From the Devils Marbleyard last weekend to Little Devils Stairs on a devilishly warm day. Thinking that the recent rains in the lowlands had also occurred in Shenandoah, it seemed a good time to hike up Little Devils Stairs along Keyser Run in the north district. Surely there would be many nice cascades along the 2 mile 1500' ascent. Wrong. Dry, very dry. Had there been any rain here at all? Keyser Run was just a trickle. Steve and I were on the trail at 8am, trying to beat the heat of the day. An hour later we were at "Fourway", the top-end trailhead of Little Devils Stairs. Certainly no stream crossing issues today. An easy walk on "Jinney Gray" road led to Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail, which we'd take south for nine miles. A planned break at Little Hogback Overlook was not to be, as it is currently fenced off during the ongoing overlook reconstruction project. Get things done before the stimulus money runs out. Other things are changing too- some back-country markers have been replaced, and at least one concrete trail post has been replaced with a dark composite material.
A decent breeze greeted us on ridgeline after the switch-backed climb up Hogback. Near the top of Hogback I heard bears running away on both sides of the trail. This just isn't my year for sightings, so I'll take what I can get. We stopped at a favorite break point on the rocks behind Hogback Overlook. One can spy on the car people that stop at Hogback Overlook below. There's even some light scrambling here should one be so inclined. We soon resumed our southbound trek on the AT. There was a strong smell of recently burnt wood just south of the Tuscarora junction, too strong to be from Matthews Arm campground, but no sign of any burn. A couple backpackers passed us at Sugarloaf, but we caught up with them at the Drive crossing south of Rattlesnake Point. They had missed the turn onto Overall Run. All they had to guide them was a small map in a book. The Tuscarora/AT junction seems to cause confusion, as I've had to redirect hikers here several times over the years. We dropped down to Range View Cabin for a break and water refill from the spring. A PATC trail patrol volunteer was here. We had passed him earlier as he was clearing a downed limb, and would see him again at Elkwallow. We could overhear on his Park radio that someone was in trouble somewhere, but it was a good 40 miles away he said. It'd be interesting to just listen in to what goes on in the Park on a weekend.
A pleasant treat appeared trailside south of Range View cabin- ripe raspberries! I figured they'd have come and gone, so this was a welcome find. Very tasty. The blackberries are out there too, but not yet ripe. Our blackberries would be in a cold shake from Elkwallow Wayside. The wayside was doing a fair business. We talked with a ranger there for a bit soon after he set up a bear exhibit table.
Rain had been removed from the forecast, so of course the sky darkened as we departed Elkwallow, and soon it was thundering. We geared up after a few drops were felt. A few drops was it though, and it quickly heated up again as we approached the climb that would lead to Byrds Nest #4. The heat was getting to us. Much of the uphill was done, with a prolonged downhill ahead on Hull School Trail. Sweat on a downhill and you know it's humid. That's how it was on Hull School, no breeze, just heat, humidity, and pesky bugs. The final two uphills did not come easy and Thornton River and Piney Branch looked sad. Shenandoah needs rain, bad.
A decent breeze greeted us on ridgeline after the switch-backed climb up Hogback. Near the top of Hogback I heard bears running away on both sides of the trail. This just isn't my year for sightings, so I'll take what I can get. We stopped at a favorite break point on the rocks behind Hogback Overlook. One can spy on the car people that stop at Hogback Overlook below. There's even some light scrambling here should one be so inclined. We soon resumed our southbound trek on the AT. There was a strong smell of recently burnt wood just south of the Tuscarora junction, too strong to be from Matthews Arm campground, but no sign of any burn. A couple backpackers passed us at Sugarloaf, but we caught up with them at the Drive crossing south of Rattlesnake Point. They had missed the turn onto Overall Run. All they had to guide them was a small map in a book. The Tuscarora/AT junction seems to cause confusion, as I've had to redirect hikers here several times over the years. We dropped down to Range View Cabin for a break and water refill from the spring. A PATC trail patrol volunteer was here. We had passed him earlier as he was clearing a downed limb, and would see him again at Elkwallow. We could overhear on his Park radio that someone was in trouble somewhere, but it was a good 40 miles away he said. It'd be interesting to just listen in to what goes on in the Park on a weekend.
A pleasant treat appeared trailside south of Range View cabin- ripe raspberries! I figured they'd have come and gone, so this was a welcome find. Very tasty. The blackberries are out there too, but not yet ripe. Our blackberries would be in a cold shake from Elkwallow Wayside. The wayside was doing a fair business. We talked with a ranger there for a bit soon after he set up a bear exhibit table.
Rain had been removed from the forecast, so of course the sky darkened as we departed Elkwallow, and soon it was thundering. We geared up after a few drops were felt. A few drops was it though, and it quickly heated up again as we approached the climb that would lead to Byrds Nest #4. The heat was getting to us. Much of the uphill was done, with a prolonged downhill ahead on Hull School Trail. Sweat on a downhill and you know it's humid. That's how it was on Hull School, no breeze, just heat, humidity, and pesky bugs. The final two uphills did not come easy and Thornton River and Piney Branch looked sad. Shenandoah needs rain, bad.
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