Lion's Head, Dolly Sods (West Virginia – April 20, 2019)
Apr 22, 2019 12:24:23 GMT -5
Post by GaliWalker on Apr 22, 2019 12:24:23 GMT -5
Lion's Head, Dolly Sods (West Virginia – April 20, 2019)
Right in the heart of the Dolly Sods Wilderness lies Lion's Head, a large rocky throne from which one can survey both the upper and lower kingdoms. Even though I'd been there quite a few times in the past, experiencing the expansive views one more time seemed like an appealing thing to do. I pieced together a route that would include two other cool features: the No Name Vista and Red Creek Falls.
I was out of the house by 2:30am, hoping to catch the sunrise, or at least some nice morning light from the one of the viewpoints in Dolly Sods. Rain was coming down in sheets, and with the car skittering about on the sodden highway I had to slow down considerably. Nice morning light, it would have to be.
I began my hike from the Rohrbaugh Plains Trailhead at 6:30am. Even thought the rain had stopped, the ground was completely saturated. Mud and puddles akin to small lakes made for slow going. The trail made its way through beautiful rhododendron corridors, which I couldn't enjoy because all the leaves were laden with moisture, and only too happy to shed themselves of this as I brushed past. There were numerous small stream crossings which I was able to rock-hop in semi-dry fashion, despite them carrying more water than I'd ever seen before.
A slow 2.3mi later I finally broke out of the forest, more than ready to snack on the lovely views that the No Name Vista had laid out for my breakfast. As anticipated, sunrise was well and truly over and done with, but mellow morning light had the outcrop's rock and surrounding hillsides glowing. In the valley below me, Red Creek snaked its way out from deep shadow to bright sunshine. On the other side of the valley, crowning one of the mountains, lay the Lion's Head outcrop. I spent about a half-hour enjoying the sunshine and views before packing up my camera gear to head to my second destination of the day, Red Creek Falls.
The trail stayed mostly flat for the next couple of miles. Decidedly less muddy conditions meant that I could push a bit, which I was keen to do since I wanted to be at Red Creek Falls before the sun hit it. I had traded the Rohrbaugh Plains Trail for the Fisher Spring Run Trail before, finally, embarking on the descent into the Red Creek valley. Crossing cascading Fisher Creek took some careful footwork but I was able to make it across safely. Shortly after this I was at Red Creek Falls.
Red Creek Falls was full of sound and fury. Spring snowmelt and recent rain had it running at full capacity. Thankfully, the waterfall was still in shadow, although bright sunshine was hitting the far side of the creek. I knew I had to work fast and truck in some photos before the waterfall got hit by sunshine and made photography a real challenge. My favorite part of the waterfall was the splash pool, where an amazing reflection of the sunlit forest on the creek's far side painted the swirling water with gold.
Swirling reflection
After my photography session at the falls came the moment I'd been dreading, the crossing of Red Creek. I headed downstream for a bit until I found a section where the water was less turbulent, where I took off my boots and put on my water shoes. The creek crossing ended up being crotch deep, and I had to fight to stay upright against the flow of water and atop the slippery submerged rocks. I was extremely glad of the water shoes because these allowed me to get through the icy waters as quickly as possible.
Now on the Red Creek Trail, I climbed steeply out of the valley and then hung a left on the Rocky Point Trail. 1.5mi later I found my preferred semi-scramble route up to Lion's Head, which I made short work of. Bright sunshine bathed the large rocky platform, under a blue sky with puffy white clouds. A stiff wind was the only blemish on the otherwise perfection of the moment. I took my time enjoying this kingly perch in the sky, before reluctantly retracing my steps back to the car.
Lion's Head
Photos taken on the return:
Red Creek Falls
No Name Vista
Rhododendron corridor on the Rohrbaugh Plains Trail
Hiking/photography stats: 14mi, 10hrs, 2100ft gain
Right in the heart of the Dolly Sods Wilderness lies Lion's Head, a large rocky throne from which one can survey both the upper and lower kingdoms. Even though I'd been there quite a few times in the past, experiencing the expansive views one more time seemed like an appealing thing to do. I pieced together a route that would include two other cool features: the No Name Vista and Red Creek Falls.
I was out of the house by 2:30am, hoping to catch the sunrise, or at least some nice morning light from the one of the viewpoints in Dolly Sods. Rain was coming down in sheets, and with the car skittering about on the sodden highway I had to slow down considerably. Nice morning light, it would have to be.
I began my hike from the Rohrbaugh Plains Trailhead at 6:30am. Even thought the rain had stopped, the ground was completely saturated. Mud and puddles akin to small lakes made for slow going. The trail made its way through beautiful rhododendron corridors, which I couldn't enjoy because all the leaves were laden with moisture, and only too happy to shed themselves of this as I brushed past. There were numerous small stream crossings which I was able to rock-hop in semi-dry fashion, despite them carrying more water than I'd ever seen before.
A slow 2.3mi later I finally broke out of the forest, more than ready to snack on the lovely views that the No Name Vista had laid out for my breakfast. As anticipated, sunrise was well and truly over and done with, but mellow morning light had the outcrop's rock and surrounding hillsides glowing. In the valley below me, Red Creek snaked its way out from deep shadow to bright sunshine. On the other side of the valley, crowning one of the mountains, lay the Lion's Head outcrop. I spent about a half-hour enjoying the sunshine and views before packing up my camera gear to head to my second destination of the day, Red Creek Falls.
The trail stayed mostly flat for the next couple of miles. Decidedly less muddy conditions meant that I could push a bit, which I was keen to do since I wanted to be at Red Creek Falls before the sun hit it. I had traded the Rohrbaugh Plains Trail for the Fisher Spring Run Trail before, finally, embarking on the descent into the Red Creek valley. Crossing cascading Fisher Creek took some careful footwork but I was able to make it across safely. Shortly after this I was at Red Creek Falls.
Red Creek Falls was full of sound and fury. Spring snowmelt and recent rain had it running at full capacity. Thankfully, the waterfall was still in shadow, although bright sunshine was hitting the far side of the creek. I knew I had to work fast and truck in some photos before the waterfall got hit by sunshine and made photography a real challenge. My favorite part of the waterfall was the splash pool, where an amazing reflection of the sunlit forest on the creek's far side painted the swirling water with gold.
Swirling reflection
After my photography session at the falls came the moment I'd been dreading, the crossing of Red Creek. I headed downstream for a bit until I found a section where the water was less turbulent, where I took off my boots and put on my water shoes. The creek crossing ended up being crotch deep, and I had to fight to stay upright against the flow of water and atop the slippery submerged rocks. I was extremely glad of the water shoes because these allowed me to get through the icy waters as quickly as possible.
Now on the Red Creek Trail, I climbed steeply out of the valley and then hung a left on the Rocky Point Trail. 1.5mi later I found my preferred semi-scramble route up to Lion's Head, which I made short work of. Bright sunshine bathed the large rocky platform, under a blue sky with puffy white clouds. A stiff wind was the only blemish on the otherwise perfection of the moment. I took my time enjoying this kingly perch in the sky, before reluctantly retracing my steps back to the car.
Lion's Head
Photos taken on the return:
Red Creek Falls
No Name Vista
Rhododendron corridor on the Rohrbaugh Plains Trail
Hiking/photography stats: 14mi, 10hrs, 2100ft gain
