23 March 2022
Harrisonburg / Shenandoah Valley Campground, Virginia
Marc- A second day of blue skies and warm weather and a return to the park. We entered via the Swift Run Gap and proceeded to Bearfence Mountain (3560 feet) to hike a bit. It helps a lot to start the hike on a road that follows the ridge of the mountains roughly in parallel with the Appalachian Mountain Trail. Within a 1/4 mile of the parking lot we took part of the Appalachian Mountain Trail to the top of Bearfence Mountain (only a two mile hike) involving some vertical and rocky parts. The view from the top was great. Off in the distance I spotted the top of a ski area on another mountain to the west of us with some snow on two trails.
Our second stop was to visit the Byrd Visitors Center at Big Meadows. A museum here documents the development and the people who created this Park. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the campground (doesn't open for campers until April 1) and headed out for our second hike to a nearby waterfall (about two miles - elevation 3070 feet). The highest elevation in the Park, near here, is Hawksbill Mountain at 4050 feet. We took a horse trail / fire road to the base of the Falls. Very pretty area. There were even two fly fisherman trying their luck at a pool about halfway up the series of cascades that form the Falls.
The last bit of excitement was passing through Mary's Rock tunnel before exiting the Park at Thornton Gap. The road builders dug and blasted their way for several months to get through solid granite.
.jpg)
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment