Bailey Gap Shelter (AT) to Hanging Rock
Raptor Migration Observatory (18.1m)
My first day on the Allegheny Trail turned out to be a sign of things to come. Kind of like a one day version of the ten days that followed; hope giving way to disappointment and frustration with something unexpected and positive in the end.
The weather was pleasant and I was looking forward to a change of pace. The bridge over Stony Creek was out so there was a bit of a road walk in the morning. I had lunch at the Pine Swamp Branch Shelter and reached the Allegheny Trail around 2:00pm. Right away I found myself in a tangle of blowdowns and it was no small relief to come out onto a dirt track. After a few miles though, I grew bored with the track and found myself wishing for an honest to goodness off-road trail. Be careful what you wish for.
Soon enough the trail left the track and there was no discernible treadway at all. It was a long hard tangled mess. Even more disheartening was looking up at the homes and mowed fields along the top of the ridgeline while having to slug it out down below. I had hoped to camp in a ridgetop meadow by Neel’s Rocks but since there were no views from either I pressed on. Afer another mile I came to the side trail to the Hanging Rock Raptor Migration Observatory.
The title was such a mouthful I hadn’t given it any thought. It turned out to be a viewing tower with a commanding view of the whole area. What’s more, it was open and unmanned. What a bit of luck! I got to watch the sun set and rise over the long ridges of Virginia and West Virginia. Apparently it is used in the fall to get a count of raptors and other migrating hawks who use the updrafts from the mountains on their long journey south. It was to be by far the best view of the trip.
May 22, 2005
Hanging Rock to Allegheny Mt (10.8m)
The Allegheny is not yet one continuous trail. The southern 21 miles are separated from the rest of the trail by about 20 miles. I had arranged a ride with Outdoor Adventures in Neola but I was not specific enough about where to meet. My ride went to where the trail ended. I went another 2.8 miles to what the guidebook considered the end of the section in Laurel Branch. After about 2 1/2 hours we figured out what had happened, found each other and went to White Sulphur Springs for supplies and a bite to eat before resuming the hike at the Jerry’s Run Trailhead. In spite of the missed connection, it was nice to have that transportation item done with. Now I could focus on the trail.
May 23, 2005
Allegheny Mt to Meadow Creek Mt (21.2m)
The relief of being on the main part of the trail soon gave way to disappointment and discouragement at the faint blazing and vague treadway. Threatening weather did not help as it obscured what should have been a nice view from the mountaintop meadow of Smith Knob. On Meadow Creek Mt blowdowns were everywhere. Progress was slow in some places and I considered myself lucky to find a camping spot down off the ridgeline as the thunder rumbled in the distance.
May 24, 2005
Meadow Creek Mt to Watoga State Park (18.2m)
Since I had pretty low expectations for both the trail and the weather, today was actually fairly enjoyable even if a bit soggy. The trail did improve as it skirted the Lake Sherwood trail system. After descending to Route 92 it was up to Ridgetop Rd atop Middle Mt. It rained off and on all day making it difficult to find a good spot to eat lunch when it wasn’t raining. All day I thought about camping in Watoga State Park and eating in the restaraunt only to change my mind at the last minute and camp out on the trail.
May 25, 2005
Watoga State Park to Marlin Mt Shelter (18.0m)
No rain but chilly today. A steep descent from Pyle Mt with an equally steep ascent of Buckley Mt with a few intermittent views through the trees along the Buckley ridgetop. I actually met another human being for the first time since getting on the main section of the trail, a man walking his two dogs. Sure enough, it meant I was getting closer to town which in this case was Huntersville WV.
Being on the trail for a few days has a way of making towns and stores look bigger than they otherwise would. The convenience store at the edge of town seemed HUGE. I
flirted with the idea of staying at the B&B but since it was only 2:30 and not raining I pressed on to the Marlin Mt shelter.
May 26, 2005
Marlin Mt Shelter to Cass Inn (20.8m)
File under ‘things that make you go hmm’ when the view from the power line crossing is better than the view from a summit fire tower. Of course after missing a turn off of the jeep road the trail was in pretty rough shape and I was saying things other than hmm. Down Marlin Mt and up Thorny Creek Mt and into Seneca State Forest. Thorny Creek Mt was a pretty strenuous affair with lots of ups and downs. I ate lunch in one of the picnic shelters before heading to the fire tower. In its time, it must have had quite a view. Unfortunately the trees around it have completely overtaken the tower and there is no view whatsoever except for the trees.
The road walk over Thomas Mt was fairly pleasant and except for a cluster of blowdowns approaching Sitlington I made pretty good time. I took a wrong turn when I got to the rail trail and although very beautiful I saw more of the Greenbrier River than I should have before finally arriving in Cass.
Cass, WV is an interesting town. Most of the old railroad buildings have been taken over by the state and are part of the scenic railroad. I arrived on the eve of the first run of the year and all of the state park housing was full. My alternative was to stay at the Cass Inn which turned out to be much more entertaining. The owner is a very colorful emergency room nurse with a pet deer named Baby. It must be pointed out here that some names are only properly spoken by southerners and Baby is certainly one. Once I got checked in and cleaned up we had a nice ‘set’ on the porch before I excused myself to get my TV viewing needs met and retire.
May 27, 2005
Cass Inn to Sandy Ridge Saddle (14.8m)
Pulling out of town after a fun overnight is hard enough. (We had a nice morning chat over coffee on the front porch). Getting smacked around by the horribly misnamed Little Mt made it a very long day. Staying on the trail was especially challenging in several places where the blazes were faint or mysteriously changed color. Sidehills around summits were the most vulnerable to blowdowns. Late in the day the trail improved to a nice grassy road on the descent of Little Mt. I decided to experiment and camp on the moss at the high point of Sandy Ridge.
May 28, 2005
Sandy Ridge Saddle to John’s Camp Shelter (15.4m)
Sleeping on moss...not such a good idea especially after a rainy spell. If it didn’t hold water as much it wouldn’t be moss. The trail maintenance was noticeably better heading into Durbin. It was the town that turned out to be in tough shape. About half of the buildings in town are shuttered and many of them looked about ready to fall down. The only place that I could find serving breakfast was a store-front church holding a community breakfast/fund raiser.
Although most of the people serving the meal were older there was a drum set with
guitars and amps ready to go. Apparently this church likes to deliver the Gospel at a high volume. I did not wait to have my soul improved at the cost of my hearing and was in and out of town in about 45 minutes. Just in time to get rained on (was God trying to tell me something?!)
I took the alternate route to avoid the unbridged crossing of the North Fork of the
Greenbrier River. This meant a two mile road walk and then descending to rejoin the
trail. The rain stopped after about an hour or so and the trail improved markedly as I approached the edge of the Gaudineer Scenic Area on Shavers Mt. In retrospect I should have made the side trip to the tower but I was holding out hope for the 0.5 miles of ‘spectacular’ views promised by the guidebook further along the trail. As it was I cheered myself up by building a fire at John’s Camp Shelter.
May 29, 2005
John’s Camp Shelter to Birbun Run Campsite (22.3m)
Yet again Charlie Brown has the football yanked away before he can kick it, the Great Pumpkin fails to show and the 0.5 miles of spectacular open scenery turns out to be a dud. No 360’ view. Just a rather ordinary look across to another long non-descript mountain. To be fair, it did go on for a while and although it wasn’t completely open, it was more view than I had seen since Hanging Rock but it was still a disappointment.
On the positive side, I made good miles thanks in part to a long stretch of rail trail leading to the town of Glady. The trail condition and blazing improved greatly from the upper junction with the High Falls of Cheat Trail (prior to the rail trail) which is a lovely wooded camping spot. It improved even more north of Glady where the trail was being used as part of an adventure race over Memorial Day week-end. At first I ran into a group of half a dozen mini-vans at the trailhead with people looking well supplied but not going anywhere. Then I started running into groups of two and three spandex clad hikers with racing numbers on them. Eventually after passing enough teams I found out what was going on. And despite following a very demanding course and not having slept for two days, the competitors seemed to be in remarkably good shape and good spirits. I felt like a slacker hiking only 22 miles and camping at Birbun Run.
May 30, 2005
Birbun Run Campsite to Low Bridge Campsite (19.4m)
This was nothing more than a long river-walk. Make that a very long river-walk. Watching the weather deteriorate (again) and working my way around a trail wash-out were the only excitement and neither turned out to be a problem.
But then another thing happened. As I made camp that evening, I realized that in spite of all my frustration with the condition of the trail and the lack of views, now that the end is in sight I think I’m going to miss it. There’s something about exploring new places and meeting new people combined with solitude and wilderness that is good for the soul. It may not be perfect but it’s still worth doing.
May 31, 2005
Low Bridge Campsite to Blackwater Falls State Park (8.6m Est)
I’ve met so few people on this trail that except for the occasional late start there hasn’t been much opportunity for anything unexpected to happen...until today. It was beautiful and sunny. And I was settling in to my road walk along the Dry Fork River when a voice came out of a house inviting me in for a cup of coffee. I wasn’t in any hurry so I took him up on it. We chatted for a while and then he offered me a ride in the back of a dumptruck which was on its way to take him to work. At the very least I figured it would make a good story.
I really had no idea what to expect. When it finally showed up it turned out to be
immaculately clean. We went up and away from the river, up one small mountain road
after another until we were out in the open in high mountain fields with outstanding
views. It was more scenic than anything I had seen since Hanging Rock. They dropped
me off at a store about a mile or so south of the Blackwater Falls State Park trail system.
After lunch I reconnected with the Allegheny Trail which was a rather gravelly bike trail at that point and hiked down to the junction with the American Discovery Trail. From there I went to the Blackwater Falls Lodge for the night.
June 1, 2005
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (final comments) I didn’t bother with the northernmost 90 miles since it was all roadwalking of one sort or another. But if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t do it like this. Transportation from Blackwater Falls turned out to be a huge headache both for me and for the outfitter who agreed to give me a ride.
The nearest bus stop was an hour away in Morgantown. When we managed to find the
bus stop we learned that it had moved to a new location that day. That took half an hour to find since no one knew where it was and only a few people seemed to know about the old bus stop. I missed my bus and wound up taking a later one. A better choice would have been to hook up with the American Discovery Trail and get closer to public transit that way.
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