TLR cliff notes
Maps:
commercial maps or free maps at the trail head are hard to find or non-existent. Print maps at home and/or download to your phone. Compare the maps and make note that some trails don’t exist on all maps. At least some of these trails specifically may be hard to find or overgrown or non-existent. Don’t plan your route along those particular trails in advance. This is worse in the summer with all the growth. For maps, I’d start on this page.
Places to camp:
There are tons of established spots but some regions are out in open balds where only tents are going to work. A few areas like the parts of Red Creek Trail and Rocky Point trail I describe below follow hillsides far too steep to camp along by any means. None of this lasts more than a few miles at most before the terrain changes. Using a satellite view like the USTopo with AccurTerra layer (premium upgrade on Backcountry Navigator) can really help as you can see if an area is forested or a bald along with the steepness. There are several notable established camp sites. Most of these are big enough for several parties to fit in.
In no particular order:
- The Forks
- The pine trees on top of Breathed Mountain (massive area but no water available)
- Bear Rocks trail where Red Creek runs across it
- Raven Ridge Trail just north-west of the end of Beaver View Trail (39.065919, -79.34599)
- The intersection of Raven Ridge and Blackbird Knob trails
- The Intersection of Dunkenbarger and Big Stonecoal trails
- The intersection of Blackbird Knob trail and Left Fork Red Creek (massive!)
- The intersection of Blackbird Knob trail and Red Creek (north of the confluence with Alder Run east of Blackbird Knob hill itself)
Long winded version:
I drove up to Dolly Sods on Tuesday going through parts of VA and WV I've never seen. The route Google had me drive had a very different feel than I'm used to on the way to mountain destinations in VA or NC. There was virtually no 'up and over' passes with the winding roads. Instead, it seems the roads stayed almost completely in valley bottoms. You could see for miles across many of these valleys to the mountains that surrounded them. It was quite dramatic in parts. The last few miles of my trip was on the northern part of 75 which is gravel and in good condition. I’m in a Ford Focus which sits pretty low to the ground but had no issues at all. I noticed a few roadside camps along this approach that I think are inside the NF but outside the Dolly Sods area specifically. There’s a sign as you get closer to the Sods proper letting you know not to camp within 300 feet of the road. I assume you could camp further back at these other sites if you wanted to but I really have no idea.
I got to the Bear Rocks parking area and explored around the Bear Rocks Preserve a bit without the pack as a warm up before hitting the trail. From the Rocks, you can see large windmills to the north which isn’t something I’m used to. They are so big they look fake like I was watching a CGI movie scene.
Wind Farm.jpg
I hit the Bear Rocks trail and headed west but not before getting stopped by a couple of guys that needed some direction. They were expecting to find a visitor’s center with maps available. Lucky for them I had printed both the Army Corp’s map and the Forest Service map as a backup to my phone. I gave them one of the maps and continued down the trail. It was almost 5PM when I started hiking so I didn’t expect to do much the first day. I tanked up at Red Creek and climbed up the hill till it came out of the woods. I found a pair of trees just off the trail and made camp.
The Perseid meteor shower was this week and it looked to be a clear night though there was thunder in the distance. I set up and made dinner and used the Skymap app to figure out where I needed to be looking. I got up in the middle of the night to water the trees and stood out there for a few minutes and saw at least one shooting star but it was too chilly and windy to watch for more than a moment.
The next day I continued on the trail watching the scenery change around every bend and recognizing some of it from various Youtube videos I’ve watched (Adventure Archives, Burley Outdoors, Joe Robinet, Sintax77).
Dolly Sods.jpg
The trail turns into Raven Ridge and I came across another campsite nestled in the conifers. I was starting to notice most of these sites have stone seats or benches built around the fire rings which I haven’t seen elsewhere.
Seats.jpg
I finally got to Rocky Ridge Trail. Here my progress slowed to a crawl as I explored the rock formations and side trails. To the north and west, I could see more windmills far in the distance slowly spinning. Some of this area is very similar to the Channels in VA but the slots are not as deep and most are too narrow to walk into. If you look west from the ridge you see into the next valley in which the Timberline ski resort is located along with some truly massive homes. One side trail led to a bench someone had made out of piled rocks with a fire pit in front and the valley as a backdrop.
Stone Bench.jpg
At some point, I came across a cairn about as tall as I am with a side trail moving off to the west.
Cairin.jpg
This confusingly seems to lead into what I think is the resort property. There was a bench installed and a home or cabin not far away. I turned around but found myself following another similar trail a short while later. This one had yet another bench and a sign (clearly not from the Forest Service) stating I was on the Valley View Trail which is marked on Google as can be seen here. This trail appears on Open Street Map in between Rocky Ridge Trail and Valley View Road.
Valley View Bench.jpg
I hiked along this for perhaps a quarter mile or so at which point it ends at a final bench with nearby trails leading you either down into the valley or back into Dolly Sods. I made my way back to the main trail and continued south.
At the intersection with Blackbird Knob trail, I chatted with some guys from Ohio before moving down the trail a bit and having some lunch in the shade. Most of the upland portion of the trails seem to be exposed and I burned through my small container of sunscreen pretty quick. Shade is a wonderful thing after being on some of those trails in August.
I had a specific loop in mind when I left the car but found myself changing it several times as the trip progressed. From Rocky Ridge, I took the Breathed Mountain trail and hiked over towards the Forks. This trail was relatively boring but also fairly easy and going downhill. It looked like someone had been through very recently and trimmed back a lot of the branches. They were on the ground and still green. There’s nothing wrong with this trail per se, but there’s not a whole lot to see on it compared to the others. I climbed down to Red Creek trail and found a spot at the Forks and set up camp. I had put in about 9 miles but it felt like a lot more because of all the stops. There were at least three other groups camped at the forks but it’s so big this didn’t feel crowded. I wandered around the creeks for a while exploring the interesting rock lined creeks and found a swimming hole to cool off in. Later that evening it stormed for just a few minutes. I don’t know what it was doing elsewhere, but the thunder that rumbled in from outside the valley sounded like the end of the world.
The next morning, I woke up early and hit the trail by before 8. I took Red Creek and Rocky Point around to see Lions Head. This section of Red Creek trail is very flat and much of it is as easy hiking as a city park although there are some muddy places. The terrain around me started to remind me more Linville Gorge or Grayson Highlands and I noticed some stinging nettle and other plants along the trails that seemed more like those places. Several hundred yards before the split with Rocky Point trail, Red Creek trail starts to drop in elevation but there is a clear logging or railroad grade directly in front. This isn’t Rocky Point itself but ties into it after a few hundred feet. Some of the maps I looked at show this on it making the whole junction look more like a triangle than a Y intersection. Rocky Point itself is still fairly easy and the elevation gain is nice and slow. The ground does get noticeably rockier. At some point below where I expected Lions Head to be, I found a cairn with some red tape and followed it up the side of the hill. I really had no idea what I was doing and would not recommend this to anyone with a pack on. There was decent exposure and definite scrambling but I finally got on top by following the cairns.
Lions Head.jpg
After looking around and snapping some pictures I then had to figure out where to go next. This took a while as there are cairns everywhere. I had noticed the satellite view shows a strip of what is clearly planted pine trees on top of the mountain. When I finally found the trail away from Lions Head it took me into these trees and I was pretty astonished. Aside from the lack of water, this would be an outstanding spot to camp with tons of established fire rings. If I go back with friends, I would probably make this a must do destination.
Pine Trees.jpg
That being said, nothing on Breathed Mountain is particularly unique for Appalachia in general. The upper portion of the plateau, especially Bear Rocks and Rocky Ridge are where Dolly Sods really seems to stand out. My drive to the Sods is twice as long as it would take me to get to any number of destinations in NC or VA but only the upper plateau really felt significantly different and worth the extra drive. If I were closer, it would be a different story and I’d be there more often even in the southern portion. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonder destination overall and I’ll be back, but first timer’s that only see the southern half will wonder what all the fuss is about.
I made my way off Lions Head originally intending to take Red Creek back around to the Forks but decided to hike north instead. A lot of this section bounced between wooded and open meadow type terrains with some boggy areas nearby. There are a few rock gardens to negotiate and it feels more like the northern half of the plateau but there are no expansive views. The trail has a few muddy spots, but nothing you can’t step around or over. I stopped at the trail junction of Rocky Ridge and Blackbird Knob at an empty campsite and took an extended lunch. I was pretty tired by the time I got to the campsite but after a short nap, some food, and some lounging I was ready for more. I had been keeping an eye on the mileage from the car as I had a long drive back my last day. I decided to take Blackbird Knob trail back east till I felt like stopping knowing every step made my trip to the car shorter the last day. This trail starts off in conifers with a stream running over the trail which makes me think of areas of equestrian trails at Grayson Highlands. After a short while, it starts to open up into meadows with occasional views to the distant hills. I liked this trail quite a bit. The scenery changed quickly and there was a lot more to see than Breathed Mountain trail the day before. The map on my phone showed a trail going around the north side of Blackbird Knob but I never passed anything obvious. After walking around Blackbird knob, I tanked up on water at Red Creek and started hiking north trying to follow a trail on my phone that ties back into Upper Red Creek trail. This doesn’t appear to exist and I ended up walking off trail a couple hundred yards till I finally merged back into Upper Red Creek trail. I was shooting for some trees I could see on the maps. This ended up being a bust as the existing campsites were taken. Before I got there I noted another spur trail showed on my phone as branching off to the left heading towards a small pond north of the base of Blackbird Knob. This too seems not to exist. I passed a few campsites that might have worked if I wanted to deal with the summer weeds, but I was too exhausted to consider this and confident I was right around the corner from a perfect site. Other sites were OK but awfully close to other occupied sites. I ended up at Dobbin Grade with few trees in sight at all. I decided I’d keep heading north and if nothing else I’d use the same pair of trees I used the first night. Thursday night was supposed to be the peak of the Perseid meteor shower and that would be a great spot but I would have taken anything established along the way. I’m sure I passed dozens of suitable spots I could have made due with but at this point I was so tired, there was no way I was going to move a few sticks around to make room.
I could have taken Raven Ridge but the climb looked like it would take more than I had in me and it veers to the west which looked like it would have added the better part of a mile. I headed down Dobbin Grade and that’s when things got messy quick. The section between Upper Red Creek and Raven Ridge is fine but it isn’t long past that you end up in mud you can’t walk around. I gave in and started stomping through it. Most of it was ankle deep but once your shoes are soaked, it’s not that big of a deal.
There was a marked trail that I don’t’ see on any of the maps. I don’t really see it on the satellite photos although there’s so many little animal tracks it’s hard to tell. Between Raven Ridge and I think before you get to Beaver Dam trail there is another trail with a FS sign that just gives the mileage to the gravel road. It didn’t name the trail itself but it looked as established and used as anything else out there.
Up ahead, I could see a couple other hikers slowly making their way around the mud and I was catching up to them once I embraced the mud. At some point, the “trail” becomes a mess where people have tried to walk around the mud and it was still muddy so they walked around that until the churned up area is a good 40 feet wide and you can’t tell where the original trail went. I confidently stepped forward and promptly sank in up to my knee. I tried to twist around and put my other foot on the last semi-solid bit of ground but it too sank in.
This was a royal mess and if I hadn’t been so completely ticked off, it might have been a little scary. The mud was sucking on my shoes. I was able to stab my hiking poles down into the mud beside my shoes to help break the suction but the mess is so thick this takes forever. If I hadn’t had my poles with me I suspect I would have had to lay back into the muck almost like dealing with quicksand or something. This ran through my head and I wondered if I could have removed my pack and tossed the whole thing far enough to keep it out of the muck. If my shoe came off, there’s no way I’d find it again or be able to reach down and grab it even if the hole didn’t fill in. It dawned me on that without the hiking poles, I might not have been able to get out period without wiggling out of my shoes. I’m not sure if I could have done that had I tried and I would have been further caught on them because of my dirty girl gaiters which are now VERY dirty. If I had to embrace a whole body mud bath, I don’t think I would have been really stuck, but trying hard not to go in any deeper, it felt close to impossible to work my feet out.
I finally got free and continued on using my poles to probe the mud. I didn’t find any spots deeper than maybe half a foot after that. I can’t imagine hiking this again unless perhaps it was cold enough to be frozen solid. At the very least I’d make sure it was on my last day so I wouldn’t have soaking wet shoes the rest of my trip. At this point I was pretty mad. I was mad at myself for not thinking to probe the mud with my poles, I was made at all the many videos with no one stopping to say, “hey this trail is horrible, just don’t do it unless you really like mud”. My irritation did have the effect of giving me a second wind I needed.
As I continued on I could look down into Red Creek and wondered if it wouldn’t have been easier to just walk up the creek. If I was going to have wet feet, at least they’d be clean. I came across the group from Ohio tucked into some conifers along the creek and they informed me one of them went in the mud up to his waist. There are no words. Part of me always wants to eventually hike every trail at a location but I don’t know that I’d ever step foot on Dobbin Grade again unless perhaps the mud is frozen solid.
I made my way to the Bear Rocks trail and turned left crossing Red Creek again and muttering about all the water I had now hauled a few extra miles with no need. Oh well. I took the time to try and clean off in the creek before continuing. I got to the two trees I had used my first night and laid down against my pack for a little while before I had the energy to set up camp. When I had lunch earlier that day I figured I was almost done for the day and only had a mile or two left to go. I ended up doing more after lunch than before with a daily total of about 13.5.
To the north-east there was a large storm brewing which seemed to creep towards me even though the prevailing wind was blowing the other way. To the south I could see the valley above Red Creek in front of the Rohrbaugh Plains area fill with clouds and the view towards the Red Creek campground area was obscured with rain coming down. Mentally I made plans to bug out if it got bad. Being up on top of a bald hill was not going to be the best location. I was only a few hundred feet from full forest blow the hill and figured any storm would only last 20 minutes or so. If I got bad I’d put on my rain gear and just go hang out down there for a little while. I setup just in time for about 30 seconds of sprinkles and then it stopped and left me alone all night.
I got up around 1:30AM and watched the sky for a while. The storms clouds hard cleared out and the wind felt great to stand in. That night and it was the peak of the meteor shower. The first shooting star I saw was the most impressive with a trail that glowed for several seconds. Overall I saw perhaps a half dozen over 5-10 minutes of watching, but I was just too tired to watch any longer. I’ve read before that Dolly Sods holds some designation as having a sky free of light pollution. Looking around the only man-made light I could see at all is a radio tower far to the south and its light is no brighter than any of the stars.
The next morning, I was up as the sky began the glow and hit the trail about 8. I made my way back to the car where another pair of hikers were scratching their heads over the lack of maps. I gave them the remaining paper map I had and warned them to avoid Dobbin Grade unless they liked mud. I took the scenic route home taking WV28 south past Champe Rocks and Seneca Rocks which are rather impressive even from the car.
All in all, this is a great location and I’m looking forward to going back and exploring more of it. Much of it has a very unique feel to it which makes it really stand out among the mountain destinations I’ve done and worth the long drive.
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