Post by GaliWalker on Sept 8, 2019 13:00:09 GMT -8
Haystack Knob - Adventures in the Roaring Plains Wilderness
Haystack Knob is quite possibly the finest vista in West Virginia’s Roaring Plains Wilderness, but it requires one to work to unlock its magic. Located at the southwest tip of the Roaring Plains plateau, it’s surrounded by private property even though it lies inside the Monongahela National Forest. To avoid trespassing, a 3.5mi long narrow ribbon of National Forest provides access, but the going is tough since the trail in said ribbon is unmaintained, with the final part requiring a bushwack up a steep forested slope.
I began my hike from the Flatrock Plains Trailhead. I made relatively short work of the 6.1mi long trail, gaining 2,260ft of elevation, to reach the top of the Roaring Plains plateau. This would be the highpoint of my day. Mist swirled around the open grassland, but I held fast to thoughts of clearing conditions and better visibility for later on in the day.
This late in the season the vegetation was nice and thick, so picking up the unmaintained continuation of the Roaring Plains Trail was an exercise in faith. Thankfully, it hadn’t rained in a while so I remained relatively dry; in fact, it was kind of enjoyable to swish through the grass and assorted shrubbery. In a hundred yards or so, as I moved into a more forested section the path became more defined.
The trail descended gradually, but the going was slow due to having to fight my way past downed trees, overgrown brush and the occasional bout of route finding. Around 3mi since having left the maintained trail at my Roaring Plains highpoint I deemed that I was at the spot where I needed to make my way straight up the forested slope. This was soon confirmed as I started to see private property fencing.
One thing I forgot to mention was that by now I had picked up a lost dog, who had been following me for the past mile. I knew that his owner would soon be searching for him in the area where he’d come upon me, but I couldn’t shake him lose despite my best efforts. As I worked my way up the steep, brushy, forested slope for 700ft of elevation gain the dog followed. Both of us reached Haystack Knob together. I’d suspended my efforts to escape him by now, since I knew I’d have to take him back with me to the spot where I’d met him originally.
The view from Haystack Knob was spectacular! The mist had cleared away nicely and I could even see some bits of blue sky, although some parts of it were still heavily overcast. As I set up to take pictures a wind gust knocked my camera and tripod assembly off the rocky outcrop and down a 20ft cliff into some rocks…disaster! My heart sank, but as I raced down to it I found the camera to be fine and working normally. The only damage seemed to be an imperceptible ‘wobble’ in the lens around the zoom dial. I couldn’t believe my luck. I took a few pictures, but not too many because I had a long 9.6mi return journey in front of me, as well as the problem of the wayward dog.
GaliWalker on Haystack Knob
Keeping the dog close to me now, the two of us made our way back down to the trail below Haystack Knob. About a mile later I began to hear sounds of someone calling out. I knew this must be the lost dog’s owner so I also called out to him. He soon made his way up to us and my problem was happily resolved. All that remained was the return hike to the car on protesting legs.
Stats: 19.2mi, 4000ft elevation gain, 11hrs
Haystack Knob is quite possibly the finest vista in West Virginia’s Roaring Plains Wilderness, but it requires one to work to unlock its magic. Located at the southwest tip of the Roaring Plains plateau, it’s surrounded by private property even though it lies inside the Monongahela National Forest. To avoid trespassing, a 3.5mi long narrow ribbon of National Forest provides access, but the going is tough since the trail in said ribbon is unmaintained, with the final part requiring a bushwack up a steep forested slope.
I began my hike from the Flatrock Plains Trailhead. I made relatively short work of the 6.1mi long trail, gaining 2,260ft of elevation, to reach the top of the Roaring Plains plateau. This would be the highpoint of my day. Mist swirled around the open grassland, but I held fast to thoughts of clearing conditions and better visibility for later on in the day.
This late in the season the vegetation was nice and thick, so picking up the unmaintained continuation of the Roaring Plains Trail was an exercise in faith. Thankfully, it hadn’t rained in a while so I remained relatively dry; in fact, it was kind of enjoyable to swish through the grass and assorted shrubbery. In a hundred yards or so, as I moved into a more forested section the path became more defined.
The trail descended gradually, but the going was slow due to having to fight my way past downed trees, overgrown brush and the occasional bout of route finding. Around 3mi since having left the maintained trail at my Roaring Plains highpoint I deemed that I was at the spot where I needed to make my way straight up the forested slope. This was soon confirmed as I started to see private property fencing.
One thing I forgot to mention was that by now I had picked up a lost dog, who had been following me for the past mile. I knew that his owner would soon be searching for him in the area where he’d come upon me, but I couldn’t shake him lose despite my best efforts. As I worked my way up the steep, brushy, forested slope for 700ft of elevation gain the dog followed. Both of us reached Haystack Knob together. I’d suspended my efforts to escape him by now, since I knew I’d have to take him back with me to the spot where I’d met him originally.
The view from Haystack Knob was spectacular! The mist had cleared away nicely and I could even see some bits of blue sky, although some parts of it were still heavily overcast. As I set up to take pictures a wind gust knocked my camera and tripod assembly off the rocky outcrop and down a 20ft cliff into some rocks…disaster! My heart sank, but as I raced down to it I found the camera to be fine and working normally. The only damage seemed to be an imperceptible ‘wobble’ in the lens around the zoom dial. I couldn’t believe my luck. I took a few pictures, but not too many because I had a long 9.6mi return journey in front of me, as well as the problem of the wayward dog.
GaliWalker on Haystack Knob
Keeping the dog close to me now, the two of us made our way back down to the trail below Haystack Knob. About a mile later I began to hear sounds of someone calling out. I knew this must be the lost dog’s owner so I also called out to him. He soon made his way up to us and my problem was happily resolved. All that remained was the return hike to the car on protesting legs.
Stats: 19.2mi, 4000ft elevation gain, 11hrs
