Whiteoak Canyon (lower falls), Shenandoah October 2008
On Saturday I headed back to Shenandoah National Park for some more hiking in Whiteoak Canyon. This time around I started at the bottom of the trail, outside of the park and hiked in. I never made it to the bottom of the trail the first time around, so what a good way to see it. I was also hoping for less people on the trail if I started at the bottom. But with this time of year being peak for colors in the park, along with cool temperatures, everyone and their mothers was outside.
leaf chocked pond
Starting from the parking lot it is a short and mostly level hike to the first fall. Along the way you get a good idea of what the forest has to offer in fall. The air is crisp with a slight breeze blowing through the trees. Now and again the breeze blow and it looks like it is snowing leaves. Yellow, brown, and red leaves cover the forest floor, crackling when you walk across them. In the back ground you can hear the water flowing down the creek after its five mile journey from the top of the mountain.
last fall on the trail
About a mile and a half from the parking lot is the first fall and its pretty impressive. It is not the Niagara Falls, but still something to look at. The water slowly rolls over the top and flows rather than falls down the face of the rock. At this first fall there is a pretty good sized pond that would be perfect to swim in during the summer months.
From here the hike up the mountain gets a bit tougher. You have to climb up a few hundred feet to the top of the fall. The water makes it look easy coming down, but hiking up it a pretty darn tough. By the time I got to the top I was exhausted and took a break. I chatted with a group of fellow hikers that got a little lost. They hiked a lot further down the trail then they planned. So I told them where they were and showed them where they wanted to go. Being without a map I gave them the trail map I had printed off the internet (always carry a map with you, even for known trails). After some quick food and water I was off again to the next two falls.
plush red carpet
I couldn’t tell if I made it to all three of the falls in the lower section or not. Eventually I needed to turn around and start hiking back to my car. Fortunately once I decided to hike back to my truck it was all down hill and a slightly easier hike. Hiking down hill is no easy feat, but at least my legs don’t have to work so hard. Now my knees on the other hand they take a pounding. I was also hoping for a shorter trip down, but I kept finding spectacular scenery around me that I just had to take pictures of.
After a long day of hiking I finally made it down to my car and headed home. On the way in a I passed an apple market. The Graves Mountain Apple Harvest Festival was going on that weekend and the Graves Mountain Farm was in full swing selling all manor of apples. I couldn’t help but stop and see what they had to offer. Most of the good apples were taking in the morning by the hordes of people I saw when I passed the place for Whiteoak Canyon. But I was still able to find a box of apples and the best part, the price. It was only $10 for a huge box of apples. I got a few Fuji to eat for lunch and Stayman for cooking a couple apple pies. I can’t wait to bake one of those bad boys up……yum.
a look across the valley
