I Do Stuff…

loved the green moss on the rock

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I totally forgot to make a post about my recent, well over two months ago at this point, hike to Whiteoak Canyon in the Shenandoah National Forest.  Since my hikes early in the year to Prince William Forest in late winter and Pinckney Island while on vacation to Hilton Head, I have not been able to get out and enjoy the spring weather.  During spring the weather was not sure what it wanted to do.  Some days it was cold and other times it was mid-summer hot.  Once day it broke a record and reached temperatures over 90 degrees.  Throw in unpredictable rain and it made for a pretty bizarre spring.

After much debating I was determined to get out and hike somewhere, anywhere for an afternoon.  I couldn’t have picked a worse weekend to try and get outside, but with my busy schedule I can’t be to choosy.  I set out early Sunday morning for Old Rag and the weather was not looking good.  My house was suppose to get rain in the afternoon and the Shenandoah looked pretty clear all day.  I decided to take my chance and make the 2.5 hour drive regardless of the weather.  I figured it couldn’t be that bad and if things did turn south at least the drive would be nice.  The whole drive West the sky was filled with dark clouds and a cool breeze, but no rain.  As I passed Sperryville down 231 it started to drizzle and I was getting worried.  By the time I got to the parking lot for Old Rag there was a pretty steady rain and I decided to drive a further south to Whiteoak Canyon and try my luck there.  I was hoping that further South I drove the weather would be more cooperative.

When I arrived at Whiteoak Canyon, I was surprised to see a good number of people in the lot.  They, like me, were not going to let a little rain ruin their opportunity for a hike.  I was able to get a parking spot close to the trail head and started hiking soon after getting my gear organized.  I decided to travel extremely light this time just in case the heavens did decided to open up beyond an annoying drizzle.  This unfortunately meant most of my camera gear stayed in the truck, my 18-55 lens was all I brought.

nice view for lunch

The clouds never broke and the temperatures remained rather low all afternoon.  Fortunately the heaviest rain passed well north of my location so a mild drizzle was all I got.  I snapped a few photos and did a little adventuring near the lower waterfall.  There is a little creek that flows into the main body of water just before the waterfall.  I have passed it numerous times and finally decided to do a little explorer.  The creek leads into a small valley that is strewn with boulders of all imaginable sizes.  I did my best to climb up them, but eventually I gave up and tried climbing the steep raven walls.  This little adventure caused me a lot of trouble, I had numerous battle wounds when I finally got back to the main trail.

When I arrived at the waterfall I climbed to the top and enjoyed a packed lunch.  That last little hike up to the top of the waterfall is steep and took it out of me.  The cool temperatures allowed me to cool off while I ate my lunch and get a little entertainment.  I watch three guys climb down the side of the mountain from the top of the waterfall, instead of taking the trail.  The trail might be longer, but it certainly is safer then walking straight down the hill.

After enjoying the solitude for a while I made short work of the hike back to my truck.  The weather condition where certainly not ideal, but I needed to get outside so badly I didn’t care what the weather was like.  As I write this post it has been over two months to the day sense this hike and I am jonesing for another.  I will be traveling to Portsmouth, VA with a friend for MMW at the Norva Theatre followed the next day by Phish at nTelos Pavilion.  Hopefully I can squeeze a hike in between the shows.  If not, I know I will certainly have the time when I am up in Saratoga Springs, NY for a weekend filled with yet more Phish shows.

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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