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!
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