Canaan Mountain, West Virginia (Sep 17, 2016)
Sept 19, 2016 9:43:42 GMT -5
Post by GaliWalker on Sept 19, 2016 9:43:42 GMT -5
Sep 17, 2016: Canaan Mountain
After having spent my last hiking/photography trip roaming through the austere rock and icescape of the rugged Karakoram Range, West Virginia's Canaan Mountain was a complete change of pace. The lush greenery and rounded mountains, which have become my stomping grounds these past few years, provided me with a warm welcome and a satisfying descent into familiarity.
One of West Virginia's most photographed viewpoints is Lindy Point, located at the edge of Blackwater Falls State Park. Since the trailhead for the short 1.3mi (round trip) Lindy Point trail was the same as for my Canaan Mountain hike, I decided to start my day at the viewpoint.
I had been to Lindy Point many times before, but never to photograph the sunrise. I was pretty psyched up as I left the car. It was 6:00am - about 20min before first light - so I put on my headlamp, but I could have almost done without: a full moon shone down on me like a searchlight. In fact, almost as soon as I reached the rocky outcrop at Lindy Point and broke out of the woods, I switched off the headlamp. The sunrise was lovely. As soft pink light began to suffuse the surroundings, the sculpted stack of mountains that wall off Blackwater Canyon and lead the eye towards yet more distant mountains, began to emerge out of the darkness. The kingly moon held sway over this domain, but then the sun broke over the horizon and banished it into nothingness. In its stead shadows began to march down the hillsides, signaling an end to my playtime.
It was 8:00am when I returned to the parking lot. The Canaan Mountain loop hike I had planned started with 0.5mi of road walking, along gravel CLR13. Right after crossing Lindy Run, I took a left on the Lindy Run Trail. A right on the Plantation Trail and then a left on the Railroad Grade Trail ensued. The Railroad Grade was the most fun part of the hike to this point: The trail had a beautiful soft tread, and was lined by lovely trees and ferns. Along the way I passed by an idyllic little shelter, after which the tread somehow got even nicer.
The Railroad Grade deposited me on CLR13, where I took a right. The 3.25mi of hiking along the gravel road was mostly put your head down and walk stuff, although the forest was quite pretty, so it wasn't all bad.
The reward of all the road walking was the Table Rock vista (~2mi, round-trip from CLR13). Table Rock sported views that were only marginally less impressive than Lindy Point. In all, I spent 45min there, just relaxing on the rocks.
After my return from Table Rock, I picked up the Plantation Trail. Beautiful rhododendron tunnels and the occasional magical forest grove took me back to the Railroad Grade Trail. I took a left here, to drop down to rejoin CLR13. A right on this took me back to my car (~2mi).
Cumulative hiking/photography stats: 16.75mi, 1400ft elevation gain, 8.5hrs
After having spent my last hiking/photography trip roaming through the austere rock and icescape of the rugged Karakoram Range, West Virginia's Canaan Mountain was a complete change of pace. The lush greenery and rounded mountains, which have become my stomping grounds these past few years, provided me with a warm welcome and a satisfying descent into familiarity.
One of West Virginia's most photographed viewpoints is Lindy Point, located at the edge of Blackwater Falls State Park. Since the trailhead for the short 1.3mi (round trip) Lindy Point trail was the same as for my Canaan Mountain hike, I decided to start my day at the viewpoint.
I had been to Lindy Point many times before, but never to photograph the sunrise. I was pretty psyched up as I left the car. It was 6:00am - about 20min before first light - so I put on my headlamp, but I could have almost done without: a full moon shone down on me like a searchlight. In fact, almost as soon as I reached the rocky outcrop at Lindy Point and broke out of the woods, I switched off the headlamp. The sunrise was lovely. As soft pink light began to suffuse the surroundings, the sculpted stack of mountains that wall off Blackwater Canyon and lead the eye towards yet more distant mountains, began to emerge out of the darkness. The kingly moon held sway over this domain, but then the sun broke over the horizon and banished it into nothingness. In its stead shadows began to march down the hillsides, signaling an end to my playtime.
It was 8:00am when I returned to the parking lot. The Canaan Mountain loop hike I had planned started with 0.5mi of road walking, along gravel CLR13. Right after crossing Lindy Run, I took a left on the Lindy Run Trail. A right on the Plantation Trail and then a left on the Railroad Grade Trail ensued. The Railroad Grade was the most fun part of the hike to this point: The trail had a beautiful soft tread, and was lined by lovely trees and ferns. Along the way I passed by an idyllic little shelter, after which the tread somehow got even nicer.
The Railroad Grade deposited me on CLR13, where I took a right. The 3.25mi of hiking along the gravel road was mostly put your head down and walk stuff, although the forest was quite pretty, so it wasn't all bad.
The reward of all the road walking was the Table Rock vista (~2mi, round-trip from CLR13). Table Rock sported views that were only marginally less impressive than Lindy Point. In all, I spent 45min there, just relaxing on the rocks.
After my return from Table Rock, I picked up the Plantation Trail. Beautiful rhododendron tunnels and the occasional magical forest grove took me back to the Railroad Grade Trail. I took a left here, to drop down to rejoin CLR13. A right on this took me back to my car (~2mi).
Cumulative hiking/photography stats: 16.75mi, 1400ft elevation gain, 8.5hrs
