Turk Mountain

Great climb great views.

Hidden amongst the many apon many of mountains in southern Shenandoah, lies a small mountain that doesn't draw the large crowds of some of the more popular hikes like Riprap or Blackrock. This mountain is known as Turk Mt. And, this my small adventure on this wonderful mountain.

After a great morning of juggling on the streets of Chancellorsville for the Ride, Bike and Play Festival, I decided to that an afternoon hike in Shenandoah would cap out a great day. I was planning on doing the full 9 mile circuit Riprap hike. But, imediatly changed my plans once I saw the number of cars parked in the parking lot. So quickly thinking I decided to hike Turk Mt.

At the Turk Gap parking lot, I decided to take an old abandoned trail first, instead of the Turk Mt. trail. This proved to be a great decsion! While walking along the trail I kept hearing a certain noise wrestling amongst the dead leaves. Keeping cool, I decided to stop walking and start looking. And, at about 30 yards away, I saw big beautiful black bear. The bear was to far away for me to take a clear picture, but I did take a snapshot of a snake along the trail. The bear eventually heard me fumbling in the woods and then took off. So I headed back to my car and finally began my ascent up to Turk Mt.

While heading up Turk Mt. I saw two people were ahead of me. While catching up to them we heard what sounded like a bunch of rocks falling. I continued passed the people till I got to a switchback, and that's when I saw him. Another  big beautiful black bear staring directly at me. I froze stiff just looking at this bear who was looking directly at me. I called to the people behind me to hurry up so they don't miss the bear. The bear eventually got bored or scared and wondered off down a little rock scramble. Once again, I missed a great opportunity for a photo, but I was real happy for the guy behind me, for this was the first bear he had seen in the wild. Climbing up to the summit, there was plenty of pink Erwin Quartzite rocks to hop and lots of hidden views.

I decided to explore the summit for a little bit, and was the only person left on the mountain. After finding another hidden rock scramble I decided to head back down, alone. At least I thought I was alone, it was then I heard a little rumble in the bushes. And once again I saw another black bear, this one was little cub and took off as soon as I got near it. And once again I had no chance of grabbing a picture of this bear. Oh well, Turk Mt. is great little hike that offers some great views, plenty of solitude, and some great wildlife.


Bonus: I felt bad about talking about all these bears, yet not showing you any pictures of bears. So here's a picture of a bear from my first trip to Shenandoah. Enjoy!

Douthat State Park and Falling Spring Falls: 100th Hike, 100th Adventure

I have read countless articles, trail guides, reviews, and other sources about hiking. All say one thing: Douthat State Park is the premier state park in Virginia, and one of the top teir state parks in America. To me that's a pretty bold statement, considering some of the juggernauts of the State Park world I have hiked. Anyway, could Douthat be as great as I have heard? Well for my 100th hike I was determined to find out!

As I arrived to Douthat I heard something that was quite disturbing. The ranger who was running the front gate told me that most of the trails were closed, due to wind damage.  She said there were two trails opened that circle the lake. So I thought about it and decided that I drove over 80 miles to see this park, I might as well hike the two lake side trails.

So I hiked along the lake taking pictures of the scenery, until I found a trail that led into the Mountains, that wasn't closed. The trail wasn't part of my original plans, but I figured I would just hike until I'd get to a trail that was impassable. The trail eventually led to the top of Beards Mt. and there were plenty of open vistas. Eventually I got to the Overlook Trail, which judgeing from the tail name, has a pretty awesome view. But, there were too many trees down to make the trail passable.

So I headed back towards the lake and decided to finish the hiking around the lake. Hiking along the lake were plenty of views of Beards Mountain and dams. All in all, Douthat was worth the drive to it, even though most of the trails were closed. BUT, because this was my 100th hike, I wanted to experience something spectacular.


I have heard rumors that there was a waterfall close by that is comparable in power and beauty to Niagra Falls. A statement as bold as that came from one of founding fathers Thomas Jefferson. Inspired by Jefferson's words, I went on a search looking for this grand waterfall. I found that waterfall, it's name is Falling Spring Falls. Here's the stone cold, "Steve Austin" truth, Falling Spring Falls is the best waterfall I have ever seen...besides Niagra Falls ;) I was just blown away by the power, the beauty, and amazing sceanery of this unique waterfall. I found an unoffical trail that led to a little rock scramble which led to the base of the falls. At the base, there were plenty of swimming holes, and even a small cave to explore!

So If you ever find yourself near the Covington, VA be sure to give Douthat State Park and Falling Spring Falls a visit. And, if you're feeling really spontaneous...take a dip.

Treck on, and keep those human wheels rollin!   

Crabtree Falls to The Priest

Crabtree Falls and The Priest

Lower Falls

When I moved down to Lynchburg about a year ago, I was told tales of the mighty Crabtree Falls. Billed as the tallest waterfall East of the Mississippi, I thought this would make a great day hike. On that cold dry February day, I began my ascent up the side of the mountain, stopping to take in the falls piece by piece, much too large to see it all at once. After I got to the top, I decided to continue on and see what else lies on top of the mountain. Eventually I found myself at the top of The Priest with one of the most epic mountain views I ever saw. From that moment on I was hooked.

A year and half later I am now on my 99th hike, and with the company of Hunter, we decided to tackle that same route. Of course, the trail might be the same, but the experience was completely different.

The drive to Crabtree Falls on route 56 is one heck of a beautiful drive. That is if you have clear skies, on this day we had we had thick layers of gray clouds that completely covered the mountains. This meant that the views were going to pretty dismal at best. But, walking through the forest in the clouds is a wonderful experience.

All right, let's get on with the hike.

Crabtree Falls hike is pretty straight forward hike. The trail Zig-Zags up the side of the mountain, and there's plenty of spots to take pictures of the falls along the way. With the overcast day, the pictures of the waterfalls came out pretty nice. 

Middle Falls

Besides the waterfalls, there are many other things to check out along trail, such as caves, overlooks, and wildlife.

Now Crabtree Falls is a great hike, but Hunter and I weren't just out looking for some hike to do. No, we were in need of adventure, and the Priest was going to fill that need. So at the top of the falls we continued on the Crabtree Creek trail till we got to Crabtree meadows.  At Crabtree meadows, we climbed a steep Jeep trail till it intersected the AT. Lots and lots of people climbed Crabtree Falls, but it is here, when you feel the solitude of hiking. We took a little break at this intersection and the began the long ascent up to the summit of the Priest. 

Tombstone of The Priest?

It was about this time that we started hiking in the clouds. It was eerily beautiful hiking in the mist. Towards the top of the Priest is a large rock formation, how it got there boggles my mind. In the mist the rocks looked like giant tombstones. As expected, there was no view from the summit of the Priest, just a big gray white nothing in front of us. We ate lunch up there, Hunter of course ate his peanut butter. 

We returned back on the same route and passed a couple of Jeeps on the Jeep trail. All in all this was a great hike. There's a reason why this is my fifth time climbing the Preist, it just impresses me every time. Although we didn't get to see the Grand View at the top, I'm going to leave you with this view of Hunter I caught while climbing the Priest. Just look at it.

Seriously, Look at it!

Stats:
Date of hike: 7/21/2012

Length: 9.2 Miles
Difficult?: Yes
Worth Seeing?: Yes

Directions: Get on route 56 towards the Blue Ride Mountains. Look for the signs for Crabtree Falls parking lot off of 56. (Do a google search for Crabtree Falls, and you'll get much better directions ;)

Bottom line: This hike is amazing in any type of weather. Dry clear skies gives you the best views in the Blue Ridge, humid overcast days offer clear pictures of waterfalls and mystical forest walks.