Dolly Sods northwest (West Virginia - June/7/2020)
Jun 8, 2020 17:57:12 GMT -8
bluefish and nickhowes like this
Post by GaliWalker on Jun 8, 2020 17:57:12 GMT -8
Dolly Sods northwest (June 7, 2020)
A 3.25hr drive from Pittsburgh deposited me at the parking lot on FR-80 that allowed access to the western edge of Dolly Sods North. It was 6:40am, with the temperature a cool 48°F.
Route: FR-80 – Blackbird Knob Trail – Rocky Ridge Trail – Raven Ridge Trail – Beaver View Trail (side trip down to the Beaver Ponds in the valley) – Dobbins Grade Trail – Upper Red Creek Trail – Blackbird Knob Trail – Red Creek Trail – Breathed Mountain Trail – FD-80
Stats: 15.6mi (including all side trips), 1800ft elevation gain, 9.5hrs
The hike began with a road-walk along FR-80 for about 0.3mi, after which it was trail. Rhododendron tunnels and forest kept things cool and secluded, until I hit the first official trailheads, about 1.3mi from the car: three trails took off from this spot. I continued along the rocky Blackbird Knob Trail, which gave way in 0.3mi to the Rocky Ridge Trail. The dense forest began to open up, and I was soon rolling along through open meadows. The mist that had been nestling amongst the trees, began to lift in the warming sunlight. I had been moving relatively quickly to this point, trying to stay warm. Now, with the appearance of sunshine, that had the scenery looking its prettiest, I slowed down to let the peace soak into me.
The Rocky Ridge Trail is one of the most scenic footpaths in Dolly Sods. The views west into Canaan Valley and those east into the heart of Dolly Sods are lovely. Rock formations to frolic on, lend even more interest to the proceedings. The northern part features blazing azaleas in season. Unfortunately, even though I’d tried to time my visit by their bloom schedule, all I saw was one or two solitary flowers, not worth photographing. This was the only disappointment of the day.
Canaan Valley
Selfie on the Rocky Ridge Trail
At the very northwestern corner of Dolly Sods, I took a right turn onto the Raven Ridge Trail. I hiked through bands of forest, interspersed with meadows, until I hit the junction with the Beaver View Trail, which is another of my favorite trails in the area. I skipped through gorgeous, sweeping meadows, in bright sunshine. Ahead and to my right, across a valley, I could see Rocky Ridge, which I’d hiked along to begin the hike. My objective though, was the valley; a cluster of large beaver ponds had been enticing me for a couple of hours. I left the Beaver View Trail and made way through grassy/rocky meadows and then a band of forest, down to the valley floor. I was now in a cool little secluded section of Dolly Sods, one which probably isn’t visited very often. I ended up only exploring one of the ponds. I briefly toyed with making my way over to the largest one, but that was still a fair distance away, and the mix of marshy, rocky and grassy valley floor made for slow going.
Back on the Beaver View Trail, I made my way to the junction with the Dobbins Grade Trail, where I took a left to head east. I hadn’t hiked this trail a couple of years, and was surprised to see that the trail had been rerouted in multiple places to accommodate some newly formed ponds studding one of the forks of Red Creek. It was still a soggy walk down to the Upper Red Creek Trail junction. I crossed the creek and hiked the Upper Red Creek Trail to the Blackbird Knob Trail. A short 0.3mi walk on the latter, and then a mile south on the Red Creek Trail, brought me down to one of the more popular spots in Dolly Sods, the Forks.
The Forks is the confluence of the two branches of Red Creek that drain Dolly Sods North. It is not a peaceful spot though, since the splashing water and frolicking hikers make for a spot with a lot of hubbub. It is paradoxical though that amidst the noise lies the most magical spot in Dolly Sods that I have seen, a small mossy glade of exquisite beauty.
Magic spot
Refreshed after splashing about in Red Creek, I picked up the Breathed Mountain Trail. 2.5mi later I had closed my loop hike. All that remained was the 1.3mi walk back to the car.
Selfie on the Breathed Mountain Trail
A 3.25hr drive from Pittsburgh deposited me at the parking lot on FR-80 that allowed access to the western edge of Dolly Sods North. It was 6:40am, with the temperature a cool 48°F.
Route: FR-80 – Blackbird Knob Trail – Rocky Ridge Trail – Raven Ridge Trail – Beaver View Trail (side trip down to the Beaver Ponds in the valley) – Dobbins Grade Trail – Upper Red Creek Trail – Blackbird Knob Trail – Red Creek Trail – Breathed Mountain Trail – FD-80
Stats: 15.6mi (including all side trips), 1800ft elevation gain, 9.5hrs
The hike began with a road-walk along FR-80 for about 0.3mi, after which it was trail. Rhododendron tunnels and forest kept things cool and secluded, until I hit the first official trailheads, about 1.3mi from the car: three trails took off from this spot. I continued along the rocky Blackbird Knob Trail, which gave way in 0.3mi to the Rocky Ridge Trail. The dense forest began to open up, and I was soon rolling along through open meadows. The mist that had been nestling amongst the trees, began to lift in the warming sunlight. I had been moving relatively quickly to this point, trying to stay warm. Now, with the appearance of sunshine, that had the scenery looking its prettiest, I slowed down to let the peace soak into me.
The Rocky Ridge Trail is one of the most scenic footpaths in Dolly Sods. The views west into Canaan Valley and those east into the heart of Dolly Sods are lovely. Rock formations to frolic on, lend even more interest to the proceedings. The northern part features blazing azaleas in season. Unfortunately, even though I’d tried to time my visit by their bloom schedule, all I saw was one or two solitary flowers, not worth photographing. This was the only disappointment of the day.
Canaan Valley
Selfie on the Rocky Ridge Trail
At the very northwestern corner of Dolly Sods, I took a right turn onto the Raven Ridge Trail. I hiked through bands of forest, interspersed with meadows, until I hit the junction with the Beaver View Trail, which is another of my favorite trails in the area. I skipped through gorgeous, sweeping meadows, in bright sunshine. Ahead and to my right, across a valley, I could see Rocky Ridge, which I’d hiked along to begin the hike. My objective though, was the valley; a cluster of large beaver ponds had been enticing me for a couple of hours. I left the Beaver View Trail and made way through grassy/rocky meadows and then a band of forest, down to the valley floor. I was now in a cool little secluded section of Dolly Sods, one which probably isn’t visited very often. I ended up only exploring one of the ponds. I briefly toyed with making my way over to the largest one, but that was still a fair distance away, and the mix of marshy, rocky and grassy valley floor made for slow going.
Back on the Beaver View Trail, I made my way to the junction with the Dobbins Grade Trail, where I took a left to head east. I hadn’t hiked this trail a couple of years, and was surprised to see that the trail had been rerouted in multiple places to accommodate some newly formed ponds studding one of the forks of Red Creek. It was still a soggy walk down to the Upper Red Creek Trail junction. I crossed the creek and hiked the Upper Red Creek Trail to the Blackbird Knob Trail. A short 0.3mi walk on the latter, and then a mile south on the Red Creek Trail, brought me down to one of the more popular spots in Dolly Sods, the Forks.
The Forks is the confluence of the two branches of Red Creek that drain Dolly Sods North. It is not a peaceful spot though, since the splashing water and frolicking hikers make for a spot with a lot of hubbub. It is paradoxical though that amidst the noise lies the most magical spot in Dolly Sods that I have seen, a small mossy glade of exquisite beauty.
Magic spot
Refreshed after splashing about in Red Creek, I picked up the Breathed Mountain Trail. 2.5mi later I had closed my loop hike. All that remained was the 1.3mi walk back to the car.
Selfie on the Breathed Mountain Trail
