Rocky Mount, October 25, 2014

reported by John Shannon

On a perfect day to be outside, eight people met at Two Mile Run overlook to hike out to the summit of Rocky Mount. There were still many brightly colored leaves. Around noon we were still climbing up Rocky Mount as people wondered how much further there was to go. Not remembering all the turns, I did not make any promises about being almost there. 

Shenandoah Valley

When we did reach the summit, we spread out on the rocks for lunch which included some orange and cranberry in an energy loaf. Just after we started back, we went to another overlook where there were no trees blocking our view. Séverine Fremy took many pictures of the new sights. 

Further along we heard and saw a large flock of birds which we did not definitively identify. By this time we met others heading out to Rocky Mount, which is not a common experience. During the long climb back to our cars, we met the trail overseer and Blue Blazed Trails District Manager who were looking for fallen trees to cut, but there were only a

couple of small ones. With our stops to enjoy the sights, we arrived in Charlottesville after most of the football traffic had gone.

Jump Mountain Loop/Goshen Pass – Sept. 27, 2014

Sixteen people signed up for Andy Willgruber’s Jump Mountain hike this fine fall day (Katharine Maus, Lee Wenzler, Lindsay Brown, Pete & Bev Fink, Dave Abdallah, Jodi Frederiksen, David Crowe, C.J. Woodburn, Clai Lange, John Brandt, Kelly O’Rourke, Dave Borszich, Marian Styles, Iva Gillet, and Bill Holman). A pretty drive led us to a parking area just west of Goshen Pass. Perhaps invigorated by the weather and scenery (or perhaps being gluttons for punishment), no one joined Bill for a 5-mile substitute to this strenuous route.

A swaying cable bridge over the Maury River launched the hike with a bit of excitement. Only three people at a time can safely cross, and everyone avoided taking an unauthorized swim by not stepping into the void left by a missing slat in the floor of the bridge.

Today’s route is in the Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve and the Little North Mountain Wildlife Management Area. Of several lovely views during the hike, two proved stunning: one overlooking Lake Merriweather, and the other a nearly 360-degree view from Jump Rock (more than 3,000 feet high). Jeff Monroe, who sadly was not with us today, described the view in his blog as including the Shenandoah Valley and Great North Mountain all the way to Buffalo Gap, with a glimpse of Elliot Knob behind Little North Mountain.

Course that elevation meant that we did a lot of climbing throughout the day followed by a lot of descending. This was not a hike for weak knees. The elevation change was 2,600 feet and was about 8 miles. We finished hiking at 5 p.m. after navigating the bridge once more. A few people stayed in the area to camp, some went directly back, and some talked about stopping for refreshments.

Flying insects!

Delfosse Winery Trails - October 18, 2014

submitted by Marit Anderson Gay
What is the best thing to do on a spectacular fall day?  Take a hike, of course!  October 18 was the scheduled Delfosse Winery Trails hike and 22 participants joined hike leader, Marit Gay, at the vineyard in Faber.  Bill Holman assisted in preparation for becoming a new hike leader for Charlottesville PATC. The group carpooled to the location, which is 35 minutes south of Charlottesville.  The initial climb from the parking area at the tasting room, was steep - over 800 feet in elevation, and a good way to warm up our legs.  After passing through the gate from the vineyard to the wooded private Delfosse trails, the group spent the next 2+ hours hiking the path partially created and maintained by the Nelson County Parks and Recreation.  This 5.5 mile loop is open to mountain bikers and  horseback riding as well.  Trail runners also enjoy it and we met three runners - possibly preparing for the upcoming 10k race. The terrain is rolling, providing for a fairly strenuous hike with over 1,400 feet in elevation gain.  A good workout for a fairly short hike.
We stopped briefly to enjoy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and then finished the outing with lunch gathered by the pond.  Some of the participants partook in glasses of wine and also wine tasting offerings.  The setting was ideal for a warm, autumn afternoon in full color.

The view of the beautiful Delfosse Winery

Gerard Roene (above) and Marie Pain, were our international trekkers, both from France  

   

      

Lisa Lampe, Brad Young, Pete Fink, Gerard, Claire Cline, and John Shannon pass by the Log Cabin

Time for lunch by the scenic pond

Thanks for coming out to hike including Iva Gillet, Catherine Miranda, Leon Gorman, Emerald Young, Rita Kieffer, Jeanne Siler, Bev Fink, Dave Borszich, Rich Bard, Marian Styles, Kyle Lampe and Maxwell the dog, Michael Seth, CJ Woodburn, and Linda Ginsberg.

Big Devils Stairs- October 14, 2014

submitted by Marit Anderson Gay

Nine intrepid hikers met at Gravel Springs Gap parking area on the Skyline Drive for the Big Devils Stairs adventure hike.  Hike leaders Pete Fink and Marit Gay had envisioned the hike down Big Devils Stairs Trail with a return up the old trail through the gorge and bushwhacking to reunite with the existing trail.  Rainy conditions from the last three days altered the plans, but a wonderful fall hike was still enjoyed by all. Instead, the group began the original plan by taking the yellow blazed fire road/horse trail to the Bluff Trail and continuing down the Big Devils Stairs Trail and eventually meeting with the stream bed and Shenandoah Park boundary. Very slippery rocks made  the one mile ascent up the gorge too dangerous, so we did an out and back 6 mile hike with an elevation gain of 1800 feet. Rain held off for most of the hike and lifting fog allowed us to see some of the amazing views.  Seventy degree temperatures and strong, soothing winds made for a magical day, despite the heavy rains on the ride to the the trail head in the morning.  Nice surprise!

Anne Colgate, Pete & Bev Fink, Barbara Martin, Marit, Michael Seth, Dave Borszich, Michael Smith

The view of the cliffs at the overlook was beautiful and fall colors were glorious

Mark Perschel and gang nibble their lunch at the base of the stream

There was a profusion of mushrooms throughout the hike

Laugh of the day - Bev accidentally put on two different boots and did not notice it until the end of the day!

Wild Oak-Grooms Ridge, October 11, 2014

Reported by John Shannon

Mike Smith and Michael Seth clearing
growth on Grooms Ridge Trail

Our meeting place (Albemarle High parking lot) was full of cars, but in a few circuits around it, Marian Styles and I saw no hikers and were about to leave when John Brandt rolled up. So only three of us headed out in light rain. Weather.com forecast no rain after 10 a.m. in Churchville, so we hoped for the best. We stopped in Churchville to verify that no one was meeting us there and shopped for a corn dog, chicken, and fuel.

The directions to the trailhead sounded quite complex, but aided by memories of past trips, reaching the trailhead was fairly simple. We met leader Michael Seth and Mike Smith and headed up. Unlike the majority of times Charlottesville Chapter has taken this route, we headed up Wild Oak Trail first, because it seemed before that this direction was less steep. However, Grindstone Mountain still seemed appropriately named.

Although the rain stopped, the fog remained, so we saw virtually nothing from some excellent overlooks.

What the trails looked like all day

As usual George Washington National Forest has many fewer invasive plants than SNP, but we did spot what we thought were only a few oriental lady's thumb. We started pulling them, until Marian went a little further and saw the infestation was too extensive to remove without disrupting our plans.

After about 3 hours of strenuous climbing, we finally reached the highest point of the day and started down to find the area where we were going to help overseers Lynn and Malcolm Cameron keep Grooms Ridge trail easily passable. We clipped away with loppers and hand clippers until Marian reported that we would do more good attacking thicker growth further on. After a little more work, we decided that a long drive to a long hike with lots of clearing was making for a long day, so we moved on. John Brandt could not resist trying his saw on a large tree that had fallen across the trail, but soon decided that a warm, dry house that night sounded better than a cold night on the mountain with a large blowdown removed from the trail.

We met up with the Camerons, who had started working along the trail from the opposite direction.

Marian and I then headed off and tackled a very steep climb to what is normally an excellent overlook. Rather than waiting for the Camerons to drive us from the end of the trail to our car, we walked the mile back then drove back to the end of trail to reconnoiter with the others.

They were happy to hear that the trail was passable, even though like most trails, more could be done.