Billy Goat Trail Section C

The Potomac River along the Billy Goat Trail C

2.5 miles loop, 100 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy
Access: Paved road to trailhead, no fee required

The Billy Goat Trail Section C is the easternmost and perhaps the least spectacular of the three sections of trail that go under the name "Billy Goat Trail." There are no rock scrambles on this trail, which is fairly easy and fairly flat as it winds its way 1.6 miles along the Potomac River before joining up with the C&O Canal Towpath.

I hiked this trail on a weekday after work with five friends. We made our way through rush hour traffic to the trailhead at Carderock, which is located off of the Clara Barton Parkway just west of the I-495 Virginia-Maryland bridge. Carderock refers to both a naval surface warfare center and a nearby park on the Potomac River. We parked in the westernmost parking area in Carderock, which can be reached by turning right once in Carderock and driving to the last parking lot.

From the parking area, we hopped immediately onto the Billy Goat C trail. The trail passed through forest and quickly reached the top of a set of cliffs above the Potomac River. We saw a number of rock climbers here with a view across the river to Virginia. The Great Falls/Carderock area is well known for its rock climbing due to its incredible convenience: Carderock is only a three minute drive from the Beltway.

Cliffs along the Potomac

From here, we continued on, descending to close to river level and passing by a number of beaches, many of which were littered with tiny shells and exposed rocks. The river here was fairly calm, much less rocky and wild than the river near Great Falls a few miles upriver.

The cliffs and the gorges just uphill of DC are a result of the Fall Line, a boundary between two physiographic regions in the Mid-Atlantic/South. In Virginia and Maryland, the Tidewater is a flat, sedimentary region that slopes down to the Chesapeake Bay. The major rivers of the Bay watershed- the Susquehanna, Patapsco, Patuxent, Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James- are not truly flowing rivers in the Tidewater, but instead saltwater extensions of the Chesapeake estuary. The Piedmont (the foothills) are much different: rocky, ancient, and hilly. The boundary between the two regions is stark and well defined: rapids lie on all rivers at the Fall Line. The Fall Line was of critical importance to the early settlement of the Chesapeake watershed as it marked the westernmost navigable point on all major rivers. Washington DC, Fredericksburg, and Richmond were all built at the Fall Line: directly upstream of these cities, there are rapids on the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers.

Along the Billy Goat Section C, the transition from Piedmont to Tidewater was fairly clear: the rocky ground made it clear that the trail was still in the Piedmont, but the calm river suggested that the Tidewater was not far off.

After continuing further along the river, we passed a small stream with a five foot waterfall before the trail wound away from the river and ended on the C&O Canal Towpath. We followed the towpath back to the parking area as the sun set and saw numerous frogs and deer along the way; most surprisingly, we saw a baby duck following a flock of young geese, perhaps due to imprinting. We also heard taps playing from across the Clara Barton Parkway at the Carderock NSWC.

The Potomac River

Blackrock and Furnace Mountain

Blackrock

7.2 miles round trip,1500 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate
Access: Trailhead off Skyline Drive (paved road), Shenandoah National Park entrance fee required

This is one of the best hikes in the South District of Shenandoah National Park. This hike combines two major viewpoints in the South District of Shenandoah and follows the high northern ridgeline of Trayfoot Mountain, one of the most distinctive peaks of the South District. The open talus slope at Blackrock provides the most sweeping view of the entire South District, while the sandstone summit of Furnace provides a more intimate view of Dundo Hollow and Shenandoah Valley as well as a chance to spot some trace fossils. The high, ridgeline trail that connects the two is especially beautiful in the spring when white and pink mountain laurel bloom.

I did this hike on the very last day of my spring semester, scheduling to leave Charlottesville an hour before the end of my last final exam. After turning in my half-hearted attempt at a rather ridiculous final, I headed off to Shenandoah with two friends. The weather that day was beautiful: blue skies and temperatures in the 70s.

We drove up I-64 to Rockfish Gap and were a good ways up on Skyline Drive before we finally decided on what hike to do. The day was so beautiful that I couldn't bear not going back to Blackrock, one of my favorite spots in the South District, so we decided on a hike to Furnace Mountain via Blackrock.

The parking lot at Blackrock Summit was completely empty when we arrived- astounding considering how beautiful the day was. We made our way up the fire road to the Appalachian Trail and followed it a half mile to the huge boulders at the Blackrock talus slope, which one of my friends realized he had actually visited as a kid. We climbed to the summit to the incredible 270-degree view of Rocks, Turk, Bucks Elbow, Calf, Scott, Humpback, Devil's Knob, and Big Levels to the south; Trayfoot to the west; Furnace, Austin, Massanutten, Rockytop, Hightop, Loft, and Big Flat to the north. Dundo and Paine Hollows were both ridiculously rich and green.

Blackrock

From the summit, we returned to the Appalachian Trail and then took the Trayfoot Mountain trail west from the middle of the talus slope. The trail descended further through the rock pile, at one cutting between two small walls of rock. Views down Paine Run Hollow were superb. We soon found ourselves back in the verdant Appalachian forest, descending to a saddle between Blackrock and Trayfoot before we began ascending gently on a straight, grassy trail up the north face of Trayfoot, with mountain laurel just preparing to bloom and wild geraniums and rhododendron scattered throughout the woods.

Geraniums on the Trayfoot Mountain Trail

After passing the top of the enjoyable ascent, the trail descended slightly before reaching the junction of the Trayfoot Trail with the trail to Furnace Mountain on the ridge. We followed the right junction, which began a descent on the northwest ridge of Trayfoot Mountain. Almost immediately past the junction, I noticed the thinness of vegetation to the right. I bushwhacked downhill a couple yards and found myself at the top of an immense talus slope. The views were comparable to Blackrock, with Dundo Hollow spread out below us and Blackrock itself and Cedar Mountain off to the east. As the Trayfoot to Furnace trail isn't heavily traveled, I suspect this talus slope isn't often visited- but it is undoubtedly spectacular and a highlight of the Trayfoot Mountain area.

View from Trayfoot's northern talus slope

This talus slope is one of many in the southern section in the park. It is visible from much of the Big Run area: I had seen it previously on hikes on Rockytop Ridge, on the AT near and north of Loft Mountain, and at the Rockytop Overlook. Like Blackrock, this talus slope is made of Hampton sandstone. While most of the major peaks directly bordering the Valley (Rocky Mount, Rocky Mountain, Rockytop, Rocks Mountain, Turk Mountain) have summits of white Erwin sandstone, Trayfoot is unique in that it consists mainly of grayish black Hampton sandstone. The Hampton formation, like the Erwin formation, was laid down during the Cambrian Era, but it predates the Erwin; due to both metamorphism of the rock and due to the extreme simplicity of lifeforms during the formation of the Hampton sandstone, there are no easily recognizable fossils in that rock.

Past the talus slope, we descended on the ridgeline, with occasional views to Abbott Ridge and Hall Mountain, two subridges of Trayfoot Mountain, and a growing amount of mountain laurel. At one point, I even saw a young hemlock tree- one of the few live hemlocks I've seen in the park. Unfortunately, white egg sacs dotted the branches of the eastern hemlock- the woolly adelgid had already begun its deadly work on this young specimen of what was once a dominant tree in the eastern forests. We also found an interesting fruit of some sort that none of us recognized; we attributed it to being an alien egg, which is obviously the most logical conclusion that we could draw.

Mountain laurel

Further along the trail, we descended to a low enough elevation that the mountain laurel around the trail were blooming. The mountain laurel is perhaps the signature flower of the park- it blooms in beautiful bundles of white and pink. It is also rather poisonous to consume, so I'd advise against eating mountain laurel even in emergency situations in the park. What it lacks in edibility it makes up for in beauty- it is certainly one of my favorite flowers in the park.

Finally, 2.3 miles away from Blackrock, we came to the intersection with the Furnace Mountain Trail. We headed right toward the mountain, passing through huge patches of mountain laurel and views of the Big Levels and the Valley of Virginia. The rock here was very clearly Erwin sandstone: I even found some examples of Skolithos, a fossilized Cambrian worm trace that is characteristic of the Erwin formation in Shenandoah. We passed the fire pit at the summit of Furnace and descended to the large rock viewpoint, where we had dinner while watching patches of sunlight dance among the clouds and among the various peaks of Rockytop Ridge. I remembered the hidden rock viewpoint to the east of the proper viewpoint and made my way back over to it for the view of Big Flat, Dundo Hollow, and Trayfoot Mountain. The green of spring, which had started two months ago in the most sheltered spots in the Piedmont, had finally completed its journey: two of the highest peaks of the South District were now crowned with a new, lush canopy.

Austin and Massanutten Mountain from Furnace Mountain

As sunset neared, we started back on the trail. We paused at a tiny west-facing talus slope a few hundred yards south of the Furnace Mountain summit to watch the sunset. The sun, which had spent much of the late afternoon hiding behind clouds, peeked out behind its shroud on the horizon as it set. As it disappeared beyond the layers of the ridges to the west, the sun emitted a particularly fiery red color along the rim of the horizon, making it almost seem as if the horizon were burning. Light vanished from the nearby peaks and the soft pink of dusk set over the Shenandoah Valley.

Furnace Mountain sunset

From Furnace, we returned by the way we came. The woods got progressively darker until there was no more light and we had to turn on our headlamps. We booked our way back, stopping only occasionally to experience the utter darkness and silence. Eventually we found our way back to Blackrock. We returned to the talus slope's rocky summit to gaze at the light of the many stars in the sky and the light of the many towns in the Valley. It became quite windy and slightly chilly- a rare feeling in May. We found a large boulder to block the wind and we sat in a spot where we could gaze toward Waynesboro and the Big Dipper. I'm sure I took a short nap here- I easily could've fallen asleep. We eventually were able to drag ourselves from the summit and head back to the parking area, where we were able to see even more stars. I drove down Skyline Drive in the dark, passing no cars on my way down to Rockfish Gap. By midnight, I was back in Charlottesville, with a whole apartment's worth of stuff to pack, on my last night of my second to last year at UVA.

I was always convinced that I didn't like Virginia when I was in high school. I thought that the state was backwards and boring; a place that I couldn't wait to leave. It's interesting that in just three years, I've had a rather major change of heart; I'm now not sure how I'll ever be willing to give up living here. This hike epitomized everything that I love about the Blue Ridge and served as a fitting ending of a rather eventful two semesters in which I learned much about Virginia and even more about how I love it.

Billy Goat Trail Section B

Sunset on the Potomac River

 2.4 miles loop, 150 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy

Apologies for the lack of recent updates! I've been a little slow writing posts since school ended and I've got quite a few hikes backlogged, it'll probably take me a while to finish writing about them and they'll probably all be out of chronological order.

The Billy Goat Section B is an enjoyable and fairly scenic hike just a few minutes outside of the Beltway near Washington, DC. It explores the rocky banks of the Potomac River downstream from Great Falls and Mather Gorge. Although the hike does not pass through remote wilderness, it does explore a very pretty spot that is very close to an urban center.

Four friends and I headed to the Great Falls area after work halfway through my first week in Maryland. We got to the trailhead from I-495 (the Beltway) by exiting onto the Clara Barton Parkway, west, at the very last (or first, if you're coming from Virginia) exit in Maryland. The Clara Barton Parkway merged into MacArthur Boulevard, which we followed a mile or so to Angler's Inn, the trailhead. Old Angler's Inn is a restaurant to the right of MacArthur Boulevard. We parked across the road, close to the trailhead.

From the parking area, we followed a gravel path down to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath. The C&O Canal was a major engineering feat in early American history that provided a shipping route from Georgetown to Cumberland, Maryland, opening up commerce between the watersheds of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers. The towpath was constructed along the canal as a path for horses and donkeys that towed the barges up the canal. Upon reaching the towpath, we turned left and followed the towpath east. In less than a hundred meters, we came to the junction with the beginning of the Billy Goat Trail Section B, which headed off into the woods on the right.

We headed onto the trail and followed it toward the shores of the Potomac River. The trail was fairly rocky but was not too difficult to follow. There were few views at first, prompting us to bushwhack a little ways off the trail to a small rock with a viewpoint of the river. However, as we continued on, the views along the trail opened up. We made our way past a few simple rock scrambles, passing small cliffs near the river and a few small beaches with views across to the numerous islands in the river and to Virginia. Wildlife was semi-abundant: we saw a herd of deer on the Virginia side of the river and later, on the towpath, we saw a number of geese in the canal.

The Potomac

The trail wound its way close to the river and then away from it, following a small ravine away from the river before crossing a stream and returning to the river. Numerous side unmarked trails headed off to the left: I assume these trails would connect back with the towpath. We reached a particularly spectacular section of hike where the trail headed onto a set of open rocks with broad views of the river just as the sun was disappearing, casting glorious colors onto the clouds that littered the sky. We hurried to finish the Billy Goat Section B trail and missed the actual sunset, but we managed to return to the C&O Towpath just after sunset and avoided having to hike back in the dark.

The Potomac River

We followed the towpath about a mile back to the parking area, walking along the algae-filled canal. I'm glad that I'm living just 20 minutes from this park this summer- hopefully I'll have chances to thoroughly explore the numerous Potomac River parks both inside and outside the Beltway by August.

Returning on the towpath along the C&O Canal

Rapidan Camp Loop

Rhododendrum on the Cat Knob Trail

7.4 mile loop, 1420 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate
Access: Trailhead off Skyline Drive (paved road), Shenandoah National Park entrance fee required

The Rapidan Camp Loop is a hike through a variety of terrain, scenery, and history. The literal high point of the hike is the forested summit of Hazeltop, the third highest peak in the park. The trail also visits a former hemlock forest, a presidential retreat used by Herbert Hoover, and a small waterfall, all in the headwaters of the Rapidan River, the biggest tributary of the Rappahannock, one of Virginia's most significant and historic rivers.

On an early May morning, I decided (unwisely) to take a brief, or perhaps not-so-brief, break from studying for finals and go hiking. At a predawn hour, I drove through the dark and misty forest and pastureland on US 29 and US 33 to reach Swift Run Gap about 10 minutes before sunrise. I had hoped to watch the sun rise from the stretch of Skyline Drive directly south of Swift Run Gap that has a good view down into the Swift Run valley, but that ended up being impractical when I realized that the sunrise would be blocked by Saddleback Mountain, to the north and east of the Swift Run valley.

I made my way north on Skyline toward Milam Gap but found that most of the overlooks were closed for renovations. I stopped at the Point to catch the low-angle rays of sunlight shining on Massanutten and Grindstone Mountains. I continued on to Big Meadows to see if any wildflowers were in bloom on the meadow but found it still rather barren.

Morning light at the Point

I returned to Milam Gap, at around milepost 57 of Skyline Drive, to start my hike. Rather than going to Rapidan Camp first and finishing the loop afterward, I chose to hike up Hazeltop first and finish with Rapidan Camp.

From the parking area, I crossed Skyline Drive and followed the white-blazed Appalachian Trail south. The trail climbed fairly gently through the forest, with various small greenstone outcroppings popping up on either side of the trail and many geraniums, lilies, and trillium blooming along the trail. The trillium became increasingly plentiful and colorful as I approached the summit of Hazeltop; at the summit of Hazeltop, there were many lilies and trillium spread across the forested ridgetop. The leaves at 3800 feet had not fully come out yet, so at the summit, I did have some views through the trees to the east of the antennas at the top of Fork Mountain and of Jones Mountain, Doubletop, and Old Rag. It was only apparent that I had passed the summit of Hazeltop when the trail began descending. The summit of Hazeltop was about 2 miles from Milam Gap.

Trillium on Hazeltop

The descent on the south side of Hazeltop was much steeper than the gentle ascent from the north. The trail dropped through the forest towards Bootens Gap, but reached an intersection with the Cat Knob Trail before reaching Bootens Gap. I followed the Cat Knob Trail east (to the left) at the intersection. This trail was fairly flat, with just a few gentle ascents and a couple more descents, as it followed the southern side of a ridge of Hazeltop. Although the trail here wound through the forest, occasional openings in the trees gave views of Bluff Mountain, the Conway River watershed, and Bearfence Mountain. Rhododendron was also fairly plentiful near the trail. The geology here was also quite fascinating: the more ragged greenstone outcrops near Hazeltop's summit gave way to more rounded granite/diorite type rocks. A couple of large granite/diorite chunks poked out to the side of the trail, but none protruded enough to give very wide views. Eventually, a mile from the AT, the trail swung downhill and north, descending to Laurel Gap, the low point between Hazeltop and Cat Knob.

View from the Cat Knob Trail

At Laurel Gap, I came to the intersection of the Cat Knob Trail with the Laurel Prong Trail. I headed left and downhill on the Laurel Prong Trail, which immediately began descending from the gap. A rather steep descent followed. A little into the descent from Laurel Gap, it became apparent why many of the natural features in the area had received their name: the trail cut into a huge, dense thicket of mountain laurel. Much of the mountain laurel was on the cusp of blooming, but had not bloomed yet.

Further down the Laurel Prong trail, hemlocks- or rather, dead hemlocks- began showing up around the trail. At first the hemlock skeletons were small, but farther down the Laurel Prong, the hemlocks were quite large. I saw a few young living hemlocks but all of the larger hemlocks were dead. The great hemlock forests of the Blue Ridge are one of the many sad stories of the park: eastern hemlocks, once of the greatest and proudest trees of the park, have been almost entirely wiped out of Shenandoah by the hemlock woolly adelgid. The woolly adelgid is a small insect that feeds on hemlocks and injects the trees with toxins as they feed. The presence of the woolly adelgid causes large hemlocks to first change color and later die. Hemlocks infested with the wooly adelgid have numerous white egg sacs of the adelgid scattered over their needles. In Shenandoah, the hemlock used to be one of the giants of the forest. While many of the original old growth hemlocks were logged by the turn of the twentieth century, a small grove of colossal ancient hemlocks, protected from the axes of men, survived on the slopes of Stony Man Mountain until the 1980s, when they succumbed to the woolly adelgid. In the valley of the Laurel Prong, the many huge hemlocks met a similar fate.

Hemlock skeletons in the hollow of the Laurel Prong

The trail began crossing numerous streams. I imagine that many of these streams would be dry in summer, but in spring, they were all quite full: in fact, the trail itself seemed to be a stream at times. At the junction of the trail with the Fork Mountain Trail, I followed the Fork Mountain Trail briefly to its crossing of Laurel Prong to admire the growing stream, before returning to the Laurel Prong Trail and continuing on my way toward Rapidan Camp. The trail turned into a wide fire road and finally reached a junction with the Rapidan Fire Road two miles from Laurel Gap.

Rapidan Camp, or Camp Hoover, is a former presidential retreat located near the headwaters of the Rapidan River. President Herbert Hoover established the camp as a summer getaway from the White House. The Hoovers visited the camp to fish, escape the heat, and make weighty decisions with foreign dignitaries. Hoover offered the camp as a permanent retreat for future presidents, but Franklin D. Roosevelt found the camp rather inaccessible and instead opted to build his own retreat, Shangri-La (now Camp David) at Catoctin Mountain. The valley of the Rapidan River once offered a significant respite from the summer heat in Virginia and DC due to the shade of the giant hemlocks in the valley; however, the death of those hemlocks have opened up the forest canopy significantly, so the camp probably has a much different feel now than it did when Hoover visited. After being abandoned as a presidential retreat, this spot was at times a Boy Scouts camp, at times a getaway for Jimmy Carter and later Al Gore, and now a preserved historic site.

While many of the original structures at Rapidan Camp have been removed, a few remain: The Prime Minister, which housed distinguished guests, and the Brown House, the Hoovers' residence that was the mountain counterpart to the White House. The Brown House sits just above the confluence of the babbling Mill and Laurel Prongs of the Rapidan River.

The Brown House, Rapidan Camp

Tours are offered at Rapidan Camp during the summer, but I arrived too early in the day to catch any, so after wandering around the area for a bit I headed up the Mill Prong Trail. The Mill Prong Trail immediately began an ascent from the camp, following its namesake branch of the Rapidan. After a little climbing and a crossing, I came upon Big Rock Falls, a 15 to 20 foot waterfall on the Mill Prong that appropriately tumbled down a big rock into a wide pool.

Big Rock Falls on the Mill Prong of the Rapidan

Past Big Rock Falls, the trail climbed steadily back to Milam Gap, making another stream crossing and passing through more rich Shenandoah forest.

Big Flat Mountain Loop

Cedar Mountain, Blackrock, and Trayfoot over the Doyles River Watershed from Big Flat Mountain

3.4 miles loop, 550 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy
Access: Paved road to trailhead, Shenandoah National Park entrance fee required

Although not one of the park's more well-known summits, Big Flat Mountain is one of the tallest peaks in the South District of Shenandoah National Park and delivers some great and unique views. Many visitors travel over the top of Big Flat Mountain each year without even knowing: the flat top of this mountain holds the South District's largest campground, Loft Mountain. This loop may be very crowded in the summer, when campers at Loft Mountain campground decide to explore their environs, but I had this hike entirely to myself on a Sunday in April before the campground had opened for the season. This hike is relatively easy but has an incredible payoff, with a unique and beautiful view of the South District of the park.

Big Flat Mountain shares, along with Trayfoot Mountain, the distinction of being the second highest peak in the South District of the Park (Hightop is the highest peak between US 33 and I-64). Big Flat Mountain is rather appropriately named- viewed from almost any point, the mountain is recognizable by its flat, nearly half-mile diameter mountaintop. The flatness of the peak made it a prime location for development, so the summit of the mountain is crowned by the Loft Mountain Campground, which was named for the mountain north of Big Flat rather than Big Flat itself, reportedly because the Park Service felt that "Big Flat" was not nearly as flattering a name as "Loft."

This hike makes a loop around the flat summit of Big Flat Mountain, thus also making a loop around the campground. When the campground is not closed for the winter, it is possible to shorten this hike to a 1.8 mile loop with minimal elevation gain by starting at the campstore.

I almost didn't do a hike on the weekend that I headed to Big Flat Mountain. At the end of the semester, I had much too much work to do and had gotten much too little sleep, so when I went on bed on Saturday night with raining pattering outside, I figured that I might just stay home for the weekend.

When I woke up early Sunday morning, though, the cloud cover was incredibly low- perhaps only a hundred feet or so overhead. I decided to go to Shenandoah, anyway, with no particular hike in mind. I-64 was entirely empty as I made my way west. One thing I realized I hadn't considered was what low cloud cover would mean about the drive up to Rockfish Gap. As soon as I-64 began its ascent up Scott Mountain, I was driving into fog so thick I could barely see the lanes on the highway. It was a rather nervewracking drive, especially given the history of bad accidents at Rockfish Gap.

Upon entering the park, the fog was still thick as ever. I began wondering what hike would be worth doing on such an incredibly foggy day when suddenly the sun pierced through the clouds at Moormans River Overlook. Blue sky was above; a sea of fog creeping up the mountain was below. The view at Moormans River Overlook, breathtaking on a normal day, was nothing short of inspiring that morning: clouds twisted their way up Pond Ridge, pines faded in and out of the mist, fog poured over Pasture Fence Mountain like a waterfall. Pieces of Bucks Elbow Mountain were intermittently visible.

To the north, the mountains seemed to be clearing up. I decided to continue north and hike somewhere with a viewpoint that I hadn't seen before. I stopped at many overlooks along the way: from Riprap and Horsehead Overlooks, I could see the fog sea filling Shenandoah Valley. Wisps of white and grey danced around the summit of Trayfoot and Blackrock.

Soon after, I reached the Big Run Overlook. Cotton-ball clouds floated through the Big Run Valley below the green peaks of Rockytop and Brown Mountain. A small bush of pinxter flower bloomed nearby.

Fog in the Big Run Valley

Arriving at the Doyles River Parking area at Mile 81, right across from the Big Run Overlook, I decided to do a loop around Big Flat Mountain to check out the views from that peak. After parking, I followed the Doyles River Trail 20 feet to the Appalachian Trail, which I followed north. From the Doyles River parking area, the trail began a steady but gentle climb. Less than a half mile from the trailhead on the AT, I came to the first rock viewpoint on this hike. A large greenstone outcrop provided a limited view west to Brown and Rocky Mountains. The trail was not terribly well maintained: multiple bushes grew well into the trail.

Appalachian Trail on Big Flat Mountain

Four-fifths of a mile from the trailhead, the trail reached the junction with the Big Flat Mountain loop. I continued following the Appalachian Trail, which headed right and continued a climb. The trail passed a viewpoint in the direction of Big Run Valley, leveled out, and then reached a junction with a trail leading to the Loft Mountain Campground. Just a few feet past that junction, I arrived at a spectacular chain of the viewpoints. Here, greenstone formed a small ring of cliffs around the flat summit of the peak. While these outcrops barely cleared the trees, they did provide amazing views. The largest of these outcrops provided a wide, unique, and beautiful view. The entirety of the southern half of the South District was splayed out before me. Most prominent were the connected peaks of Cedar Mountain, Blackrock, and Trayfoot. Cedar dominated across the valley of the Doyles River, while Blackrock poked up from the far end of the hollow around Jones Run. Trayfoot rose beyond that, with its southern side enshrouded in mist. Furnace Mountain, Rockytop Ridge, and Bucks Elbow Mountain were also visible from where I stood.

Fog in the Doyles River Valley

Past the viewpoint, the trail continued its circumnavigation of the summit. There were no more broad, sweeping vistas, but there were numerous views through the trees into the fog-covered Piedmont and of the broad peak of Little Flat Mountain. After passing close by to a number of campsites and by another trail leading to the campground, the trail swung north, heading through forest and past a power line clearing to a trail that led uphill to the campstore. I followed the trail up to the campstore and the abandoned road to the campground. Crossing the road, I took the small campground trail toward the amphitheater. At the amphitheater parking area, I took the grassy route that broke off to the left, which led downhill back to the AT. Along the way, I admired the last bare trees- here was a final vestige of winter. The forest floor, however, had been reclaimed by spring. Phlox bloomed in many spots.

Phlox along the AT

I did not run into another person until I was within earshot of the Doyles River Trailhead. I returned to the car, drove Skyline north to US 33, and returned to Charlottesville in time for a busy afternoon of music recitals and lab reports.

Turk Branch Loop

Sawmill Run Overlook: Calf Mountain, Scott Mountain, and Big Levels

7.9 miles loop, 1650 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate

The Turk Branch Loop is an enjoyable and scenic loop hike that combines a good amount of exercise with a few views, two streams, and a lot of forest. I did this hike during mid-spring and found it to be delightful because of the blooming wildflowers, but this hike might be less interesting in mid-winter or summer. The best view of this hike comes not from the trail itself but from the point where the trail crosses Skyline Drive at Sawmill Run Overlook. The trail is one of the many loops possible in the South District of the park and traverses a very lightly traveled area. Hiking Upward recommends doing this loop together with the trail to the summit of Turk Mountain. This would probably be a good combination, as the views from the top of Turk Mountain are superb and certainly more expansive that at any point on the Turk Branch Loop alone.

I headed out early on a Saturday morning to do this hike. I had originally hoped to wake up, eat breakfast, get gas, and then head to the Moormans River Overlook to watch the sunrise before hiking, but I managed to oversleep my alarm by a full hour and woke up just 45 minutes before the sunrise. Still hoping to catch the sunrise, I managed to get out of bed and into my car in five minutes and made my way to Beagle Gap Overlook, the first east-facing overlook on Skyline Drive, just three minutes before the sunrise.

The slopes of Calf Mountain were refreshingly green and the wispy fog covered much of the Piedmont. The sky glowed pink in the seconds before the sun peeked out from behind the ridge of Calf Mountain, bringing warmth and rays of light to the mountains. In the far distance, I could see the gap between Wolfpit and Carter Mountains, and the bowl in which Charlottesville lies.

Sunrise at Beagle Gap Overlook

After watching the sunrise, I drove further along the drive to Jarman Gap, on the north side of Calf Mountain. I parked at the gap, around mile 97 of Skyline Drive. From the parking area, I followed the fire road at the entrance of the parking area downhill. The fire road immediately entered the forest and soon crossed the Appalachian Trail before crossing one of the small feeder streams of the South Fork Moormans River. I made my way quickly downhill, following alternate banks of the upper part of the South Fork Moormans River. The trail was grassy and lush and was lined with many wild geraniums. The fire road has no open views, but was enjoyable to hike along as it passed a clearing for a pipeline on its way down the South Fork Moormans Valley. The valley here was quite broad: even though the slopes of Bucks Elbow and Turk Mountain on either side were fairly steep, the area around the stream was wide and flat. I crossed the river three times; none of the crossings were difficult because the water levels were low, but the trail could be conceivably harder to hike during a rainstorm.

Dogwood blooming along the South Fork Moormans Fire Road

Wild geraniums

About 2 miles from the trailhead, I crossed the Turk Branch and reached the junction with the Turk Branch Trail. I ate a granola bar for breakfast there and admired the calm flow of the Turk Branch before heading up the Turk Branch Trail.

The Turk Branch Trail immediately began to climb, following its namesake stream uphill. In the first half mile after leaving the South Fork Moormans River, the trail passed by numerous small cascades on the Turk Branch, including one crossing at which there was a small waterfall flowing into a small pool. While trying to photograph this waterfall, I had a minor accident and slid into the Turk Branch- although I got soaked, I was thankful that my fall was into a small stream rather than off of a cliff!

The Turk Branch

Past the crossing, the trail followed a tributary stream at a distance before turning toward the ridge and beginning a steeper ascent. After a fairly steep but short ascent, the trail crossed Turk Branch again and climbed onto the top of a ridge. After reaching the ridge, the trail became much flatter and much drier. The vegetation changed from deciduous to coniferous. There were some obscured views of Bucks Elbow and Middle Mountain through the trees.  The geology here was also very interesting: while the rocks in the Moormans River valley and on the lower parts of the Turk Branch had been Catoctin greenstone, the rock on the higher slopes were clearly sedimentary. I later found that the trail passed through a band of the Weverton Formation. The Weverton Formation is the oldest of the three major formations of the Chilhowee Metasedimentary Group. Like the Hampton and Erwin formations found further west, the Weverton is a sedimentary layer set down during the Cambrian Era. Despite being sedimentary, the Weverton contains no fossils- the development of animal life occurred at roughly the time (or slightly after) the Weverton was set down, so in a way the Weverton is made of rock that is too old to have fossils!

Turk Branch Trail

After 2.5 miles and 1200 feet of climbing from the Moormans River, I reached Turk Gap. I crossed Skyline Drive and began following the Appalachian Trail south. The remainder of the hike followed the AT, with views through the trees of Bucks Elbow, Pasture Fence, and Turk Mountains. After passing the turnoff for Turk Mountain, the trail began a descent through thickets of mountain laurel and forest floors of undergrowth. The mountain laurel on the trail here had already started budding, so it was perhaps less than two weeks until time for the mountain laurel to bloom. An early May bloom date is quite early for mountain laurel in Shenandoah!

After following the trail downhill for 1.7 miles from Turk Gap, I reached Sawmill Run Overlook. The overlook was about a hundred feet south of the point where the AT crossed the Drive, but I chose to make my way over to the overlook anyway for the spectacular view down Sawmill Run. From the overlook, Calf Mountain, a corner of Bear Den Mountain, Scott Mountain, Afton Mountain, and Big Levels near Waynesboro were visible. A beautiful dogwood tree bloomed right below the overlook itself. Green had finally reached the mountaintops here.

Past Sawmill Run Overlook, the trail began a small ascent onto a small knob on the ridgeline of the Blue Ridge crest. Over the remaining two miles back to Jarman Gap, there were numerous views through the trees and one decent view where the trees parted enough for a good view of Calf Mountain with Humpback Mountain poking out behind it.

View on the Appalachian Trail

After descending from this ridge, the AT descended all the way down to the west bank of the South Fork Moormans River. I followed the phlox and spiderwort-lined trail back to its junction with the South Fork Moormans Fire Road and returned to my car at Jarman Gap. I unfortunately had to rush through many parts of the hike due to prior obligations in Charlottesville later that morning. Although this hike was very enjoyable and very beautiful, I had only three hours to do the entire eight-mile loop and so I was not able to stop and appreciate many of the finer points of the hike. However, this trail is certainly recommended, especially to hikers who have down the more popular trails in the park and hope to know the park well.

Phlox along the trail

Ragged Mountain Main Loop

Stream in Ragged Mountain

I've left this page here for historical purposes; however, this hike can no longer be done as the Ragged Mountain Reservoir has expanded and drowned out a decent part of this route.

4 miles loop, 750 feet elevation gain

Ragged Mountain is a fun hike that is just five minutes away from the grounds of UVA. Although there are no spectacular views or cascading waterfalls on this hike, there are two big hills and views of the Charlottesville Reservoir. These are also the hills that Edgar Allan Poe used to roam while a student at UVA.

Ragged Mountain Natural Area may be shutting down soon due to work to expand the reservoir. If you are planning on doing this hike, check online first at ivycreekfoundation.org to make sure that the park will be open. After the new dam is complete, this hike description may no longer be accurate, so be aware of that as well.

I did this hike with my mother on one of her weekend visits to Charlottesville. We drove down Jefferson Park Avenue past where it turned into Fontaine Avenue and continued past the Route 29 junction to Reservoir Road. We turned right at Reservoir Road and followed that road until it reached a sign reading "Ragged Mountain Natural Area" and parked in the small lot there.

From the parking lot, the main loop trail immediately began climbing off into the forest. The trail passed a few small rock outcrops on its way up to the ridgeline. Once on the ridgeline, the trail stayed high on the west slope of Roundtop. At the junction with the Roundtop trail, we took a right and followed the extension of the loop to the 919-foot wooded summit of Roundtop. During the winter, there are views through the trees of the Blue Ridge, but in other seasons, there are no views. On the trail, I explored a couple of small rock outcrops and a few of the human artifacts left around. There were many wildflowers blooming in the forest here.

Fire Pinks in Ragged Mountain

From the top of Roundtop, we descended back to the main trail and then took the Peninsula Loop Trail. This trail put us directly by the lakeshore and took us past the remains of an old homesite, where we saw a standing chimney. During our visit, the water level was very low, probably due to the upcoming work on the dam.

Chimney on the Peninsula Loop

After finding our way back to the Main Loop, we continued our way around the lake. The trail followed the undulating landscape, weaving its way around hills and around the lake. Occasional outcrops of what was either granite or granodiorite were all along the trail. A few stream crossings made the hike a bit more exciting and wildflowers and other fresh green vegetation carpeted the forest floor.

After following the lakeshore at a distance for a while, the trail reached a junction with the Upper Lake Trail. We continued on the Main Loop Trail, which followed the top of an earthen dam between the Upper and Lower Lakes. From the dam, we had good views of the reservoir and we also saw a pair of Canada geese.

The Upper Lake

Across the lake, the trail began its second major ascent, coming close to the top of another of the park's hills. I particularly enjoyed a section of trail at the top of the ascent that followed the contours on the steep east side of the hill. The traffic on I-64 was audible during this part of the hike.

Soon afterward, the trail beganto approach the main dam. Just before reaching the dam, the trail veered off and made a sharp right and began a descent. This turn is not well marked, so be on the lookout for it. This final descent took the trail down into the bottom of the valley. Signs pointed the way back to the parking lot along a gravel road.

This is a remarkable park for being so close to UVA. It lacks many of the scenic wonders of Shenandoah but is a worthy hike for fall foliage or spring wildflowers.