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Post by dunkard on Oct 26, 2014 20:11:23 GMT -5
Headed down to the Cheat Mountain area off of FR227 to hike to a few peaks and explore the area. First off, FR227 has recently been graveled and graded, at least since super storm Sandy. It was a pleasant drive all the way down to the river. (Sorry for the photos the battery in my camera died I had to resort to the phone)  You can see the clear cut in the background of this photo. I started with Crouch knob. The first part of the hike was down a skid road that was grassed over with no sign of vehicular use. BUT I decided to take a side trail which was a much older skid road with some rather large trees growing on the cut. It felt more like a trail than the previous grade. This grad petered out and left me with the choice of backtracking or bushwacking I chose the later and after 0.2 mile thru some moderately thick woods I reached a nice wide cut. With some views although I think they'd be non existent in the summer. I had to leave this grade in order to reach the summit of Crouch. I chose an old skid grad which left me 0.15 mile shy of the summit. I had to bushwack thru some very dense spruce to reach the summit. The Crouch knob area has some potential if you stay on the skid roads it looks like you could make a loop back to FR227 if you stayed on the upper grade.  ![]() The next stop was just past Buck run to follow another wide skid road up to Snyder knob. This was another easy stroll the road was grown in with golden road a deer tongue. Buck run hops down the valley on you right sometimes the step pools and runs are visible but they're always within ear shot.   You leave the sounds of Buck run after the first switchback. There's one more switchback and then you enter the strip mine area. This made for some nice scenery. There were multiple views looking over Buck run and Shavers fork valleys. Lots of clearings, you could pitch a tent almost anywhere thru this area.  Snyder knob was a quick but steep climb up from the strip area. A small rock outcrop offered up a view to the south. I then followed the ridge line northeast from Snyder knob along a long abandoned two track. When I got closer to peak 4535 the two track I was on met up with an old forest road which had sign of vehicular use. I wasn't on that very long until I headed up the side of the knob. I bench cut half way up gave up some nice views back toward Snyder knob. After leaving the bench the forest becomes a mature stand of spruce but it wasn't that bad to walk thru to find the peak. There were numerous large downed moss covered spruce trees which was a nice change up from the reclaimed grassy ares I had been walking thru   All in all this was a very enjoyable hike. I would say Its not for everyone though. There are very few official trails up there. You can use old skid and mine roads and even some of the older railroad grades used by Mower and the WVP&P Co. I saw no established campsite although like I said before there were a lot of places you could pitch a tent. There is a lot of history in this area, people interested can look at a couple books by Roy Clarkson "Tumult on the Mountains" and more specifically dealing with this area "On Beyond Leatherbark" |
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Post by dunkard on Oct 26, 2014 20:15:37 GMT -5
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Post by jnk556 on Oct 26, 2014 21:25:05 GMT -5
Looks like you found my secret favorite area of the forest. It's practically my backyard, so I know Cheat Mountain more than any place here in WV, it's 30min from my driveway!
I can add some insight on FR227. That whole road across to the river used to be pretty much just old abandoned strip mine haul roads, in some places rough and rocky as heck, the part up across that high flat was the worse. The FS went in last year, and graded that area, and dumped out a bunch of wood ships, I'm assuming from Sandy clean-up? I know as of last fall, it was not graveled as of yet, so they must have finally fixed it this spring. Good to hear they have fixed it all the way through, that will save me driving all the way over to Cheat Bridge and back in to get to Snyder Knob.
I've not really bushwacked any of that area, more or less stayed to the roads, but a person can go forever on old logging and mining roads. Snyder Knob is a hidden gem IMO. It's one hell of a rough narrow washed out road to the top, but once you are up there the views are amazing, and the scenery, although it is a old abandoned strip mine is impressive. I've yet to camp up there, but I can imagine in the summer, the stars would be amazing!
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Post by dunkard on Oct 27, 2014 9:44:56 GMT -5
jnk how far up can you drive FR233A before its gated? I met up with some older roads that people had been driving on I assume that FR233A connects with those roads? would have saved a lil bit of a climb up from Shavers
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Post by aseege1 on Oct 27, 2014 11:49:42 GMT -5
Great pics. It was great weather over the weekend. I was a stone's throw away from you over at Otter Creek.
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Post by jnk556 on Oct 27, 2014 17:40:36 GMT -5
jnk how far up can you drive FR233A before its gated? I met up with some older roads that people had been driving on I assume that FR233A connects with those roads? would have saved a lil bit of a climb up from Shavers The road up to snyder is pretty much a dead end road. I don't know the FR numbers, so excuse me. You go up from the bottom down next to the river, and once you get up top, the road will split, you go left, it will go though a old broken down gate, and a big mud hole, and bring you out in a huge field overlooking the river, and the valley. If you go strait, you'll travel on up over the top of the mountain, and end up where the road has had dirt piled up across it, and used to go on up higher on the mountain. You can go to the left, away from the blockade, but the road dead ends in pine trees. That whole road is rough, and I'd only recommend it for a 4x4 with high clearance, and a narrow track. Although I have seen a car up there, how in gods name it made it there I have no idea  I used to own a Ford Ranger with oversize tires I used to take up there, I have since totaled it back in the spring, and i now have a brand new F150, so next time I visit Snyder it'll be on foot  |
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Post by dunkard on Oct 27, 2014 18:13:48 GMT -5
Ok I wasn't sure if it was gated before it reached the ridge or not. Someone found/made a path around the large dirt pile and made it out all the way to the large field below Snyder knob. I only went maybe a half a mile past the pile of dirt. Looks like a fella with a beater up 4x4 could have a grand time up there. Unfortunately I'm past those days and like you will be visiting on foot. You have any experience hiking the old woods roads on the other side of the river on back allegheny mountain. I'd like to head up there on my next trip. When I was working for the university we came across an old water tender I believe it was up second fork. Have you ever came across any old relics from the mower days? The FS hauled out some old tracks and tenders around old spruce. I think they wore the "Greenbrier Cheat and Elk" lettering. Just wondering if you've ever seen anything like that up there?
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Post by jnk556 on Oct 27, 2014 19:14:01 GMT -5
As far as what is beyond that big dirt pile up there, I have never went that far, I know that is the actual top of Snyder Knob, just haven't hiked it. Alot of the times I drove up there I was by myself, bored, and I really don't like the bushwacking alone thing in the middle of nowhere.
I have not hiked any of the old woods roads on the other side of the river. Arfcomhkr and I talked about it once, as you can see all of those old roads and grades on Google earth. We pretty much settled on it being too thick and too big of a PITA to get to alot of them, and I think it drops you on the wrong side of the river as well. We know the FR up across the top of back mountain very well, and there's a camp up there in the spruce we used to camp alot in, spent many nights up there. We have also hiked the road back to the Cass RR tracks just below Bald Knob alot. I really like the area, although like you said there are no trails in the area, and the forest is so young, and dense in alot of those places it's impossible to get through.
As far as artifacts, other than the occasional old metal cables laying about here and there, no I've never run on to anything, then again, I haven't done alot of poking around. A old tender would be a cool find though! There's alot of those old roads I want to chase down one of these days, it's just a matter of me motivating myself to do it, I have to be in the mood to bushwack, and I don't tend to like to do those trips alone. The old road up First Fork and Greathouse Hollow always did intrigue me, I just have never hiked it.
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Post by jnk556 on Oct 27, 2014 19:25:19 GMT -5
I have one more question for you. You said you hiked up Buck Run, that I believe is in the hairpin turn on FR233 past the road up to the top of Snyder correct?? So, that road is in good hiking shape?? About how far of a hike is it from 233 up to the old strip job on top of Snyder?? Looks like it would be a heck of alot shorter walking that way than up the road where I used to drive in.
Most of those old haul roads seem to be marked with dotted lines on the topo's, so finding them shouldn't be hard. A early spring hike would seem like a great time, as alot of the weeds would be broke down from the winters snow, and the roads easier to follow? I may have to consider this in the spring, since I now know alot of those roads are hikable.
I just wish there was a way we could get with the Forest Service and lay out some trails or something. The area is a waste with no trails on it.
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vdeal
Forum Elder
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Post by vdeal on Oct 27, 2014 19:47:18 GMT -5
Had to look at the maps to orient myself. I've done the FS 227 and 233 loop a few times and biked up 235 I believe. There is one trail down there now - the Strip Mine Trail. I need to get down there and explore the area more. I've never seen a mink in the woods - dead or alive.
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Post by dunkard on Oct 27, 2014 19:53:53 GMT -5
It sounds like we accessed Snyder from different routes. I didn't go up the road you can drive on I hiked up the old skid road that's just past the hairpin turn you mentioned. The road is blocked to vehicular traffic and a very easy hike. There were very few blowdowns maybe two or three. But they were no problem to get around. After the second switchback you'll come to a pond that starts the strip area and its still an easy hike along the bench there are a lot of trails thru that area it's also where the best views were. Just keep heading west and you'll come to some big fields at the base of Snyder knob. It's about 2.3 miles from FR233 to the base of the knob. This point is about a mile past the large pile of dirt that blocks the road up to Snyder if you were to come in that way. I'd like to go up the road you mentioned and explore that area leading to the ridge. Thanks for the info.
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Post by jnk556 on Oct 27, 2014 20:18:41 GMT -5
Yeah, the only way i have been up on Snyder is the road you can drive on. I'm looking forward to hiking the way you came up on, that will be my new way to Snyder, now that I have a truck i don't want to beat up.
Vdeal, the Strip Mine trail is no more, it has been abandoned as far as I can tell. The trail head at Cheat Summit was pretty much abandoned 5yrs ago or so, the crapper up there boarded up. The trail was impassable about 1/2mi in as of about 2 yrs ago, major blowdowns, no effort had been made to clear them. I was back up to that trail head Saturday, and it is grown over even more, and there's no signs of the blue diamonds, or a trail marker anymore. I'm afraid it has been lost before it ever really started. The road up to that trailhead is still passable in a full sized truck, but it is awful tight in some spots. It's a shame to, I like that area.
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vdeal
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Post by vdeal on Oct 27, 2014 20:23:17 GMT -5
jnk,
Thanks for the update.
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Post by arfcomhkr on Oct 28, 2014 22:46:20 GMT -5
I've spent a lot of time up 233 and 235. Should have hiked back into the old ghost town of Spruce. It's better to do it early spring though. Right after the snow melts and before the weeds start growing so you can actually see what's left.
You can either hike the tracks up from the end of 233 or down from 235. When I did it, we left one vehicle on 233 and hiked down to it from 235.
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Post by dunkard on Oct 29, 2014 3:45:28 GMT -5
I worked for WVU for 5 years electro shocking fish along the upper shavers. We had keys from snowshoe and could drive right into spruce. We camped at "old spruce" where the tracks split for spruce and bald knob. We stayed there 3-4 nights a week from May through August over a three year period. I'm itching to get back there been 7 or 8 years. Maybe next year I'll head back If anyone is interested you can read about the studies they are mostly published by now. journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0091673#pone-0091673-t001www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/gtr-p-64papers/08-hansbarger-p-64.pdfThere's others if you search. It was a great experience but I did get a little burned out on fishing and camping. Never thought that would happen. |
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Post by arfcomhkr on Oct 29, 2014 7:53:54 GMT -5
Yeah, Snowshoe is the closest way into Spruce. I called and asked about leaving a vehicle back at the gate and couldn't get a straight answer from anyone so we just hiked in from 235. Took a side trip up to Bald Knob and to the cabin,fire tower while there.
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Post by jnk556 on Oct 29, 2014 18:06:25 GMT -5
I worked for WVU for 5 years electro shocking fish along the upper shavers. We had keys from snowshoe and could drive right into spruce. We camped at "old spruce" where the tracks split for spruce and bald knob. We stayed there 3-4 nights a week from May through August over a three year period. I'm itching to get back there been 7 or 8 years. Maybe next year I'll head back If anyone is interested you can read about the studies they are mostly published by now. journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0091673#pone-0091673-t001www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/gtr-p-64papers/08-hansbarger-p-64.pdfThere's others if you search. It was a great experience but I did get a little burned out on fishing and camping. Never thought that would happen. Speaking of Old Spruce, i have a question for you. I'm assuming you stayed near where that picnic table, and campsite is there? There's also a orange painted cross made from pipe i think, is that the grave of a logger/RR worker? I thought I read that in "On Beyond Leatherbark" but can't remember. I've never hiked into there, just seen it on a train trip last year to Spruce. |
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Post by jnk556 on Oct 29, 2014 18:07:24 GMT -5
Yeah, Snowshoe is the closest way into Spruce. I called and asked about leaving a vehicle back at the gate and couldn't get a straight answer from anyone so we just hiked in from 235. Took a side trip up to Bald Knob and to the cabin,fire tower while there. Snowshoe is about worthless, unless your spending money up there with them, then they will bend over backward to kiss your, well you know.... |
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Post by dunkard on Oct 29, 2014 20:14:44 GMT -5
Yes we stayed at the spot with the picnic table. And to answer your question about the grave I was told it belonged to a mr McDonald I believe. His story is in the clarkson book. He was the first logger to lose his life on the mnt. Supposedly his body was taken to cass but for some reason it was returned to the top of the mnt a few days later for burial. They say this odd turn of events caused his ghost to lose track of his body and it's supposed to haunt cass forever looking for his body. I don't know if that pipe is the marker or not. I do know that story is in the book and it makes for a hell of a campfire story when you inform the newbies to the site that there camping in a "graveyard". I don't believe in spooks or ghosts so it never really got to me but some folks were a lil creeped out by it and everybody gave the marker a wide birth when selecting a tent site.
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Post by jnk556 on Oct 29, 2014 20:38:33 GMT -5
I guess it was the Leatherbark book I read it in then. I don't have my book handy, Arfcomhkr has it at his cabin, but I knew I had read it somewhere. I don't really believe in that stuff either, but I have respect for the dead, so I'd set up away from it too!
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