Turk Mountain - March 12, 2011

Today's hike was originally planned as a makeup date from a hike originally postponed from January 8, when Skyline Drive was closed due to snow and ice. The weather had an impact on this excursion as well, though, but it wasn't a problem of the Drive being closed that caused a disruption. Rather it was an overabundance of that which has been too rare in our region over the past several years...rain. With over 5 inches of rain in the Charlottesville area in the last week, water levels were high throughout the region, with flooding in some low areas.

At Jarman Gap before hitting the trail.

This situation had caused serious consternation for hike leader Ken Moss for the previous couple of days, as he saw local streams flooded and during a trail maintenance trip into the Park on Friday had seen the rare sight of water freely flowing down what are normally dry gullies above Skyline Drive. All of those smaller flows were certainly meeting lower down the mountain to form ever larger streams of rushing water, with yet lower areas likely to be formidable torrents, likely making crossings difficult. Pre-hike anxiety over this situation caused the hike leader to contact the Chapter's Dean of Hiking Experience, John Shannon, to inquire as to his considered opinion on the feasibility of crossing the Turk Branch and South Fork Moormans River on the lower sections of our planned itinerary. His learned opinion could essentially be boiled down to indicate "maybe".

Heading north on the AT from Jarman Gap.

Thus a group began gathering in the parking lot of Albemarle High School on Saturday morning, wondering what awaited us on the trail. The weather forecast promised mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the 50's at higher elevations, but it was still chilly and somewhat overcast as 16 hikers embarked on the drive to Jarman Gap, though we noticed clear skies to the west. Among the group was newcomer Lossie Wilkerson and OASC member Alex Pepkin, accompanied by our own Iva Gillet and Dan Ralston, who were doing some leader qualification training for OASC. Arriving at the Jarman Gap parking area it was still gray and cool.

Scenic pause at Sawmill Run Overlook.

Descending briefly from Jarman Gap on the South Fork Moormans River Fire Road, we soon turned north on the Appalachian Trail where we quickly heard and saw the gurgling upper reaches of the river, normally little more than a trickle at this elevation. Further along the AT we noticed trail erosion and water freely flowing along the trail in at least one spot, as we walked along the increasingly active stream, which had spread out into several channels as it gathered strength from feeder streams. Across the Moormans River Valley we had fine views of Bucks Elbow Mountain as we started climbing along the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge, leaving the river behind as the sun finally broke through and warmed us. We eventually reached a more level section of the AT and crossed Skyline Drive at Sawmill Run Overlook, providing views of Sawmill Ridge, the Shenandoah Valley and our destination, Turk Mountain. After a brief, windy stop to admire the view, we continued north on the AT, crossing through a more open area with scrub pines providing further views of the rocky crest of Turk Mountain, during which Leon Gorman, his faithful companion Bailey and Lossie Wilkerson turned around to return to their car for a shorter day on the trail. The rest of the group eventually reached the Turk Mountain Spur Trail just south of Turk Gap. We took this mile-long trail down through a saddle between the backbone of the Blue Ridge and Turk Mountain before climbing to the summit for a well deserved lunch top with fabulous views of the Shenandoah Valley to the west.

Summit of Turk Mountain.

During our pleasant, sunny 45-minute lunch break at the summit we met another group which had already attempted a descent of the South Fork Moormans River Fire Road, having planned to climb back up to the AT on the Turk Branch Trail, effectively following our planned itinerary in reverse. After several difficult crossings of the Moormans on the way down, they eventually reached a crossing that was impassable due to high, rushing water and turned around, retracing their steps back to the AT. They counseled us to abandon any attempt at completing our planned loop hike via the Turk Branch and South Fork Moormans River, claiming that any crossing would be dangerous and very wet. Upon hearing this news, which served to confirm our suspicions, it was determined to abandon the plan and return to Jarman Gap via the AT for an out-and-back hike.

Summit of Turk Mountain.

Upon returning to Jarman Gap, after having covered a total of about 8.5 miles, there was discussion concerning options to make an attempt at reaching Little Calf Mountain by continuing south on the AT to extend the hike by 5 miles, to just go home or to make a stop at Blue Mountain Brewery for refreshments on the way home. Most hikers felt it had already been a good day and elected to head home, to include John Shannon, Sue Tansey, Dave Borszich, Eileen Seaman, and Don Davis, as well as Iva, Dan and Alex. Hike Leader Ken Moss led a splinter group on a detour to Blue Ridge Brewery accompanied by Barbara Shenefield, Brad Young, Pete Fink and Beverly Moresca. Marit Gay remained on the mountain to do trail work along the AT near the Crimora Lake Overlook.

Junction of AT and South Fork Moormans River Fire Road.

Though the original plan fell apart due to high water, everyone seemed to feel that the right decision had been made to alter the hike. It turned out to be near-perfect weather once the sun came out and warmed into shirt sleeve temperatures for most. It was still a spectacular trail with great views and a good time was had by all.