Post by GaliWalker on Jul 24, 2023 7:04:01 GMT -8
Wintergreen (July/22/2023)
George Washington National Forest, Virginia
A ~13mi hike that felt a lot longer due to the rugged terrain. For the majority of its duration, it felt more like a northeast hike than a mid-Atlantic one. Great views though, with a couple of pretty waterfalls thrown in for good measure.
I was at the Dripping Rock pullout on the Blue Ridge Parkway, just south of Shenandoah National Park, by 6am. 15min later, under overcast skies, I was on my way. After a short stint on the Appalachian Trail, I took a right turn onto the Old Appalachian Trail, heading southwest. It was overcast, with temperatures in the mid-60s; these comfortable hiking conditions would last the duration of my hike. 1.7mi of pleasant hiking took me past one deer (which observed me from 20ft away, quite unafraid) and one bear (~30yrds away), and on to my first viewpoint of the day.
Peaceful morning
GaliWalker strikes a pose (selfie)
I hiked past more westward-facing views, now on more rugged terrain. A short 0.3mi road-walk took me up to the Devil's Knob overlook. This had a great view of Three Ridges, which I had hiked up a few years ago.
After the road-walk interlude, which had lulled me into a false sense of complacency, things rapidly became much tougher. It began with a steep and extremely rocky descent on the Devil's Knob Trail into Pond Hollow, followed by a moderate climb on the Fortunes Ridge Trail (which I gained by cutting across on the Pond Hollow Crossover Trail).
As I transitioned onto the Brimstone Trail, the hardest part of the hike ensued. It began with a relatively gentle climb up to the first (and best) of many viewpoints, looking across to Three Ridges. A rollercoaster descent on slimy rock slabs and ankle-twister rocks followed. I would recommend extreme caution when hiking this part in wet conditions, because a slip off the slabs could result in a bad fall. I picked my way down carefully, trying to avoid the slimiest parts as I best as I could. However, what goes down must come up, and I was soon climbing, even more steeply than I had descended. A 30° slope had me huffing and puffing enough that I skipped the side-trip to The Plunge viewpoint, and just kept toiling upwards.
GaliWalker checks out Three Ridges (selfie)
Typical rugged trail; 30° uphill here. The notch in the distance, which I walked through, seemed like a collapsed arch.
Eventually the gradient relented, and I was able to relax a bit. I was now on the Peddler's Edge Trail. While this was mostly downhill, its rocky nature meant that I couldn't relax too much. After crossing Stony Creek, I began a stiff 1mi climb up the Cedar Cliffs Trail (800ft elevation gain). This was nearly as bad as the Brimstone Trail, particularly for its first half, after which the more extreme ruggedness gave way to plain ole straightforward ruggedness.
The Cedar Cliffs Trail deposited me onto the Logger's Alley Trail. This easy, gently undulating walk took me down to Lower Shamokin Falls. After checking out this pretty little slice of heaven, I headed up the steep and - yes, you guessed it – rugged Upper Shamokin Gorge Trail. Upper Shamokin Falls lay just 0.1mi uphill. After checking this one out, I continued up the Upper Shamokin Gorge Trail, all the way back up to the Old Appalachian Trail. My loop hike now closed, I made short work of the final 0.4mi to the car.
Lower Shamokin Falls: A little slice of heaven
Upper Shamokin Falls
Stats: 13mi, 4000ft elevation gain, 10.5hrs
George Washington National Forest, Virginia
A ~13mi hike that felt a lot longer due to the rugged terrain. For the majority of its duration, it felt more like a northeast hike than a mid-Atlantic one. Great views though, with a couple of pretty waterfalls thrown in for good measure.
I was at the Dripping Rock pullout on the Blue Ridge Parkway, just south of Shenandoah National Park, by 6am. 15min later, under overcast skies, I was on my way. After a short stint on the Appalachian Trail, I took a right turn onto the Old Appalachian Trail, heading southwest. It was overcast, with temperatures in the mid-60s; these comfortable hiking conditions would last the duration of my hike. 1.7mi of pleasant hiking took me past one deer (which observed me from 20ft away, quite unafraid) and one bear (~30yrds away), and on to my first viewpoint of the day.
Peaceful morning
GaliWalker strikes a pose (selfie)
I hiked past more westward-facing views, now on more rugged terrain. A short 0.3mi road-walk took me up to the Devil's Knob overlook. This had a great view of Three Ridges, which I had hiked up a few years ago.
After the road-walk interlude, which had lulled me into a false sense of complacency, things rapidly became much tougher. It began with a steep and extremely rocky descent on the Devil's Knob Trail into Pond Hollow, followed by a moderate climb on the Fortunes Ridge Trail (which I gained by cutting across on the Pond Hollow Crossover Trail).
As I transitioned onto the Brimstone Trail, the hardest part of the hike ensued. It began with a relatively gentle climb up to the first (and best) of many viewpoints, looking across to Three Ridges. A rollercoaster descent on slimy rock slabs and ankle-twister rocks followed. I would recommend extreme caution when hiking this part in wet conditions, because a slip off the slabs could result in a bad fall. I picked my way down carefully, trying to avoid the slimiest parts as I best as I could. However, what goes down must come up, and I was soon climbing, even more steeply than I had descended. A 30° slope had me huffing and puffing enough that I skipped the side-trip to The Plunge viewpoint, and just kept toiling upwards.
GaliWalker checks out Three Ridges (selfie)
Typical rugged trail; 30° uphill here. The notch in the distance, which I walked through, seemed like a collapsed arch.
Eventually the gradient relented, and I was able to relax a bit. I was now on the Peddler's Edge Trail. While this was mostly downhill, its rocky nature meant that I couldn't relax too much. After crossing Stony Creek, I began a stiff 1mi climb up the Cedar Cliffs Trail (800ft elevation gain). This was nearly as bad as the Brimstone Trail, particularly for its first half, after which the more extreme ruggedness gave way to plain ole straightforward ruggedness.
The Cedar Cliffs Trail deposited me onto the Logger's Alley Trail. This easy, gently undulating walk took me down to Lower Shamokin Falls. After checking out this pretty little slice of heaven, I headed up the steep and - yes, you guessed it – rugged Upper Shamokin Gorge Trail. Upper Shamokin Falls lay just 0.1mi uphill. After checking this one out, I continued up the Upper Shamokin Gorge Trail, all the way back up to the Old Appalachian Trail. My loop hike now closed, I made short work of the final 0.4mi to the car.
Lower Shamokin Falls: A little slice of heaven
Upper Shamokin Falls
Stats: 13mi, 4000ft elevation gain, 10.5hrs