Name: Hard Corey                                                                                         Hike: AT-Old Horse-Shoe Trail Loop
Date: 05-06-2012                                                                                                    Rating: 4
 

ritique: This is a very enjoyable hike. My friend 'Rock God' and I used this route to reach Devils Race Course. Look for the orange blazes approx. 1 mile from where you turn right onto the 'old' Horse Shoe Trail and start to climb out of the valley. We modified the hike slightly by taking a right on the Henry Knauber Trail (red blaze) near the top of Sharp Mtn. This will take you across a swamp and bring you back to the ridge on Stony Mtn. At the 30+ rock cairn you can follow a blue blazed trail approx. 1 mile or so up to the Stony Mtn. Lookout Tower. This variation will avoid the 'out & back' to the Lookout Tower. Total mileage was 10.25 miles for the whole loop.

Name: Adam                                                                                                   Hike: Quehanna Trail-West Cross Connector
Date: 5/19-5/20/2012                                                                                           Rating: 4

Critique: Just did this hike this weekend. Weather was perfect. Very nice two day trip. Lots of water available. This is an easy hike. The Cross Connector spends lots of time on flat open roads and old logging/gas trails. One very significant descent and one reasonable climb. We did 16 miles on day one and stayed at the Saunders Run campsite. Well worth it! Great campsite, great way to spend an evening outdoors.

Name: Adam                                                                                                   Hike: Black Forest Trail - South
Date: 5/11-5/12/2012                                                                                           Rating: 5

Critique: This was a great, albeit challenging hike. Wasn't expecting it to be as tough as it was, but the vistas and top notch campsites make it all worth while. We got caught in a bad thunderstorm on day 1, got the tent up and the fireworks started, confined to the tent for 12 hours. At least we had shelter. The day 2 climb really gets your heart racing, nothing like starting your day with an almost vertical 1,000 foot climb.

Met Bob Weber, spirit of the forest. This trail is incredibly well maintained, unreal. It was not lost on us, and we appreciate it!

We will definitely be back to do the Northern Loop.

Name: Jack B                                                                                                  Hike: Tea Creek/Tea Creek Mt Loop
Date: 05/19/12                                                                                                        Rating: 4

Critique: Very enjoyable hike. Hiked counter clockwise per directions. Found all the trail heads to be well marked (and mapped). The trail was wet throughout and it's amazing that mountain bikers push through (or sink in). The creeks were beautiful, the forest deep and dark. I don't know if the referenced beaver has moved out, but the "beaver pond" looked low with water only in the channels. Trail is obvious throughout, though quite overgrown in spots. Know your stinging nettle and consider wearing long pants. The trail and creeks make up for any little inconvenience like that, though! Would recommend this area and I want to better explore the whole area.

Name: Jack B                                                                                                  Hike: Frosty Gap - Pocahontas Loop
Date: 05/18/12                                                                                                        Rating: 2.5

Critique: A nice enough intro hike for me and Cranberry, but it really didn't rate terribly high. Five or so miles of this loop are actually on a forest road. The rest (minus the western end of Pocahontas) were just so-so in terms of beauty. All trails are well signed at junctions, though the trails were often overgrown. Would skip over this one and hit one with a proper mountain stream.

Name: Peter Fleszar                                                                                      Hike: Fayetteville-Kaymoor Loop
Date: 5-18-2012                                                                                                       Rating: 4

Critique: I followed the directions from the site pretty well - however I skipped the Long Point view and went directly to Kaymoor Top then to Kaymoor Bottom and back up to the mine. Most signs are back up now except for the last two turns onto and off of the connector trail from the Fayetteville Trail to the park loop. Also the NRGNR web site has a trail guide with a more up to date map now and if you stop by the visitor center you can get it printed with Uncle's ink instead of yours. The guide says there are 821 steps from Kaymoor Mine to Kaymoor Bottom, I counted 837 including intermediate steps on landings. My mind's eye pictured the steps from the description as the ones the miners years ago would have used, like the Thousand Steps on PA's Standing Stone Trail, but these steps are a Park Service construction over top of the old "haulage" or steeply inclined cable railway. On the bottom it was a nice change vs. other sites to still see a lot of metal items, a negative was
the trails below the steps are dim traces around (justifiably) fenced off areas with just enough poison-ivy to make things interesting. Leaf-off time would be better to explore the bottom. There had been some rain recently so I enjoyed the various cascades beside the old roadbeds on the return trip.

Name: Cindy                                                                                                   Hike: Hawksbill Summit/Rose River Falls Loop
Date: May 17, 2012                                                                                                 Rating: 5
 

Critique: This hike gives you a little bit of everything with waterfalls on one side of the drive and vista views on the other.

We hiked the course in a different order, because we wanted to end up at the falls at lunchtime. We parked at the Upper Hawksbill parking lot and began hiking on the horse trail. The horse trail was rockier than I'd expected. The falls were spectacular thanks to recent rains. We hiked to the lower falls, which was worth it. No bushwhacking was required, as another viewer stated, but the wet ground was a bit slippery.

The AT portion of the hike offered beautiful views of the valley, including the grand finale at the Hawksbill Summit. We saw lots of wildlife on this hike, including a mountain lion about 40 yards ahead of us on the AT. Fortunately, he moved on so we could continue our hike.

Name: Steve Appler                                                                                      Hike: Halfmoon Lookout
Date: May 4 - 6, 2012                                                                                              Rating: 4

Critique: Halfmoon Lookout Backpack.

The directions on here to the trailhead are great. We - Lisa, Greg, Austin and myself, parked and headed up the trail at about 4:30pm on Friday, May 4. We wanted to set up camp before dark, so we went in the opposite direction from that described here since it is about a 1/2 mile shorter that way. It took us almost 3 hours to get there, but the trail was open, well marked and a long gradual climb that wasn't too difficult for our first backpack of the season. We found the very nice, grassy open campsite below the lookout, but still climbed up with packs on just in case there was a better site up higher. There was a very small site up there, but we went back to the large grassy site just below and set up. It was a wonderful site with it's own overlook, though the short climb to the lookout was well worth the effort and we climbed up a bunch of times.

The only negative is that there is no water anywhere close. You have to pack in enough for the first night. Saturday morning Austin and I headed off to re-supply. From the point where the white-blazed Halfmoon Lookout Spur Trail meets the yellow-blazed Halfmoon Lookout Trail we walked 1.7 miles staying on the white-blazed trail until we crossed two wooden bridges and found an active stream where we loaded up with enough water to last into the next morning.

We spent the day lounging at the campsite. Very lazy. The whole loop is fairly short, so we saw no point in moving on when we clearly had the most spectacular site to ourselves. Beware of snakes in the rocky overlook area. While everyone else lounged around napping on Saturday I headed up with my book and upon spotting the perfect reading rock I headed down only to find a nice rattlesnake basking in the sun. After making like Roadrunner and bashing my knee in the process I retreated to the campsite and napped. That area must be home to a whole bunch of whippoorwills because Friday night one started singing and kept appearing in various places around the camp. It was as curious about us as we were about it. Its eyes glowed in the light of our headlamps and it allowed us to approach as it sat on a rock about 2' off the ground. We got to within about ten feet to study it until it finally flew off. It hung around all night and others nearby answered its call frequently. It was a
novelty at first and then we begged it to please go to sleep. It was very noisy and was still quite noisy Saturday night. There's cell service (AT&T, but no Verizon) up there, so (forgive us) we Googled and found that whippoorwills are active at night and eat insects. They also nest in the ground, so they are susceptible to predators and are not often seen.

We also happened to be at the site on the night of the "Super Moon" which was vivid when not shrouded in haze. We had rain Friday night, off an on on Saturday and some Saturday night. Regardless, it was a great relaxing trip. Very unlike our usual camp, move camp, camp, move camp marches.

On Saturday Lisa, Austin and I left Greg napping and headed down the German Wilson Trail to see what awaited us on the hike out the next morning. It's VERY steep. We hiked down a good way, saw no reason to keep going, turned around and climbed back to camp, headed back up on the overlook, said "hi" to the rattlesnake who was also napping (and Austin had to sneak down and get a picture of it) and that was that for exercise for the day. We had a fine dinner (packitgourmet pizza), slept great and then headed out early and wet the next morning returning the same way we went in so we didn't have to slide down the German Wilson Trail.

We didn't see anybody else up there the entire trip. We saw a tent on our departure hike next to the stream at the intersection of the Halfmoon Trail and the Bucktail Connector Trail, but no humans. The hike is like normal mountain woods. Not particularly exciting and no overlooks until you get to the top. But once you get to the top the view is glorious. The rain went away in time for us to get some beautiful sunset photos. It would be a great day hike and, as we found, a very relaxing backpack.

Name: Russ                                                                                                     Hike: FMF-East Ridge Loop
Date: 5/11/2012                                                                                                     Rating: 3

Critique: It was a beautiful day today for a nice walk in the woods and this loop fit the bill. The birds were tweeting and the butterflies were flying.

The ponds were very nice to relax by although the second one is running very low on water. It actually looks like the damn may not be holding the water back. The view over looking the valley was wonderful on this clear day. We were able to see eastward across the entire valley.

These trails are also used by horses and mountain bikes but were in extremely nice condition.

thanks,

rsjrny
PATC Trail Patrol Volunteer

Name: Jimi                                                                                                      Hike: Mt. Marshall Trail / AT loop
Date: 5/3/2012-5/4/2012                                                                                    Rating: 4.5

Critique: Great hike that in my opinion is not strenuous but only moderate - though this was my first hike in Shenandoah and I realize difficulty ratings are fairly relative. The trails in this loop, overall, are ~80% "flat", meaning they hug one elevation line and any ascents that are significantly steep are short and far between. The one exception is the ascent from skyline drive to South Marshall, which is really not even the steepest climb on this hike, merely the longest.

There are a lot of parking lots along this loop and therefore many different ways to break it up. The key decision to make is where you want to camp. We camped on the Bluff Trail right at the junction with the Big Devil Stairs Trail, where there is a lot of open space to camp and the stream is nearby.

However, there are really pretty backcountry campsites at the overlook on the western slope of North Marshall, about half a mile "south" on the AT form the summit. This outlook is not actually on the trail but is reached this way: when the AT reaches elevation ~3200 on the western slope of North Marshall (approx. where the 2 photo-op yellow spots are on the map on this page), the AT turns sharply to the left and climbs up some a steep hill, but if you instead continue straight, going off the AT, there is a large boulder face ~100 ft. ahead. Turning left at this boulder, there is a short scramble up to the top of it, where you can walk onto the top of the boulder and look out to the west. The boulder is a nice area for potential camping with very pretty views.

The only problem with this campsite is there is no water. However, if you filled up at Bluff Trail/Big Devil Stair junction and brought enough water with you to camp with, the views might be worth it.

Overall my main recommendation is going into the Dickey's Ridge Visitor Center (if approaching form the north) and talking to them about the best place to park and camp.

Name: Chitra Sundaram                                                                                            Hike: North circuit Tr 522-524 and back
Date: April 8, 2012                                                                                                               Rating: 5!

Critique: Hi All: I just wanted to drop a quick note on Dolly Sods for all of you. We did go to DS Wilderness area. Since it was early april, we had to park part way thru Fireroad 75 and walk the gravel road to the parking area. no problem with that. Then we did trail 522 to 524, and then after a viewpoint on 524 we retraced our steps. In total 13miles including the 3 miles up to the parking area. couple points for all future walkers:

a. Utterly magical. We had bright blue skies, two snow flurries two rain with some hail and it was all magnificent :) especially walking thru the meadows on trail 522.

b. the signposting was great!! contrary to some of the previous reviews on this and other boards/trail discussions. It was quiet and we only met one other couple all the way, but it was not difficult to find our way at all. reminded me of a mix of Scotland and Wales and Maine and everything else in between.

So completely recommend walking there :) we were 2 adults and 2 hardy kids (9 and 12) and I had been a little worried of getting lost, but staying on the clearly defined trail - clearly defined by so many previous hikers - we were totally fine and really enjoyed it.]

Name: Andrea L                                                                                              Hike: White Oak Canyon-Cedar Run
Date: 4/29/2012                                                                                                     Rating: 5

Critique: This was a very fun and scenic hike. It took my husband and I about 5 1/2 hours to complete this hike. We took breaks about every hour. The views along this trail are a must see, especially the waterfalls. I was amazed at how clean and clear the water was along this hike.

This strenuous hike has a very steep uphill climb on White Oak Canyon and a very steep downhill hike on cedar run. My husband and I hiked this together and enjoyed walking the yellow blazed horse trail/fire road, but only because it gave us a break from the steep elevations of the uphill white oak canyon. This trail was wet in a few spots so you had to use some caution so as not to slip in the mud or on the rocks.

The trail paths are marked by concrete posts. With the blue trails you will find along the path that every so many trees there will be a splash of blue paint and for the yellow trails, yellow paint. We found the paint markings on the trees more useful than the concrete posts.

The trail notes offered on this website are very helpful. I had them printed out and in my pocket while doing this hike. However, when the notes indicated you cross Cedar Run twice I assumed there would be a bridge. No bridge. You had to carefully walk or crawl over rocks and logs. A bit intimidating for me since I have not done many hikes but it did add to the fun and excitement of the hike.

Name: Pascale & Loic                                                                                    Hike: Chimney Rocks (Michaux State Forest) Loop
Date: 01/14/2012                                                                                                   Rating: 4

Critique: Great hike very well marked. We did the 8 miles loop and enjoyed it even if it was a gray winter day.
This hike brought us to all kind of landscapes: first a rocky summit with a vista that really worth going up, then a quiet walk in various kind of forest and a cool way down using the woods road.

For those like me that do not know how a pipeline crossing looks like, it's simply a large way/path (about 50 yard wide) without any tree.
We barely had any snow and that was unfortunate because this would have been a perfect day-snowshoeing hike. Thanks a lot for giving us this idea :-)

Name: Loic & Pascale                                                                                    Hike: Bear Meadows-Indian Wells Loop
Date: 01/15/2012                                                                                                   Rating: 5

Critique: Great Hike. We did it in the middle of a cool winter. Just enough snow to be a winter hike without having to use our snowshoes and - considering the rocks on the ridge - that was better without those anyway.

We did it the other way: From the parking to Keiths Spring, then we climbed and followed a very scenic ridge (Indian Wells vista is breathtaking and was also perfect for lunch).
Considering the snow, the road conditions and the very early sundown, we shortened the hike, and came back using Kettle trail (very steep and with the snow it was better to go downhill).
Leaving at 10.30, we reached the top of the ridge around noon and were back to the car at 4.30 pm.
That way, it was a perfect moderate hike for a perfect sunny (but short) winter day. Thanks for your indispensable website.

Name: Christi                                                                                                  Hike: BGT-A
Date: 4/28/12                                                                                                          Rating: 5

Critique: We loved it. I couldn't have done this 30 pound ago, and before I started running though. Its pretty difficult, and we turned around when we got to the very difficult rocks, didn't make it to the traverse, but my 5 year old said it was "awesome" and wants to go back soon!

Name: Sara Bird                                                                                             Hike: Otter Creek - SE Loop
Date: April 22, 2012                                                                                                 Rating: 3.5

Critique: I hiked part of this loop on Sunday, April 22, 2012. I've hiked the entire loop many times and it is magnificent. At any rate, I write to post an update on trail conditions. Specifically, at the very start of the hike, a newly constructed beaver dam in the otter creek headwaters has caused quite the flood. In Mike's trail description there is no mention of a bridge, but at some point a bridge/boardwalk was built. However, it is now rendered virtually useless. The effect of the beaver dam is that the once adequate boardwalk crossing the headwaters on Hendrick Camp Trail is nearly submerged and the crossing now requires some wading. I imagine as the dam continues to back fill that bog area, hikers will need to wade what will be a rather deep, but still crossing. I for one am pleased to see such active beaver presence in the area. Also, I like it when beavers strike back against man. I recommend gingerly scoping out the beaver dam and beaver lodge on the nort
the east side of the crossing. Quite the development.

Name: Dave                                                                                                     Hike: Old Rag
Date: 4/7/2012                                                                                                        Rating: 5

Critique: This was my second time hiking Old Rag. My first was in 2009. This trail is fun, but it is difficult and not for everyone. When we were walking past the trailhead after finishing the hike, we saw so many people who were completely unprepared for the hike it made us wonder how the ranger at the parking area could ethically allow them to start the trail. Senior citizens wearing crocs, dads with two year old kids on their shoulders, a little girl in glittery shoes with a stuffed rabbit, etc. You can read the full description of our hike on my website.

Name: Dennis                                                                                                 Hike: LT + Link Loop (starting @ eastern terminus of LT)
Date: 4-6-12 to 4-8-12                                                                                          Rating: 4.5

Critique: Two of us hiked this loop on Easter weekend, but started from the eastern terminus of the LT, on Mead Road just off US 220 near Ringdale instead of inside Worlds End Park. We started about 12:30pm on Friday.

(This is the link to the DCNR pamphlet and similar topo map that we used in conjuntion with the map on here: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/ucmprd2/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_002940.pdf )

We started at the eastern terminus of the LT, where there is a parking lot right off of 220. Before we started hiking we stopped into the Resource Management Center, just a short ways south on 220, past the Mead Road Comfort station (if coming from the north, see link/map above) to check in with park officials and register our vehicle. The woman said that there are no fires allowed anywhere because it had been so dry for so long...

Once parked, we geared up and set out (the LT hooks right up to the parking lot). Just as you get started, you run into the first big attraction on the trail: Dutchman's Falls. An awesome, good sized, waterfall. Nice way to start the trip. From there we followed the LT along the river, but be cautious as it also pulls away from the river in some sections and climbs shortly. Haystacks were cool, stop for lunch, then pressed on. When we got to the bridge, we took a right, over the bridge, and climbed up our first (and probably hardest) vertical section. Once at the top, we took in Sone's Pond, and crossed Annes' Bridge. A lot of the upper portion of this hike seemed to indicate wet hiking, but the recent drought had most everything pretty dry. We hiked until we got to the camping spot after Ken's window and before High Rock Vista, near a nice stream we used for water.

Day two we hiked until High rock Vista, snapped some shots, then went down into World's End (carefull here, big downhill over rocks) Through the Park and and parking lot and back up the other ridge on the south side of the Park. Then up to (big, short climb) World's End Vista, and back down to Double Run. Along the Double Run portion of the trail there are great spots to hang out, and also some cool, smaller falls. From there we joined up with the X-Link trail, with some more nice water features. Up another (and last big uphill) all the way to Canyon Vista. From there it was onto the Deer exclosure, around that, and then the long descent down to the Loyalsock Creek again. After crossing rt154, we walked along the creek until we found a nice big camping spot, about .5mi before the Bridge again. There are many nice camping spots in this section.

Day three, we got up and hiked out the last 5 or so miles and then took our time at Dutchman's Falls again. Afterwards, we drove a short distance to the overlook @High Knob Vista and visited Dry Run Falls, near there as well.

All in all about 25 miles of backpacking, some great views, waterfalls, and nature. Saw some turkey and a porcupine...not bad for the first backpack of the season. Looking forward to coming back in the fall, when the leaves start to turn!

Thanks again to all the hard work and effort to put these hikes, maps, pics, and info online, available to us. Really Appreciate it!!!

Name: Dan                                                                                                      Hike: Loyalsock-Link Loop w/Haystacks
Date: 4/21-4/22                                                                                                      Rating: 4

Critique: I hiked this a little out of order. I started at Mead Rd (Eastern Terminus of the LT) and hiked the LT to World's End. From there I took the Red-X 6 Link trail back. There are a some challenging ascents and descents, but it's balanced out by a few long flat sections and a tiny bit of road walking. There are a couple decent vistas (Ken's Window, High Rock, and Loyalsock Canyon). There is also lots of scenic stream-side hiking.

The trail was maintained pretty well, and EXTREMELY well marked. You just have to be careful because, at a glance, the LT discs can be confused with the yellow side trail discs. There were some spots that were muddy and wet (strange considering how dry the spring has been), and paths were worn around many of them, where hikers took a drier route. Makes me think that they never actually dry up. There were quite a few nice looking campsites along the way. Good hike!

Name: Ed. S                                                                                                     Hike: Tough Creek SP
Date: April 8, 2012                                                                                                   Rating: 5

Critique: An amazing area! I did a variation of the hike described, adding in the Ledges Trail and parts of the Boulder Trail. Nice small rapids on the Laurel Run Trail, with rhododendrons, large rock formations along the Boulder and Ledges Trail. A fair view of Raystown Lake on the Brumbaugh Trail, plus four good views of the area from the Ledges Trail. Good rock formations along Trough Creek, especially Copperas Rock, Raven Rock, and an unnamed one near the first Ledges trailhead. The highlight, however, has to be Abbot Run, its gorge, and Rainbow Falls, a very picturesque gorge with a nice cascading stream. One of the Ledges Trail vista is not far away from the circuit, and so can be readily added to the hike even if one does not want to hike the entire Ledges Trail.

A few other notes: There is a switchback to avoid the steep climb/descent along the Rhododendron Trail. The Laurel Run Trail seems to be going some relocations to eliminate four of the stream crossings. One part of the relocation is up a loose, rocky slope. Hopefully that will be improved. The Brumbaugh Trail is still somewhat overgrown on the Trough Creek side, but there are plenty of yellow/orange blazes and I did not get lost. It is easy to miss where it leaves the woods road (though it may be a better idea to continue on that, as that section of trail is in especially bad shape).

Name: Barb Rodekohr                                                                                            Hike: Cranberry Wilderness BP 1
Date: 4/14-16, 2012                                                                                               Rating: 5

Critique: A group of six of us did this hike, following Mike's directions. We had no real problems with navigation. The junctions were signed and there are cairns at any confusing spots. In spite of it being an ideal weekend in April, we saw only one other party of backpackers, and a few bicyclists and fishermen on FR 76. That being said, the trails are in pretty rough shape in spots, with lots of blowdowns and berry canes blocking the way. If you want to hike on autopilot, don't do this one! This was my first trip to Cranberry Wilderness but won't be my last. It's a beautiful place, with beautiful streams and great campsites. We even got to have ramps for dinner.

Name: Barb Rodekohr                                                                                   Hike: Cranberry Wilderness BP 1
Date: 4/14-16, 2012                                                                                               Rating: 5

Critique: A group of six of us did this hike, following Mike's directions. We had no real problems with navigation. The junctions were signed and there are cairns at any confusing spots. In spite of it being an ideal weekend in April, we saw only one other party of backpackers, and a few bicyclists and fishermen on FR 76. That being said, the trails are in pretty rough shape in spots, with lots of blowdowns and berry canes blocking the way. If you want to hike on autopilot, don't do this one! This was my first trip to Cranberry Wilderness but won't be my last. It's a beautiful place, with beautiful streams and great campsites. We even got to have ramps for dinner.

Name: R, B & J                                                                                                Hike: Fallen Timber/MST Loop
Date: April 20-21, 2012                                                                                          Rating: 3

Critique: Trail starts out nicely on the MST, but the elevation gain fails to mention the steepness of Pine Creek Road before you reach the true trailhead! The mountaintop is beautiful but barren and quite rocky, thus the "strenuous" label. Campsite on the logger's road was quite nice. Trail notes were descriptive and accurate.

Name: jenny s                                                                                                Hike: Three Ridges loop
Date: 4/14 to 4/16/2012                                                                                      Rating: 5

Critique: Did a 3-day loop starting at the south end on the AT by the Tye River. Recommend the campsite on the ridge above Maupin Field Shelter (on the AT side) for some nice breezes. Campbell Creek is beautiful and beautifully cool. I'd prefer to do this counterclockwise any day. Great views and sore muscles and healthy lungs at the end of the trip.

I have not even one photo of any of it because I lost my camera on the AT portion of the trail between Chimney Rock and Bee Mountain (probably north of the high point). Offering a monetary reward for its return as a functional camera. It's a pocket Canon SD1300 digital (http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-sd1300-is/4505-6501_7-33975897.html) and has about 200 to 300 photos on it. It's in a small black carrying case with a thin shoulder strap. Find it and I'll put some money toward a new camera for you. Contact me at jensmeltz@hotmail.com. Thanks.

For the plant and wildflower fans...saw HILLSIDES of trillium especially along the Mau-Har, also dutchmen's breeches, pink ladyslipper (just starting), dogwood, solomon's seal, fire pinks, blueberries starting to bloom (!), LOTS of poison ivy, may apple, spider wort, wild geranium, even a couple of fallen tulip poplar flowers, and showy orchis.

Name: kth-7                                                                                                    Hike: Old Rag
Date: 4/14/2012                                                                                                     Rating: 5

Critique: I don't have a lot of hikes to compare it to, except Bull Run Mountain, which I would rate a 2.5. My sister and I did this hike and loved it. We are the type of people who work out 3-4 days a week, run a couple of races, and are usually active. We were pleased with our ability to do the rock scramble and steep hike upward (at times). We arrived at the parking lot at 6:30am. There were only a dozen cars in a 200 car parking lot. Bring money. The fee is $15. The climb up was just as interesting to look at as the climb down. There was a lovely stream that flowed over huge boulders most of the way down. Everyone should do this hike once in their life.

Just a note: if you want to do a part of this hike and not strain yourself too much, just go up in reverse. Take the yellow blazed
Weakley Hollow Fire Road trail to the blue blazed Saddle trail and up to the Old Rag shelter. Then come back down. This in itself is about 4 miles.

Name: Chris Hughes                                                                                      Hike: Otter Creek Backpack - Lost Green Croc
Date: 4/6-7/12                                                                                                        Rating: 5

Critique: Two of us took the hike starting from Mylius Gap trail-Shavers Mountain Trail- Green Mountain- Possession Camp- Otter Creek- Mylius Trail loop. (The shorter route as described by your notes) Absolutely gorgeous which made us wish we spent more time down near the water. Due to the cooler temps, we couldn't enjoy the water to the fullest extent though. Temps were in the 30's over night and high 50s and 60s during the day. The boggy sections along shavers mtn. trail are enough to suck your boot right off.

Note - The "abandoned trail" sign that is mentioned in your notes was nailed to a tree at the merge off the Shavers trail and the green mountain trail. Other hikers that we encountered did miss it, but your notes made me look for it.

Note- Unfortunately, I lost a green croc along the way most likely somewhere along the possession camp trail. If anyone finds it, please fell free to let me know or dispose of it so it gets off of the trail system. I did hike back a good mile from otter creek but didn't come across it.

Name: Ransilfour                                                                                            Hike: Kellys Run / Pinnacle
Date: 4/4/12                                                                                                            Rating: 5

Critique: Thanks SO much for piecing together the instructions for this loop! My wife and I are backpackers from "back in the day" and wanted a hike that would help our 14 and 11 year old boys see why we like hiking. Well, they LOVED it, and it was the perfect length to feel like we accomplished something, without feeling like you never wanted to come back. They want to come back next week :) The trail is a great mix of terrain, with lots of variety to look at. We'll definitely be back in other seasons.

Name: Ed Lyman                                                                                            Hike: MD-Otter Creek w/ bushwhack
Date: 3/31/2012                                                                                                     Rating: 4

Critique: Great hike. BE WARNED: DO NOT PARK AT THE BOAT RAMP WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING AT THE CAMPGROUND. When we arrived, the gate was open, we figured it was fair game, so we parked. When we returned the gate was locked. $50/car to get out. It is well-posted, but we didn't read carefully.

Name: Unknown                                                                                             Hike: Brown Mountain - Rockytop Loop
Date: 03/23-25/2012                                                                                             Rating: 4.5

Critique: Beautiful hike with varying scenery -- wide vistas, alongside the river, rocky, and lush. Good balance of strenuous climbs with relaxing views and moderate distance.

We found that the old campsite at the intersection of the Big Run Loop Trail and the southern terminus of the Big Run-Portal Trail had a "No Camping" post, so plan to camp at the next site 0.67 miles up. This was a pretty, spacious site next to the river. We also suspect that the Big Run shelter on the map at the same intersection was taken down, because there was another no camping/re-vegetation area where we thought it should be.

It rained for about half of our trip, and we encountered about 4 smaller river crossings in addition to the fords indicated on the map. Definitely recommend bringing a pair of secure sandals for the crossings! The fords had become knee/thigh-high wades.

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