Bear Rocks and Roaring Plains (West Virginia, Sep/30/2023)
Oct 1, 2023 18:36:00 GMT -8
burntfoot likes this
Post by GaliWalker on Oct 1, 2023 18:36:00 GMT -8
Bear Rocks and Roaring Plains (West Virginia, Sep/30/2023)
Having made the switch from a full-frame DSLR camera system to a full-frame mirrorless one, I wanted to pick a familiar set of locations – fall foliage centric obviously, given the time of year – to confirm that I had made the right decision. I would begin with Bear Rocks, which is typically a safe bet for early fall conditions, on the edge of the 4000ft Dolly Sods plateau, and then follow it up with a ramble atop the adjacent Roaring Plains, another 4000ft plateau located just south of Dolly Sods.
Sunrise at Bear Rocks
Due to its easy accessibility to great views and fall colors Bear Rocks has become the go-to place for fall photography for the masses, especially during the pandemic era. Parking can be a real problem. So, I was surprised to find that there were only a few dozen cars there when I arrived at 6:20am, about 50min before sunrise, and had no trouble finding a spot. It was still dark, to which the misty conditions lent a ghostly air. As I walked over to my shooting location, knots of other photographers would spookily resolve out of the gloom and then get swallowed up by the dark as I moved on.
I never actually saw dawn, given the mist that roamed the eastern slopes of Dolly Sods, but the subtle light was nice. There weren't many views in that direction either, but I'd seen them plenty of times in the past, so wasn't too bothered. In all I spent about 1.75hrs there, before heading off to my second location.
Roaring Plains loop
13.25mi, 2400ft elevation gain, 9.5hrs
The trailhead to access the South Prong Trail was just a 10mi drive south from Bear Rocks, practically on the same road, but it took me 50min to get to it due to the road's gravel nature. It was 9:00am as I began my hike.
The South Prong of Red Creek flowed through a valley that had Dolly Sods on its north and Roaring Plains on its south. Since I was on the Dolly Sods side, my first order of business, 0.35mi into the hike, was to cross the creek. Earlier this year, I'd had to abandon this very hike because the South Prong crossing had been more difficult than I was willing to risk, but this time it was a rock hop.
After the crossing, I headed up to the top of the Roaring Plains plateau, before picking up the Hidden Passage Trail. In years past, this used to be much trickier to stick to, but it's a well-established trail now. There were some nice fall colors here, but prime conditions, like at Bear Rocks, were probably still a week away.
The Canyon Rim Trail was its usual lonesome self. I made good progress to The Point. Maybe, too good, because the sun had not managed to burn off the mist and fog yet. I hung around for quite a while at The Point, being in no hurry, and was finally rewarded with some nice views.
My long wait at The Point meant that I had no time to stick to the Canyon Rim to its end, so would have to take the Tee Pee Trail connector. In three previous cases, I've never had a problem with finding the start of or sticking to the Tee Pee Trail, so have always wondered why people complained about it. Yes, it's always been overgrown and muddy, but hardly difficult to follow. Well, my complacency came back to bite me this time around. At one point, right after the wet and muddy section began, I took a wrong turn down a more clearly defined path at a fork; in fact, I never even realized that there was a fork. This path eventually became more and more brushy, and after getting wacked one too many times on my shins with rhododendron branches, I finally came to my senses and realized that I'd made a mistake. Thankfully, as is my custom, I'd kept an eye on my back trail, so did not have too much trouble making my way back to the fork, which is where I realized my mistake. I should have realized that the wet section of the Tee Pee Trail needed to last a lot longer, because that's what the correct fork of the intersection took me into! In all I lost about 40-50min in these shenanigans.
The Roaring Plains Trail, despite being mostly level, was slower going than I would have liked due to its rocky and wet nature. The Boar's Nest Trail, which was next up and would close my loop hike, was no quicker: rocky and wet for its first half, as it crossed Flatrock Plains, and then steep, rock and root-strewn for its second, as it dropped down to the South Prong of Red Creek. Thankfully, this final crossing of the South Prong was also a straightforward rock-hop. I reached my car about a half-hour before sunset, having got good value for money from my day.
Having made the switch from a full-frame DSLR camera system to a full-frame mirrorless one, I wanted to pick a familiar set of locations – fall foliage centric obviously, given the time of year – to confirm that I had made the right decision. I would begin with Bear Rocks, which is typically a safe bet for early fall conditions, on the edge of the 4000ft Dolly Sods plateau, and then follow it up with a ramble atop the adjacent Roaring Plains, another 4000ft plateau located just south of Dolly Sods.
Sunrise at Bear Rocks
Due to its easy accessibility to great views and fall colors Bear Rocks has become the go-to place for fall photography for the masses, especially during the pandemic era. Parking can be a real problem. So, I was surprised to find that there were only a few dozen cars there when I arrived at 6:20am, about 50min before sunrise, and had no trouble finding a spot. It was still dark, to which the misty conditions lent a ghostly air. As I walked over to my shooting location, knots of other photographers would spookily resolve out of the gloom and then get swallowed up by the dark as I moved on.
I never actually saw dawn, given the mist that roamed the eastern slopes of Dolly Sods, but the subtle light was nice. There weren't many views in that direction either, but I'd seen them plenty of times in the past, so wasn't too bothered. In all I spent about 1.75hrs there, before heading off to my second location.
Roaring Plains loop
13.25mi, 2400ft elevation gain, 9.5hrs
The trailhead to access the South Prong Trail was just a 10mi drive south from Bear Rocks, practically on the same road, but it took me 50min to get to it due to the road's gravel nature. It was 9:00am as I began my hike.
The South Prong of Red Creek flowed through a valley that had Dolly Sods on its north and Roaring Plains on its south. Since I was on the Dolly Sods side, my first order of business, 0.35mi into the hike, was to cross the creek. Earlier this year, I'd had to abandon this very hike because the South Prong crossing had been more difficult than I was willing to risk, but this time it was a rock hop.
After the crossing, I headed up to the top of the Roaring Plains plateau, before picking up the Hidden Passage Trail. In years past, this used to be much trickier to stick to, but it's a well-established trail now. There were some nice fall colors here, but prime conditions, like at Bear Rocks, were probably still a week away.
The Canyon Rim Trail was its usual lonesome self. I made good progress to The Point. Maybe, too good, because the sun had not managed to burn off the mist and fog yet. I hung around for quite a while at The Point, being in no hurry, and was finally rewarded with some nice views.
My long wait at The Point meant that I had no time to stick to the Canyon Rim to its end, so would have to take the Tee Pee Trail connector. In three previous cases, I've never had a problem with finding the start of or sticking to the Tee Pee Trail, so have always wondered why people complained about it. Yes, it's always been overgrown and muddy, but hardly difficult to follow. Well, my complacency came back to bite me this time around. At one point, right after the wet and muddy section began, I took a wrong turn down a more clearly defined path at a fork; in fact, I never even realized that there was a fork. This path eventually became more and more brushy, and after getting wacked one too many times on my shins with rhododendron branches, I finally came to my senses and realized that I'd made a mistake. Thankfully, as is my custom, I'd kept an eye on my back trail, so did not have too much trouble making my way back to the fork, which is where I realized my mistake. I should have realized that the wet section of the Tee Pee Trail needed to last a lot longer, because that's what the correct fork of the intersection took me into! In all I lost about 40-50min in these shenanigans.
The Roaring Plains Trail, despite being mostly level, was slower going than I would have liked due to its rocky and wet nature. The Boar's Nest Trail, which was next up and would close my loop hike, was no quicker: rocky and wet for its first half, as it crossed Flatrock Plains, and then steep, rock and root-strewn for its second, as it dropped down to the South Prong of Red Creek. Thankfully, this final crossing of the South Prong was also a straightforward rock-hop. I reached my car about a half-hour before sunset, having got good value for money from my day.