Hone Quarry Water Fall - June 9, 2019

submitted by Iva Gillet

It was a good plan- a hike of 5 miles to a waterfall with another optional 2.5 miles to a rock climbing area with great views of Hone Quarry finishing by a peaceful waterfall. It was a good enough plan to get 13 hikers and a dog out on a gray Sunday. We assembled the entire group off I-81 at Mt Crawford, with longest traveler, Art Bykonen, coming from Richmond and the closest hiker was first timer Joanna Myers coming from Harrisonburg. Donna Bossardt, Mike Hammer, Lin Yang, Rich Bard, and hike leaders Iva Gillet and Bill Holman met the group at Swift Run Gap, while Marian Styles, John Shannon, Gopal Midha, John Brandt, and Nancy Handley travelled from Charlottesville. 

We drove to the Hone Quarry Recreation area in the George Washington National Forest and parked at the dam. There were no other cars there likely due to the gray day. As we walked along the very rugged road, we did see several folks fishing. Conversations were plentiful as we walked the 1 ½ miles to the trail head, near some wooded primitive campsites. The trail to the 25 ft Hone Quarry waterfall was an easy trip. We had a leisurely lunch here, admiring the mossy greenery and gentle mountain stream. After our lunch break, it began to sprinkle and our return trip to the cars was wet- umbrellas and rain gear appeared. Upon arrival at the cars, and discussion about the 2 ½ mile additional option, there were only 3 who wanted to continue. Therefore, we were off to the ice cream stop at Smiley’s Dairy in Mt Crawford. While this day we did not need ice cream to cool off, it was a tasty treat for our walk in the drizzle and Marian was so kind as to buy Remi a doggie sundae for accompanying us!

Great Eastern Trail Worktrip, June 1, 2019

On June 1^st, “National Trails Day,” the PATC Charlottesville Chapter teamed up with a Charlottesville based hiking Meetup site, “GetHiking! Charlottesville” to sponsor trail work on a section of the Great Eastern Trail in Bath County, Virginia.  Although turnout was somewhat disappointing (9 total trail workers, including 8 PATC members plus the GetHiking! Trail Lead), the results were encouraging.

The section of trail was once known as the Walnut Tree Hollow Trail (also described as the “Walnut Hollow Trail” and the “old Piney Mountain Trail” in the PATC’s Trail Guide to Great Eastern Trail, 2018 First Edition).  Due to its remoteness, it may be the most poorly maintained section of GET in all of Virginia. (It is over an hour-and-a-half drive each way from Charlottesville to the trailhead.) Chapter President Jeff Monroe had hiked portions of this trail segment twice in 2018, attempting to complete the trail from both ends, but found the trail impassible. (Description here: Link.)

The nine hikers changed the trail’s status to “passable” with their work on June 1, but additional work trips will be needed to get the trail section into any kind of quality condition, and several very large downed trees were beyond the certifications of any participant on this trip. The trail remains overgrown over much of its lower elevation, but sections were trimmed back extensively.  Downed trees were eliminated as much as time and the group's expertise permitted - we did not have any USFS certified chain sawyers with us, so all sawing was done by hand.

CJ describes some of the work completed by the crew.

Trailhead location: 

On the return trip, the group stopped at the recently opened Skipping Rock Brewery outside of Staunton to discuss their day over beer and food.  CJ was not successful at Jenga, much to the group's entertainment!

Thanks to all the hikers who helped transform this formerly impassible trail!

Cold Mountain Hike - May 11, 2019

Submitted by Jodi Fredericksen and Dave Abdullah

Under an overcast sky, 17 hikers, prepared for a rainy day, and struck out from Cowcamp Gap for a 6-mile hike.  Veteran hikers from C-Ville PATC helpfully regaled first time hike leaders Dave and Jodi with stories of [hike leader name redacted, hint: first name starts with an "I"] leading hikers down the wrong trail on a nearby loop.  Thankfully for first time hikers, Victor and Cate, Dave and Jodi knew the trail well. Our new hikers were joined by: Iva, Bill, Marian, Debra, Steve, Cosmo, Donna, Rich, John, Marie, Brian, Karen, and John.

The large patch of Lady Slippers were the highlight of the many wild flowers along the way.  Just as the group arrived at the Cowcamp AT shelter for lunch, the rain began. Everyone huddled in the shelter for lunch, laughs, and muffins.  The rain continued with a prefect reprieve as the group took a break on the beautiful bald top of Cold Mountain, where Debra entertained everyone by singing “The Hills are Alive,” while happy hikers twirled through the meadow. Views of the cloud-capped mountains were the highlight of the trip—second only to the friendly company of happy hikers.  The rain commenced as the hike ended, and everyone was happy to have appropriate rain gear!