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Post by GaliWalker on Jul 4, 2015 10:29:50 GMT -5
A fun little hike, full of lovely, interesting views, and surprisingly lonesome. To date, I'd hiked extensively in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest, and a little bit in George Washington National Forest (which straddles West Virginia and Virginia). I'd never been to Lost River State Park, which nestles between the two National Forests. I was able to rectify this yesterday, on the eve of Independence Day.
I had settled on a ramble along Big Ridge, in the park, for my hike. Thanks to a 2:15am start from the house, I was able to reach Lost River State Park by 6:15am, but due to some confusion on my part it took a further 30min to find the start of the Howard Lick trailhead.
As I finally began the hike proper, I found the trail surface to be surprisingly good, though somewhat muddy initially, so I was able to set a fast 3mph pace. I kept this up as I took a right on a service road and then another right on the White Oak Trail. This took me up through a beautiful forest to a fine viewpoint a bit shy of Big Ridge's crest.
15min later, having got a taste of the good stuff, I motored uphill to intersect the Millers Rock Trail, which took me to Cranny Crow, the best viewpoint of the day. Even though morning had been underway for a while, the sun had just crested the mountains, so the light was nicely soft and still a bit pink. I think I burned about 45min at the viewpoint, basking in the sweeping views.
Cranny Crow
Rock Art
From Cranny Crow, I dropped down for a touch, past Cheeks Rock and other fine vistas, through a scented pine and spruce forest. It was a sensory feast, and slow going due to a whole lot of shutter delay.
A left turn on the Virginia View Trail connected me with the Big Ridge Trail, on which I took an additional left. A few steps later I was at the Big Meadow on the ridgecrest. This was a large expanse, with a shelter and even some picnic tables, which I could have done without. A more interesting feature was an 1840s era homestead, the Mountain Farms Cabin.
GaliWalker at Big Meadow
At Big Meadow, I rejoined the Millers Rock Trail, to head northalong the ridge crest. For a while I felt like Cinderella, as two birds flew three circles around me, at a distance of 5ft. Butterflies and the occasional flower patch added to the fairytale feel. 3mi later I was at my turnaround point, a final set of views to the west, north, east and southeast.
Columbine
Approaching storm
By now I'd spent over 2hrs in picture taking, so I put the camera away for the hike back. Even though it was the Independence Day long weekend, amazingly I saw no one else on the entire hike!
Hiking/photography stats: 11.1mi, 2150ft gain, 6.5hrs
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Post by jnk556 on Jul 4, 2015 14:53:24 GMT -5
Very nice pics! I have looked at that lark any times, but due to it being out in the middle of nowhere, never have went. It's not too horribly far from arfcomhkr cabin, so we may check it out sometime.
Any good maps of the trails in the park?
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Post by GaliWalker on Jul 4, 2015 16:24:49 GMT -5
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rpcv
Forum Elder
Posts: 170
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Post by rpcv on Jul 6, 2015 9:15:32 GMT -5
Great photos! We biked through there on Sunday on an epic hill climbing ride. It is such a pretty area. The park has been on my list for a while and riding the roads made me want to go back and explore the trails.
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Post by GaliWalker on Jul 7, 2015 9:16:38 GMT -5
Yeah, that whole area is very pretty. I drove in from the west and the last dozen miles had some lovely mountain views, almost as nice as from the hike.
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rpcv
Forum Elder
Posts: 170
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Post by rpcv on Jul 7, 2015 14:59:08 GMT -5
I would guess you drove in on the road we biked on. It was _quite_ the climb (a couple of 14% grades!) to get from Moorfield to the park. The last couple of miles to get down to the park were a nice descent, though.
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tomas
Junior Member
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Post by tomas on Jul 9, 2015 8:41:25 GMT -5
Not sure I'll be able to fit it into my schedule this summer, but it certainly will be on next summer's list.
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Post by arfcomhkr on Jul 31, 2015 5:49:09 GMT -5
We went up and took a look at it a few weeks ago. Neat place.
Nice cabins, nice pool, not crowded. I'd stay there if I didn't already own a place nearby.
Go in from Mathias unless you want to drive a one lane road across the mountain. It's much shorter and flatter.
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Post by aseege1 on Aug 3, 2015 10:46:10 GMT -5
Did you get a chance to swing in Lost River Brewing after for a burger and drink? Everytime I go out to WV I get almost as excited to eat there as I do to go hiking.  |
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Post by GaliWalker on Aug 3, 2015 12:43:35 GMT -5
I didn't. Wish I'd known about Lost River Brewing beforehand...
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Post by jnk556 on Aug 3, 2015 17:27:53 GMT -5
I didn't. Wish I'd known about Lost River Brewing beforehand... First I ever heard of the place.... |
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Post by arfcomhkr on Aug 3, 2015 19:58:34 GMT -5
I didn't. Wish I'd known about Lost River Brewing beforehand... First I ever heard of the place.... Seems to be in Wardensville, so we wouldn't have gone past it anyway. |
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rpcv
Forum Elder
Posts: 170
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Post by rpcv on Aug 4, 2015 7:13:28 GMT -5
Lost River Brewing is in Wardensville. We've eaten there a few times. The beer and food are good. The service is often fairly slow.
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Post by aseege1 on Aug 4, 2015 7:59:04 GMT -5
It is slow for food service, unfortunately. They are a pretty small establishment and are also frequently understaffed. For me, I'm not in too much of a hurry to get home after a hike...want to prolong my weekend out as much as possible.
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Post by jnk556 on Aug 4, 2015 17:14:00 GMT -5
First I ever heard of the place.... Seems to be in Wardensville, so we wouldn't have gone past it anyway. Ah, yeah, I don't get to wardensville that often, unless I'm heading to VA. |
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