Dolly Sods Hang - Late Spring

[USMCStang]

Ok all, I feel it's time for another group hang at the Sods. We found some beautiful sites along the breathed mountain trail back in September that are perfect for hanging, and I'd definitely want to spend at least one night there.

So, let get planning! I'm thinking sometime in late spring. The only reason I'm scheduling that late is because I've been down there as late as April 30th, and without 4-wheel drive and possibly studded snow tires, you may not be making it to the trail heads along FR75. Alternatively, if we wanted to go in March/ April, we could always start out at the Laneville Cabin, and hike up Red Creek, but it'll be a longer haul.

So for the time being, this is simply a "feeler" until we come up with a more solid date/ plans. I'll change the post title once that occurs.

For those that are unaware, Dolly Sods Wilderness is located in WV, in the Monongahela National Forest. It's a nice central place for people in the Mid-Atlantic/ Upper Ohio Valley.

[RedBeardHanger]

I have a Jeep! Let’s 4x4 in and camp…! Do some day hiking. Isn’t that an off-road park also? I’m sure I’ve heard of it… I think.

[WV]

I was thinking next time I go there I wanted to start at the Laneville cabin anyway, and go up Little Stonecoal to Dunkinbarger just because I haven't been on those two trails yet. Dunkinbarger would connect to Big Stonecoal, which in turn connects to Breathed Mountain. I thought the spot people were talking about that looked good for a group hang was on the upper part of Big Stonecoal, near the Breathed Mountain trail, so it may be one of the places you're thinking of. Lots of time to collect info and plan between now and then.
As to timing, the wildflowers probably come later at that altitude - maybe in May? Getting to Little Stonecoal or Big Stonecoal from Laneville requires crossing Red Creek - not always possible in Spring runoff.

[WV]

"> By ForestWander (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

[vdeal]

An "off-road park", I think not. Dolly Sods is a Federal Wilderness area along with Roaring Plains West. The rest of Roaring Plains is designated for non-motorized semi-primitive recreation.

This winter has been mild so far, but if it picks up FR75 can be impassible well into May unless you have a snowmobile or snowcat. Two years ago I was there on April 2nd and the road was completely impassible just past the South Prong trailhead and looked to be so for at least two weeks based on the snow depth. No amount of 4WD and chains would have made it through.

As for coming in from Laneville, WV is right about the water crossings of Red Creek. But no matter how you look at it you're going to have to cross Red Creek at either Little Stonecoal, Big Stonecoal or on Red Creek Tr. itself. Of course there is the unofficial High Water Route starting at Laneville that gets you to Little Stonecoal Trail without crossing Red Creek. If you need info on it let me know.

As for when things start blooming the Monongahela National Forest has a nice little document online that walks you through the blooming schedule in the forest. The first entry is May 10-15 for the serviceberry bloom at Dolly Sods.

[vdeal]

WV,

Your link for the photo was bad, here's the correct one.

[USMCStang]

I was thinking next time I go there I wanted to start at the Laneville cabin anyway, and go up Little Stonecoal to Dunkinbarger just because I haven't been on those two trails yet. Dunkinbarger would connect to Big Stonecoal, which in turn connects to Breathed Mountain. I thought the spot people were talking about that looked good for a group hang was on the upper part of Big Stonecoal, near the Breathed Mountain trail, so it may be one of the places you're thinking of. Lots of time to collect info and plan between now and then.
As to timing, the wildflowers probably come later at that altitude - maybe in May? Getting to Little Stonecoal or Big Stonecoal from Laneville requires crossing Red Creek - not always possible in Spring runoff.

I think you may be right David. It was the Big Stonecoal trail where we found the white pine grove...that just proves it's been too long since I was down there

I'm not opposed to starting from Laneville. It's the one area in the offical "Sods" I haven't hiked. I'm open to anything...my biggest concern is getting to the trail head, and even without snow/ ice, I know that there are tons of downed trees on FR75 that time of year.

We can always plan for shuttles if we want to hike in from Laneville and hike out at the Blackbird Knob trailhead or Bear Rocks. That's something we would need to make a call on a day or two before the hang pending weather and road conditions.

[USMCStang]

So, as a "bump", why don't we plan for starting off at Laneville, hiking north up to the Big Stonecoal site on a Friday night, and perhaps back to the big site off of the Blackbird Knob trail near the left fork for the Saturday night where we stayed the last time? We've already established it's a good site for large groups, and if FR75 does happen to be accessible, you have a less than 3 mile bail-out/ shuttle location at the Red Creek Campground. Otherwise, we can head back towards Laneville using the Blackbird Knob trail to the Red Creek trail via the forks. There is also the "waterfall" site downstream of the forks that was beautiful, but not the best suited for a large group.

I'd love to make this a weeklong trip, but work/ family usually has other ideas

I'm already excited about getting out there, but I want to make sure that we can actually get out there. Should we shoot for sometime between May 15 - May 30th? Just trying to narrow a few things down, so we can make this a little more organized and official.

[Red Wing]

I'm tentative on this one depending on when that Gorge Gathering is, but I'm sure that's in May as well.

[BearChaser]

I should be able to make it. If for any reason the water is too high or what have you, we could do a back-up hike over on the Canaan Loop Road area. Its just a short ride toward Davis on the Canaan Valley side. A hike down Fire Trail 3, out Plantation, Railroad Grade, Maybe hit Table Rock, Pointy Knob, then back on the loop road. We could also start out at Blackwater Falls park heading up Davis Trail (Allegheny Trail) or Lindy Trail. But that would be up to you all depending on conditions and thoughts at the time. Just throwin out a possible back up plan.