Post by GaliWalker on Sept 20, 2020 9:00:16 GMT -8
Halfmoon Mountain
George Washington National Forest, West Virginia (Sep 19, 2020)
This weekend's hiking destination was Halfmoon Mountain, which lies in the northern part of George Washington National Forest, just to the northwest of Mill Mountain and the West Virginia - Virginia border. It would be my first time up HalfMoon, although I'd previously done a few hikes on Mill Mountain.
After a 3.5hr drive from Pittsburgh, I arrived at the trailhead for the Bucktail Trail around 6:00am. It took me 15min to get going. The first 2.5mi along the Bucktail Trail was quick due to the gentle nature of the woods road that was masquerading as a trail. It would have been boring at any time, but hiking half its length in the dark, with only the puddle of light cast ahead of my feet for sensory feedback, somehow made it relatively painless.
The next 1.5mi was on slightly rougher terrain as I hiked up alongside, and sometimes in, a rocky stream bed. It was nearly dry at this time of the year, which meant that the interest quotient of the hike remained low. Up top, I took a right on the German Wilson Trail. This began as a grassy woods road, but in 0.3mi hung a left turn up the hillside. Up till now I'd been wondering where the elevation was going to come from; well the next mile delivered the bulk of it. The most interesting part came after I hung a right turn to enter a narrow ravine, which was more akin to a Northeast hike than a Mid-Atlantic one. The ravine took me steeply up the hillside, on quite rocky terrain. Despite the increased workload I really enjoyed this part.
The German Wilson Trail ended at the summit ridge of Halfmoon Mountain. A right turn and 0.4mi of hiking later I was at the summit, 2.75hr after starting. There were three rocky viewpoints there. Each provided a slightly different take on the Trout Run Valley, which I'd just climbed out of. Mill Mountain, glowing in the early morning sunshine, was the most arresting sight to my left. I could see the pointy bumps of Big Schloss and Tibbet Knob in the distance, both of which I'd been up multiple times. Trout Run Valley lay below me. In total I spent a little over 2hr going from vista to vista, taking pictures and enjoying the views.
Basking in morning sunshine
Checking out the Trout Run Valley (selfie)
Checking out the views from a perch on a small rocky horn (selfie)
For the return part of the loop I retraced my steps down the summit ridge for 0.8mi, past the turnoff for the German Wilson Trail, where I took a right on the Halfmoon Mountain Trail. This took me downhill for 1.2mi to Halfmoon Run. Here, I picked up the Bucktail Cutoff Trail. This traversed the foothills of Halfmoon Mountain for 3mi, in annoyingly rollercoaster fashion, but I had the bit between my teeth now and made short work of it. A left turn on the Bucktail Trail had me back at my car in 0.2mi.
Stats: 11.1mi, 2150ft elevation gain, 6.75hrs (including over 2hr at the summit)
George Washington National Forest, West Virginia (Sep 19, 2020)
This weekend's hiking destination was Halfmoon Mountain, which lies in the northern part of George Washington National Forest, just to the northwest of Mill Mountain and the West Virginia - Virginia border. It would be my first time up HalfMoon, although I'd previously done a few hikes on Mill Mountain.
After a 3.5hr drive from Pittsburgh, I arrived at the trailhead for the Bucktail Trail around 6:00am. It took me 15min to get going. The first 2.5mi along the Bucktail Trail was quick due to the gentle nature of the woods road that was masquerading as a trail. It would have been boring at any time, but hiking half its length in the dark, with only the puddle of light cast ahead of my feet for sensory feedback, somehow made it relatively painless.
The next 1.5mi was on slightly rougher terrain as I hiked up alongside, and sometimes in, a rocky stream bed. It was nearly dry at this time of the year, which meant that the interest quotient of the hike remained low. Up top, I took a right on the German Wilson Trail. This began as a grassy woods road, but in 0.3mi hung a left turn up the hillside. Up till now I'd been wondering where the elevation was going to come from; well the next mile delivered the bulk of it. The most interesting part came after I hung a right turn to enter a narrow ravine, which was more akin to a Northeast hike than a Mid-Atlantic one. The ravine took me steeply up the hillside, on quite rocky terrain. Despite the increased workload I really enjoyed this part.
The German Wilson Trail ended at the summit ridge of Halfmoon Mountain. A right turn and 0.4mi of hiking later I was at the summit, 2.75hr after starting. There were three rocky viewpoints there. Each provided a slightly different take on the Trout Run Valley, which I'd just climbed out of. Mill Mountain, glowing in the early morning sunshine, was the most arresting sight to my left. I could see the pointy bumps of Big Schloss and Tibbet Knob in the distance, both of which I'd been up multiple times. Trout Run Valley lay below me. In total I spent a little over 2hr going from vista to vista, taking pictures and enjoying the views.
Basking in morning sunshine
Checking out the Trout Run Valley (selfie)
Checking out the views from a perch on a small rocky horn (selfie)
For the return part of the loop I retraced my steps down the summit ridge for 0.8mi, past the turnoff for the German Wilson Trail, where I took a right on the Halfmoon Mountain Trail. This took me downhill for 1.2mi to Halfmoon Run. Here, I picked up the Bucktail Cutoff Trail. This traversed the foothills of Halfmoon Mountain for 3mi, in annoyingly rollercoaster fashion, but I had the bit between my teeth now and made short work of it. A left turn on the Bucktail Trail had me back at my car in 0.2mi.
Stats: 11.1mi, 2150ft elevation gain, 6.75hrs (including over 2hr at the summit)