Jump Rock Loop - April 3, 2022

 A group of 13 hikers collected to ascend Jump Rock near Goshen on a cold but bright April Sunday.  This hike had been requested by a couple of Valley hikers who had tried the loop on their own, but had trouble completing the loop.  We had a good mix of folks, including 10 Club members, 3 non-members, 6 hikers from the Charlottesville area, 6 Valley hikers, and one hiker local to Goshen.  Two hikers were new to PATC hikes.

The group started at 10AM and was done around 4:30.  There are many trail options towards the end of the hike, which takes hikers into or near BSA Camp Goshen, a scout camp owned by a council in Northern Virginia.  We took the Viewing Rock Trail to its end point, and then followed a camp road back to trails that returned us to our cars.  

This was a hike unlike any other in PATC experience! After lunch at Jump’s spectacular vista and enjoying Viewing Rock, we descended into BSA Camp Goshen to the sounds of nearby gunfire and encountered armed men in military camouflage uniforms. We ended up in the middle of military exercises conducted by VMI Cadets. There were multiple camoed cadets in the woods as we walked along a road, however a van stopped and assured us that no live ammunition was used in the exercise.

A little further down the road, we encountered a small group of cadet soldiers. I asked to take their photo with many from our group. They agreed because they had “5 minutes before a scheduled ambush.” It was a pretty wild experience!

Hikers included veterans Mike Hammer, John Brandt, Anne Cogate, Heather and Brian Denny, John Burkhardt, Jim Fye and Jean Stephens, along with hike leader Jeff Monroe. The hike leader had also hiked previously with Gaby and with Lavern. New to the group were Erin and Joy. It was a great and memorable hike!

Group shot with some of our hiking group and VMI Cadets on a training exercise.

The Jump Rock hike has legendarily steep ascents!

The "bushwhack" portion of the loop was more defined than I have ever seen it.

One hiker was a woman I worked with at UVA in the past.

Viewing Rock is always good for photos; maybe not so for hair.  

Recent upgrades to the bridge made it less rickety than in the past.

The view from Viewing Rock includes Lake Merriweather and BSA Goshen Scout Camp.