Hidden in our backyard - Shenandoah National Park
If our YOFO inspires you to do one thing, we hope that it is to get off the couch and find your own adventures - your own local area is a great place to begin. (As an aside, sampling lots of local brews is also a legit YOFO takeaway.) Often, there is a bit of a misconception that travel adventures must be arduous or far-flung or somehow epic. And, trust us, we love those things. But YOFO has taught us that there are hidden (some in plain view) gems everywhere. That was our case with the Shenandoahs. While living in PA we had been within range of this park for over a decade but we had yet to visit it. Merely a two hour drive away, it proved to be another of those places that captures your imagination. We are happy that we defied the wet weather forecasts and went and played.
Jones Run trail.
An Eastern Newt. Also called a "red eft" when in this striking orange juvenile stage. Always fun to learn newt things in the wild!
Shenandoah NP is long and narrow; it dominates the Appalachian ridgeline west of DC. It is a heavily forested refuge that provides sightlines east toward bucolic Virginia valleys and west toward the mountains of West Virginia. The storied Appalachian Trail (AT) flirts with the park's Skyline Drive for the entire 105-mile stretch of the park. It's crazy to think that the Shenandoah section of the AT is less than 5% of the trail's total. Within the park are countless creeks, streams, and rivers that create a network of cascading water with periodic waterfalls, and some are spectacular. Wild critters? Yes, Shenandoah has them - from the frolicking chipmunks and squirrels to the hovering vultures and predatory raptors to the docile vegetarian deer. We also crossed paths with a couple of different snakes and salamanders. And, happily, we saw black bears. Yes, black bears live less than 75 miles from downtown DC (This is the point where you pause, stare off into space, and ponder whether you’d rather cross paths with a bear, snake, or politician, the latter two being of the same order of reptiles).
We decided to explore a few different sections of the park. Three of the four established, non-backcountry, campgrounds had spaces for the YOFOhome, so we camped for a few nights each in Loft Mountain and Big Meadows. Each section of the park has a different vibe - we found Loft Mountain less crowded (which appeals to us) but Big Meadows has close access to some of the more popular hikes and "wow" spots. Honestly, you can't go wrong by visiting/camping at any of the places in the park. Departing from our normal routine, we didn't make it to the Visitor Center for our intel (and passport stamp) until a few days into the visit. There are just so many things to do and hikes to pick from!
Heading up to Blackrock Summit, racing the storm clouds. We won!
He’s the nimble one.
In the Loft Mountain area we combined a few trails into a loop and had a great time splashing down and through the rain-swollen creeks to discover magnificent waterfalls. While Shenandoah definitely has scenic waterfalls, we loved the "in-between" sections of trails that meander through the forest next to gurgling water courses. Whenever we looked around, it seemed like the dappled light peaking through the flowering trees and reflecting off the cascading creeks created postcard-like views that were begging to be photographed. For not the first time, we thought how lucky we are to have digital "film;" neither of us have Ansel Adams like patience for composition and lighting. We go for the "take lots of pics and hopefully there's a good one in there" method. We really enjoyed the Double Falls Loop combining parts of the Jones Run and Doyles Run Trail and used the Browns Gap and AT as connectors. That just whetted our appetites (and wetted our boots) so we raced an approaching storm front to the Black Rock Summit. We had just enough time to eat our PB&Js with a spectacular view before the angels really started up their bowling game and it occurred to us that an exposed summit was probably NOT the best place to ride out a storm.
Great pavement, great views, great riding partner, and great bikes that just beg to be ridden. Life is good; and sometimes it is great. This was a great day.
If you like pedaling a bicycle (and we do), the allure of biking Skyline Drive is almost a physical draw. Unfortunately, neither of us currently has the "taint leather" to ride the whole way, so we settled on a fun 20 mile ride toward the south, out and back from the campground. It made for gorgeous scenery, excellent pavement, fast descents with sweeping curves, and leg burning climbs that gave us more time to look around and enjoy the scenery. And, as a topper, Loft Mountain CG is at the top of a...drumroll...you guessed it, mountain, so we finished with a mile plus of heart-pounding ascent but with a massive grin. While taking a cool down spin around the CG and scoping out future solar-panel-friendly sites, we chatted with some fellow campers, one of whom organizes motorcycle tours in scenic places. Hmmmmm.
Dawn badly wanted to pinch the iron nipples on this proud CCC fellow. Dean prevailed on the tiny shred of decorum still left in her; she has gone nearly completely feral.
Cub crossing! We were surprised and barely had time to grin and bear it while waiting for our friendly neighborhood bear family to meander past.
After we jumped 30 miles north to Big Meadows, we got our hiking gear on and headed on foot to the Visitors Center for info and the all important National Parks Passport stamp. On the way, we were lucky enough to see a bear family out foraging - a sow and two cubs. A ranger confirmed that our proposed loop would be worthy and loaded us up with info on other hikes in the area including Old Rag. The visitor center displays were a bonus. They highlighted the history of the park and the critical contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in forming and developing the park for visitors. We've found across the country that the impact of the CCC on our National Parks was immense. In most places their works still stand today, some 85 years later, a tribute to the labor of thousands of young men and one of the few positive outcomes of the Great Depression. As we headed out of the visitor center to the trail we wanted, the bear family was still hanging out. Cubs were frolicking on the ground while mama bear was high up in a tree keeping an eye on things. Yay! We headed down one of the most popular hikes and the waterfalls did not disappoint. Dark Hollow Falls is rightly an out-and-back destination hike, but we were glad for the ranger's recommendation to leave the crowds behind by creating a loop; we continued on the Rose River Trail and connected back with the AT to dump us back at the CG without any backtracking. There was so much cascading water and beauty out there in the woods! And to cap it off, we were just under a mile from arriving back at the campground when we saw a bear cub dart across our path about 30 yards in front of us. Sure enough, it was the same bear family continuing their wandering foraging. We kept our distance and waited till the bears were well clear of the trail before finishing our hike. Arriving at the campground we chatted with an AT thru hiker who lamented that he'd hiked 900 miles since starting in Georgia, and only now could claim a bear sighting! Later that evening, as we were enjoying dinner, we noticed out the window that several folks were gathered at the edge of the campground (about 40 yards away) with cameras. Curious, we peeked out the door and once more caught our bear family performing their antics on a hillside just beyond the campground.
Mama bear was overhead in a tree keeping a lookout...or eating. Maybe both.
Working our way through the boulder field on the way up to Old Rag.
On our last day in the park we got up early to hike up to Old Rag summit. Ridge Trail is one of the few hikes accessed from the valley east of the park, and is perhaps the most famous and most popular (besides the Appalachian Trail). Old Rag is also one of only two peaks in the park that offers 360 degree views. It lived up to its reputation as a fun and challenging hike. Perhaps a third of our time on the trail was spent in a section of trail that required scrambling over and between boulders. Our advice: do this trail as early in the day as you can especially in peak season; as the day wears on the scrambling sections can get backed up with long waits to get through trail bottlenecks as hikers slow, and out-and-back hikers attempt to descend. The climb was worth the enjoyment of another mountaintop PB&J with a view! To avoid the crowds and chaos of an out-and-back descent and to save our knees, we made another loop out of it by hiking down the Saddle Trail to Barry Hollow fire road back to the trailhead and parking lot - another solid recommendation from the ranger and one we endorse.
The trail past Dark Hollow Falls connecting to Rose River trail. We had views like this nearly the entire way.
Shenandoah was our 39th and last National Park of our YOFOAdventures. We were pleasantly surprised. We did not expect to get so much enjoyment from this park, we will definitely go back to explore more of it. We still cannot fathom how we allowed ourselves to "ignore" it for over 10 years. Go, check the bucket list by hiking the AT for a few miles, bike a section of Skyline Drive, enjoy a picnic on Old Rag, make friends with a bear family, and seek out your own Shenandoah adventures. You won't regret it.
Ssssnapped thissss ssslithering sssserpent asssss ssssshe sssslipped passst usssss.
Old Rag. Go hike it.