Trail Building at Wildrock Nature Play and Discovery Center - March 25, 2021

Four PATC members met up at Wildrock Nature Play and Discovery Center in Albemarle County on Thursday, March 25 to help Land Steward, Kyle Crawford, with a trail building project.  Despite a few participant cancellations, the small group was able to complete the entire project in the time span from 9:00am -2:00 pm. Marit Anderson and Mark Perschel were the trail project leaders and were joined by hardworking Mark Walkup and Dianne Anderson.  Dianne and Marit cleared debris from the flagged route and cut small saplings, pricklers, and vines as they moved up the area.  Next, Mark W. cut larger trees and stumps out of the path.  Last came Mark P. guiding a bush hog mower shredding leaves and other vegetation to complete the trail clearing.  Dianne also took a turn pushing the bush hog. 

The path was made to connect to the existing Discovery Loop and creates a link to a beautiful stream and waterfall overlook. Lunch was spent at the pavilion area with a nice view of the Ladybird Farm feature and the nature play area.  The day was overcast, but we were lucky to have no rain throughout the day. All were pleased with the final results and we enjoyed each others company - catching up after a long time apart due to Covid 19.  Social distancing and other protocol were followed.  Future projects at Wildrock to remove invasive plants and build more trails will be planned for the summer and autumn.  It is a beautiful resource for children, families, and school groups. Check it out -it is next to Patricia Byrom Forest Preserve along the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but call to make a reservation first. 😊

submitted by Marit Anderson

Sinclair Hollow Work Hike, March 14, 2021

On Sunday, March 14, 2021, members of the Charlottesville Chapter met members of the Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter to work on the Sinclair Hollow Trail, located in the North River Ranger District of the George Washington National Forest. The group parked within several hundred yards of the West Virginia border.

This is not a trail that is easy to reach. The trail climbs the western ridge of Shenandoah Mountain and accesses parts of the George Washington National Forest on the western edge of Ramsey's Draft Wilderness Area. This point is a long round trip from any trailhead, as shown below:

The highest point of the Sinclair Hollow Trail meets the Shenandoah Mountain Trail at a point that is (each way):

• 4.3 trail miles from FS 95 to the north via the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.
• 4.8 miles from Camp Todd and FS 95 to the east via the Wild Oak Trail, the Hiner Springs Trail, the Ramsey's Draft Trail, and the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.
• 7.0 miles from the Confederate Breastworks on U.S. 250 to the south via the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.

And, this is the easiest part of the Sinclair Hollow Trail to access!  The road access on the western edge was impassible as of the date we worked on this trail, due to muddy conditions and a possible abandoned pickup truck in the road.

It is understandable that this trail had not been maintained in many years, and the group hiked in to begin rehabilitating it.  There was a good sized group of trail workers, and the group leaders hope to make it back out later in the year to continue this rehabilitation project.

The Charlottesville participants included Nancy Handley, Barbara Martin, Margaret Helber, first timer Bill Shobe, and hike/event leader Jeff Monroe.  The SSVC crew was managed by Lynn and Malcolm Cameron.  Thanks to Margaret Helber for many of the photos shown here.

Shenandoah River to Kennedy Peak, March 10, 2021

 A rare mid-week hike brought together 4 PATC hikers on the east side of Massanutten Mountain, northwest of Luray on Wednesday, March 10th.  Included in the group were veteran PATC hiker Mike Hammer, new PATC Hikes Committee Chair, Iva Gillet, Hikingupward.com founder, and Lee District chainsaw volunteer Tony Van Vugt, and hike leader Jeff Monroe.  Joining the humans were hiker dogs Remy and Gracie.

The group met at a boat launch on the Shenandoah River and ascended the Habron Gap Trail to the ridge of Massanutten before turning south onto the Massanutten Trail.

There were many ascents and descents on the Massanutten Trail before it reached the summit of Kennedy Peak, 5.7 miles into the hike.  From the top of the fire tower, the group could see a fire in the valley below - the result of some controlled burning conducted by the Forest Service. The group lunched at the fire tower before returning back via the same route they took going out.  This was a tough hike, with nearly 3,400 feet ascended and temperatures in the 70's.  The group was beat when they got back to their cars!

James River Face AT Hike, March 6, 2021

 A small group of 5 PATC hikers (actually 4 PATC hikers and one adult daughter) completed a loop hike in the James River Face Wilderness on a beautiful Saturday in early March. Hikers included Nancy Handley, the Ballen family, and hike leader Jeff Monroe. The group started on Petite's Gap Road and climbed the Sulphur Springs Trail.  The SST is wide and gradual, as it was a woods road prior to JRF gaining Wilderness status back in 1975 - the first Federal Wilderness in Virginia.

The group reached the Appalachian Trail and turned southbound.  Near the Marble Springs campsite, downed tree limbs became more prevalent, reportedly the result of a recent ice storm that also affected Roanoke.  Hiking past the campsite and climbing Highcock Knob, the downed branches were everywhere, as can be seen from the photos posted here.  

Getting around the tree branches slowed the group's pace considerably.  We would not recommend hiking here until the fine folks in the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club can get out here to clean up the trail.  The trail was in rough shape all the way to the trail's intersection with the Petite's Gap Road.  And possibly beyond - we didn't check!  Instead we turned onto the road and hiked that back down to our vehicles.

Total distance: 8.6 miles

Total time: 5 hours, 11 minutes.