Billy Goat Trail Section A

Mather Gorge

4 miles loop, 400 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate

This stretch of trail (Section A) is the one that most Washingtonians refer to when they mention the Billy Goat Trail. It is a spectacular hike, one of my favorite hikes in the Mid-Atlantic, and it is conveniently just a half hour away from downtown Washington DC. This hike makes a loop out of the 1.7-mile Billy Goat Trail Section A itself, a section of the C&O Canal Towpath, and the spur trail to the Great Falls viewpoint. The Great Falls of the Potomac and the sheer cliffs of Mather Gorge form the impressive natural setting of this trail, which follows the Potomac and has some very enjoyable rock scrambling.

I hiked this trail with four friends on a sunny Saturday afternoon in June. After finishing the other two sections of the trail in the evenings during the workweek, we decided to hike the longest and most famous segment of the Billy Goat Trail on a weekend to allow more time to hike and experience the trail. It was a good thing we did- this hike took much longer than the other segments. The park was quite crowded on the warm weekend; there was a line of cars at the entrance station of the Great Falls area. To get to the area, we took Falls Road to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park and turned right at the T-intersection with MacArthur Boulevard. The road into the park descended through forest to a large parking area near Great Falls Tavern. We saw many Canada geese by the canal and dropped by the visitor center before we crossed the canal and started south on the towpath to start the hike.

We quickly arrived at the spur trail leading to Great Falls. The boardwalk immediately led across one of the many branches of the Potomac. The bridge provided a good vantage point over a set of small chutes as the river plunged down a narrow, rocky gorge. Continuing on, we hiked across part of Olmsted Island, a divider of the Potomac, to another bridge, where there was another tiny branch of the Potomac plunging over a small waterfall and sliding down a rock slab.

Falls on Olmsted Island

Beyond these small branch falls of the Potomac, we finally came out onto a wooden platform with a view of the full Great Falls. Here, the mighty Potomac River crashes down a rocky stretch of rapids, a powerful scene. This spot was quite crowded, with many visitors jostling for the view of the falls. The Great Falls are the most dramatic rapids of any of the major Mid-Atlantic rivers at the Fall Line.

The Great Falls of the Potomac River

Retracing our steps back to the towpath, we continued south. At one point, we followed an unmarked path downhill to a small beach next to the Potomac, with impressive craggy rocks rising above us.

A rocky beach downstream of Great Falls

We returned to the canal towpath for a short segment before coming to a bridge over a lock, where we found signs for the start of the Billy Goat Trail Section A. Numerous warning signs marked the start of this hike- and for good reason, as many park visitors who wander onto the trail without knowing what the hike is like end up getting more than they were looking for. The trail started out fairly flat, with a few rocks protruding here and there, and stuck back a little from the cliffs at the edge of the river.

The trail winded through small trees. This area of the hike was, sadly, badly eroded: so many hikers do this trail and so many disregard trail markers (and so many trail markers are unclear) that it was no longer possible to tell where the trail was in many cases. Vegetation in this region was very badly damaged. While some mild rock scrambling was required in this section, none of it was particularly difficult.

The trail then passed a sign warning of a difficult trail ahead. Past this point, the trail led onto the large rocks directly above Mather Gorge. Emerging from the trees, the trail now gave stunning views of the Potomac River and the huge cliffs on the Virginia side.

Mather Gorge, on the Potomac River

The rock scrambling in this section was very fun. It was surprising that such extensive rock scrambling was accessible just 30 minutes out of DC. From the trail, there were views up and down the gorge. One of the less fortunate things about this trail was the amount of litter. Its proximity to an urban center probably contributes to its problems with both erosion and garbage.

Coming down from the rocks, the trail swung back into the forest for a while, descending gradually to the level of the river. When the trail finally came out next to the river, the trail swung left away from the river up a large rock face- the Spitzbergen Cliff. The single most dramatic stretch on this hike, the Spitzbergen Cliff is a slanted rock face that the trail cuts up to continue. While not difficult to scramble up, the cliff certainly looked impressive and was a good deal of fun.

Spitzbergen Cliffs

Past Spitzbergen, the trail wound through a nice beach and more rock scrambles, allowing even more views of the Potomac. The trail eventually reached the end of Mather Gorge and then cut inward into Bear Island, crossing a stream that drains the island.

The Potomac River

At long last, the trail merged back with the C&O Canal Towpath. My group of fairly fit twenty-somethings had taken nearly 2 hours to do the 1.7 mile stretch of the Billy Goat Trail- one of my friends remarked that it was almost impossible that the trail had just been 1.7 miles. So if you do plan on doing this hike, schedule plenty of time for it.

Back on the Towpath, we walked north (turned left) and strolled along Widewater, a broad part of the canal. The Widewater section was quite notable for the large rocky prominences on the other side of the canal, which seemed very similar to the rocky cliffs seen on Mather Gorge. I wonder whether this was a former gorge of the Potomac River, or whether that was somehow created during the construction of the canal. We saw assorted birdlife on the canal and passed a number of locks before we returned to the junction with the northern end of the Billy Goat Trail to complete our loop.

Widewater, on the C&O Canal

Sugarloaf Mountain Hike

View north from White Rocks to Catoctin and South Mountains

6.8 miles loop, 1300 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate

Sugarloaf Mountain is a small foothill of the Appalachian Mountains, an outlier mountain that rises above the Maryland Piedmont. It is privately owned by the Stronghold Corporation, which allows public access during daylight hours for hiking and picnicking. Due to its proximity to Washington DC, this natural area is extraordinarily popular. However, it still merits a visit due to the pleasant views of the Piedmont, the Potomac River, and the Appalachians from the mountain. The park has many miles of interconnecting trails. I will describe a hike similar to the one detailed in Hiking Upward that visits the summit of Sugarloaf and then heads north to White Rocks before returning in a wooded valley.

On my first and rather sunny and beauitful weekend in Maryland, I convinced two friends to head out to Sugarloaf with me. Leaving in the early afternoon, it took us only a little while to escape the bustle of I-270 and Montgomery County and head onto the winding roads of rural Maryland near Dickerson. The easiest way to reach Sugarloaf is to take MD 109 (Old Hundred Rd.) south to Comus Road and turn right and follow Comus to the foot of Sugarloaf. I followed the directions from Google Maps, which put me on a set of unpaved roads that made the fairly short trip from I-270 to the foot of the mountain into a slightly longer drive.

We parked at the East View parking area, the first major parking area on the mountain itself. From East View, there was a pretty and broad view over the Piedmont. Farms dotted the area beneath the mountain; farther away, some of the high rises near Rockville were visible. 

East View

From East View, we took the Orange Trail, a steep trail that headed straight up Sugarloaf. There were few switchbacks on this trail, which in a matter of minutes led us to a junction with the red trail. Following the red trail, we quickly reached the summit of 1282 feet high Sugarloaf. There were plenty of large sandstone chunks around the summit and even more people climbing the rocks. One set of rocks a hundred yards from the summit had views south to the Potomac River, Virginia, and West Virginia. The views were quite impressive for a mountain as small as Sugarloaf.

View south from Sugarloaf's summit

We continued on the Red Trail past the summit, descending and eventually joining the Blue Trail, heading north and east. At the trail junction, a jumble of rocks suggested the presence of a former viewpoint, but it was no longer possible to see past the growing forest. Near this trail junction on the Blue Trail was a particularly enjoyable stretch of trail in which the trail cut through a forest floor covered with ferns. 

Ferns on the forest floor

The trail then continued, generally following the ridgeline of Sugarloaf. We made multiple ascents and descents as we followed the trail in and out of the sunlight. The Blue Trail seemed to drag at times; perhaps it was because I hadn't hiked in a little while, or perhaps it was just the heat, humidity, and my friends' dwindling water that made three miles seem like thirteen. The trail passed alternately through forest and sunnier open spots; at one such sunny spot, we found wildflowers.

Wildflowers in a clearing

After passing a trail junction with the Northern Peaks loop, the Blue Trail began a gentle ascent up a ridge of the northern peak of Sugarloaf. Atop the ridge, there were occasional views through the trees of the main peak of Sugarloaf. After a period of ridge walking, the trail began descending. Not having looked at the topo map, I became worried that we had already passed White Rocks; luckily, we hadn't yet. We were, however, beginning to run out of water, a somewhat worrying circumstance on a 90-degree day. However, toward the end of a fairly lengthy descent along a east-west ridge on the mountain's northern peak, we finally came to a sign for the rocks.

We finally arrived at White Rocks after a rather tiring stretch of the Blue Trail. There are two viewpoints at White Rocks: the south viewpoint, which is very close to the trail, and the north viewpoint, which is about a hundred yards down a spur. As the southern viewpoint was quite crowded when we arrived, we decided to head to the north viewpoint. This ended up being quite a wise idea: the north viewpoint not only had great views, it also had an interesting pine growing out of the middle of the rocks, angled oddly to the west. The rocks were their namesake color, some sort of sandstone. The view from White Rocks was my favorite at Sugarloaf: it was the only viewpoint on the hike that faced the west. Although the rocks weren't very high up, we were still able to see clearly over the lush Monocacy Valley to the buildings of Frederick and to the gentle peaks of Catoctin and South Mountains in the far distance.

Pine tree at White Rocks

From White Rocks, we continued on the Blue Trail, making a gradual descent down to Mount Ephraim Road. We walked a hundred yards or so south to the continuation of the Blue Trail, passing the confluence of two streams on the gravel road before we started uphill on the trail. After a gentle (and rather thirsty) ascent, we hiked along the west edge of Sugarloaf, on fairly flat trail through the forest, passing a junction with the White Trail before finally coming to the Green Trail, which led uphill to the West View Parking Area. Glad to have finally returned to pavement, we finished the hike with a few hundred yards of following the road back to East View Parking.

This was quite a good hike, conveniently located just 40 minutes from the suburbs in Montgomery County, with good views of the Piedmont, the Monocacy Valley, and Catoctin and South Mountains. Any complaints that I have about it are no doubt due to my oversight on the amount of water that we should have brought. Sugarloaf Mountain is a rather special site and Stronghold has done a remarkable job of keeping the mountain both fairly natural and accessible to the public.

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.