to Dilly Dally in the Shenandoah Valley
Exploring the surprisingly grand and expansive Shenandoah National Park, and some surrounding scenery.
Dodging storms on a hot August weekend, a rare glimpse on sun above the clouds.
This park has been elusive to me for years. We had planned trips to come out and hike the best it has to offer on two separate occasions, most recently last year. Although, the weather had turned at the last minute each time and made us reconsider sunnier places like the Dolly Sods of West Virginia, or Nantahala near North Carolina’s most southwest extremity.
This time we were bound and determined to tackle this classic range, come hell or high water, and assuredly there were bouts of both.
We found these trees to be ominous is an old world eldritch horror type of way.
From the very outset, we were swarmed with an army of bugs more potent than any we had encountered in what seemed like years. Perhaps we were rusty, or had forgotten worse experiences in the past, or more likely, we had stayed in more windy or higher places in the summers thus far. Nothing a little deet, applied liberally every 15 minutes, couldn’t handle for the most part. We faced some early topographical challenges relating to our route, in that the trail was viciously steep downhill from Skyline drive toward the foot of Old Rag Mountain. Old Rag will be a recurring antagonist here, in that we tackled one of the most difficult hiking trails in the Southeast USA with backpacking gear loaded down for a 3-day trek.
Old Rag Mountain as seen on our walk back, we had crossed the valley in the foreground days earlier.
The low point of morale in the trip came quickly at the end of the first day, where we had planned an ascent to base camp as close to the summit of Old Rag as possible. After having over 1000ft of descent, we hit the low valley of less than 900ft of elevation before rapidly swinging back up another 1000ft, although this time over half the distance. I was aiming for the left shoulder of the peak, so that we could sleep, eat, and lighten our loads before a very early summit hike that is known for its intensity. Good times were had in the old forest, melancholy and retrospective as we so often find ourselves in the great outdoors.
Pictures not only do not do justice to the severity of the climb we experienced, but they are also nearly impossible to take without a wide angle in many places due to the caves, narrow gulleys, and precarious hand holds one must use to ascend this ridge.
Large boulders cap the summit, and must be climbed over while avoiding the surrounding deep crevices.
Eventually we summitted this mountain after much ado, including taking off the packs a time or two, and performing rock climbing moves we’ve never needed on any other peaks. It was incredibly foggy on top, and after a brief meal and celebration, we began going down again.
At this point, we were ready to climb back up the ridge again, to an even higher elevation than the top of Old Rag, to find comfort and rest at the Skyland resort. Our hike up an old fire road was steady, but with lots of humidity and thick fog all the way up.
Trails like this one make me feel like I am marching in the Civil War.
An oasis in the clouds, right off the highest point of Skyline Drive.
After a very enjoyable time at Skyland, we set off the next day to hike more than 10 miles back to our truck, rounding out a journey of 30+ miles round trip. Along the way we stopped for a great sunrise on Stony Man Mtn.
Beautiful orange glow on the mountains
Shenandoah was unassuming at first. I had kind of low expectations for it. I did not think it would be as wild as the Smokies, and in some ways it wasn’t. I didn’t think I would find as many cool views as I do in North Carolina, and there were fewer indeed. Culturally, I thought it might be more northern, and it definitely was. However, I was shocked and amazed time and time again in this place. I found so much that I did not expect to find. Shenandoah is actually stunning, and full of history, culture, and difficult hiking.
Through great struggles and with heavy packs, we crossed some magnificent park, and I am now totally convinced of what a great park this is.