VA Getaway Day 2: A.T. to Weverton Cliffs

It wasn't even 9am when I completed my Compton Peak hike. But even though the actual hiking wasn't hurting my back, just about everything else was - tying my shoes was extremely difficult, getting in and out of the car was very unpleasant, and driving didn't seem to agree with me. So starting toward home seemed like the best thing, and that's what I did. I drove north, out of the park, and continuing on Rt. 340 (Stonewall Jackson Memorial Highway) toward Harpers Ferry, WV, where I had another short hike in mind.

A few years ago, I did a day-hike on the Appalachian Trail heading north from Harpers Ferry, and I discovered the Weverton Cliffs overlook on that hike. When it leaves Harpers Ferry, the  A.T. follows the C&O canal path along the Potomac River for a few miles, then it leaves the river and makes a steep climb to the ridgeline of South Mountain. When it gains the ridge, there's a short blue-blazed side trail to the Weverton Cliffs overlook - a rocky point that looks just about straight down on the Potomac.

I drove through Charles Town and then Harpers Ferry, crossing the bridge into Maryland, then I exited Rt. 340 to a parking lot near where the A.T. leaves the river and the canal path and starts into the woods.

The parking lot was almost full, which wasn't a surprise on a gorgeous Spring Saturday. I started hiking just about 11am, and the day was sunny, beautiful, and getting warm. The trail passes under 340, and I passed other hikers at intervals. The trail skirts another parking lot, and then it starts to climb steeply, with one switchback following another.

There were plenty of other hikers, and many who were not in the best shape and were standing at the side of the trail trying to catch their breath. My first thought about these folks is not charitable, but my second thought is - at least they're outside on a nice day and not on the couch watching television. There was a sign at one point warning of the poisonous snakes that are around (timber rattlesnakes and copperheads), and I wondered if the parents letting their little kids run around had read the sign? (I saw some snake skins, but no snakes.)

I was going slowly and gingerly, and as a result I made the ridgeline without being overly winded. I often end up winded on big climbs, and I'm pretty sure it's because I try to set an overly-aggressive pace. John taught me a lesson on climbing pace the day we hiked out of Grand Canyon - and while I haven't forgotten it, I also don't always put it into practice. I need to be forced to slow down - someone setting a good slower pace is one way - being forced to slow down by a sore back is another.

As the grade leveled out on the ridgeline, there was an immediate fork - the white-blazed A.T. going left, the blue-blazed trial to the Cliffs to the right. It was a scene out of my hiking nightmare - church groups, scouting groups, families with kids, picnickers. Oh the noise noise noise noise. But the view was still worth it.

I asked a young lady to take my picture, then I re-traced my steps to the car. This was an enjoyable bite-sized morsel of an A.T. hike, and I highly recommend it as such, or as part of a bigger hike.

Distance: 2.75 miles
Elapsed Time: 1:20

VA Getaway Day 2: Compton Peak

My original plan for Saturday, and the real reason for making this trip, was to hike to the summit of Old Rag (doing the hike as detailed here). This is a long and strenuous hike (8.0 miles) with significant elevation gain (2,510 vertical feet) and a few short stretches of boulder scrambling. It's one of the premiere and most popular hikes of Shenandoah, and my plan was to be at the trailhead at dawn to beat some of the crowds.

But Friday night at the Super 8, as I continued to have worsening lower back pain, I realized that it would be just plain stupid to attempt such a strenuous hike in my condition. So I came up with a Plan B - instead of the one long strenuous hike, I'd do a much shorter and less-strenuous trail in SNP. Then I'd start driving home, and do a second short hike on the way home (if I felt up to it.)

For the first hike in SNP, I chose Compton Peak. I was familiar with this hike, as I did it a few years ago (before I was blogging.) The trailhead is around mile marker 10, so there wasn't a long drive from Front Royal to the trailhead, which was important, as long drives seemed to make my back worse. The route follows the Appalachian Trail for just over a mile to the summit of Compton Peak.

Since I would no longer be fighting the crowds at the Old Rag trailhead, rising in the pre-dawn was no longer necessary. I got up when I woke up, sorry to find that my back wasn't any better than the night before, packed and checked out of the Super 8, had a McDonald's breakfast, and got to the Compton Gap trailhead around 7:30am. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and there was only one other car in the parking lot.

I crossed Skyline Drive and followed the A.T. south. The trail started uphill at a gradual grade, then got a little steeper. I went at a very easy pace, and just like yesterday, hiking didn't seem to be a problem on the back. The grade eased again near the summit, and I came to a four-way intersection: The A.T. continued straight, and there were side trails to overlooks to the left and right. The trail to the right leads to a much more scenic overlook, so that's the direction I went.

I hadn't seen anyone on the trail, and there was no one at the overlook. If my back had felt better, I would have sat down and drank in the vista for a while, but sitting down (and even more so, getting up) wouldn't have felt good, so I stayed standing and took in the view for a few minutes.

I then retraced my steps back to the car. As yesterday, my back was loosening up some on the return trip, and I went at a little faster pace. There was plenty of bird song in my ears the whole hike, but I saw no people, and sadly, no bears.

This isn't a long or a difficult hike, but it's a lovely bite-sized morsel of Shenandoah hiking, leading to a beautiful overlook. Highly recommended.

Distance: 2.14 miles
Elapsed Time: 1:09

VA Getaway Day 1: Big Devil's Stairs

Last week Darling Wife made plans to be with her daughter for Mother's Day weekend. As my girls would be with their mom for that weekend too, that left me free to roam. With the forecast calling for perfect weather, I decided it would be a good chance for a Shenandoah National Park overnight. I could take Friday off work, leave as soon as girls left for school, have two days and one night in SNP, be home Saturday night, and have Sunday to spend with Mom.

One complicating factor was my still-somewhat-sore back. But it felt so much better Thursday that I wasn't worried about it. It turns out I should have been. I was in a lot of pain after the drive to Front Royal, so I checked into the motel and laid down to stretch out and rest. That didn't help much, but walking was one of the things that didn't seem to hurt, so I thought I'd drive into the park and at least try to start my planned hike, Big Devil's Stairs, a 5.5 mile out-and-back without killer elevation changes (hike details here.)

I entered the park and drove south on Skyline Drive to Gravel Springs Gap trailhead at around mile marker 16. It was a gorgeous spring day: sunny and warm with a nice breeze blowing. I started down the trail, and had only gone a few tenths of a mile when I heard a loud crashing in the woods to my right. Looking over, I saw a black bear running away from me. He was aware of me before I was aware of him, and he took off. I was thrilled, as I'd never seen a bear in SNP, and was explicitly hoping to.

I hiked slowly and gingerly, and my back felt okay. After descending off the ridgeline, the trail made a left and went parallel to the ridge. I realized two things at this point. The first is that I had forgotten a belt and my pants were drooping down. This was annoying on its own, and doubly annoying because I have not one but two cheap Walmart belts that I've bought on hiking trips when I left without a belt. Why can't I remember to pack a damn belt?!?

My second realization was that while my back felt good, if for some reason it gave out, I'd likely be spending the night in the woods. No one else was out on the trail in the late afternoon on a weekday, and cell phone reception in the national park was spotty to non-existent. My back didn't feel like it was just going to give out, but the thought made me pause.

When I arrived at the blue-blazed trail that went down to the gorge, I had my next decision point. Things had been fairly flat to that point, but the trail would now start down, and then I'd have to come up again. I did a little stretching and took inventory, and decided that my back felt well enough to start down.

It was abut a half mile to the first overlook, and when I got there it took my breath away. Then I went down the trail the second overlook, and I just stood and gawked. I've been in plenty of discussions of Shenandoah hikes and overlooks, and I've never heard Big Devil's Stairs ranked up there - and now that I've seen it, I have no idea why that is. The view into the gorge, and out to the succeeding ridges is as good as anything I've seen in SNP.

I took a number of pictures, and just ended up frustrated, as nothing came anywhere close to doing justice to the view. And then I decided I'd better get back, as I didn't know how I'd be on the ascent, and didn't want to be in the woods after dark.

That turned out not to be a concern - as I started up, I felt really good and kicked it up a notch just to feel the pleasure of moving at a good pace. My pants really started to get annoying in their falling down, and I spent most of the return hike with one hand holding up my pants. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but there was no one to see me. And if any bears noticed, they didn't let on.

I completed the hike in almost exactly two hours. I was still having a lot of back pain, but the hike didn't hurt it, and almost certainly helped.

This was a fantastic hike, and one I can't recommend highly enough. As Shenandoah hikes go, it's not that long or that strenuous. The middle section is basically flat, and the final descent to the overlooks is not that steep. The views from the overlooks have to be seen for yourself.

Distance: 4.90 miles
Elapsed Time: 2:02

Marsh Creek State Park, 5/6/12

I have hiked less this Spring than in any Spring of recent memory. It's not lack of desire, it's just been a combination of things: family commitments, being sick (and feeling low-energy in the aftermath), and a number of rainy weekends. This morning looked like a good chance to get out, so I decided I'd go fairly early and get a morning hike in.

Not only have I missed hiking, but it's 6-7 weeks until the Adirondacks, and my legs are not currently in the shape they'll need to be in for the hikes we want to do there. So I think it's fairly imperative that I try to get out for a fairly strenuous hike once a week between now and then, if at all possible.

I didn't want to drive too far today, and would probably have gone to French Creek State Park, except for the forest fire I blogged about yesterday. After some consideration, I decided on Marsh Creek State Park. It's close, and I've done some little pieces of the lakeside trail on the west shore, but I've never done a big stretch of it as one hike - so that became the plan for today.

As a result of my recent bout with Lyme, I was careful to apply bug spray this morning before going out. That needs to become a habit, as Lyme is just nasty - and I've never actually seen a deer tick on me. So it's chemical warfare against the little bastards.

The morning was cool, gray, and a bit foggy. I drove through some misty rain on the way to the trail, but it didn't rain while I hiked. I started at the to left of the map at right, hiked counterclockwise around the dam, then retraced my steps, walking directly across the dam on the way back.

It felt wonderful to be out on a trail again. There was birdsong in my ears the whole time, and the smell of honeysuckle was just about overpowering at times. At one point, a pair of goldfinches flew right in front of me (reminding me that I need to get my goldfinch feeder set up.) I passed a few hikers and dog-walkers, and a few mountain bikers, but I had a lot of solitude, which felt great. The lake was usually in view, and sometimes just feet away from the trail.

I could feel some twinges in my hips when I got back to the car, which is a sign that I'm out of practice. But this was an excellent start to the hiking season, and also a good start on getting my legs into hiking shape for the Adirondacks.

Distance: 7.55 miles
Elapsed Time: 2:24

Forest Fire in French Creek S.P.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard someone mention that there had been a substantial forest fire in French Creek State Park. That got my attention, as FCSP is one of my favorite local hiking places. I love the network of trails in the remote Mill Creek section - and wouldn't you know it, those trails were apparently exactly where the fire was.

I've heard that those trails are now closed. I'll keep my eyes open for news that they've reopened, as I'd like to see the effects of the fire.

Here's the report from the Reading Eagle.