Reported by Andy Willgruber
The day dawned clear and warm, with a high temperature of 90 predicted for Charlottesville. Fortunately, today's hike would occur at an elevation range between 3300--4000'. At that elevation and location, there was also a 40% chance of afternoon showers in the forecast.
Unbeknownst to the hikers who arrived at AHS, (John Shannon, Maynard and Joanne Davis, Kelly O'Rourke, Bev and Pete Fink, Briana Taylor) today's hike was a bit of an experiment. Andy's two goals were to avoid covering the same ground (out and back) and to attempt a hike the club had not done before. The hike leader had not actually walked all of this particular route. He was depending on accurate map reading and trail markers being where he hoped they would be. John confirmed the originality of the hike. The day would determine the advisability of firing this particular hike leader! We headed out in three vehicles for Crescent Rock Overlook.
We began the hike with a walk out to Bettys Rock. This view encompasses the two highest peaks in SNP. Looking south is Hawksbill (4050"); looking north is Stonyman(4010') and Skyland Resort. A short distance to the south is Crescent Rock. Before the park was established, guests from Skyland would have picnics here. The rock was often the scene of religious revivals, as well as Easter services. When the Drive was built, this overlook parking area was made extra large, so these activities could continue.
We resumed by heading north on the A.T. The trail was fairly level to start, with a gradual rise as we approached Skyland. Just east of the resort area, we turned on to the Furnace Spring Horse Trail. We descended down this cool and shady path, under a significant amount of still healthy hemlock trees, to the Skyland Fire Road. This was the road from Luray to Skyland before the Drive was built. A few steps down the road led to the start of the Passamaqouddy Trail. George Pollack(owner of Skyland) had this .8 mile
trail between Furnace Spring and Little Stony Man built in 1932.
While it was past prime spring wildflower time, we did note some interesting plants: Allegheny Stonecrop (Sedum) and Canada Mayflower(Maianthemum). Kelly pointed out the Alumroot (Heuchera). As we approached Little Stony Man cliffs, we came upon a father with two kids practicing their rock climbing. This activity helped determine our lunch spot. We decide on a rock outcrop beneath Little Stony Man. Here we would have essentially the same view, but could still observe the climbers progress up the cliffs for additional lunch entertainment. The town of Luray, Mary's Rock and sections of the Drive highlighted this view. Increasing overcast skies provided perfect lunch-time temperatures and John provided the perfect(and incredibly healthy) dessert.
We resumed our hike on the Passamaqouddy trail and quickly came to the A.T. We headed south and climbed to Little Stony Man Cliffs. We began to hear thunder and a light rain began. The rain intensified as we approached Stony Man and we decided to don our rain gear. Bev completely ripped off one of her rain jacket sleeves as she put hers on. She decided to stick with this look as she doggedly held on to her sleeve. Andy couldn't decide whether he liked Bev's "punk hiker" statement as is, or whether she ought to rip off the other one to match! When Bev insisted that she was going to sew the sleeve back on, Maynard felt it was time to take up a collection for Bev's new raincoat! With the hard rain and thunder, it was a unanimous decision to skip Stony Man summit.
The rain did eventually let up as we proceeded south on the A.T. At the stables area on the south side of Skyland, we turned on to the Stables horse trail to cross over Skyline Drive to access the Limberlost Trail. Because of the rain and many horses, the horse trail's tread consisted of pulverized mud (and other ingredients). Pete felt his boots would never be quite the same!
While we PATC hikers would normally try to avoid a paved trail, the ADA Limberlost Trail was the perfect antidote for our footwear. The Mountain Laurel leaves were glistening in the post-shower sunlight. We came upon a mother with young children just a few feet from some deer. While not an unusual sight for us, the look of wonder on their faces was priceless!
The last turn of the day was upon us: the Crescent Rock Trail, which would take us back to the parking area. For the first time today, Andy sent his unwitting "hiking guinea pigs" on ahead, breathed a sigh of relief and took the "sweep" position to complete the day's hike.
No comments:
Post a Comment