Hiking - Wednesdays
Every Wednesday at 9:00am-3:00pmNext Meeting: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 9:00am
Details:
Return is usually by 4 p.m. Senior Center volunteers plan and lead the hikes.
Welcome Wednesday hikers!
We meet at the Center parking lot, leaving promptly at 9AM: in the summer (June-September), 8AM. Return times vary: 2-6PM depending on distance from Charlottesville & hike length. Notify the hike leader when you plan to meet the group at the trailhead or a convenient waypoint. Arrange any shortened version of these hikes in advance with the hike leader.
Elevation changes range from 1200’-3000’ with an average of 1500’-2500’; distances, about 8 miles with some at 10.
Bring lunch, snacks, ample water, change of shoes with a bag for muddy boots & $5 for the carpool driver.
Wear & bring appropriate clothing: hiking boots or shoes, rain-gear, & spare socks. Traction devices like Stabilicer ice cleats are mandatory for wintery conditions. Consider trekking poles for stream crossings & steep descents.
Rambling about the Blue Ridge can be a vigorous & taxing enterprise even for the experienced. We gladly welcome new hikers & encourage a spirit of camaraderie with a touch of laughter & much joy.
Dogs are not allowed.
Contact Irene Burke .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or telephone (434) 964-6418 for inclusion on the email list for final updates or changes; before a hike, check your email the previous night & early morning.
Hike leaders
Irene Burke .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Anne Colgate .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Maynard Davis .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Pete Fink .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY HIKES
2016 SCHEDULED HIKES
September 7—AT North from Jarman Gap to Turk Branch, Moorman’s River fire road, 7.3-mile loop 2000’, ramble through lush hardwoods ending with a gentle ascent beside the tumbling Moorman’s River, take on Turk Mountain peak with a 180° view of the Shenandoah Valley for an additional 1.8-mile O&B trek, park-Skyline Drive MP96.8, Leader-Lance Lauer Lauerhass
September 14—Big Run, 6-mile loop, 1400’, stunning views at the beginning & end of this impressive circle of the Big Run Basin watershed, park-Skyline Drive, Big Run Overlook just south MP81, Leader-Maynard Davis
September 21—Whetstone Ridge, 7-mile O&B, 1170’, explore the north end of one of the longest, solitary trails in the Glenwood/Pedlar Ranger Districts with views of the Three Ridges/Priest Wildernesses, & Adams Peak, park-Ranger Station, Blue Ridge Parkway MP29, Leader-Irene Burke
September 28—Furnace Mt. to Trayfoot Mt. intersection 7-mile O&B, 2200’ elevation, ascend through dense mountain laurel over an easy sandy tread a now mountain-high beach, top Furnace Mt. for an extra O&B mile, park-Grottoes fire road, PATC Map 11, Leader-Pete Fink
October 5—AT north to South River Road, descend to falls then ascend South River Falls to AT & South River picnic grounds, 7.5-mile shuttle, 2300’ elevation, blazing fall forest arches over 83’ falls, 3rd largest in SNP, begin-Swift Run Gap, AT north, end-South River picnic grounds AT north, Leader-Anne Colgate
October 12—Braley Pond, Bald Ridge trail, 7-mile O&B, 1800’ elevation, ascend Shenandoah Mt. to the edge of Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness Area dense with wildlife: great-horned owls, pileated woodpeckers, eastern box turtles, newts, efts, crimson & indigo berried shrubs, park-Braley Pond recreation area, 1.1 miles left from right turn off Rte.715 off Rte.250W, Leader-Lance Lauerhass
October 19—Reeds Gap, AT south, ascend Meadow Mt., Bee Mt, then the northern knoll of Three Ridges (best view-3970’) at Hanging Rock, 7.5-mile O&B, 2150’ elevation, rocky & rough but rewarding east/west scenes of blue-green ridge after ridge after ridge, park-Reeds Gap, Rte.664, Blue Ridge Parkway MP13.5, Leader-Maynard Davis
October 26—Montebello Fish Hatchery, Fish Hatchery Road to AT north, Spy Rock scramble, then 1.9 miles to another one of those lunch-time views of endless folds of blue-green ridges, 7-mile O&B, 1250’, from Spy Rock a 360º spectacle of the Religious Range: The Priest, The Little Priest, The Friar, The Little Friar, & The Cardinal, park-end of Fish Hatchery gravel road, Leader-Irene Burke
November 2—Cedar Run, Big Meadows Horse, White Oak Canyon, 8-mile loop, 2800’, best approach to this imposing hike with mega bragging rights, lots of rest stops for pics with oohs & ahs, park-White Oak Canyon entrance, Rte.600, Leader-Pete Fink
November 9—Fortune’s Cove, Lovingston, Nelson County, 5.3 mile loop, 1420’ elevation, a short steep ascent with a gentle descent, followed by BYOL to Anne Colgate’s historic homestead for lunch & dessert, Leader-Anne Colgate
November 16—Nicholson Hollow to Hot/Short, Hazel Mt., Catlett, Hannah, Nicholson Hollow, 8-mile loop, 2100’, park-Nethers Rd. same as for Old Rag ridge scramble, Leader-Lance Lauerhass
November 23—Humpback Rocks Gap, AT north to Paul Wolfe shelter, 5.4-mile O&B, 425’ elevation, get in shape for that Thanksgiving Day fiesta with a short, challenging trek on the AT, serene hardwood forests, an easy descent to the shelter’s stream crossing & heaps of burned calories, park-Humpback Rocks Gap, Blue Ridge Parkway MP 6, Leader-Irene Burke
November 30—AT south from Bootens Gap, Skyline Drive MP55 to Pocosin parking, MP 59.5, unmarked, east side of Drive, including Bear Fence scramble, 5-mile shuttle, 1330’ elevation, view Cat Knob & Fork Mt. from atop Bear Fence Rock; according to dictionary.com pocosin is likely a southern Eastern Algonquian term for an upland wetland with no inlet, Leader-Maynard Davis
December 7—Broad Hollow, Sam’s Ridge, Hazel Mt., Pine Hill Gap, 7-mile loop, 1800’, tucked among Old Rag, Catlett, and Hazel Mountains pass by tumbling cascades, 19th century cabin ruins, healthy hemlock & tangled masses of mountain laurel, park-trailhead, Rte.681 Rolling Rd., Leader-Pete Fink
December 14—Buck Hollow, Hazel Mt., Buck Ridge, 6.3-mile loop, 1800’, ascend .3-miles of rock & timber stairs through a narrowing hollow for a short 400’ beside 19th century cabin foundations, homestead walls, a plummeting Thornton River tributary with a hidden view of Oven Top Mt. on the Buck Ridge descent, park-Meadow Springs, US211 between Sperryville & Thornton Gap, Leader-Anne Colgate
December 21—Graves Mill, Staunton River, McDaniel Hollow, Jones Mt. to Bear Church Rock, 8.6-mile O&B, 2200’, Rapidan & Staunton Rivers, falls and pools, arching mountain laurel tunnels, thick club moss groundcovers & 19th century walled homesteads line both sides of this walk in the woods, park-Graves Mill trailhead, Rte.662, Leader-Lance Lauerhass
December 28—Annual New Year’s Hike, Berry Hollow fire road, Old Rage Saddle, Old Rag summit, 5.6-mile O&B, 2415’ little-known ascent of Old Rag avoids the crowds & dicey rock scramble for the incomparable 360º view, park-Berry Hollow cul-de sac, Leader-Irene Burke
Date TBD—Three Ridges Overlook, Bushwhack through Wintergreen trail onto Old AT, to Dripping Rock, to Overlook on New AT south, 9-mile loop, 1000’ elevation, PATC Map12 park-Three Ridges Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway MP13.3, Leader-Pete Fink
Members only.
Location:
Varies; check schedule