eyes sometimes. As we descended from the last overlook we came across two other sets of hikers. The first was a pair of college aged females, and the second a couple of older fellows including one with a limp.

I did not ask the first set where they were going, as they looked like they were interested in getting some trail between us and them. The older fellows were heading up to Signal Knob - a surprise because one walked with a pronounced limp.

By the time I got home another pair of searchers had posted for the geocache, and I think these guys were our competition. I was glad we were on the trail shortly after 7 that morning.

We returned to the Glass House after a walk along the Fort Road. Our entire trip totaled 10.2 miles, which means that the geocache was at the exact half way point of our hike. It didn't matter which way we returned.

Hike details.
PATC Difficulty Factor: 273.1
Total Distance: 10.2 miles
Total Time: 4 hours, 32 minutes, including stops.
Steepest Uphill: from 2.7 miles to 3.3 miles; 12% grade.
Starting Elevation: 880 ft.
Highest Point: 2396 ft.