This weekend myself, JMBdevotee, and my girlfriend all decided to spend the weekend hiking out at Dolly Sods West Virginia. We took off friday morning and arrived about mid day. Of course this weekend a cold snap had blown in so the perfect weather of the past few weeks had given way to temps in the low 40s and high winds, and an almost certainty of rain. We hopped out of the truck and we were immeditally hit with sustained wind of probably 40mph. After quickly putting on some wind gear we headed down the trail at Bear Rocks. The open areas were fantastic with expansive views all around. As we continuted along Bear Rocks trail we decided to hike the route in reverse to avoid any crowds that may try to scoop up the good campsites early. We bypassed the Dobbin Grade trail because everything we had read and heard, it is a wet soupy mess. With so much rain recently, the trails were all very soupy and a good pair of boots and gaiters were a must. We turned south on Raven Ridge Trail and decended into the , in my best Shug voice, Piney Woods. We did have to hike on Dobbin Grade Trail for about a quarter mile and it was shin deep muck. I can only imagine the misery of hiking several miles along that trail. Once we escaped the bog we continued south on Upper Red Creek Trail. This trail turned from piney woods to old growth hardwoods. At this point we have seen large open fields, piney woods, a marsh, and now old growth hardwoods. This place is amazing. From this trail we decended into a valley along a natural granite staircase that was Red Creek Trail. The water level was pretty high on Red Creek and some amazing campsites were along the river. We passed several campers and I am happy to report we saw more than a few hammocks along the way. We found an out of the way campsite that had plenty of trees and a fire ring on with a great set of stone chairs that overlooked the river. This must be one of the more popular areas to stay in as I have never seen a forest floor so clean and free of anything burnable. Took a bit to find a good amount of firewood but we eventually rounded up enough for a few hours of fire. Everyone retired to their hammocks for a peaceful night of sleep next to the babbling river. We woke up saturday morning to a decently chilly day. We were not in a rush so we grabbed breakfast and went to eat by the creek. About the time we were getting through our first cups of coffee the snow started to fall. Snow turned to icy sleet and we retreated back to camp to finish up breakfast and get packed up. Saturday was supposed to include more hiking but as the weather did not look like it was going to let up we decided to just head back to the truck. We backtracked north on the Red Creek Trail then turned east on Blackbird Knob trail. This was not where we parked but decided hiking along the road would get us back to the car faster and out of the weather. The last mile or so of the Blackbird Knob trail was just as wet and soupy as the trail in so we knew it would slow down progress. Once back to the truck we dropped our packs and grabbed lunch and headed to a nearby rock outcropping with amazing views. The rain rolled back in as we were finishing lunch and back to northern Virgina we came. I can understand the allure of Dolly Sods as I know I will be back out there in short order. I think that mid summer would be hot, crowded, and likely a tick paradise but spring and Fall are fabulous and I cannot wait to get back out there to do the whole loop when we have more time. Below are some picutures I hope you enjoy!
~HEH
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Originally Posted by WV
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