Coopers Rock (West Virginia 4/11/'20)

In line with our social distancing efforts I hadn't left the house for a hike in three weeks. I decided to do a relatively short 10mi trip in West Virginia's Coopers Rock State Park, which is a 1.5hr drive away for me. So, a bit further away than I'd have liked, and a bit too popular with the masses...but, with an early start and by sticking to some of the lesser traveled trails I was hopeful to avoid any crowds.

I began with catching the sunrise at Raven Rock. A father and his son turned up in the middle of my photo session, but they and I stayed well away from each other.


1- Sunrise


2- Lectern (selfie)


3- Raven Rock (selfie)


4- Cheat River


5- Looking at Cheat Lake (selfie)


6- Enjoying the play of sunshine (selfie)


7- Pothole

Next, I headed towards the Coopers Rock overlook, alongside the jumble of cliffs that is the Sunset Wall.


8- Big boulder (selfie)


9- Sun dappled (selfie)


10- In the shadow (selfie)


11- Ann's Hall (selfie)

I was still waffling on whether I wanted to visit the usually crowded Coopers Rock overlook, but my decision was made for me when I saw a sign that the viewpoint was closed to enforce social distancing. I continued onward until I hit Clay Run where I hung a right. This was the busiest part of the hike: I encountered 5 other people (3 hikers and 2 mountain bikers), and did the best I could at getting off the trail to let them through. At one point I even walked into a creek to avoid an impasse at a bridge.


12- Underneath Coopers Rock (selfie)


13- Underneath Coopers Rock (selfie)


14- On the Rock City trail (selfie)


15- Clay Run



16- Six Acre Reservoir