Short Ridge Trail, GWNF

This posting is part of my effort to document trails in the North River District of the George Washington National Forest that don't have much in the way of online descriptions.  This trail is in the southwestern portion of the District, and was part of the old Deerfield Ranger District.  Descriptions and photos are from explorations occurring in May, 2020.  Conditions on trails are subject to change.

The Short Ridge Trail connects a parking area on the Deerfield Road (SR 629) south of Deerfield with FR 399, the Jerkemtight Road.  (Some maps refer to this trail as the Jerkemtight Trail.) Hikers can then ascend the Jerkemtight Road to the Shenandoah Mountain Trail, reaching that trail at its intersection with the Marshall Draft Trail.  A distance hiker, therefore, can use the Short Ridge Trail as part of a connection between Shenandoah Mountain and Walker Mountain to the east, by crossing the Deerfield Road and connecting to the Brushy Ridge Trail and the Back Draft Trail.

The trailhead for the Short Ridge Road is south of Deerfield just off of SR 629 on FR 392.  FR 392 is also known as either Short Ridge Road or Fowler Springs Road.  There is parking for two or three cars here.  




The area was a little muddy, as you can see from the photo below, but it was easy to negotiate.  The photo shows the FR 392 coming from Deerfield Road.

FR 392 is gated just after this parking area.  When I arrived, there was another vehicle here, parked in front of the gate.  Not recommended - this road is still used and is open from October 1 to December 31 every year.

The Short Ridge Trail angles off of FR 392 not more than 50 yards after the gate.  This is a critical piece of information!  The trail is not signed at either end and is hard to see without knowing this. I had a GPS track that I followed, but they aren't always spot on so I missed the turnoff and ended up on deer trails for a while thinking that I was on the trail.  Below shows the trail leaving the road, about 50 yards after the gate, before I turned off.

Eventually, I bushwhacked up a ridge to find the trail, and I followed the trail the entire way on my return.  I found it in great shape and well blazed in yellow - just not in a few critical places (like here).

Once on the trail, it climbs for the next 0.4 mile, ascending 225 feet at about a 10% grade until it reaches a ridge.  It follows this unnamed ridge (Short Ridge is actually further west and this trail never touches that ridge) for the next half mile.  It is usually very easy to follow except for a couple of spots.

At about the 0.7 mile mark, the trail appears to split.  To the left it heads up about 8 feet to a flat area that may have been the end of an old road.  To the right is another trail.  Go to the right, as this will take you directly to the old roadbed that becomes the trail.

At 0.9 miles, another road merges in from the right and, 100 feet later, splits off to the left.  Make sure you stay on the trail here and don't end up on the old road.  The photo below is a southbound view of the first road merge - the trail came in from the right and did not use the road with trees down on the left.  There are no blazes here and I had no issues following the trail when coming from the south, but if you are coming from the north this could pose problems.

After these two road intersections, the Short Ridge Trail descends to Jerkemtight Road.  The trail ends here, and there is no parking on Jerkemtight Road.  At Jerkemtight Road, the trail is also unsigned, and is even harder to locate than the southern end.  Hikers descending from the Shenandoah Mountain Trail would need to know where they are - they have passed the Tom Lee Draft Road (the only major intersection on the descent) and crossed Jerkemtight Branch on a low water bridge (shown below looking west).

The trail comes into the road about 0.4 miles east of the low water bridge and is virtually invisible unless you are looking on your right (heading east) for an old woods road.  There is a trail that cuts up 20 feet to that road.

Looking carefully into the woods at this point, it is possible to see a blazed tree trunk on the old woods road.  Unfortunately, no trees closer to the road are blazed.

On my hike, I turned around at the low water bridge.  The water was moving faster than the photo indicates, and there were no easy rock crossings nearby.  I was nursing a knee injury, and did not want to risk the crossing.  So completing the hike to the Shenandoah Mountain Trail and possibly the Wallace Peak summit will occur another time.  Spring is not the best time to test water crossings, but this is likely an easy crossing in the Summer and Fall.

I found the Short Ridge Trail to be in surprisingly good shape, and I cleared some brush along the way, which improved it further.  It offered wonderful solitude and wildlife viewings over its short distance, as we flushed a couple of deer and were entertained by a very noisy turkey who ran down the trail away from us.  As long as you can find the trail, it is worth checking out.

Sam Judd Ramsey Trail, GWNF

This posting is part of my effort to document trails in the North River District of the George Washington National Forest that don't have much in the way of online descriptions.  This trail is in the southwestern portion of the District, and was part of the old Deerfield Ranger District.  Descriptions and photos are from hikes occurring in late March, 2020.

The Sam Judd Ramsey Trail ascends both Walker Mountain and Sideling Hill south of Deerfield.  The SJR Trail is a useful trail for connecting with other trails, but it has some aspects that limit its usefulness. The trail leaves the National Forest in its easternmost mile. Although some reports indicate that it continues thanks to an agreement with the landowner, the trail is not marked outside of the National Forest and several roads intersect with the trail, making it impossible to know for sure if you are on an acceptable path. The trail leaves the National Forest right at an elbow curve shown on trail maps, but that section of trail no longer exists. The safest choice is to turn around at the end of the public lands.

Map shows the SJR Trail to the north, along with an unmarked, but maintained trail, connecting
to the Mill Mountain Trail to the southwest.

Heading west towards Walker Mountain from this trail's one road crossing - Clayton Mill Creek Road, FS 61, (which is the trailhead for both sections of trail and is marked in the map above next to "Tank Traps"), the Sam Judd Ramsey Trail follows an old road that crosses through an area that has recently been logged on both sides of the trail.

Western portion of SJR Trail as seen from access road.

The trail crosses three roads, and the third crossing is important - about 100 yards after that crossing, the trail leaves the old road, cuts left, and angles up the mountain. This is not obvious, so if you aren't careful you'll find yourself climbing the mountain on an old road at an insanely steep 33% grade.

If you are looking for the trail's eastern end from the top of Walker Mountain, load a waypoint in your GPS first - the trail is not marked by a sign. Instead a faded yellow blaze is on a tree and a ribbon may encircle that same tree. It is not an obvious intersection.

There are no vistas on this trail, though descending from Sidling Hill there are some nice views of Walker Mountain to the west.  Because it summits the old woods road on the ridge of Walker Mountain, it is possible to hike Walker Mountain from the Back Draft Trail, which connects west, ultimately to the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.

You can also connect with the Mill Mountain Trail without walking several miles on the gravel road.  By taking the SJR Trail east to the top of Sideling Hill.  Just before the SJR Trail starts dropping down the eastern slope, cut right on an unmarked trail.  The trail becomes more obvious as you trace the eastern edge of the ridge.  It is clearly maintained to this day, and looks like it was once an official trail, though I cannot find it on any maps. The photos below comes from the trail connecting the SJR Trail to the Mill Mountain Trail.

If heading east on the SJR Trail to summit Sideling Hill, you start out on an old road and cross several tank traps.  Keep an eye to the left for the trail leaving the road.  It is shown on the photo below; note the yellow blaze on the tree.  

After that, the trail is obvious and even offers some nice views west towards Walker Mountain during the descent.

Brushy Ridge Trail, GWNF

This posting is part of my effort to document trails in the North River District of the George Washington National Forest that don't have much in the way of online descriptions.  This trail is in the southwestern portion of the District, and was part of the old Deerfield Ranger District.  Descriptions and photos are from hikes occurring in late March, 2020.

The Brushy Ridge Trail (#718) connects the western end of the Back Draft Trail (#546) with Deerfield Road (Va 629) just north of a parking area that serves as the trailhead for the Short Ridge Trail (#717).  The Brushy Ridge Trail is a one mile long connector trail, allowing a resolute hiker to travel from the Shenandoah Mountain Trail (#447) and/or the Marshall Draft Trail (#547) near Wallace Peak to the top of Walker Mountain or the Mill Mountain Trail (#492) when combined with a couple of other trails. It can be considered a "low use" trail. 

Eastern Trailhead location:

Western Trailhead Location:


From the western end of the Back Draft Trail (#546), walk the Forest Service road away from the gate downhill.  On the other side of Bright Hollow Road is a trail sign and a tree with three yellow diamonds.  This is the beginning of the Brushy Ridge Trail.

The trail climbs up a ridge with a nearby house in view.  This house has built a trail from their property to this trail, so be careful on your return not to absentmindedly end up in their property.

Once you reach the ridge, you will encounter the defining portion of this trail.  The trail crosses a clearcut made in anticipation of a natural gas pipeline that is currently in the courts.  You get some views from this clearcut, but it is a pretty awful place to cross.  The trail is not hard to follow, despite the carnage.

The mountain in view to the south is called Chestnut Ridge.

The trail returns to the forest, and cuts downhill to an old woods road.

The woods road leads west to the Deerfield Road.  Turn left here to get to the western trailhead, just off of the Deerfield Road to the south - behind the orange pole in the photo below on FR 392.

Back Draft Trail, GWNF

This posting is part of my effort to document trails in the North River District of the George Washington National Forest that don't have much in the way of online descriptions.  This trail is in the southwestern portion of the District, and was part of the old Deerfield Ranger District.  Descriptions and photos are from hikes occurring in late March, 2020.

The Back Draft Trail is a three mile long connector trail, allowing a resolute hiker to travel from the Shenandoah Mountain Trail (#447) and/or the Marshall Draft Trail (#547) near Wallace Peak to the top of Walker Mountain or the Mill Mountain Trail (#492) when combined with a couple of other trails. It can be considered a "low use" trail. 

From the east, it has a trailhead on Clayton Mill Creek Road FSR 61, which is an easily traveled Forest Service road.

Eastern Trailhead:

The western end also has parking, just before a gate on a Forest Service Road:



I parked at the eastern end and hiked this as an out and back, combined with the Brushy Ridge Trail.  At the eastern trailhead, there is parking for multiple vehicles at the site, though it also appears to be a campsite, so you might have to compete with campers to park here.

There is an old sign on the Clayton Mill Creek Road that signals the trailhead.

This trail has no views. The section of trail on the eastern slope of Walker Mountain is in terrible shape in 2020 - the trail doesn't even exist, though copious blazing is found on trees so you cannot get lost. Note in the photo below that trees are marked, but this is otherwise a bushwhack with no visible trail.  Putting it another way, there is no trail, but you won't get lost!

Because this part of the trail is in such rough shape and because it ends at Clayton Mill Creek Road, the long distance hiker would do much better avoiding the Back Draft Trail east of the Walker Mountain summit.  Instead, hike Walker Mountain's ridge trail (shown on current maps as a forest road, but it is closed to traffic) south to the Sam Judd Ramsey Trail (#660) to the Clayton Mill Creek Road.  You can then summit Sideling Hill and take a well maintained hiker trail along the summit south to the Mill Mountain Trail if you want to go further.

This is a view of the summit of Walker Mountain looking north, from the point where the Back Draft Trail crosses.

The western slope of Walker Mountain is in much better shape, and can be followed immediately, as shown below.

The Back Draft Trail drops into a valley and crosses Mill Creek.  This was a little bit of a tough crossing in March, with water levels up.  There is no bridge or series of stepping stones to make this crossing. 

After crossing Mill Creek, the trail follows a couple of old woods road to its western terminus, on an active Forest Service road, just off of Bright Hollow Road. It is marked by a sign.

To get to the Brushy Ridge Trail from the end of the Back Draft Trail, walk the Forest Service road away from the gate downhill.  In the photo, you can see a series of yellow diamonds on a tree, on the left side of the photo on the other side of the main road.  This is the beginning of the Brushy Ridge Trail.

Beards Mtn/Gillam Run Trails, GWNF

If you hike the trails in Douthat State Park, there are several access points that can take you beyond the park's trails into the surrounding George Washington National Forest.  COVID hiking means finding trails that are more rarely used, so I've been exploring the GWNF's Beards Mountain Trail northeast of Douthat.  This trail is most regularly used by mountain bikers, even though it lacks the long descents more common in trails further north in the National Forest.  The first time I hiked part of it, pre-COVID in November 2019, my hiking partners and I saw evidence of bikers but no other trail users.  I returned six months later and encountered a group of three mountain bikers - one of whom said I was the first person he'd ever seen on the trail outside of his group.  Douthat trails will be more widely used.

Below are a couple of hiking options using the Beards Mountain Trail, located in Bath County, in the Warm Springs Ranger District of the GWNF.

Entire Beards Mountain Trail 

It is possible to hike the entire Beards Mtn Trail from its trailhead at the Walton Tract on the Cowpasture River off of Rt 42.  It is a long hike to the first trail inside of Douthat however, at about 7.3 miles each way, with an ascent of 2250 feet.  Add in the closest loop within the park, at 3.4 miles, and you have a very long 18 mile hike.

Walton Tract location is below.  Scroll in, and you can see the pedestrian bridge over the river.



Hiking just a portion of this trail from the north is worthwhile, even without reaching Douthat.  Much of the Beards Mountain Trail is beautiful, with sections of the trail hugging steep slopes and multiple vistas to the east towards Rough Mountain over the Cowpasture River Valley.

The northern access starts at the Walton Tract.  There is space for many vehicles here, and no one else was parked here when we were here.

Mile 0.0 - From the parking loop, head down an old road past a closed gate, going west.  The highlight of this portion of trail is the bridge over the Cowpasture River, which is right at the beginning of the trail.  There are wonderful views of the river from the bridge.  This section of trail is actually the Beards Mountain Spur Trail (#459A).  The blue blazed trail crosses the bridge and starts heading northeast - the opposite direction of Douthat - before hitting a ridge and swiveling southwest.

Mile 2.0 - After ascending along the sides of steep slopes, the Beards Mtn Spur Trail ends at the Beards Mtn Trail.  The sign here says it is 1.8 miles to the Walton Tract, but my GPS read 2.0 miles.

Mile 2.5 - Pass a point with nice views to the northwest.

Mile 3.2 - The trail ascends through a fairly open area which is likely overgrown during the summer.

Views from the top look east towards Rough Mountain.  This is a great place to soak in the views and the solitude.

Mile 5.2 - The Gillam Run Trail merges in from the right.  This trail descends west to a Forest Service road and is described in detail later in this post.

Mile 6.4 - Ascend to the top of an unnamed peak and enjoy views to the northwest, towards Warm Springs Mountain.

Mile 7.3 - Leave the George Washington National Forest and enter into Douthat State Park.  The boundary is marked by a foot high concrete post and multiple yellow boundary marker signs on trees. Douthat Lake is visible in the distance when the leaves are down.

Mile 7.6 - The Beards Mtn Trail ends at an intersection with Douthat's Mountain Top Trail.  This intersection is not noted by a trail sign, so it would be harder to know where to go if you approached initially from Douthat's trails, rather than approaching on the Beards Mtn Trail.  I had hiked the Mountain Top Trail before, and always assumed that Beards Mtn Trail intersected further south, where there is another concrete post and a sign stating that the trail has reached the border of the GWNF.  Although it is obvious that there is a trail heading off at the actual intersection, because it is unmarked it is important to know that the intersection is 0.4 mile north (and downhill) of the concrete post on the trail.

Douthat Access via Gillam Run and Beards Mountain Trails

The Gillam Run Trail starts closer to Douthat than the Walton Tract access.  If you want to include a loop hike inside of Douthat in your hike, starting here is the better option.  Access is off of the Douthat State Park Road heading north out of the park.  The turnoff is FDR 361, located 4.5 miles north of the Douthat Campground A turnoff, at the Oak Grove Advent Christian Church (Map).  FDR 361 is open only seven months of the year: April and May, and then again September, October, November, December and January. These are the better months to access the trail, as you can drive straight to the trailhead.  Otherwise, you have to walk FDR 361 from just past the church, an additional 1.5 miles each way.

I skipped the first trailhead for Gillam Run, as it dropped down by the run and there had been several days of rain prior to this hike.  I didn't want to start off with wet shoes and I knew that FDR 361 crosses the trail again.  Even the 1995 edition of Allen DeHart's must-have classic, The Trails of Virginia, states that the first part of the trail "may be overgrown" because it parallels FDR 361 - 25 years ago.

If the gate is closed, you may want to try this portion of the trail.  It didn't meet the road where my GPS mapping indicated it would be, but was a little further up the road and is clearly marked on the left side of the road by a trail sign.

I stayed on the road, passing a brand new clearcut on my right with large log haulers still on the road.  When the road forked, I cut left until I came to a small turnoff - a possible campsite - about 300 yards short of the trail crossing at the spot highlighted below.

After that, the road drops down to Gillam Run and its eponymous trail, but there were no good parking spots closer to the trail crossing.

Mile 0.0 - Park your vehicle.  Walk further on FDR 361 downhill until you see the trail sign on your right.  A little further up the road is a trail sign on your left, which indicates the other trail section heading west back towards the church you passed on your way in.

Behind the trail sign, the trail starts out pretty overgrown - chiefly by Maple saplings.  You don't have to travel too far pushing through these things before they thin out.  The trail is always easy to follow.  Much of it is completely covered in moss, clearly indicating that mountain bikes seldom use this trail. The trail climbs quickly and steadily, traveling 0.85 miles to its end asceding 788 feet at a grade of 17%.  It isn't long before views across the valley are possible.

Mile 1.0 - Reach the Beards Mtn Trail.  Turn right at this point to get to Douthat State Park.  Follow directions for the Beards Mtn Trail found earlier in this post.

Mile 3.4 - Beards Mtn Trail ends at Douthat's Mountain Top Trail.  I took the Mountain Top Trail to the right here, continuing a descent that began at the state park boundary.  Note where these two trails meet, as the intersection is not marked and you will return to your car via the Beards Mtn Trail. You will notice that Douthat trails are much more regularly maintained than GWNF trails. Shortly after passing this intersection, and before a sharp switchback, is a wonderful view west towards Douthat Lake.

Mile 4.0 - Leave the Mountain Top Trail and take the Mountain Side Trail.  At this point, you are at the lowest elevation of the hike, other than the very beginning and end of the hike.  The Mountain Side Trail is relatively level over its short distance with a small stream crossing and multiple nice vistas.

Mile 5.3 - The Mountain Side Trail ends at the Mountain Top Trail, slightly past the half way point of this hike.  Take a left here and start a big climb, passing this nice view of the Cowpasture River in the distance.

Mile 6.4 - Reach the high point on the Mountain Top Trail.  This is the point where the George Washington National Forest Boundary is noted on the trail, but it is not the intersection with the Beards Mtn Trail back to your vehicle.  (I had always thought it was.) Stay on the Mountain Top Trail and descend.

Mile 6.8 - The Beards Mountain Trail cuts right at an intersection that is not marked by a trail sign.  The trail is otherwise pretty clear here.  Take the right fork to climb the Beards Mtn Trail and exit Douthat State Park.

Mile 9.2 - Arrive back at the intersection for the Gillam Run Trail.  Take this trail to the left, and descend to FDR 361.

Mile 10.0 - Reach FDR 361.  Turn left and ascend the road to your parked vehicle.

Mile 10.2 - Return to your vehicle.

Total ascent for this hike, including the Douthat loop, is about 2,600 feet. Trails described are highlighted in black on the map below.

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