Trip at a Glance:
- Number of Deer Spotted: 6
- Number of Deer Who Thought They Were Actually Dogs: 1
- Number of Bears: 0 :(Number of Miles Hiked: 12
- Number of Pounds Carried on Back: I'm guessing 45 if the water bottles were full
- Number of Bug Bites: Only about 10. Not bad.
- Number of Stoned Hippies: At least 100.
- Most Interesting Encounter: The super fit father of 4 grown children who was biking the entire Skyline Drive on Saturday--all 112 miles--and then going back the other way on Sunday.
- Biggest Oversell: The coffee at Aunt Sarah's in Richmond, VA
- 2nd Biggest Oversell: The Park Rangers super-favorite-secret campsite on Patterson Ridge Trail
- Best Freeze Dried Dinner: Santa Fe Chicken from Backpacker's Pantry
- Most Overpacked Item: Clothing
- Easiest Trail: The Appalachian Trail - at least where we were. It was pretty even didn't require too much climbing.
- Biggest Climb: Jones Run Trail - about 1000 feet in our estimation.
The Shenandoah National Park offers an range of options for the hiker. Skyline Drive runs along the top, with side trails going down into the valleys or up along mountain ridges. You can head down any of these side trails for some backcountry camping, or set up at a larger campground and do day hikes. Even if you are doing the backcountry option, as we were, you can emerge from a trail onto Skyline Drive and get a cold soda and a burger at the Wayside Cafe, or get a cold shower and do your laundry at the Loft Mountain Store.
We started our trip heading down the Doyles River Trail. At the trailhead, we encountered the baby deer/dog (see above), who kept cantering out from behind an RV in the parking lot to check us out. He'd pause, and then dart off in a circle to his hiding place behind the camper. After watching the deers antics and loading up our packs, we headed down the trail for about 2.5 miles and camped at the confluence of Doyles River and Jones River. Both of these were more like streams than rivers. There were a few small waterfalls on the way down, but having gotten a late start we pushed ahead to find a campsite. Field mice scampered about the site at nightfall looking for a bite, and we heard a couple of owls calling, but fortunately our food stash seemed undisturbed in the morning.
Jones River Trail seemed like a popular day hike--we saw several passers by as we cooked up oatmeal and coffee in the late morning. We set off up the trail, which climbed steadily back up tot the top of the ridge. After three or four hours of uphill hiking, we hit the AT for a couple of easy miles and returned to the Doyles River trailhead.
Overall the valley experience was nice, but we decided we'd try to stay up on the ridge for the second day. After a cold soda and some fried food at the Wayside Cafe (where we met the crazy cyclist), we drove up to the Loft Mountain Campground to inquire about a prime backcountry hike with a view. The Ranger suggested Patterson Ridge trail, where his secret campsite offered a huge pine tree with a soft bed of needles, a partial view of the canyon, and wildflowers and bunnies. It was also a short 20 minute hike away from main road. Well, this was a bit of an oversell. We found the campsite about 100 yards off the trail, and it was nice, but not quite what A. was expecting. So we decided to hike back to the car, watch the sunset at one of the overlooks, and spend the night in Charlottesville so A. could get an early start back home in the morning (work duty called).
I was a tad bit disappointed not to do a second night of camping, but Charlottesville, VA turned out to be a nice surprise. The historic Main St. of the town is closed to cars and full of cafes with outdoor seating and, on this particular occasion, hippies leaving some kind of Grateful Dead spin off concert. It was nice to get a fresh meal and a nice shower. But I haven't had my fill. A. and I both thought that next time we'd look for a prime site on one of the ridges, where we could leave our heavy packs and do some day trips up the mountains or into the valleys. But I'd also like to do a big chunk of the Appalachian Trail sometime... maybe in North Carolina.
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