I didn't want to be gone all day, as we had plans with friends that night. So I picked two short hikes in the very southern part of Shenandoah National Park. I could add these to my SNP 500 challenge miles. Actually, one of them was 1.2 miles long and I had done a mile of it, but I had to do it all over again to get the miles to count for the challenge.
The first was the Bear Den Mountain Fire Road. This climbs an old road to the top of Bear Den Mountain, then drops steeply about 1,000 feet to the park border over the next 2.2 miles. Then you turn around and hike back up. I enjoyed the hike, although it was a bit steeper than I thought it would be. Here is the start of the hike, a rugged road that does not get much use.
I left the blackberries for birds and bears (I saw no bears, once again).
There are communication towers at the summit of Bear Den Mountain.....
.... along with a nice partial view.
I got a photo of this cottontail through the fog, and ran into a very young rabbit a couple of moments later.
Here is where the Bear Den Mountain Fire Road crosses the Appalachian Trail at Beagle's Gap.
I continued down the fire road as it dropped steeply through the forest. I could hear water running the whole way down. We've had a very wet summer in Virginia, and I have never seen so much water in August in SNP.
The roar of water got louder and louder, and more ominous.
I spied a beautiful doe, who bounded away around the curve in the road. When I turned the corner, I saw that the road was totally flooded out by deep and fast moving water. I only had about 0.2 miles to go but I didn't want to get my boots soaked, so I turned around. I'll have to find a way to do that last little bit sometime. The map looks like there might be a back way in.
After gaining about 700 - 800 feet, I turned right on the AT to go back over Bear Den Mountain.
The fog had lifted enough to get a view from the top down the power line to the Shenandoah Valley.
On the hike back down to the car, the sun was out, and the butterflies were active. I was happy to see lots of milkweed, and a monarch. I wonder if it will make it to Mexico.
Back at the car, I drove north a few miles on the Skyline Drive to Jarmin Gap. Goal - hike the AT south for a mile or so to reach the Calf Mountain Shelter trail. I'd already done most of this, but had turned around two tenths of a mile from the trail to the shelter (before I started the SNP 500 challenge).
I crossed the power line and returned to the woods.
Where the sun hit this bracket fungi, looked like fire in the forest from a distance.
Large sections of the AT had water running down the trail, which I have never seen here in August.
Goal achieved! I've already hiked into the shelter, so no need to repeat that section. So I turned around, sat on a big rock to eat lunch and made it back to the car.
Total miles hiked: 6.7, of which only 2.5 added to the SNP 500 Challenge. On the way home, I stopped at Rockfish Gap Outfitters in Waynesboro. When I retired, my coworkers gave me a nice money gift, so I used some of that to buy a high quality hatchet that I've been wanting for some time. It will be great when car camping. I gassed up the car, ate an ice cream bar, and headed for home. It has been great to get back on the trail!
