Shenandoah National Park (Virginia – Aug 6, 2017)
Aug 8, 2017 9:52:08 GMT -5
Post by GaliWalker on Aug 8, 2017 9:52:08 GMT -5
Hogback Mountain and Stony Man
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia – Aug 6, 2017)
One of my oldest friends and my childhood hiking partner was visiting Washington DC, where her daughter was interning during the summer. They had never visited Shenandoah National Park before, and I'm always game for a trip there, so I put together a hiking/sightseeing trip to the park. We would begin with a dayhike around the Hogback Mountain area, and then drive south along Skyline Drive to the Stony Man overlook.
Hogback Mountain
Stats: 7.5mi, 1225ft elevation gain, 3.5hrs
We left Washington around 5:15am and were at the Piney Branch trailhead on Skyline Drive a little after 7:30am. The trail meandered its way through pleasant woods. About a mile in we saw a lot of bear scat on the trail. We immediately looked around and saw our first bear of the day, about 50yds from us in the forest. A cordial nod of the head and we continued our separate ways.
A short while later we picked up the Pole Bridge Link Trail and then the Sugarloaf Trail, which spat us out onto the Keyser Fire Road. We took this grassy road back up to Skyline Drive. We crossed this to hit the Appalachian Trail.
We hiked the A.T. south through forest cathedrals. Ferns rippled in the gentle breeze that filtered its way through beautiful lichen covered trees.
We rolled over Little Hogback Mountain and Hogback Mountain, and then back down to Skyline Drive. The A.T. jogged its way beside the road for a bit, crossing Skyline Drive a couple more times. The final 0.2mi was back up the Piney Branch Trail, which we had begun the hike on.
Stony Man
Stats: 1.6mi, 350ft elevation gain, 1hr
One of my favorite viewpoints in Shenandoah National Park is atop Stony Man. The shortest approach is from the south via a 1.6mi lollipop loop. We did that. Having encountered only a solitary A.T. through hiker on our first hike, here we had to praise the crowds off with a crowbar. The viewpoint was as spectacular as always.
The final highlight of the day was watching a large mama bear cross Skyline Drive, followed by her two tiny cubs.
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia – Aug 6, 2017)
One of my oldest friends and my childhood hiking partner was visiting Washington DC, where her daughter was interning during the summer. They had never visited Shenandoah National Park before, and I'm always game for a trip there, so I put together a hiking/sightseeing trip to the park. We would begin with a dayhike around the Hogback Mountain area, and then drive south along Skyline Drive to the Stony Man overlook.
Hogback Mountain
Stats: 7.5mi, 1225ft elevation gain, 3.5hrs
We left Washington around 5:15am and were at the Piney Branch trailhead on Skyline Drive a little after 7:30am. The trail meandered its way through pleasant woods. About a mile in we saw a lot of bear scat on the trail. We immediately looked around and saw our first bear of the day, about 50yds from us in the forest. A cordial nod of the head and we continued our separate ways.
A short while later we picked up the Pole Bridge Link Trail and then the Sugarloaf Trail, which spat us out onto the Keyser Fire Road. We took this grassy road back up to Skyline Drive. We crossed this to hit the Appalachian Trail.
We hiked the A.T. south through forest cathedrals. Ferns rippled in the gentle breeze that filtered its way through beautiful lichen covered trees.
We rolled over Little Hogback Mountain and Hogback Mountain, and then back down to Skyline Drive. The A.T. jogged its way beside the road for a bit, crossing Skyline Drive a couple more times. The final 0.2mi was back up the Piney Branch Trail, which we had begun the hike on.
Stony Man
Stats: 1.6mi, 350ft elevation gain, 1hr
One of my favorite viewpoints in Shenandoah National Park is atop Stony Man. The shortest approach is from the south via a 1.6mi lollipop loop. We did that. Having encountered only a solitary A.T. through hiker on our first hike, here we had to praise the crowds off with a crowbar. The viewpoint was as spectacular as always.
The final highlight of the day was watching a large mama bear cross Skyline Drive, followed by her two tiny cubs.