Hanging Rock, Shawvers Run Wilderness, Jefferson National Forest

The point of this blog is not to tell you about the most popular trails in Virginia - quite the opposite. This blog exists in no small part because the author believes there are so many great hiking opportunities in Virginia that hikers do not have to swarm to the top half dozen hikes in the state. Most hikers out there probably aren't interested. But as of next year, I will have been hiking in Virginia for 25 years and yet I still hike a new trail within a two hour drive of my home nearly every time I head out hiking. We are extraordinarily lucky to live so close to so many exploring possibilities!

This voice in the wilderness is not getting heard.  Witness the following message from the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, which oversees the A.T. and other trails in the area known as the "Triple Crown," sent in late October. These are among the most popular trail destinations in the state:

OVERCROWDING ON VIRGINIA'S TRIPLE CROWN - McAfee Knob, Dragon's Tooth, Tinker Cliffs. If you are thinking about hiking one of these destinations on a Saturday - and especially if you are thinking about camping on a SATURDAY night - think again. Here are the numbers from LAST SATURDAY: Our volunteer and paid ridgerunners counted the following numbers on the Triple Crown section:
McAfee Knob - 415 hikers (200 backpackers)
Dragon's Tooth - 299 hikers (20 backpackers)
Tinker Cliffs - 129 hikers (45 backpackers)

RATC photo showing overcrowded conditions at the McAfee Knob traihead
on Route 311 near Roanoke on a recent afternoon.  

According to the RATC, the four miles to McAfee Knob and back from the trailhead at Rt. 311 sees more trail wear than the other 116 A.T. miles plus side trails that the club maintains. A subsequent article in the Roanoke Times included an estimate that McAfee Knob visitation during the peak months of April to October has grown more than seven-fold since 2011!

According to the article linked above:
The surge in traffic has been attributed in part to growing interest among Virginia Tech students — now estimated to make up about half of the McAfee Knob hikers when school is in session — and to things like a string of backpacking websites promoting the idea of tackling the “Triple Crown,” a relatively new moniker bestowed on the neighboring peaks of Dragon’s Tooth, McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs.

What is the solution?
Shifting destinations, particularly on busy days, reduces the stress on places like McAfee Knob and offers hikers a better, less gridlocked experience.

(BTW - I believe the term "Triple Crown" comes from Leonard Atkins' book, "50 Hikes in Southern Virginia," first published in 2002. Let me know if you believe differently.)

What are the takeaways here? Basically, go during the week, and don't go when the leaves are changing. Leave other hikers to clog up trails leading to McAfee Knob or the Old Rag summit in October, and enjoy the relative quiet of lesser known trails. But, year round the Triple Crown section of the Appalachian Trail is so crowded that special regulations are in place, just for this section of trail: Link.

Coincidentally, I hiked with members of the same Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club the same week that the RATC issued the overcrowding update. The group hiked to a spot that we agreed was a combination of Tinker Cliffs and McAfee Knob. And we hiked some added miles - 10 miles total that day - without seeing a single other person. Wouldn't you rather experience a great view without going elbow-to-elbow with the 400+ other hikers going to the same spot on the same day?

Enjoying the view at Hanging Rock.  The orientation is to southwest.
This view is very similar to views experienced at Tinker Cliffs and McAfee Knob - spectacular!
The main access road is along the ridge on the left side of the photo, past the tower you can see on the ridge.

The viewpoint is from a spot called Hanging Rock, located in the Shawvers Run Wilderness in the Jefferson National Forest. The view from this vista is virtually identical to the Tinker Cliffs view, with a long ridgetop defining the eastern portion of the panorama, and open fields in the center valley.

Hanging Rock is actually a much easier hike than McAfee Knob, as it is less than half a mile from the trailhead parking lot with a total elevation change of 100 feet. It is further from Roanoke and Virginia Tech than the Triple Crown, and probably requires at least an AWD vehicle to get to the trailhead. Simply take Rt. 311 north past the A.T., past New Castle, until the road summits Potts Mountain. At the summit is a small brown Forest Service sign that says "Potts Mtn Road." That is 177.1 shown below. Then take Potts Mountain Road to the trailhead, marked below by the red arrow.

Map from the trailhead kiosk shows the location for parking access to Hanging Rock.  

Note that I did not get there using that route! My group took a rough ascent on Forest Road 176, shown at the right side of the map, and started with the group at the spot marked "Potts Cove.' We took trails described below to Potts Mountain Road, and walked the road to the trailhead. If you wish an easy hike to a spectacular overlook, follow the directions above. What follows is a description of a much more circuitous route, taken with members of the RATC who know the trails in this area very well. Trailhead directions are at the end of this post.

Our group started hiking at Potts Cove, and within several hundred yards came to the beat up wooden trail sign shown below. Jefferson National Forest specializes in beat up trail signs! I am told that, in addition to the portion we hiked, the Cove Trail also follows Cove Branch down towards the Potts Arm Trail, but it is not possible to follow it all the way due to downed trees from a derecho a few years back.

Nevertheless, the sign is very important to this hike, as less than 100 feet past the sign, you will cut right off of the old road. There is no sign here and the turn would not be obvious without knowing this information!  To quote the former trail maintainer, “hug the edge of the creek.” Miss this turn and you will follow the road into a swampy area that becomes a dead end. Fork to the right instead, as shown in the photo.  This turn may be marked by ribbons (I even saw a Christmas ornament as a marker), but markers used presently are not permanent.  Start looking to the right almost immediately after the old trail sign.  If you have a GPS receiver, the approximate location of this turnoff is N37° 34.949' W80° 09.689'.

We continued on the main trail (occasionally blazed yellow) crossed a stream, and eventually came out on the road after 1.7 miles of trail and 950 feet of ascent.

Trail starts by going around a gate and over an old wooden bridge.
The USGS topo says that the trail used to be a jeep road.

The signs indicate that the Cove Trail heads in one direction, and access to the Potts Arm Trail is in another.
The Trails Illustrated map shows the Potts Arm Trail ending at the Cove Trail at this same spot.
This could be due to the Forest Service eliminating trail portions in recent years.

The Cove Trail was pretty easy to follow, though there were some obstacles along the way.

There were half destroyed trail signs at several points along the trail.
An intersection did not seem to be required for placement of this sign.

 We took a left on the road and walked past some very nice houses during the 1.4 miles of basically level road walk. No cars seen. No other people. After the 1.4 miles, on the right was the trailhead parking for our main destination - Hanging Rock in the Shawvers Run Wilderness. It was an easy half mile walk to the overlook, where we all had lunch.

The Potts Mountain Road was level and untraveled.  It connects several radio installations (one is behind the trees to the right) some vacation homes, and a fire tower.  And it connected our trails.

A view from the road of one of the vacation homes.

The Hanging Rock trailhead parking lot holds 6-8 cars.  No cars were there on this day.

The view from Hanging Rock, south towards the Paint Bank Fish Hatchery.
The town of Paint Bank, Virginia is on this side of the far ridge on the right, just past the notch in the middle ridge.
The far ridge is Peters Mountain, over which several miles of the AT passes on its southern end, near Pearisburg.

In the face of a stiff wind, I posed for the requisite selfie on Hanging Rock. In my vintage Cubs hat.
(How about those Cubs?)

After lunch, we took a journey that I don't expect the reader to replicate (at least not without an equally knowledgeable hike leader, and I had the best), but include it anyway for reference.  The best way for a newbie to experience Hanging Rock is via an out-and-back. We returned to the road and headed south for a time until we passed the private property. We bushwhacked through the forest to the Potts Arm Trail, which sits on a ridgetop and heads back towards our trailhead. Portions of the Potts Arm Trail no longer exist on "official" maps because its western terminus takes the trail through the private property we saw on the road. I assume that the Forest Service sold off land and cut off the trail (if so, why can't they keep an easement for the trail, at a minimum?).

After enjoying Hanging Rock, we continued on the Potts Mountain Road past private property,
and then bushwacked back around to the Potts Arm Trail.

Towards the end of our bushwhack, we crossed under a power line cut, which gave us a great view to the east.

We hiked east on the Potts Arm Trail approximately 4.2 miles until it ended at a Forest Service Road. It traveled through a wonderful and remote section of forest, located between the Shawver's Run Wilderness and the Barbours Creek Wilderness. The hike leader peeled off early to grab his truck, and, when we reached the end of the trail, he shuttled the other drivers back to the parking lot while the hikers waited at trail's end. I doubt I would have ever hiked the Potts Arm Trail without the hike leader's guidance, and I am grateful for the opportunity to experience it.

The Potts Arm Trail was easy to follow, with a couple of minor exceptions.

Near the end of the Potts Arm Trail, the route crossed the Cove Branch
of Barbours Creek on this bridge.

Trailhead Directions: This is a really remote trailhead - in fact, I don't think there are more than a handful of trailheads in the George Washington National Forest that can match it.

From Charlottesville, I took I-81 south to Exit 156 north of Daleville and south of Buchanan, 100 miles from Charlottesville.  At Exit 156, I traveled west 3.2 miles until I came to U.S. 220.  After taking U.S. 220 north only 1.5 miles, I turned west again (left) on Herndon Street, immediately after the Dollar General store.  This is Rt. 606, and I took this west over a mountain ridge 11.3 miles to a T Intersection at Rt. 615.  After a left onto 615, I drove only 1.5 miles until I turned right onto Rt. 611 at the Cross Roads Church.  I took 611 west for 4.5 miles, and just after crossing Barbours Creek I took a right on Rt. 617 and drove north for 2.3 miles until I took FR 176 shown on the map above.  I followed FR 176 for 3.6 miles until it split, and I took the left branch another 1.1 miles to the parking area.  The last portion of the trip was on rough roads, and the final 4.7 miles took nearly 25 minutes to drive.  Total distance from Charlottesville was 129 miles, and total drive time was 2.5 hours.  (I returned heading north to I-64 at Low Moor, and traveled 135 miles in just over 3 hours.)

SNP's Brown Mountain/Big Run Portal/Rocky Mtn Run Loop: Post Fire

May 10th, and it has rained every day so far in the month and it was due to rain again for the next four or five days.  I had to get out despite some questionable weather predicted, but it turned out that it was pretty nice on the trail.  I hiked Shenandoah National Park's Brown Mountain Trail and then looped back on the Big Run Portal Trail and the Rocky Mtn Run Trail to view some of the post-fire vegetation.  The western portion of the Brown Mtn Trail was especially amazing - the textures and colors were spectacular!  This is a tough hike, mostly because all of the elevation gain is at the end of the hike, but also because Big Run is high after days of rain.  Several trail crossings of Big Run virtually guarantee wet feet - my waterproof boots were not high enough to prevent getting my feet soaked several times, starting 4.2 miles from the end of this 10.4 mile hike.  Map.

Fire suppression near the Skyline Drive makes this area look the most stark
of the entire hike.  Fire crews cut everything down so that the fire would have
a harder time jumping the Skyline Drive.

View at the intersection of the Brown Mountain and Rocky Mountain Run trails.

Brown Mtn Trail just past the Rocky Mtn Run intersection.
Trees are starting to leaf out.

Clouds came over the Skyline Drive then dissipated in this view from
an overlook on the Brown Mtn Trail. 

New growth can be seen in some of the darkest parts of the mountain.

Dead pine needles form a color contrast to the burnt ground.

The Brown Mtn Trail is easily followed through the black lands.

New growth, post-fire

A fish-eye lens makes for a surreal scene.

Incredible color contrasts along the Brown Mtn Trail

Blaze still shows through the charred bark.

Lots of color remains.

Trail switchbacks.

Textured tree showing blue trail blaze.

Same tree at its base.

Growth off trail through the burned land.

Descending on the Brown Mtn Trail towards Big Run.

Wild Geranium on Big Run Portal Trail. (Thanks to Lonnie Murray for the proper identification.)

Fire crossed trail to Big Run in only one spot, never jumping the stream.

Rocky Mtn Run Trail at Big Run Portal Trail
Note that the trail here forms the fire boundary.

Rocky Mtn Run Trail through the fire. Trees have leafed out now much more completely than at higher elevations.

Downed tree, cut back at the trail before the fire, burned on one side of trail
but not on the other.

Rocky Mtn Run
Trail through burn zone.

First time here? This is post #148 at Wandering Virginia, dating back over 6 years.  Check out some others at www.wanderingvirginia.com - photos and trail descriptions from all over this great commonwealth!

James River Face Wilderness Winter Group Hike - Jan 14, 2016

The James River Face Wilderness is one of my favorite places in Virginia to hike.  In the past two years, I have journeyed here seven times for hikes in this wilderness, completing all mapped trails in the wilderness.  And because I lead hikes for both the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club and the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club's Charlottesville Chapter, this is a great location somewhat mid-way between these two areas.

The really great thing about the JRF Wilderness is that every time I return there I find something that has me itching to return again to explore.  This place is like a proverbial onion, with layer upon layer of places to explore.  First, there was the Appalachian Trail.  Next there were the other official trails in the Wilderness, which ascend like wagon spokes from disparate locations outside the park to a central core at higher elevations inside the wilderness.  Now, I am excited to continue exploring trails that used to exist and are no longer recognized by the Forest Service.

On January 16, 2016, I led a group hike through the JRF. There were too many hikers for a single group, as Forest Service regulations limit a hiking party to 10 or fewer people, and we had 16.  So we broke into two groups and one group ascended the Sulphur Springs Trail, while the other (my group) ascended the Petite's Gap Road and entered the JRF on the old Sulphur Ridge Trail.

This is a great time of year to use the Petite's Gap Road as a hiking trail.  The Blue Ridge Parkway was closed due to ice, which meant that Petite's Gap Road was a dead end.  We could tell from the undisturbed snow on the road that no vehicles had passed by our starting point, so we were safe from vehicles uphill of our hike.  Since we parked at the trailhead for the Sulphur Springs Trail, our first 2.2 miles was hiked on the Petite's Gap Road.

Hiking the Sulphur Ridge Trail.

The Sulphur Ridge Trail leaves the Petite's Gap Road at the same place that the Glenwood Horse Trail leaves the same road, headed in the opposite direction.  You have to know what you are looking for, but it isn't too hard, as the road takes a hard left right at this point.  I took the group in this direction because I wanted to make sure the group made this critical turn, and a couple of the speedier hikers in our group almost missed it.  The trail shows up on the USGS topographic map, but not on any current trail maps because the Forest Service doesn't want it included on maps.  I have previously described this trail here: Link, and included a video so you can see how nice it is.

Despite not being on the current list of trails, this old trail is in good shape and has a gentle grade.  I chose this loop for the group's hike because there is not a steep grade in the entire hike, and it is a great way to easily ascend to the upper reaches of the wilderness.  It is slightly steeper if you hike it counter-clockwise, taking the Petite's Gap Road first, than if you start off hiking the Sulphur Springs Trail.

We hiked the old Sulphur Ridge Trail until it ended at the Appalachian Trail - where that trail takes a sharp turn.  We left a pink marking ribbon here so that the group hiking in the opposite direction wouldn't miss this turn, but it really wasn't a problem, as there was a dusting of snow on the ground and no footprints on the A.T.  In fact, we never saw evidence of another hiker in the wilderness all day.  The other group followed our footprints and knew when to turn off of the A.T.

The site of the former Marble Spring Shelter, along the A.T.

Both groups met for lunch at the site of the old Marble Spring Shelter.  A shelter was originally constructed of wood and tarpaper here in 1933, but it was destroyed twice - first by a bear and next by "vandals." After JRF became a federally designated wilderness in 1976, the first such wilderness in Virginia, the latest shelter was disassembled and moved south where it still exists on Cove Mountain. There is no real sign of the shelter today, only a flat spot with a fire ring.

2012 photo of Cove Mountain Shelter, formerly the Marble Spring Shelter.

The group gravitated to the east, down below the crest of the saddle where the shelter used to sit, as the wind was cold.  I never got around to lunch because the old shelter location is also the endpoint of an old trail that connected to the Blue Ridge Parkway. At the shelter site, there was a dusting of snow, and as a result, the old trail nearly lit up in the woods - its location showed up very clearly, as you can see from the photo below.  This trail is no longer on maps, but older topographic maps show its existence. The 1950 edition of "Guide to Paths in the Blue Ridge," the precursor to today's ATC Appalachian Trail Guides, describes the trail as follows: "Forest Service Trail leads .8 m. to Blue Ridge Parkway at 4.6 m. from U.S. Route 501 and 2.7 m. from Petites Gap; this trail continues 1.2 m. farther to Peters Creek Road." The trail is also described in the 1974 edition of the "Appalachian Trail Guide: Southern Virginia," but here it is "an unblazed trail" that "leads 0.8 m. to the Parkway between mile posts 68 and 69." I need to go back to follow the old trail, now that I have located where it comes into the Marble Spring area. (For an update, check out this post: Link.)

Old trail to Blue Ridge Parkway from Marble Spring shows clearly in the
dusting of snow.

Old topographic map shows trail connecting BRP to Marble Spring.

After lunch, we continued northbound on the A.T. until we reached its intersection with the Sulphur Springs Trail.  We took a left onto that trail, which is really an old road.  Interestingly, this road is neither found on the old topo shown above, nor is it described in the 1950 trail guide.  Maybe it is newer than that guide and map.  It is described as a "fire road" in the 1974 trail guide.

Shortly after turning onto the Sulphur Springs Trail, we came to a rock which provides, for my money, the single best viewpoint of the entire JRF Wilderness.  The view is southwest down the valley we drove to get to this hike, and it looks like there has been no human activity anywhere, other than the road we hiked in on.

View from a rock on the Sulphur Springs Trail.
The Petite's Gap Road is visible climbing on the left-center.

The Sulphur Springs Trail dropped us gently down to our trailhead, and a few minutes after we arrived, the other group met up with us.

Group photo.

The two Charlottesville hikers headed north through Buena Vista, and we got lunch at The Meat Shack - the special was hot turkey, with a double shot of mashed potatoes and we nabbed the table closest to the fireplace.  Yum!  I can't wait to return.

Hike details.
PATC Difficulty Factor: 175.2 (this is really a pretty easy loop.)
Total Distance: 7.8 miles 
Total Time: 3.5 hours
Total Elevation Gain: 1957 feet 
Starting Elevation: 1470 ft.
Low Point: 1470 ft.

Highest Point: 2677 ft.

Difference: 1207 ft.

Like what you see?  Check out my other blog postings!  LINK.

Sinclair Hollow Trail, GWNF

The Sinclair Hollow Trail is located in the North River Ranger District of the George Washington National Forest, near the Virginia/West Virginia line. This is not a trail that is easy to reach. The trail climbs the western ridge of Shenandoah Mountain and accesses parts of the George Washington National Forest on the western edge of Ramsey's Draft Wilderness Area. I have tramped past the eastern end of this trail a couple of times, on the crest of Shenandoah Mountain at the boundary for Ramsey's Draft Wilderness. This point is a long round trip from any trailhead, which reflects the wonderful remoteness of this region.

The highest point of the Sinclair Hollow Trail meets the Shenandoah Mountain Trail at a point that is (each way):

• 4.3 trail miles from FS 95 to the north via the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.
• 4.8 miles from Camp Todd and FS 95 to the east via the Wild Oak Trail, the Hiner Springs Trail, the Ramsey's Draft Trail, and the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.
• 7.0 miles from the Confederate Breastworks on U.S. 250 to the south via the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.

And, this is the easiest part of the Sinclair Hollow Trail to access!

Lynn checks out apparent bear hair in the lower right portion of the chewed up hiker sign.

Sinclair Hollow is one of the few trails that I can honestly state has a roadside trailhead that is even more remote than the other end of the trail, just inside the wilderness boundaries! I have earlier stated my belief that the Rough Mountain Wilderness's Crane Trail's trailhead is the most remote trailhead in the George Washington National Forest. The Sinclair Hollow Trailhead is more difficult to reach.

Can you see the hair hanging down from the sign at the 5:00 position?

From Charlottesville, I drove west for an hour and 7 minutes to meet up with a trail crew from the Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. We met at a parking area next to the Girl Scouts Camp May Flather near Stokesville, where you can keep your car if hiking the 26 mile Wild Oak Trail. After we all met up, we piled into a high clearance, 4x4 Chevy pickup truck and together traveled over Forest Service road FS 95 to FS 64 for the final 21 miles. This portion of the trip took us another hour-and-a-half. (Directly from Charlottesville, it would be quicker to continue past Churchville on U.S. 250 to Braley Pond Road and take that north to FS 95. Take a left on FS 95 to access FS 64.)

Although FS 95 was in great shape, the FS 64 portion involved some rough driving and a stream ford. I would not attempt this drive without a high clearance 4x4, and was glad that others could shuttle me to the trailhead! I would not even do it with my Subaru Outback unless this part of Virginia had been experiencing an extended dry period. FS 64 is gated near where we parked our vehicle, though the gate did not have a lock, so we continued past that point.

And, although some guidebooks state that FS 64 links to the south with US 250 in the town of Head Waters, I do not believe this is true. So there are no shortcuts to this remote trailhead.

Crossing Shaws Fork of the Cowpasture River near the beginning of our hike.

Sinclair Hollow Trail starts out on level ground at about 2600 feet elevation, crossing Shaws Fork of the Cowpasture River soon after passing the sign for the trail on FR 64. Shaws Fork and its feeder stream in Sinclair Hollow are the northernmost streams in the James River system. The stream just to the north (Brushy Fork) flows north into West Virginia before becoming part of the South Fork, Potomac River and reaching the Chesapeake via Washington DC instead of Richmond.

The trail climbs Shenandoah Mountain's west side, going 1.6 miles up Sinclair Hollow. The trail is fairly steep for half of the length as it ascends the mountain, so be prepared to work hard.

Panorama from the Sinclair Hollow Trail, taken about half way up the mountain.

Elevation change ranges from 2600 ft. to 3600 ft. The slope ranges from 5% to 25+%, but averages at about 15% for most of the mile when it is climbing the main slope of Shenandoah Mountain. There are a couple of areas where the trail makes a small detour because of downed trees. Other than at these spots, the trail is relatively well marked. The occasional plastic diamonds are usually found in areas where the trail is obvious. Returning back down the trail, it is a little tough to follow for the first 50 feet after leaving the Shenandoah Mountain Trail, but is evident once you start dropping off of the crest.

Yellow plastic diamond signals the trail as it descends Shenandoah Mountain.

Water is available from the creek in the hollow. There is also a small pond near the lower end of the trail, which appears to provide a nice, remote spot to camp.

Sign where the Sinclair Hollow Trail ends at the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.
You can see a Wilderness Boundary sign above the trail sign, though most of that sign is gone.

Having lunch at a large campsite on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail
next to the Sinclair Hollow Trail's terminus.

The group called Friends of Shenandoah Mountain has been working with multiple stakeholders for the past several years to construct a long term protection plan for this part of the National Forest.(Disclaimer: several members of my trail work group this day are organizers of the Friends of Shenandoah Mountain. I am fortunate to know these folks, who really love this part of the George Washington National Forest.) The Friends group has proposed designating as Federal Wilderness the land to the south of the Sinclair Hollow Trail and west of the Shenandoah Mountain Trail, to be called the Lynn Hollow Wilderness. There are no trails in this proposed wilderness are that currently exist. (Map)

The Sinclair Hollow Trail itself would be part of the proposed Shenandoah National Scenic Area (NSA). NSAs have fewer use restrictions than Federal Wilderness Areas, so mountain bikes and hunters' game carts would be permitted on this trail. (An example of a local NSA is the summit of Cole Mountain, on the Appalachian Trail near Amherst and Buena Vista.) As a result of accommodations to various groups with sometimes disparate interests in the use of the National Forest, the Friends proposal has received endorsements from a large number of organizations (List). I recommend that you check out their website and review their proposals, and I strongly support their work.