Saint Mary's Wilderness - May 19, 2012

The Saint Mary's Wilderness hike is more or less a standard annual affair for PATC - Charlottesville Chapter. We have done this hike at other times in the year, but the ultimate is to catch it when the rhododendron are in bloom, as this circuit is renowned for the multitude of rhododendron along the route. However, catching the bloom is somewhat a hit or miss deal, as our recent efforts have demonstrated. The normal peak is the first week in June, but with the mild winter and warm spring we have experienced, hike leader Ken Moss opted to gamble on an early bloom this year, so scheduled the hike a couple of weeks earlier than normal. As the fateful day approached, Ken was gratified to come across several internet postings suggesting that the bloom had indeed arrived early this year and was already well in progress.

Thus a relatively small group of hikers assembled at Albemarle High School, including member Pat Skelly and friend Arnold Newman, who had traveled all the way from Augusta, Georgia, just for this hike! Despite the small crowd, we drove to the trailhead in four cars, as the majority of hikers hoped to make a stop by the new Wild Wolf Brewery in Nellysford on the return trip, while unfortunately both Marian Styles and Anne Colgate had separate later engagements which precluded their participation in any après-hike festivities. After the standard introductory words, safety brief and explanation of the gamble we were taking on finding blooming rhododendrons this early, the group left the parking lot and headed westward toward the mountains.

On the drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway to reach the trailhead, sharp-eyed observers noted the occasional rhododendron in bloom, providing a sense of promise for a successful excursion. Once at the trailhead, where we were met by Michael Seth, we descended into the Saint Mary's Wilderness Area along the Mine Bank Trail, which took us down into the valley of the Saint Mary's River. Soon enough, we began to see impressive stands of flowering rhododendrons at their peak of bloom, causing a plethora of "ooh's" and "aah's" from the group and a pleasant sense of relieved vindication on the part of the hike leader...we had apparently nailed it for the hike date! 

Following the descent, and an initial crossing of the Saint Mary's River near the ruins of an old mining operation, we headed north along the Saint Mary's Trail, which started out relatively flat for an easy stroll through the woods. Soon, though, we began the ascent toward Big Levels, a rather steep section which can be challenging on hot, sunny days. We were fortunate to have pleasant temperatures and low humidity on this day, so the ascent wasn't as difficult as it has at times seemed in the past. Blooming mountain laurel dominated this part of the hike.

Upon reaching the Big Levels ridgeline we left the Wilderness Area, causing one hiker to quip that hiker leader Moss lacked only an "e" in his name to make the act of leading his people out of the Wilderness even more auspicious! We turned right upon the faintest trace of an overgrown trail and made a stop by Green Pond, a rare natural mountaintop wetland, though it is often not more than a marsh covered with green algae and reeds. Continuing on the trace, we emerged on Forest Service Road 162, where we took a well deserved lunch break.

Following lunch we continued along FSR-162 for several miles, often surrounded by a veritable gauntlet of blooming rhododendron and mountain laurel, until reaching the very discreet intersection of the Bald Mountain Trail, which took us down into a thickly canopied draw before finally intersecting with the Mine Bank Trail again and returning to our cars. With our only two females leaving us in their separate cars at this point, the remaining all-male group, including Pete Fink, John Brandt and Maynard Davis, headed off for a very enjoyable refreshment phase at Wild Wolf. All agreed that this was the perfect ending to a wonderful day on the trail!