Name: Ed S.                                                                                                                Hike: Pond Run-White Rocks

Date: 05/18/14                                                                                                         Rating: 4

Critique: This was a good long hike, worthy for its good views and cascading runs.  I think the Tuscarora/Pond Run summit vista is the best vista along the loop, though White Rocks itself also gives an expansive view of the Shenandoah Valley, Massanuttens, and Blue Ridge.  Due to recent rain, the Pond Run section creek crossings were easy cold fords, with other areas of the trail becoming flood channels.  The long climb up Pond Run gave me a good workout.  The logging road section of the Tuscarora was basically a stream until the Racer Camp Hollow Trail, where the stream became a broad alluvial fan.  Pink ladyslippers were prevalent throughout the highland parts of the hike.  Waites Run was flowing very well, allowing good photographic opportunities, and it was very good the plank crossing along the Old Mail Trail was there, as fording there would be through thigh deep fast flowing water.

Fast flowing stream.

Name: Ed S.                                                                                                                Hike: Kings Gap

Date: 06/01/14                                                                                                         Rating: 3.8

Critique: I made a variant starting from the pine plantation, perhaps a mistake as that area was rather buggy.  It's a nice area, but there are plenty of better hikes in the greater Michaux area, and thus the lower rating.  Most of the overlooks, except for at the mansion and Ridge, are all somewhat grown over.  The mountain laurel was starting to bloom, and the ornamental Catawba Rhododendrons around the mansion were in full bloom; as were assorted flowers in the garden.  Its lily pond had plenty of frogs plus some blooming lilies.  The mansion was open, so I took a quick trek inside.  (The photo is the fireplace mantle.)  A bluegrass band was performing on the lawn outside, mostly Stanley Brothers covers.  With the exceptions of the mansion area and the Scenic Vista Trail, few people were out on the trails.

Name: Shortstack and Wooly Bully                                                                       Hike: Alleghenny Front trail-West

Date: 08/02-04/14                                                                                                  Rating: 4

Outing Critique: DAY 1: After checking in at the park office, we parked at the "upper lake lot", and proceeded north on the Shingle Mill Trail. The trail follows the Black Moshannon Creek. Even with the dark tea-colored water this creek provides for a great walk, with lots of twist and turns, some deep pools, and lots of rhododendron, Cardinal Flowers, and Joe Pye Weed along the banks. The large flat rock at around 3 miles makes for a great lunch spot. Farther along the trail we saw a dark, mucky spring with a few spots of contrasting white sand jetting out from the bottom. Moving sand this fast requires a substantial flow of water. At the end of the Shingle Mill Trail the AFT heads west, thru an active logging zone, past some overlooks of the I-80 viaduct, and then down to the bank of the Red Moshannon. We continued along the "Red Mo" to Sawdust Run, but couldn't locate the "DAY 1 campsite". No evidence of a road to the right leading down to the Red Mo. We found a pretty good tenting area around 0.1 miles past the run, on the left side of the trail, complete with a big flat rock for cooking and a conveniently located fallen log. 10.1 miles for the day. DAY 2: The day started with steady rain. At 6:30 the rain tapered off enough to let us cook breakfast and enjoy the wood thrush song , but then picked back up before we could break camp. We took advantage of the next lull to pack up our wet gear and head out along the AFT, in heavy rain at times. Six Mile Run made for a scenic section of the trail. The relatively consistent width and slope of the creek bed make it appear man-made in places, but the deep pools and fast flowing water made it very scenic. Lots of wood thrush song in the background, and some high pitched “screams” from the treetops. Possibly porcupine calls? The trail veers away from the creek, thru some pine plantations, and past Wolf Rocks. Aside from a geologist's dream of impressive scale, rounded edges, layers, slots, and overhangs at Wolf Rocks, there was an equally impressive mound of porcupine scat under one of the rocks. Upwards of 1/2 cubic yard, enough to demonstrate the angle of repose! At 13.5 miles for the day we stopped at a campsite under the hemlocks. Set up camp, waited out some more heavy rain, and turned in at 8:30. Lots of mourning doves, and a brief appearance by a whippoorwill. DAY 3: No rain! A few miles on the AFT, and then on to the Moss Hanne Trail. Great views from the extensive network of boardwalks over the marsh. Water lilies, cat tails, and blueberries! Lots of grazing along this section. Also saw some bushes that looked like blueberries but had red fruit. More wood thrush song, that same bird must be following us around the loop. Continued northward, thru more pine plantations, over a drier marsh area with expansive views, and then along the lakeshore back to the car. Blazing and signage made it pretty easy to stay on track. Over three days we saw no other backpackers on the trail. Just one trail runner, and then one family along the boardwalks. Even after factoring out the rain, the AFT-West was OK but not as nice as the other side of the loop, the AFT-East.

Name: Peter Fleszar                                                                                                   Hike: Mid State Trail-Little Pine State Par

Date: 02/01/14                                                                                                         Rating: 4

Critique: I hiked part of this loop after completing my quest to hike the entire Tiadaghton Trail. When referring this hike to someone in a Facebook group I noticed a couple of things. First and perhaps most important, Happy Acres Restaurant has been tested and found excellent several times since I submitted the 2011 critique. Second, Spike Buck Hollow Tr south of MST does NOT continue straight west of MST, instead it quickly turns left/south heading down the drainage almost parallel to the narrow ridge, turning again at the bottom of the intermittent stream hollow to follow along left bank of Boone Run for a bit. The trail comes out on Boone Rd at an I-beam bridge over Boone Run, about at the 820' contour.

Name: Boondoggle                                                                                                   Hike: Jeff Mitchell's Waterfall Wonderland

Date: 08/02/14                                                                                                         Rating: 4.75

Critique: A Great hike, very slippery, very demanding. The faster you try to go the more you get hurt... so just take your time. The bridge that had washed away has been replaced so it's much easier to get to. This is the 2nd time I've done the hike. The first time we got caught in a thunderstorm and had to take the haul road for the 2nd half of the hike all the way down. This last trip we were able to complete the entire trip. It took 7 hours total, but we did stop to look for a few geo caches and took 2 other breaks for eating and a 10 minute "let the feet dry out a little bit" break. The bugs were somewhat bad, and the plateau walk had some incredible mud pits, one which consumed my leg up to my knee...

Name: Reese Salen                                                                                                   Hike: Pinchot trail

Date(s): 07/30-31/14                                                                                             Rating: 3

Critique: Trail notes very helpful for the most part. It may be good to note that the trail does not follow alongside Sand Spring Creek, it parallels it but never descends to it. Water in Choke Creek and Butler Run in late July was slow moving and I didn't trust it enough to drink from the looks of the water. The footpath as you turn off Tannery Road toward Choke Creek is now signed with "Choke Creek Nature Trail"

Name: Mike G.                                                                                                            Hike: Trout Run Valley Circumnavigation

Date(s): 07/18-20/14                                                                                             Rating: 4

Critique: We did this hike in the direction laid out in the narrative. Our first day, we left Wolf Gap at 9 am, and headed north. Be forewarned that the well pump at Wolf Gap is broken, and has been since last fall. After a steady, but not too grueling climb, we reached the side trail where the vista was awesome from Big Schloss overlook. Back on the main trail, we reached the Sand Spring area, which was the first water we spotted that day. The water was flowing well, but had an odd chalky taste despite being filtered. We then reached the Tuscarora trail intersection, where there was no sign pointing out the TT, but it was obvious to go straight since the blue blazes were easily spotted. There was a confusing intersection where a steep jeep trail comes down from the left. Do not go that way. Just a little ways past that jeep trail (perhaps a half mile tops), we arrived at Day 1 camping at the intersection of Half Moon and TT. Good campsite, and as noted below in another critique, plentiful water flowing just before the bridge you cross before getting to the camp. Day 2, we went on down the Half Moon Trail and a couple of us hung up our packs on nails in the tree at the intersection and went off on the Half Moon overlook trail, which was an easy mile each way...there was some sort of small outlook structure up there built of stone, and the view was nice, although not as good as the Big Schloss view. Continuing on, generally downhill, we reached a really nice campsite with a creek..this was the intersection of the Bucktail Connector Trail. I think this would be a great alternative Day 1 campsite if you wanted to push on a little further than where we camped. We followed the directions given, and reached the end of the Bucktail Connector. The left onto the orange blazed Bucktail trail is more like a merge, and that trail is a very wide grassy fire road. Go down just a quarter mile or so, and reach a nice set of benches and take a break! Once we got across Trout Run Road, we began a big ascent up Long Mountain Trail. Much of this trail is an old fire road, and there are lots of grassy clearings, as described...the rock field is pretty daunting, yet lots of fun. Eventually you will reach a creek (I believe the one MR Hyker says is the last creek .64 miles before the Ben's Ridge site). There is a really nice site on the right just after that creek, back in the woods a ways, with a big fire ring. It would be a great Day 2 site if you are too weary to make it to his Day 2 site at Ben's Ridge. We went on to Ben's Ridge, which was pretty decent. A big clearing, but definitely slanted slightly, with a fire ring to the right. No sign of a spring anywhere, but a nicely flowing creek is just south of the clearing. Not obvious, but as you walk south, you will see the creek getting a little closer to the trail (it never crosses the trail). Day 3...from the Ben's Ridge site, it's a pretty steady and long climb, but eventually we came to a forest road and turned left...there is a nice campsite at this junction, but no water. Hike about 2 miles on this gravel road, and you will come to a very unceremonious trail head for the Tibbet's Knob trail on your left. A trash filled fire ring, and space for tent are there. The trail is pretty rocky and gets sketchy, but it is well blazed...eventually you reach the Knob, and it is one of the best views I can remember. You then descend, very steeply for a while, then the trail becomes more gradual. Just when you think you are about to reach Wolf Gap, you have to make one more pretty steep climb up a hillock, with great views as your reward. Then a short downhill hike afterwards puts you back at Wolf Gap. A great hike overall, and I think going in the Fall for color, or in the early winter or late winter before the trees leaf out would make it even better as you would have great views from the ridges.

Name: MSF                                                                                                                 Hike: Volkswagen Circuit

Date: 07/20/14                                                                                                         Rating: 4

Critique: Overall a very enjoyable hike. The highlight has to be the cascading stream in Clifford hollow, whose trail crossing make for good lunch spots. The abundant mountain laurel suggest late May/early June would be the best time to hike. Although the weather was beautiful for late July, we only saw 3 mountain bikers the whole hike. One note, the sunken jeep road is severely washed out and a few bad blowdowns significantly impeded the path. Mountain bikers have cut a parallel path to the south and west of the road that would be advisable to follow instead (can be picked up by following single track path to left of Catoctin Trail on the south bank of the sunken road crossing).

Name: Diane and Dave                                                                                             Hike: Hammersely Wild Area

Daye(s): 07/04-05/14                                                                                            Rating: 4+

Critique: My wife and I did this backpack and dayhike over the July 4th weekend. We followed Mike’s directions completely. I even downloaded his GPX route onto my GPS. It made finding the start of the bushwack real easy. Being the holiday weekend we did encounter 7 other backpackers, 2 dayhikers, and a trail maintenance volunteer. The pool was beautiful, deep, and cold. The gas pipeline was rather steep at times. The views from the wild fire meadow were great. The ferns in the meadow were hip high. The blazes along the Twin Sister trail were a mixture of rectangles and circles, either orange or yellow or both (one on top of the other). Finding the start of the bushwack was made easy as the 3 rock cairn is now a 5 rock cairn and it’s right in the middle of the trail. The bushwack down the Dry Run was trying at times since the valley was chock full of Stinging Nettles. We tried hiking along the side of the run and at times down the middle of the creek. Whichever route had less nettles. There were also a lot of blowdowns which made the going more difficult. After the backpack we enjoyed the bubba burger at Deb’s Cross Fork Inn and ice cream at the general store across the street. I’ve attached photos of the parking area in front of the DCNR garage, the start of the trail along Rte 144, the start of the gas pipeline, the end of the pipeline at the gravel road, the 5 rock cairn signifying the start of the bushwack, the bushwack down Dry Run, and the humongous bubba burger.

Name: Michael                                                                                                           Hike: Mid State Trail-Old Tram Trail Loop

Date: 07/05/14                                                                                                         Rating: 3

Critique: This is a fairly nice hike, exhibiting typical central Pennsylvania terrain (ridge and valley, mountain laurel). Probably best done in early June when the mountain laurel is in bloom. We did the loop as a quick backpacking trip to try out some new gear and found that the trails (other than MST) are somewhat poorly maintained, though all trails described here were easily passable as of hike date. One MAJOR inaccuracy of this hike description is the absence of the described campsite at the junction of Old Tram and Cracker Bridge trails. We had planned on camping there, but when we reached the trail junction (no sign), we found that it was impossible to turn right onto the trail, as described. I took off my pack and bushwhacked in a ways finding a bridge, as though there had once been a path there, but it has truly and utterly disappeared. Continuing on along Old Tram trail, we did find a small campsite on the left after a short distance, as described. This site was basically "carved out" of the laurel and offered space for maybe one tent, but was a bit claustrophobic feeling with little available wood for a campfire (you'll need one to deter mosquitoes if nothing else). We passed up this site and found the grassy clearing on the right a little further along. You'll have to keep your eye out and walk off of the trail a few steps to the right before it opens up, but this is the largest laurel free and relatively rock-free space you will find on the hike. It is actually a beautiful grassy area with some tall trees, downed trees, and scattered rocks. There is a good space for one two person tent near the fire ring, which we rebuilt from an old one. There is probably space for one to two more tents, as well. Best of all, there is actually a bit of decent firewood in this clearing (otherwise hard to find in this hardwood/laurel/wet terrain). We left a few pieces stacked so as to stay dry near the fire ring ;) It is a decent, quick, overnight with an ok campsite (grassy area) if you want the trail to yourself... Plus, you can swim when you get back to the park!

Name: Richard                                                                                                           Hike: Canaan Mountain Loop

Date: 07/04/14                                                                                                         Rating: 3

Critique: 4 stars for solitude minus a star for trail conditions and less interesting stretches on the road. In mid summer the seeps and mud holes might be fun for the mountain bikers but can lead to blistered feet. Many overgrown spots on these trails, but overall not hard to follow despite minimal markings. One clarification - the campsite near the fork of Lindy Run on Plantation trail is only about 80-100 yards from the stream still at the base of the hill. The directions to climb up a short hill confused us and we passed the site multiple times. The ferns had grown over most of the meadow and obscured the fire ring and rock furniture so it was hardly recognizable as a camp site. Very nice site once there. Would be interested to see if conditions are more favorable in fall and winter.

Name: Chris                                                                                                                Hike: Roaring Creek Tract - Backpack

Date(s): 07/04-05/14                                                                                             Rating: 5

Critique: My wife and I wanted to go for an overnight hike with the dog, and this one looked to be close enough to home to be a last minute decision. We started around 8:45 in the morning on July 4th expecting to hit lots of crowds. WRONG!!! Absolutely peaceful. The only people we saw were on the main trail. The trail itself was marked fairly well, with a few questionable intersections at the beginning. We thought the campsite would be crowded out because of the awesome weather on the holiday weekend, WRONG AGAIN!!! We were the only ones there for the night, we arrived at the campsite at 2:15, and had peace and quiet the whole night. This was our first time camping without a group, and I must say, in an unfamiliar place, I was quite paranoid, but didn't let on to my wife, about the possibility of a bear encounter. But, with our 85 pound black lab with us, I knew we had a good warning system in place. The night was uneventful with nothing but the sound of owls and bullfrogs. The next morning we were up, packed, and ready to go at 9:15, we continued on the well marked trail around the reservoir and back to the gravel road, where we finally encountered people. We made it back to the car by 11:45. Overall great hike that could be done in one day if you planned on it. Very easy overnight that leaves you with plenty of time for R and R. Bring cards or a book, you'll have plenty of daylight. Thanks for the great trail directions and map MRHyker! I'll continue to follow your backpacking trips!

Name: Dan                                                                                                                  Hike: Black Forest Trail-Total

Date(s): 06/28-29/14                                                                                             Rating: 5

Critique: Did the entire loop over 2 days. Absolutely beautiful and I saw no over night backpackers anywhere. Be prepared for a lot of ups and downs but they are well worth it. The vistas, creeks, waterfalls are just outstanding and I'll definitely be back to hike some of the sections I really liked with my son. I had planned on a three day hike but since I did 19 miles the first day and there were possible storms Sunday night I figured I could do the last 24 miles Sunday. I paid for the 24 mile Sunday hike with sore quads and hips that night. My recommendations for anyone doing this is to go light and enjoy. No need for heavy boots and packs that weigh 40+ lbs. I cowboy camped Saturday night under the stars and listened to the bubbling brook for music. I would not do this hike clockwise do to some of the ascents. Counter clockwise is the way to go. Be alert for the wildlife. I almost got it from a rattle snake by not paying attention to what I was doing. Go out and do this hike. Its a true gem of Pa and take Pictures!

Name: Ben                                                                                                                  Hike: Roaring Plains Circuit

Date: 05/25/14                                                                                                         Rating: 5

Critique: Over memorial day weekend I led a trip in Southern Dolly Sods and Roaring plains. We intended to take the hidden passage trail and hike all of the Canyon Rim, stopping at the large campsite where it meets the Roaring Plains Trail. Because we weren't making great time we decided to stop at the campsite at the Tee Pee trail. The Hidden Passage Trail was easy to follow. The canyon rim was generally not too difficult either. Having the GPS waypoints on my GPS helped. We took the Tee Pee trail back to the Roaring Plains trail. It was quite overgrown but somebody has put cairns along most of it so we were able to follow it without incident and get to the Roaring Plains Trail. The views along the canyon rim are just spectacular. If you bushwack to some rocks near the Tee Pee trail campsite you can get a great view to watch the sunset. The Tee Pee trail campsite itself was well sized and easily held 8 tents.

Name: Swaggie                                                                                                          Hike: Old Loggers Path

Date: 05/24/14                                                                                                         Rating: 5

Critique: We did this as a 3 day backpack over the Memorial Day Weekend, really enjoyed it, great views and streams, weather was mostly great except for a brief thunderstorm the first night. Pleasant Stream Road is passable IF and only IF you have AWD and decent ground clearance, our vehicle was a Toyota RAV 4 and we talked with another group who drove a Subaru Outback along the road, should not be attempted in a normal road car as there is a short "home made" detour where the creek washed the road out, it's only about 30 yards long but is very rough, with rocks and deep pot holes which would ground a road car, we scraped once but made it through. Plenty of water along the trail, mostly in good shape but some blow downs to get around/over/under. The beginning at Masten is a little confusing because it's hard to tell what direction you're going, we initally thought we were doing the loop clockwise, turned out we were going counter-clockwise, doesn't really matter that much but it would be nice if DCNR could put up a sign giving an indication of which way to go for each direction around the loop. There are also many more campsites than are listed on the map, although some don't have water.   

Name: Dottie Rust                                                                                                     Hike: Ramsey's Draft-West

Date: 05/25-26/14                                                                                                   Rating: 5

Critique: Hiked this on Memorial Day weekend with my husband and we could not have picked a better hike or chosen better weather. We ascended Ramsey's Draft Trail and returned via Shenandoah & Road Hollow Trails, as per Mike's trail notes. RDT indeed has 20 water crossings, the lower crossings required sandals and the upper crossings were managed by rock-hopping, or rock-stretching in some places. This past winter was a tough one as can be seen by the numerous blowdowns on RDT. . .some mighty big trees blocked the trail and it will take awhile before they can be cleared. Nothing that can't be hiked over/under/around with a bit of patience. Lots of very pretty campsites along the Draft. . .at Hiner Spring at the top, we found ourselves alone and set up our tent on a nice flat spot. As we were eating supper 3 hikers arrived, they found themselves another flat area on the other side of the spring. The spring was open and flowing, so water was not an issue. Next day was an easy hike up the remainder of RDT, then it was all downhill on the beautiful Shenandoah Trail to Road Hollow. All in all a great hike, almost total solitude which was nice for us, as it was our 32nd anniversary hike.                

Name: Christopher Robin                                                                                         Hike: Canaan Mountain Backpack-2

Date(s): 05/24-25/14                                                                                             Rating: 4

critique: Since it was Memorial Day weekend, I took MR Hyker's advice and did this trip. Also, I did a modified version of this hike, so I could do it in 2 days and not have to fight with Friday or Monday traffic. I did the hike as was spelled out, except skipped Mountainside trail and just stayed on the road to Table Rock trail. All the trails were well marked. On Pointy Knob trail, though it looked like someone was deliberately pulling down the blue diamond markers, but you could still follow the trail, trees were blazed the old-fashioned way! Saw 3 hikers on that trail, other than that the trails were all mine. Some traffic on the road, mostly groups of guys with little gear and lots of beer for the holiday! Table Rock was unbelievable! It is one of the best views I have seen. Got there about 4:30 or so. Shared the view with a group of 5 who were up for the day, a couple mountain bikers rolling through and 1 fat and happy rattlesnake sunning himself in a nice quiet spot. Later, a guy Joey showed up with a tent and a camera so it was just the 2 of us there for a beautiful sunset and sunrise. BTW, Joey is a big fan of midatlantichikes, so I pitched the books for you Mike! Everywhere I go anymore... So day 2, after lingering to watch the beautiful sunrise it was back to bog-beating. There was a lot of water on the trails. In fact it took spooking up a couple white-tails to remind me I was in WV, I was singing "Georgia on my mind" to myself when hopping from root to stone to bank! Oh, and in one sunny spot along Plantation Trail I heard the distinct rattle of another rattlesnake. Since it sounded like a "Move along, nothing to see here" rattle, that's just what I did. Lindy Run Trail was in great shape, someone is maintaining it. It did get crowded at Lindy Point. I guess I shouldn't complain since it was the only place I had to put the leash on my dog. Tourists, families and car campers must have all decided to go at the same time. And after seeing the sunrise at Table Rock, I was okay with not staying long there. A bit of a road walk, a nice walk through the woods on Shady Trace and I was back to the Lodge. Great trip! One thing-when looking out from Table Rock, it looked like a meadow at the top of Mozark Mountain. Am I wrong? Does the Mozark Mountain trail get you near there? The next adventure?  

Name: KCJones                                                                                                          Hike: Old Rag

05/17/14                                                                                                                    Rating: 4

Critique: 4 Only because the crowds...Screaming kids ...groups and a very full parking lot...serves me right - nine on a Saturday. However, the rock scrambles and the views are so so worth, its like a giant play ground. I really enjoyed climbing scrambling and squeezing though the rocks. I went alone was originally concerned it was a bit to much for me... as I am athletic but not super athletic...Little sore but finished in about 3 hours and 30-45 minutes (picture taking time included). The fire road was not as bad as I thought it would be boring wise because I could hear and see the water on the way down. I will be going again at some point but as early as I can and on a week day. PS, its pretty well marked and easy to follow due to its heavy use I went map-less and I was fine.

Name: Peter F.                                                                                     Hike: Martin Hill Wild Area-Central Loop

Date: Various                                                                                                             Rating: 4

Critique: The upper part of Jackson Trail (from the summit circle down to the "green trail" junction) has been cleared and is now red blazed.

Name: Blake                                                                                                               Hike: Loyalsock-Link Loop w/Haystacks

Date: 04/13-14/14                                                                                                   Rating: 5

Critique: Great hike! I started at the Meade road comfort station. Trail descends over some rocky terrain here. I was hoping to catch the side trail to Dutchman's falls, but I missed the turn off. The hike down by the creek was beautiful. Trail turns left and heads back up to the old railroad grade where I was met by a beautiful waterfall. This railroad grade continues a ways before heading down hill to the iron bridge. right after the road walk is the first lung buster, which led to a flat section at the top. Shortly thereafter, I arrived at Sonne's pond where I broke for lunch. More walking, beautiful scenery, tons of streams everywhere. In many spots, the trail was soaked while everything around was dry. I was hoping to find a good campsite by 5:30. The last one I passed was at 4:30pm, I figured I still had light and I should look for the next one. Next thing I knew, I was at the vista for world's end state park. Now its getting dark and there's no place to set up camp. At the visitor's center, I found a park ranger who told me I could go up the butternut trail and use some primitive campsites they had there for boyscouts. Flat spots for my tent, plus picnic tables! Day 2 I took the link trail, which starts out amazing going past the creek and up to the Loyalsock vista. This led me up through the woods where I saw 2 deer, then entered a really nice hemlock grove where I stopped to fill my water in a stream. The rest of the trail was real nice. The water crossing once you get down past the highway was a little sketchy, but I made it without busting my butt. Ended up finishing the whole trail in 2 days. I would like to do it again in late summer/early fall when there's more leaves on the trees, and take my time and do 2 nights. I couldn't walk for the next 2 days after doing it all in 1 night. Overall, great experience for my first solo backpacking trip. I'm trying to decide now for Labor Day weekend if I should come back here or check out the Pinchot trail. The Black Forest trail seems really enticing, but my hiking buddy isn't in exactly the best shape and I think the climbs may kill him.

Name: MSF                                                                                                                 Hike: Long Mountain-Trout Pond Loop

Date: 05/11/14                                                                                                         Rating: 4

Critique: Overall this was a very enjoyable hike. We did the loop on a beautiful sunny day after spending the weekend at Trout Pond campground and didn't encounter another soul on the trail. Although the hike includes a bit of forest road walking, the views of Wolf Gap/Massanutten/Shenandoah NP along that stretch more than make up for it. We included the out-and-back to the first overlook along North Mountain Trail, and though this added a bit more ascent along particularly rocky tread, it was well worth it as we were rewarded with an amazing view southeast beyond the southern tip of Massanutten. I would highly recommend doing this hike if you are staying at Trout Pond.

Name: Bill                                                                                                                   Hike: Roaring Plains Circuit

05/09/14                                                                                                                   Rating: 4

Critique: We followed the trail notes and they were quite helpful. This had to be one of the best hikes and worst hikes I've ever done in summer. The worst part was loosing the trail 1/2 way on the Tee Pee and ending up bushwhacking thru thick laurel to the pipeline. The trails are just not marked well. The rock and bog on the trail seemed to never end either. But the rest of the trail made up for it and more. There was truly a full range of experience and the views on the rim were fantastic. Campsites were all inviting and I am looking forward to doing it again. A map, compass and even a GPS are a must for this trail, this is not for novices. I would rate this trail very highly, thanks WV.

Name: Craig Hardy                                                                                                   Hike: Big Schloss

Date(s): 02/22-23/14                                                                                             Rating: 5

Critique: I did this hike as a 1st backpack of the season thinking that the weather was great in Richmond so it would be good in the mountains. What a surprise to see so much snow. I attempted to do this hike as outlined in the Hiking VA guide book by Bill and Mary Burnham. You find the trailhead on Waites Run Road as you make your way behind the town of Wardensville, WV. The trail starts off just near the bridge and quickly gains elevation following the main creek with multiple crossings. As there was a lot of snow runoff, the water was really flowing. The trail tops out in a hardwood forest on the ridge with a major intersection of the Tuscarora, Half Moon, and Mill Mountain Trails. Interestingly there are several board walks in this section, presumably for the bog type environment. I then hiked in very deep snow in the direction of Big Schloss. The guidebook says to stay on the new Tuscarora trail and not take the cutoff so I did that on the way up. On the way back I did break bad and follow this cutoff to save time and not have to walk so far in the snow. I saw the airway beacon ruins and did not think it was such a much. I did meet up with a group of guys from PA at the Sandstone spring and thought it was a nice place to camp. The next item of note was the overlook on the Mill Mountain trail The view was pretty amazing. I caught a glimpse of Big Schloss off to the left and decided to push on. The view from the top was amazing and even more so was the feat of engineering to have built a huge footbridge at the top of the mountain. I have often wondered how they got the material up there. It had to be by helicopter. Sadly there were folks setting up camp at the summit. It was getting late so it was time to head down. I made it back to Sandstone Spring to find I had this great site to myself. I saw the other review and hope that I do not catch anything as I did not filter my water. The next day was a bit easier as a bit more snow did melt overnight and I was back tracking in a lot of my own footprints. I did not see a soul on the way back down Sunday am. I really want to come back here in the summer when the weather is warmer. This is a great hike with a great view. I highly recommend it.

Name: Mike                                                                                                                Hike: Morgan Run

Date: 02/09/14                                                                                                        Rating: 4

Critique: The trail description is excellent, very helpful towards the end of the loop, as trails can get pretty confusing. Did this trip after an ice storm came thru the previous week and found numerous trees down across the trail, mountain biking trails will need major clean up. The poor/snow covered trail conditions lead to a very isolated experience, as I did not see another person the whole trip. Wonderfully quiet, came across a large Red Fox, numerous Hawks and four deer. A snow storm made the last 1-1/2 hours even more amazing. Less the sprint back across the bridge to my car, that was a little sketchy

Name: Megan                                                                                                             Hike: Ramseys Draft-East

Date(s): 11/16-17/13                                                                                             Rating: 5

Critique: I absolutely loved this hike. It was certainly difficult, especially it being my first overnight backpacking trip. Going after all the leaves had fallen provided little traffic on the trail and amazing views along the ridge line. We camped on Big Bald Knob, which did make for a windy and cold night, but that was to be expected. The second day was very different from the first going down into the valley with slippery and difficult footing at many times. We did not mind having to climb over several large fallen trees or rock hopping, for us it only added to the adventure and enjoyment. It was absolutely beautiful the whole way. Be mindful however that during the wet season you have to be very careful of your footing past the spring so as to not slip. We packed enough water to last us the first full day since there is no other good source of water, then refilled at the spring which is your best bet of clean water because further down into the valley there are several beaver dams which can contaminate the water. We did actually see 2 bears separately, which was fantastic, though also something to be mindful of safety wise, and lots of scat along the path. This in my opinion was a great hike, I would suggest however that this not be hiked in the middle of the summer considering that would make you lose those great views and would make trudging through all the brush very difficult.

Name: George                                                                                                            Hike: Lumberjack Tr/Seneca Creek Loop

Date(s): 01/20/14                                                                                                   Rating: 4

Critique: Did the hike in reverse as I was hiking it for the first time and being January, I didn't want to find out 7 miles in to the hike that I couldn't cross the creek! Had the whole backcountry to myself as far as I could tell :) - had to be creative on the creek crossings as there was much ice but most of it wouldn't hold me. Managed to make it across all crossings without getting wet. One item of note to the description above. The main falls of Seneca Creek are about 100 yards below the trail intersection with Huckleberry Trail, not .5 miles. Hiking down the creek below the main falls is not recommended unless you are into Class 2 fun. Many blowdowns, rhododendron, etc.. Hiked about a mile out High Meadows trail and then bushwacked uphill to intersect Lumberjack Trail and then back to car. Lumberjack Trail, even in January was quite soft in spots. Would not rush back to hike Lumberjack, but High Meadows and Seneca Creek Trails are very nice and worth the trip.

Name: Pete Fleszar                                                                                                  Hike: Gunpowder Falls-West Circuit

Date: 01/18/14                                                                                                         Rating: 4

Name: Dan                                                                                                                  Hike: Waterfall Wonderland

Date: 2009/2010/2013                                                                                           Rating: 5+

Critique: First, I have to admit that I've done sections of this hike on different occasions - never the full hike at once. I've done all of Sullivan Run. It worked from the top, but not the bottom for me, but I know of someone who went in from the bottom and made it (he was very much in shape and trail-professional). Perhaps, I was just nervous to get a wet camera... I've done most of Heberly Run. I didn't hit Big Falls, but I've done the rest. I found what I saw to be rather beautiful, but the Sullivan Run section is much better than anything out there that I've ever done (and I pride myself on taking in as many waterfalls as I can (though Ricketts has "more" it also has drawbacks - see below)). I also was lucky enough to be escorted back to Quinn Run, which isn't in the Scott Brown guide (his stuff is fantastic, by the way AND NO, I'm not him). It's a great place to get lost and get trained. I liked this a whole lot, too. I agree with the reviews of how wonderful and difficult the hike is. There's definitely a sense of accomplishment, but there's also a sense of take your time and THINK but don't get too in your head out there. It's definitely a place that you will have for yourself, and that's what I like about it. The litter and hordes at Ricketts Glen have really detracted from an otherwise beautiful place in recent years. I heartily recommend Sullivan and the other places if you want to go off the grid since there is no trail or crowds. If you want a taster of Sullivan, I recommend hiking up to Quinn Run and testing your feet on the smaller waterfalls for ascent and descent purposes. Some of the hike in is a little steep, but it's not a lot of vertical - just a drop on the sides.

Waterfall Photo.

My photo gallery.

Name: Hikeer                                                                                                           Hike: Dolly Sods-Central

Date: 12/28/13                                                                                                       Rating: 4

Nice hike. Did this as a day hike and it took about 6 hrs, allowing for a couple times I lost the trail in the snow. Did it in reverse, but dont' think it would really matter which way you hiked. Lots of nice campsites along both forks of Red Creek. Breathed Mt. trail brings you out right along the ski slopes at Timberline, which I didn't expect. Not a lot of long distance views, but nice scenery along creeks. Lots of ice on the trail, especially at Canaan end of Blackbird Trail.

Name: Jeeremy Krones                                                                                          Hike: C&O Canal/Long Pond Shuttle

Date: 11/24/13                                                                                                       Rating: 3.2

Date: 08/25/13                                                                                                       Rating: 4.5

Critique: This is a nice hike, especially with regards to water features. It's rather different than the meadows of Dolly Sods North. On the plus side are the waterfalls and cascades, plus some mountaintop views. On the minus is the lack of the expansive meadows to the north. I suppose the main issue I had with the hike (other than it taking longer than expected) was that many stretches seemed somewhat typical, and not too much different from other more nearby destinations. But that should not make one think that this is a bad hike. The waterfalls, and the views make this hike more than worthy. The different forest types, from dense pine and spruce stands, rhododendron lowlands, and mixed forests give it a wide variety as you move from trail to trail. The streams are different, from serene Dunkenbarger Run, roaring Big Stonecoal Creek, majestic Red Creek, and the cascading side runs of of Red Creek. Watch out for muddy trails, especially Dunkenbarger and parts of the Red Creek Trail.

Date(s): 10/19-20/13                                                                                           Rating: 4

Critique: We did this hike October 19, and loved it. The area is really like nothing else in Virginia, but more like what you would see in Canada, or Scotland. In reading about Dolly Sods, I saw that it was classified as a sub arctic bog, but I have yet to understand how something in Virginia came to be classified as sub arctic. The place is certainly popular enough—hardly room to park the car. We saw plenty of hikers and groups on Bear Rocks Trail. But after we got onto Rocky Ridge Trail, we were on our own. Great views, really amazing landscape. Even at this high point, the many rocks on the ridge were seated in water, and the heath was as damp as a wet sponge. The directions were good, and the signage was better than I had expected. It can be a bit tricky to pick your way down the southern part of Rocky Ridge trail, as it is only rocks, and there really is no discernible path. There is the odd cairn here and there. Red Spruce Grove was a fabulous campsite—large, sheltered, near water. My only complaint is that is very popular, and that in the hollow, sound carries *very* well. We thought another group had camped only a short distance away, but when I went to get water, I saw that they were actually at least twice the distance we had thought—yet we could here every word and laugh at their camp. The next day, things got…interesting. We enjoyed hiking along Blackbird Trail and Upper Red Creek. We were prepared for boggy areas, with waterproof boots and gaiters. What we weren’t expecting was nearly a solid mile of trail that was bog. I don’t know if forces of nature had conspired against us, or if it is typically like this. Hiking through boggy sections was at first run of the mill, then as they stretched out and got longer and wider, more difficult. When we had covered more than a mile and still weren’t leaving them behind, they began to mar the enjoyment of what would otherwise have been a very pleasant hike. I am still wishing I had taken the turn at the Raven Ridge Trail, although I have no way of knowing whether this would have been better. We met several hikers coming from the opposite direction who had given up on the trail. Some had their shoes off, and were in the process of draining. One fellow had gone into the bog up to his knee. All of them were turning around. Disappointing as this section of the trail was to me personally, my greater concern was for the trail, and the landscape itself. Most hikers, when faced with a boggy section of trail, were going around. This meant that the trail was widened, and the natural landscape given way to numerous boots wishing to stay dry and mud free. I can’t help but think this will have a extremely negative impact on this section of Dolly Sods. I really loved the hike in Dolly Sods, and would go back there again in a heartbeat.

Date(s): 08/03-05/13                                                                                           Rating: 4

Critique: Encouraged by word of recent trail clearings and re-blazing for a trail race on AFT, Hard Core, Shortstack, and Wooly Bully stopped at the Black Moshannon State Park office, to sign in, get maps and trail updates from the park ranger. We faced light rain as we headed north up the Shingle Mill Trail, descending along the Black Moshannon Creek, charming with plenty of flowers, including Hollow Jo- Pye Weed and Cardinal Flower, sometimes growing in the center of the creek. After joining the AFT, we headed east through fields of ferns and ended the day at a campsite just past the Rock Run cutoff trail. Day one was a nice woods hike with relatively smooth trails and little elevation gain. Overnight temperatures were in the low 50's, with some traffic noise from I-80, and owl and coyote calls in the distance. Day 2 proved different. The weather improved with nice, low-humidity conditions for the remaining of the trek. After crossing Rt. 504, the trail became very rocky (ROCK ALERT!), with some steep sections. At one of the rougher sections, we meet backpackers from the Penn State Outdoor Club, participating in a five-day "Freshman Orientation." We continued up towards the overlooks enjoying more ferns, three "named vistas," and lots of blueberries! After crossing Underwood Road, the blazing (fresh yellow paint to this point) disappeared for a while, and then turned red. The blazes and trail maintenance had been good to this point, but the trail race must have ended here. Three tired hikers almost called it a night at the first Smay's Run campsite along a wood road, but fortunately decided to take the second site under the hemlocks. Again, we had the campsite to ourselves except for the owls and whatever roams through campsites at night (deer?), and everyone slept well. Day 3 included fantastic views of marshlands from a network of boardwalks and more blueberries. The trail notes may need updating here, as we had a few confusing sections getting on to the Indian Trail and Bog Trail was not labeled until on top of it, but we ended up in the right place, along the lake on beautiful boardwalks. The last two miles of the circuit were road-walking past nicely kept lakeshore houses. Overall, this was a nice trail, 32.8 miles total. It was a little rocky, rutted, and steep in the middle as accurately described in the trail notes, but otherwise moderate, seeing only a few groups of hikers and mostly, well marked except as noted. A plus for summer outings here, the beachfront was open and the bathhouse available for showers and changing.

Name: Gary                                                                                                              Hike: Chuck Keiper trail - West

Date(s): 08/09-10/13                                                                                           Rating: 1

Critique: This trail has not been maintained in quite some time, I'd estimate at least 2 years. Anybody attempting this trail please go with the knowledge that you will be bushwhacking and sliding down once narrow footpaths that are now nonexistent. The trail is deceiving because the footpath in the beginning and sections near roads are pretty navigable, but once you pass a creek for the first time the trail quality deteriorates. I've included a picture of what used to be the trail (you can see the bright orange blaze in the circle). After spending an entire day bushwhacking with the hopes that it would get better I cut my planned 3 day trip to an overnighter and headed home disappointed. I wish this trail was still a trial as I think it would be a nice hike but in its current state and in rain is almost dangerous on some of the sections that used to be footpaths that are now just rock slides.

Name: Mountain Stream Flood                                                                             Hike: Morgan Run N.E.A.

Date: 07/27/13                                                                                                       Rating: 3

Overall this a pleasant outing and contains a bit of everything one can find in a Piedmont hike in Maryland; from rolling hills and open fields to the Appalachian like mini-gorge of Morgan Run. This hike, however, cannot be done as described, at least not during the summer months. The second single track trail ("0.22 miles to another single track trail on the left") has been completely overgrown and obscured by a dense thicket. Also, the footpath along Morgan Run, while discernible, is very badly overgrown and can be slow going. If you cross Morgan Run, which was easily accomplished even now with the abnormally large amount of rain lately, you can pick up a much better trail on the north bank of the river. About 0.1-0.2 miles from Klee Mill Road, this trail ascends some very cool rock formations above the creek providing excellent views of the gorge.

Name: Ed S.                                                                                                              Hike: Shawl Gap/Sherman Gap Loop

Date: 06/13/13                                                                                                       Rating: 3.5

Critique: This was an OK hike, but without anything spectacular about it. There are only a few window views, and only typical streams. The Elizabeth Furnace ruins are a plus. The ridgeline hike never gets very technical, and some stretches where poison ivy makes for difficult walking. The Sherman Gap Trail seemed endless, and often fairly open to the sun. Instead of taking the Botts Trail at the end, I continued on the Sherman Gap Trail and then the Bearwallow Spur to reach to the Tuscarora Trail to get back to the picnic area. My advice, take the Botts Trail. While the ford on Passage Creek was easy if deep enough to get my shorts wet, the bottomlands trail past it was overgrown, buggy, muddy, and miserable. On the plus side, I got to experience my first cicada brood since 1987.

A Periodic Cicada

Name: Katie Junghans                                                                                           Hike: Grayson Highlands - 2

Date(s): 07/23-27/13                                                                                           Rating: 5

Critique: Your descriptions of this hike were a great intro to this beautiful area. My son and I were feeling sorry that we couldn't see the June rhododendrons in bloom, but were thrilled to see the white variety blooming along Lewis Fork and Big and Little Wilson Creeks in late July. Even better than the flowers were the high bush blueberries that we began eating on the AT Spur Trail and never stopped enjoying the entire hike. Also, the variety of mushrooms along the Cliffside and Lewis Fork Trails, and then along the AT between Old Orchard and Wise Shelters was phenomenal. Every color and shape, and many we had never seen before. We made this a 3-night, 4 day trek by adding in Mt.Rogers and the Cabin Creek waterfall loop. Thanks for your great website.

Name: Jay                                                                                                                 Hike: Hemlock Gorge

Date: 07/20/13                                                                                                       Rating: 4

Critique: This was my first unguided hike. My wife and I took the day and followed the planned route. The hike was very scenic and just challenging enough for a couple novice hikers. The sandy bench section of the trail was quite overgrown and gave us some battle scars from the thorns, etc. The Swimming Hole was the perfect location to stop and cool off after forging through the overgrown sandy bench and climbing along the rocks. (Side note, for a slightly deeper location, there is a well worn trail on the opposite side of the river leading to a large rock. This section of the river appeared to be deeper and was occupied by a few locals and their pets who all looked to be having a great time). Overall, it was a great day!

Hemlock Gorge

Name: Bubbles                                                                                                        Hike: Dolly Sods Circumnavigation-mod 1 (modified)

Date(s): 07/13-15/13                                                                                           Rating: 4

Critique: We delayed a day (thankfully) due to rain, but still expected wet, humid conditions, and adjusted the full circumnavigation accordingly! It was "boots off" on the Bear Rocks Trail at Red Creek after slogging through the bog leading down to it! The Raven Ridge and Rocky Ridge were fine. There appeared to be a small spring draining water across Rocky Ridge Trail near the two "dry" camp sites: could be seasona1! We opted not to do the Harman/Blackbird Knob loop; staying on the ridge! I validated the existence of the sink hole at the beginning of the Big Stonecoal Trail, saying afterwards that "I seem to remember reading about this somewhere!!" The very nice campsite 1.11 miles down Stonecoal(2nd waypoint) was occupied, so we went down to the merge with the Dunkenbarger. At the ford point before the merge when you cross the creek (logs to the right of the trail) there is a very nice campsite about fifty yards up the creek to the right in a spruce grove! It's by far the best one we found! The next morning we took the Rocky Point Trail around Lion's Head to the Forks. Having been surprised by the really nice weather we expected the area to be crowded. Arriving around noon helped! We had the choice of any site! The south side at the fork is one of the better sites around although it only handles three tents! Hiking out the next morning we wanted to avoid the bogs of Dobbin Grade so we took the Raven Ridge Tr after the Beaver Dam (which has firmed up nicely!), then the Unofficial Dobbin Grade bypass which is marked by a small cairn which is easy to miss! Expecting not-so-good weather and lots of hikers, we had the opposite! Also, the Sunset Restaurant on the east side of Moorefield had some very good food and service (415 South Main St.). Only downside - they were out of their blackberry cobbler!

Name: Larry and Krysten                                                                                       Hike: Brown Mountain-Rockytop Loop

Dates: 07/09-11/13                                                                                               Rating: 5

Critique: What a beautiful loop trail!! The grass, thorns and brush had been recently trimmed and there were no fallen trees to deal with. Even with the trees in full leaf, many of the vistas provided sweeping views. This is a perfect time of the year to "dine" on wild blueberries, black raspberries and blackberries. We saw grouse, a rabbit, and a small buck who decided to follow us for a while. We encountered a day hiker who had seen a black bear. Heed the warning about the lack of water and campsites on the slopes and tops of the two mountains. On a note of caution, be sure to apply tick repellant. I picked off 3 wood ticks and unfortunately ended up with 2 embedded deer ticks (yes, I am now taking antibiotics). This will be an unbelievable hike when the leaves are turning or when they have dropped. Crossing the “large talus rock formations” will be quite tricky if the rocks are wet or icy, and being on the top could be very “exciting” during a thunderstorm.

Name: Sam                                                                                                               Hike: Old Loggers Path

Date: 07/05-07/13                                                                                                 Rating: 4

Critique: Hard Core, Wooly Bully, Ted E. Bear and Shortstack did the OLP in the heat, thunder (but no rain during the day) weekend. We first stopped at the Forest Ranger Station at Hillgrove, PA to get information regarding parking at Masten Road, since the websites indicated the bridge was out and possible road closures. We parked at the campsite along Masten Road as directed by the Forest Service. There is parking just past campsite E, where the Forest Service mowed a small field for OLP backpackers/hikers’ parking. Although the Park Service directed us to this parking area, we did not think to ask, and they did not advise us, how to get to the trailhead since the bridge across Pleasant Stream is gone and a new one is under construction (see photo). We planned to do the loop clockwise and wanted to cross the river to get to the trailhead using M.R. Hyker’s http://midatlantichikes.com/oldloggerspath.htm website. We lost an hour between forging the wide and fast running stream at the construction area and trying to find the trailhead. After we crossed and got on the road, we saw a roadway we might have used if we walked further up the road past the bridge construction. However, it appears to be private property, so we hesitated. Note to future hikers/bpers: ask the Forest Service if you can use the nearby driveway at Masten that crosses Pleasant Stream to get to the trailhead. The rest of the first day 12-mile trail was easy and well marked. We camped along Pleasant Stream at a large, beautiful campsite. Day 2 was another 12-miler. Although we had all day to do it, it took us considerable time due to crossing Pleasant Stream again, the heat and some hills. In addition, we lost the blazes at one of the scenic overlooks. Wooly Bully looked downed to admire the view and was about to climb down the rock outcrop when we saw two rattlesnakes on the rocks below. Beware! At that location, we lost the blazes and could not find the trail. This happened again at other locations along the vistas and beyond due to overgrown vegetation. Despite the trail conditions here, we got to the Rock Run and Yellow Dog Run campsite by late afternoon - enough time to cool off at the swimming holes. We had the campsite to ourselves but apparently, it is very popular with day-trippers on the weekends as there were many family groups hiking back up to the road as we descended to the run. Day 3 was a relatively easy 7.6-mile trek back to our car with a few spots that M.R. Hyker refers to, as “climb steeply…might be a bit challenging.” Fortunately, they were short. The OLP is a nice 3-day backpack. The trail was very wet and muddy in many places so we appreciated the warm weather. We logged 31.9 miles according to the GPS due to the first and second day trail mishaps.

A Rattlesnake at a vista

Name: Tammy                                                                                                          Hike: Billy Goat A

Date: 07/07/13                                                                                                       Rating: 4

Critique: I have hiked this trail many times for many years as well as every trail around. I am over 50 and I'm fairly active. It is fun however I do not hike alone because you never know what can happen. A twisted ankle, snake bite, bad cut, or as the case yesterday... not enough water. The older you get the more water you need. Please understand, the rocks are extremely hot in summer and you should bring gloves. Plus double your water. This trip in the fall can be done with 1-2 bottles of water for the over 50 group, in the summer you will need 2-4 bottles of water. Yesterday, my son forgot 2 bottles of water in the car and I began to dehydrate rapidly from heat. When you are older, once you dehydrate it is very difficult to regain control of staying hydrated. We managed because we have hiked so much. It was an easy oversight for my 16 year old boy and lesson learned. Bring water... lots of it. And a snack or 2. It is a fun hike, very family friendly but if you have knee issues, hip issues, back issues please work up to it first and do not go in mid summer because you won't like it and really.... it's the most wonderful place in the world. Fall is beautiful and cool... enjoy

Name: Ken Knott                                                                                                      Hike: Big Beechy-Middle Fork Loop

Date: 07/06-07/13                                                                                                 Rating: 4

Critique: Another fantastic backpack through the West Virginia Monongahela Forest - this time in the Cranberry Wilderness. Beginning at the Big Beechy trailhead off WV150 we quickly summited following a brief 250ft climb to the enter the 'Hall of Kings', a spectacular stretch of virgin Spruce and moss covered boulders and forest floor. From here for the next 3 miles or so the hike is deceptively easy as hiking is swift on wide trail carpeted with thick spruce needles. Several sections are closely encroached by small spruces and fallen trees which gives a hint of the pain to come... Eventually the trail becomes a series of seemingly continual series of climbs, hops and ducks around, over and through fallen trees, encroaching greenery, thick rhododendron or laurel. Be prepared to take many a 'spruce to the face' as we came to call it. The trail can be difficult to follow at times but it often supplemented by well placed cairns. We lost the trail twice while dodging around fallen tree's and once needed to resort to the gps to backtrack to find the last sighting of real trail. The trail appears to have been rerouted at some point. A final steep hill side decent takes to to the confluence of Big Beechy Run and Middle Fork. The trail here is heavily surrounded by Stinging Nettles and pants are highly recommended in season of greenery. The campground is fantastic featuring many many sites and fire rings. The creeks itself features a beautiful waterfall and a terrific swimming hole. The return ascent up the Middle Fork Trail is a gentle grade of about 2000ft over the course of nearly nine miles. The trail is an old forest or logging road and is generally quite broad and easy to follow. The creek is crossed twice and is often marked by cairns at the rare difficult to follow sections. Again, warning that the trail is heavily surrounded by stinging nettles for at least the first third. Pants are highly recommended. Middle Creek is quite beautiful and features many more campsites, swimming holes, and places to relax. Near the end the trail merges with the North-South Trail for the find mile or so before closing the loop.

Name: Eric                                                                                                                Hike: Rocky Knob-Quarry Gap

Date: 07/05-06/13                                                                                                Rating: 4.5

Critique: Great beginner hike. Took my wife on her first time backpacking. We did this loop backward from the description. TONS of campsites along the way so you can tailor your trip to suit your needs. We ended up going all the way to the shelter, but wanting to cut down on the second day we pressed on. Just FYI the short side of Rocky Knob trail has almost NO good places to camp - it is very steep on both sides. There are campsites about .1 miles into the trail at both ends, but not on the trail so do not expect to camp there. We had hoped to and ended up pushing ourselves just a little too far to get to the good campsite just North of the reservoir. But pretty much everywhere else it seems like there are campsites every .25 miles. Definitely recommend this as a beginner hike for anyone you're trying to introduce to backpacking, and it can be done effectively either way (we would have camped on the north side of Rocky Knob trail if we had to do it again). Fantastic hike, thanks for the write up! PS. There's a fun little geocache just north of the reservoir right on this hike! I think there's another one on the AT too but we passed it...whoops!

Name: Tasha                                                                                                            Hike: Roaring Plains Circuit

Date: 07/05-06/13                                                                                                 Rating: 5

Critique: These directions were great and guided myself and 2 adventurous girlfriends almost seamlessly for an overnight backpacking trip. The "unofficial" trails are pretty well trodden by now and currently marked with cairns often enough for experienced hikers to follow fairly easily. The rocky terrain and steepness hiking down Boar's Nest Trail were rough on the knees, feet, ankles; however the views from the canyon rim were worth every step! Our trip was over a holiday weekend and we didn't see anyone else on the trail over the 2 days....a great alternative to the traffic in the Dolly Sods. Thanks so much for sharing the info!

Name: Bruce                                                                                                             Hike: Gunpowder Falls-East Circuit

Date: 06/22/13                                                                                                       Rating: 4

Critique: The description is good. I made it without the map, but used my gps a couple of times to make sure I was on the approximate right track. The trail was overgrown in spots, but for the most part not too difficult. I saw a total of 7 people on the hike. 4 runners, two other hikers and a guy standing by the water at one of the entry points. I took a dog with me and had no problems. The other two hikers had a dog as well.

Photo at the amphitheatre

Name: JNK556                                                                                                          Hike: Roaring Plains Base Camp and Day Hike

Date: 06/15/13                                                                                                       Rating: 4

Critique: Did this hike with ArfcomHkr, weather was nice, all be it still a lot of mud with all the rain we have had. South prong trail is nice, but rocky, good views off trail in the boulders. Hidden Passage is really nice, trail is pretty easy to follow, but could be confusing in some spots. Canyon rim trail is very rough, and in many places over grown, but still pretty easy to follow. We lost the trail near where you cross Roaring Creek, but picked it back up with a little searching and our GPS's. ArfcomHkr took a fall after "The Point" on some rocks, so we decided to cut the loop short and go through the TeePee trail. I wish we wouldn't have. TeePee trail is overgrown, hard to follow in alot of spots, we actually had to bushwack though a thicket to find the trail, and we ended up lost for 30min at the very end of TeePee about 25yds from the Roaring Plains intersection, as you have to pretty much fight your way though a thicket and a small seep to get out on to Roaring plains. All in all though it was a fun hike, and the views are great along the whole way, just don't try it unless you are very skilled with a GPS, compass map, and have a good sense of direction.

Name: Corey W.                                                                                                      Hike: Otter Creek Backpack

Date(s): 06/14-16/13                                                                                           Rating: 2

Critique: **WARNING** *SECTIONS OF OTTER CREEK TRAIL NEARLY IMPASSABLE SUE TO FALLEN TREES AND LANDSLIDES* Our group of six began at Mylius trail head at 5pm. We climbed the moderately steep but charming Mylius and Shavers Mountain trails until we arrived at a nice flat grassy campsite near the edge of a cliff on Shavers Mountain where we found a mostly obscured view of the valleys and mountains in the distance. In the morning we filled up our water bottles at the spring at the campsite on the other side of the trail opposite our own, and continued on to Green Mountain trail. This trail was thick with vegetation, wet, rocky and steep as it neared Otter Creek. Some time after the first crossing we were forced to struggle through OVER A MILE OF FALLEN TREES, BUSHES, AND SOIL DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE CREEK BANK which delayed us for several hours. Luckily we brought a small axe and WERE FORCED TO CHOP OUR WAY THROUGH SEVERAL FALLEN TREES TO GET THROUGH. We went on at a extremely slow and tiresome pace until nearly dark when we camped in a site surrounded by fallen trees. We were very worried we were not going to be able to make it out the following day, or if we would miss our turn altogether due to the fallen trees, and that we may have to go about 10 miles back the way we came. Thankfully, we found the next morning that we only had to travel about a quarter of a mile more through the fallen trees before we reached where the trail had been cut clear. From that point on the hike was pleasant and beautiful, but we were all so stressed over the hard trek over the destroyed trail that we didn't get to enjoy it very much and were just happy to have gotten out without more than cuts, bruises and fatigue. This hike would have been very enjoyable (5 out of 5 rating) if the trail had been clear, but as there was no warning of this danger at the trail head, I am writing this review to alert others of the adverse conditions to be expected. I for one would love to hike Otter Creek again, but not until the trail is cleared. Hike at your own risk and take care!

Photo of trail damage.

Name: Jay Neale                                                                                                     Hike: Morgan Run Loop

Date: 06/16/13                                                                                                       Rating: 3

Critique: I did the loop in reverse order today, (Clockwise). I cut out the loop in the center of the west side for a total hike of 6.8 miles. Recent high water has taken out several of the fire road culverts on the east side. Little Morgan Run had a lot of fresh washout, which made for a good place to sit and eat lunch. Afterwards I took my boots and pant legs off, got in the creek and scouted it out. because the first crossing was so muddy, I walked up the feeder creek to where the trail crosses. There I found sandy soil and a nice log to put my boots back on. Watch out for muddy patches and poison ivy in the low spots. Otherwise it was a very enjoyable outing!

Name: Jo Ellen                                                                                                         Hike: Long Pond Backpack

Date: 06/08-09/13                                                                                                 Rating: 2.5

A group of us did this hike as our first one of the season. We actually did not do the whole hike, but camped at what we think was the "Oldsmobile" campsite. However, we couldn't figure out why you call it that. I tried to look at Don's photos, but they are not longer available on shutterfly. So, what gives? Why "Oldsmobile"? It was a good first outing as it had some elevation and some water crossings. Even with all this rain, the "slippery rock" waterfall had no water....but it did have a slippery rock. It was fun, but nothing that would draw me back.

M.R.Hyker Notes: Thanks for telling me about Don's photo links being broken. I removed them. As far as the Oldsmobile site ... there used to be an old Oldsmobile hubcap hanging on a tree there. I guess someone took it.

Name: Ed D.                                                                                                              Hike: Loyalsock-Link Loop w/Haystacks

Date: 06/06-07/13                                                                                                Rating: 5

Critique: By far the best backpacking we have done in Pennsylvania ever. The trail starts out at the visitor center with a large parking lot, and you need to register to hike. You can fill-out the paperwork if the office is not open. The people working in the office are so friendly and nice. The trail has everything from beautiful views and the scenery/vegetation changes. Oh do not get discourage if you are following the trail notes and the first 1.5 miles is nothing but straight up. You have fresh legs and a full backpack. Your legs will be screaming stop, but your eyes from the beauty will say continue. The trail markers are the best I have ever seen. Seems like every 15 feet the is a marker. The Loyalsock trail is 59 miles and you are hiking on part of it. The campsites are near water, and setup great. We had some rain and wet shoes and socks. We decided to do the haystacks and it was worth the hike. There are many streams for water sources. The trail notes are right on mark for where you are hiking. The people responsible for the trail maintenance, we would like to thank you. the campsites were clean, and had fire pits with rock chairs with flat tent areas. The second day with the overviews before the hike end was amazing. We love the workout with the 3500 feet elevation climb through the hike, which makes the views well worth it when you get to the top. I am kicking myself for not bringing a camera. Not that the camera could capture the views, which seem to limit the beauty. There were also numerous campsites that were not on the map, so do not be scared in getting to the campsite that is occupied. The first campsite on the trail seemed to be the best with the view and the rock chairs and a good distance from the trail. We stayed at the campsite at the intersection to the haystacks. It was nice and the trees provided shelter from the rain at night along with the tent. We are always looking for different places to backpack, but this one is one to come back. We did not see much traffic, but we also did go during the week in early June.

Name: Ed D.                                                                                                              Hike: Ricketts Glen Falls Hike

Date: 06/09/13                                                                                                       Rating: 5

Critique: This is a great day hike. We camped a Red Mountain camp sight, and did the day hike with Ricketts Glen Falls. Oh, BBQ next to camp sight is the best. I am from Texas and know the good stuff. You will need to get out early if you do not like crowds if this is during the summer or weekends. We were on the trail at 8:30 and by 9:30 there was a lot of people. By the time we got back to our car at 11:30 the lot was full. This hike is busy with traffic. Since you are going down and hiking back up there are a lot of steps, and the stones are wet. Hiking shoes or shoes with traction is a must. We had hiking poles to help with stability. The views are amazing, and make sure to bring the camera. There are some other trails of the main loop, and nothing to see that I can remember. We did see a four foot long black snake. I was hoping to see some black bears, and we did see bear markings on the bear creek road trail.

Name: Ed D.                                                                                                             Hike: Pinchot Trail

Date: 06/08/13                                                                                                       Rating: 1

Critique: We started this hiking on 6/8. The rain from the night before made the thick trail a water wonderland for your hiking boots and pants. Even with gaiters my shoes, socks and pants were socking wet. The sights were not impressive. We also just hiked "World End Park" the day before this hike. We had planned on backpacking for two to three days on this trail. We had ran into some other hikers that were not impressed by the views or trail. On some of the other hikes we have encountered we have different scenery and the vegetation changes as with trees. These trails all seem to have the same views. We had a few camp sights that we were going to stop at for lunch, but nothing was impressive. The viewing platform was nice, when we stopped for lunch. The trails were marked well. The beginning of the trail was so thick you could not see the trail path. We were planning on stopping to camp at the camp sight at Behler Swamp, but the dead dog carcass mostly decayed scared my wife. She started running back down the trail for the highway. I have never seen her run that fast with her full backpack. I wanted to look at the bright side and tell of the good thing of this trail, there was a babbling brook under the rocks. I guess maybe the south trail might be better. There is some many more hiking trails within an hour from this that are so much better. The trail was marked well, and had nice trailhead parking. Trail notes were right on target and help us find the viewing platform. The other funny thing was in the trail notes it mentioned twice about half way through if you want to bailout take this trail. Thank you for the trail notes, and we have much appreciate for the people that mark and maintain the trails. It is hard with miles of trails. I am sure we just hit the trail at a bad time.

Name: Linda                                                                                                             Hike: Big Mountain/Pine Tree Vista

Date: 06/05/13                                                                                                       Rating: 2

Critique: A friend and, co-leaders of an all-women outdoors group, did this hike as a preview to see if it was suitable for the group. Between the 2 of us we probably have 30 years of hiking/outdoors experience, maybe more. I point that out to show that we are not inexperienced hikers by any means. Where to start....The trail notes on the site were just adequate. Even with them and the map, had we not had a GPS with us we would have been very lost more than once. As it was we made 3 wrong turns (following the notes) and had to backtrack each time. They could have used far more detail - i.e. Note total lack of signage and blazes at most turns; indicate that the marshy area is wide, long, deep, and that above-the-ankle waterproof boots are MUST, not just a recommendation. We were wearing boots like that and still nearly had them sucked right off of our feet a few times and had the water/muck come right to our boot tops. Note the rocks...this is PA and we're well aware of the long big-rock filled stretches of trails there. Those who aren't aware of it or who have a deep visceral fear of snakes (encountered 3 including a big fat rattler stretched across the trail) need to know it's coming, how long it is, how bad the rocks get, and to make sure they have hiking poles that can be banged on the rocks and rotted wood to try to force a retreat of any snakes. Poles, in fact, should be used on this entire trail. Not impressed by people who don't believe they ever need them. If and when we take a group on this hike we will turn away anyone that doesn't have a pair of hiking poles and the high-cut waterproof boots. Trail maintenance is pretty much non-existent. There are wide stretches of the Tuscarora Trail that appear to maybe get mowed/weed-whacked now and then but that's it. We encountered big blown down trees that had clearly been there for several months and in some cases several years. After emerging into a clearing, before hitting the road walk and turning right onto another trail, we turned around and could not see where we had just come from...no sign of a trail in there whatsoever. Anyone coming the other way would be at a loss as to where to go next. Due to the wrong turns and time taken to backtrack, and a schedule to keep, we had to decide to bypass the last big vista point. In any case, with a group, I'd bypass it and opt to drive up after the hike was over. If the notes and all had been better, had we not had to waste time backtracking, we would have enjoyed this trail a lot more. I don't know that I've even been on one that had such varied terrain. And besides the snakes we had close encounters with a huge wild turkey mom and her brood, and a mother grouse and her brood. Saw a doe and her fawn right after we arrived. There were big, definite bear prints in the muddier parts of the trail but no encounters.

Name: Joy                                                                                                                Hike: Little Fork-Middle Fork Loop

Date: 5/25/13                                                                                                         Rating: 4

Critique: We took our time, camped at Big Beechy campsite night one after just 2.5 miles in. The next day, hiked down to the Laurelly campsite and enjoyed the solitude of the beautiful forest.The third day, we hiked (the North-South Tr  to the Little Fork Tr) which is a pretty trail, lacking any campsites. We ended up hiking to where the car was parked, grabbed some leftover refreshments in the cooler and hiked appx .25 miles to a campsite that was on Middle Fork, where we began our loop. The campsite needed some attention after an obvious storm had made a little mess, but left us a lot of great firewood for the resurrected fire ring. A great, relaxing 3 nights out. The only problem was finding the trailhead. Google directions didn't help with the last 4 directions. Make sure to double check your directions. This trailhead was located at the campsites for the Three Forks. there is parking at the end of the gravel road.

Name: Kathy                                                                                                            Hike: Dolly Sods Wilderness Backpack

Date(s): 05/19-20/13                                                                                           Rating: 5

Critique: We followed the trail notes almost exactly. We saw far more bsckpackers than we were expecting on Sunday, but they were gone on Monday and we had the trails to ourselves. The campsite icons on the trail map were particularly helpful, and the campsites themselves were amazing. There are a couple of additional sites on the ridge near the Lion's Head that are spectacular. My favorite of the campsites was on Dunkenbarger trail between the two old hemlocks, but unfortunately the trail itself is in terrible shape with tons of blowdown. Next time I'll skip that trail. The variety in this 17-or-so mile loop is great and the terrain is not challenging. I found it to be a perfect, fairly easy two-day loop, and it would be ideal for first-time backpackers (especially kids) because of the relative ease, variety, abundance of water and nice backcountry campsites. I am looking forward to coming back and doing the north half of the Sods.

Lion's Head Photo

Name: Ben                                                                                                                Hike: Red Creek/Dunkenbarger Loop

Name: David                                                                                                             Hike: Piney Ridge/Thornton River Loop

Date: 05/25-26/13                                                                                                 Rating: 3

Critique: The hike was nice with lots of canopy cover to keep you cool. Some interesting spots like the graveyard and the shelter at the beginning of the hike. Not too many camp spots but did find a good one on the Thornton River section. Once you make the first river crossing it is about 30 yards from the river to the left in the hollow. There are no overlooks on this hike thus the 3 ranking but it was definitely worth the trip.

Name: Mike                                                                                                               Hike: Dolly Sods North BP

Date(s): 05/24-26/13                                                                                           Rating: 5+

Critique: This is my favorite trip yet, not that I am experienced much. But the scenery is so beautiful, the hiking so easy, water is so readily available, and the campsites are like something from a dream, it has to be a 5+! The trails were well marked, unlike some of the older reviewers have stated. The campsite about 1 mile into the hike had room for up to 5 tents, and a nice fire ring. The campsite further along on the left branch of Red Creek (where it says Camp Here on the map) is tremendously large. It was almost big enough to be a campground, and was perched right along the Creek. Be forewarned that the trail just crosses a beaver dam down near where the Upper Red Creek and Dobbins Grade Trail intersect. You will see the ponds from a distance and realize the trail goes right through them over the dam. The Dobbins Grade is very muddy and you will get muddy and wet without fail (maybe not true in drier times of year?). Overall, this is a beautiful trip with lots of vistas, varieties of terrain and plant life, and gentle climbs and descents. I would even say beginners could easily do this trip.

View from Cabin Mountain

Name: Rob                                                                                                                Hike: Dolly Sods Wilderness Backpack

Date: 05/25-27/13                                                                                                 Rating: 4

Critique: We did this hike Memorial Day weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect, which probably accounts for the (relatively) large numbers we saw on the trail, but still by no means as crowded as some of the more established parks and trails. The directions and descriptions were right on and very easy to follow. We camped the first night just after the Red Creek ford. There are a couple of sites on the right, and the second one before the trail gets steep was really nice, with a big fire ring and easy river access. However, the section of trail just after that site gets pretty messy. Lots of downed trees with some steep and tricky scrambles to get around. Nothing insanely hard, but it adds quite a bit of time and effort to the regular trail. We actually ended up skipping the Dunkenbarger and Little Stonecoal leg, because some guys out there warned us off, as well as the previous review on this site. Just to get onto the trail from the junction there is an immediate tree to duck, and it seems like it doesn't get much better. Other sections of trail have had a bit of work done, but still quite messy. Just be aware that there are no campsites or water spots on Big Stonecoal after the Dunkenbarger junction. So we continued down to Red Creek, and camped just after the ford. This made for a longer day than planned, but wasn't too bad. We'd even considered just hiking out that night, but I'm glad we stayed, even if the sites were pretty full and we had to ask to share a site with another group. Make sure you have solid boots, because as the description says, the trail is very rocky in parts. We didn't encounter any big muddy areas, but it has also been very dry. Any rain at all and you could easily be up to your shins. Highly recommended, just plan to spend some extra time fighting the lingering results of Sandy.

Name: Bob                                                                                                                Hike: Copperhead Point

Date: 05/26/13                                                                                                       Rating: 3

Critique: Thanks for getting this on the map. The fire road, especially past the first left fork down to the reservoir, on May 26 2013 was overgrown with thigh-deep grass, and I wasn't prepared with DEET, so I took the left turn down to the reservoir instead to avoid collecting ticks, after a short exploratory walk down the fire road. To be fair, I have not yet found any ticks on my body or clothes after my shorter foray in 24 hours, but if you are preparing for this hike, prepare for ticks. I may revisit this hike again next winter when the grasses may be somewhat shorter.

Name: Sam                                                                                                               Hike: Mud Hole Gap (modified)

Date: 05/25-26/13                                                                                                Rating: 4

Critique: Cognac Jack and Wooly Bully did a variation of this hike as an overnight backpack. Saturday started out cool, clear, and breezy, and stayed that way. Starting at around 9:30 at the Elizabeth Furnace Recreational Area "inner parking lot", we followed the white blazed Botts Trail, then west (right) on the Sherman Gap Trail to the Passage Creek. No bridge here, definitely a boots-off crossing! Thankfully the water was fairly low and not all that cold. The trail then crosses Fort Valley Road, passes thru a gravel parking lot, and proceeds to the Mudhole Gap Trail. The first part of the Mudhole Trail is a gravel service road. The last part becomes more interesting when it passes over a single track and then over an old wagon road. The wagon road parallels Little Passage Creek, and fords it at least 5 times, all rock-to-rock crossings. A pretty stream, flowing fast and making lots of water noise. We had a pleasant lunch at the 2nd ford. Beware of the third ford - we found out that hiking poles float down the rapids quite nicely! The last part of the Mudhole Gap Trail gets pretty busy, where it dead-ends at the intersection of the Massanutten Trail (MT) and FR66. After taking a right on the MT we passed several car campers on the right side of the trail, and the Powells Fort Camp (closed) on the left. The MT follows another gravel road for around 2 miles, and then follows a nice trail around the west side of Strasburg Reservoir to some large some large camp sites at the north end. We stopped here for the night, at around 2:30, 9 miles from the starting point. Set up camp, took a walk around the reservoir which is quite pretty, and then settled down to dinner. With all of the young, straight as an arrow tulip poplars we were not able to find a suitable branch for hanging the bear bag, but Cognac Jack found a horizontal section of a snapped off tree that worked nicely. It was around 25 feet up, took me four tries to get the rope over and back down. Despite being a holiday weekend, we were the only campers at the reservoir. Clear cool night, nice background from the fast flowing stream beside the campsite. A whippoorwill started up around 10pm, close by at first but then moving farther away. Sunday morning was clear and cold, by 7:30 we were back on the MT which shunts back onto the gravel service road just north of the reservoir. The road become progressively steeper as it approaches Signal Knob. Signal Knob was fantastic on this absolutely clear and windless morning, with great views to the west and north. We continued on the MT, first fairly level along the ridge top and then descending with the trail becoming all rocks in places. This is a very pretty trail, with occasional views to the left, and with the laurel just starting to bloom. As we moved down the mountain we passed the first hikers of the day, and the traffic got heavier at the trail neared the Signal Knob parking lot. Another mile got us back to the car, for a total of 8 miles for Sunday. After stowing the gear and cleaning up, we had a great lunch in Front Royal at the Jalisco Mexican Restaurant. We had no trouble cleaning our plates and downing several large glasses of sweet tea. By 2:00 we were back at the I-70 / Rt. 94 park and ride. This was a great backpack, and we figured out some nice variations of the loop for future trips. Many thanks to Cognac Jack for putting this together!
 

Photo as we descended Signal Knob

Name: Dar                                                                                                                 Hike: Conestoga Trail (modified)

Date: 05/25/13                                                                                                       Rating: 5

Critique: Lovely hike and deserving of the strenuous rating. We didn't want to take two cars for the shuttle hike so we decided on starting at the Pinnacle Rock Overlook parking lot and doing an out and back to the Wind Cave. We overshot the Wind Cave a bit on the way north (easy to hike right by northbound, hard to miss southbound) and went past it to the woods road before turning around. Total mileage was 9.1 with a total elevation change of 2500 feet each way according to our GPS tracker program for a total hike elevation change of 5000 feet. It's a death by a thousand small, steep hills kind of trail so be prepared to be tired. I realize that was doubly so for us because we chose the hilliest part for the out and back but I'd still highly recommend this hike. Really nice scenery and cool with lots of shade, breezes and waterways along the route. The Tuquan Creek stretch is particularly lovely and a great break from the harder bits to either side of it. We did the stream crossing and found a place about 10-15 feet past the actual marked crossing where we could rock hop without really getting our feet wet. The blazes are much improved from the previous years' comments. In fact this trail is now very well blazed. We had no trouble following the orange blazes - the turns were well marked as were the bits going over and through rock formations, and the orange Conestoga trail was easy to distinguish when it ran alongside other trails and then split off from them. At some points you may need to pause and look for the markings (ie- around the rock formations) but they are there and easy to make out. Note that 3 other trails run alongside on the Tuquan Creek stretch (blue-blazed Tuquan Glen on the south bank and white and yellow trails on the north side) so just watch for blazes marking the split offs for the Conestoga trail- they are slanted double slashed and well-marked.

Name: SlugMaster Garret                                                                                      Hike: Chuck Keiper trail-East and West

Date: 05/22-25/13                                                                                                 Rating: 4

Critique: We did the east loop from the Fish Dam Vista parking lot and heading clockwise towards the northeast. The trail was well blazed and easy to follow. Ticks were particularly numerous in Drake Hollow. There are a few downed trees across the trail between Hall Run and the top of Diamond Rock Hollow that require going off trail. A trail maintainer with a chainsaw would be useful in this area to clear the path. Other than these obstacles the trail was a pleasant walk. We started around 2:00pm on Day 1 and reached the Connector trail around 2:00 on Day 2. I agree with the previous poster that this trail can be done in 24 hours if you move at a decent pace and start the hike early in the day. My group decided to continue forward onto the West Loop at this point and continue rather than take the connector back to the car.

Name: Sam                                                                                                               Hike: Pinchot Trail

Date: 05/11-13/13                                                                                                 Rating: 5

Critique: Ted E. Bear, Wooly Bully and Shortstack did this BP (26.8 mi) in three days, with mileage being 5.6, 12.4, and 8.8 respectively. The terrain is indeed moderate, but very diverse. We enjoyed the Balsam Swamp, hemlocks, rhododendron tunnels, lots of orange salamanders and frogs, plenty of pretty streams and a great 360-view from the tower. Wooly Bully downloaded the waypoints from the website on his GPS and we all had M.R. Hyker maps. All campsites indicated were easy to locate, mostly flat and water was no issue. The trails were well maintained with only a few blow-downs that we had to walk around. Beware, there is new construction near the pipeline intersection along the White Trail. We followed what may have been a snowmobile trail / new road construction which took us to Bear Creek Rd., east of where we should have been to connect to the White Trail. (For GPS users, we went off track shortly after waypoint #23). It was not too long of a road walk to get back to the connecting White Trail, but future hikers should beware of this area. There were orange diamond markers, then the new gravel/mud road which had yellow posts with orange on them, but we were not sure if they were for the trail, snowmobile trail or road construction. Other than that, trails are well marked and sections are indeed rocky, so good boots are a must.

Name: Geoff                                                                                                             Hike: McKeldin Area

Date: 05/15/13                                                                                                      Rating: 5   

Critique: I want to share the route I take when I go running on the trails in McKeldin. Start out at the parking lot just above the dam, not the one closest to the dam, the one at the top of the hill. Follow the rapids trail down to the beach, then when the trail forks go straight, don't keep following the rapids trail, those rocks aren't fun to run on. Follow Switchback across bridge, gain elevation, then you want to fork right take the trail that goes back down to the rapids trail. Follow the trail along the river ALL THE WAY, following the river until you past the first entrance to the plantation trail on the left. Don't take that one, well, you can, but the better hike is further up. Follow the switchback trail until you see the next entrance to the plantation trail. This one is much steeper. Follow the plantation up up AND UP to the highest point in the park, you'll know you're close after a very steep incline, you'll notice a fork to the right and if you follow it you'll come to a high summit with a pole with a white flag. Anyway, keep going on the plantation, this is my favorite part of the park. keep going until you come to the meadow. Keep going through the meadow, across the road, onto the tall poplar, go left at fork. Follow the tall poplar all the way back to your car, fork to to the left to get back to parking lot where you started. Love this park, so beautiful, and running on it is great. I think this circuit totals to a little over 3 miles, but I could be wrong. Watch your footing, hope to see some of you out there!

Name: Mountainstreamflood                                                                                  Hike: AT-Sunset Rocks Circuit

Date: 05/12/13                                                                                                         Rating: 4

Critique: Hike: Overall this is a pretty good hike. The views from Sunset Rock are outstanding and the two crossings of Tom's Run are gorgeous (would be even better in late June/early July when Rosebays are in bloom). We did the hike backwards to save my knees from the steep slope of Little Rocky Ridge but this has the disadvantage of getting the best of the hike (Sunset Rocks) out of the way in the first 3 miles, leaving nondescript but pleasant 5 mile return back to the car. Also, we used Old Shippensburg Road to avoid the out-and-back on the AT between Sunset Rocks Trail and Pine Grove Furnace. One note, it appears the AT has been rerouted at Halfway spring (just passed first crossing of Toms'Run.) Rather than following the logging road to Michaux Road at Camp Michaux, the trail now proceeds on a footpath to the north and directly across Michaux Road. As a result the trail bypasses the ruins of the old stone barn. 

Name: Dick/Roger                                                                                                     Hike: Black Forest Trail - North

Critique: We delayed starting out by one day due to weather, but still passed through rain in Williamsport on the way! In total the Williamsport area received 1.80 " of rain from 5/09-12. View this as the lower limit for defining the trails as being "high water"! Checking the rainfall in the area, particularly in the Spring, is a must before going! This is critical because during Day 2 you have to ford Slate Run... there is no bridge left because it continually was washed out! If you can't ford it you have to backtrack up to the Old Quarry Road and go right down to an old steel bridge on Pine Creek, then up Rt44 for over a mile to the Black Forest circumnavigation parking area above Slate Run. We forded Slate Run in high water (mid-thigh running around 6mph). Neither of us will ever do that again...extremely dangerous and foolish! On the positive (and sane) side, it's a really nice hike! The ridges have oceans of mountain laurel. Next year we'll go back around the first week in June when it reported blooms up there! The lower elevations have very nice conifer groves. The vistas are pristine in terms of seeing no signs of civilization! The trails are well maintained with only a couple of rocky spots! The first night we camped at the furthest campsite up Morris Branch before the climb out of the valley! It would handle 3-4 tents, the second site was also nice, but smaller (2 tents). The first along the branch was not as good! (We didn't go down the initial path to see whether there's a good site there)! The second night we camped at Foster Hollow! Multiple level sites near the pond including off trail in the woods! The pond water was very clear and flowing through from and into a creek! Whether this continues thru the summer is a question, but it looks as if it would! Because of high water we chose to take the Sentiero Dishay ski trail (marked as the "high water alternative") back up north instead of going further west to the BFT on County Line Creek! It had some bogs and places where it was hard to follow. The Dishay is now clearly marked off of the Blackberry Trail! However, where it meets Meadow Rd. the road crosses and now continues west. When widening the road they apparently wiped out any visible blue blazes. Go right on Meadow Rd for about fifty yards to the other side of the creek where you'll see ample blazes on the left side of the road Also, there is a new road that you'll cross before coming to Gravel Rd. We're guessing that they're getting ready to "frack" in the area! Oh yes, by the way, it was snowing and sleeting while hiking (13th of May).. not detrimental to enjoying the hike though!! Bottom-line: With less rainfall immediately before it, and with the laurel in bloom, this would be a really outstanding hike! It was a very nice one as it was! Stopping at the Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport on the return provided closure!

Name: Tony and Penny                                                                                                       Hike: Kelly's Run - Pinnacle Overlook

Date: 5/11/13                                                                                                                      Rating: 5

Critique: Took this hike yesterday. Weather was wet, rained night before, trails were in great shape but wet. Missed the turn after fording the creek at the bridge and took an unmarked trail to the Conestoga trail eventually to the Pinnacle. Ate lunch at the Pinnacle then took the Pine Tree Trail then continued with the rest of this trail. Trail was blazed very well in most places. Rained over lunch and about 2 miles of the hike. Overall it was a great hike, first one of the season for us, was long, I think we hiked about 9 miles with doing different trails etc. Thanks for the directions or never would have found our way around this! Look forward to doing it again in the future.

Name: Zach                                                                                                                           Hike: Plantation Tr/CLR 13 Loop 

Date: 05/04/13                                                                                                                   Rating: 3

Critique: First and foremost, this website is an invaluable resource for hikers throughout the region and I am incredibly appreciative of it. All directions and trail descriptions were accurate for the hike - finding Lindy off of CLR13 should be easy as long as you make sure you are looking for a small rock cairn just off the side of the road. As noted in the description, the USFS no longer maintains the Lindy Run Trail to the Plantation trail - this is easily noticeable as the trail is becoming impassable at points thanks to the sheer number of blowdowns on the trail. Unfortunately, this does not cease once you reach the Plantation Trail, as some sections may take several minutes to move a mere 10 feet. Estimating that there were at least 25 blowdowns severely blocking the trail would seem to be a conservative estimate after finishing the hike. The area was very scenic regardless, however the frequency of blowdowns made this a very stressful hike. Fortunately this ceases once you reach the Table Rock trail. The views at Table Rock are absolutely incredible and are worth the distressing hike down the Lindy and Plantation trails. The walk back on CLR13 is certainly long, but it is a very pleasant and easy walk. I don't believe any vehicles travel down the road anymore - it looks like it'd be a very difficult time even for a Humvee. All in all, a recommended hike if you've already hiked most of the other areas of WV or really want to get to Table Rock. 

M.R.Hyker Note: Super Storm Sandy has really done a number on most of the hiking venues in the MNF. Forest Service personnel and volunteers are currently overwhelmed. It will take some time to get all of the trails open.            

Name: Joe                                                                                                                             Hike: Dolly Sods Wilderness Backpack

Date(s): 4/27 to 29/13                                                                                                      Rating: 4

Critique: I did this hike with my girlfriend for my birthday around the end of April and overall it was a great hike. We hiked to the campgrounds near the breathed mtn trail/red creek trail junction on the first day and that seemed to be a good place to break it up. The first day there is a lot of pushing through overgrown rhododendrons and the trail is very hard to follow at places, especially between the trailhead and somewhere around the big stonecoal trail junction. After the first day there isn't a lot of green yet in the area and we saw very little wildlife aside from some birds and a deer. We also saw no other people after the first campground. The latter half of the Breathed mtn trail and especially the Dunkenbarger trail were full of downed trees. It became laughable after awhile and it felt like we were bushwhacking more than we were actually on the trail. The downed trees got very old after awhile but the area is beautiful and I highly recommend this hike. Be prepared for lots of gnats that show up if you stop near the river and very, very cold water crossings.

Name: K.C.                                                                                                                            Hike: Dolly Sods Wilderness Backpack

Date(s): 05-04 through 06-13                                                                                          Rating: 4

Two friends and I did this hike on an early May weekend. We did about 8 miles the first day, and the remaining 5 miles the second day. We had beautiful weather: 70-75 highs with an overnight low in the 30s. The greenery schedule is a bit slower in this area than in D.C., so the deciduous trees were just starting to bud. Most of the greenery was in the form of rhododendron and spruce trees. Like others, we had a bit of trouble at the early part of the red creek trail because there are a lot of misleading cairns. On the way back we followed the trail, and I found the point that we lost it on the way in. Perhaps 300 yards in, the trail descends out of a wooded area and you get your first unobstructed view of the creek. The trail appears to veer off to the left towards the creek, but it actually goes up a short muddy hill. Standing at this point, it is very hard to tell that there is a trail ahead of you because at the top of the small muddy embankment, it curves slightly to the left behind some tree trunks. Even if you can’t find the actual trail, once you hit the Little Stonecoal Trail (you’ll see cairns on either side of the creek), you can easily head back away from the river and pick up the Red Creek Trail again. We had a lot of trouble with down trees on the latter half of the trip (beginning at about the junction of the Red Creek Trail and the Rocky Point Trail). The area must have had a particularly ice or snowstorm, because the trees most affected were medium size Red Spruce. This was worst on the Dunkenbarger trail; it was to the point where we were bushwhacking around or climbing under/over downed Red Spruce every 50 meters or so. Often it was difficult to find the trail again on the other side. Other than the downed trees, this was a fantastic trip! The second half (once you leave the Red Creek Trail) was very secluded, and we encountered few people. We also encountered almost no wildlife except for an occasional bird.

Name: Axel Jones                                                                                                                Hike: Stone Tower

Date: 4/28/13                                                                                                                      Rating: 4

Critique: Hike is fun and "The General" is a cool sight. If the water level is high there's a fallen tree with wire strung across for hand holding across Clark Creek. Rocky and occasionally steep in parts so bring tough boots.

Name: Andrew                                                                                                                      Hike: Red Creek/Dunkenbarger Loop

Name: Greg Romano                                                                                               Hike: Old Loggers Path
Date: 8/11/12 - 8/13/12                                                                                      Rating: 3

Critique: Pleasant Stream Road is still closed, so pay careful attention when following directions to the trailhead. We followed the custom Google directions and ended up having to re-route twice to find Masten.

The trail was overgrown in areas and in need of maintenance. Many blow downs and overgrown bushes slowed us down. The trail was so tight sometimes we could not see our feet. The trail notes are very accurate, you just need to pay attention to those orange blazes! We took the wrong path three different times.

This was my first time hiking in this area, so I can only compare the views with those in the Appalachians. And in my opinion, they were just ok.

We met quite a few people backpacking the loop as well. We had to share the campsites both nights, which wasn't a big deal, but if you are looking for solitude, this isn't the hike for you.

I was set on giving this hike a 1 rating, until we hit the Rock Run campsite. This was awesome. We had a blast climbing on the rocks, swimming and exploring all the rock formations. That campsite made the whole trip worth it. The water levels were low, but there was enough water to jump in and cool off.

All in all I doubt I head back to hike the whole loop again. I would probably just hike in to Rock Run and enjoy the campsite for a whole day.

Name: Hard Corey                                                                                                  Hike: AT-Sunset Rocks
Date: 08-12-2012                                                                                                   Rating: 4

Critique: Good 8+ mile hike. The rock scramble is enjoyable, but not as difficult as some would leave you to believe. We followed the posted trail directions, however, should you want to increase the difficulty, turn left at the first Sunset Rocks Trail signage and steeply climb to Sunset Rocks. Invert the remaining directions as applicable.

Name: Ed. S                                                                                                            Hike: Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship
Date: July 29, 2012                                                                                                 Rating: 3.5

Critique: A warm weekend, so I decided on somewhere nearby, a not long hike, and not too much elevation change, and so the Blue Ridge Center fit the bill. I did a loop approximating the one here, about 8 miles, using the Derry, Sweet Run, and Legacy Loops, along with the Piney Run Spur, but skipping the Wood Thrush and Old Bridge Trails.

Located in Loudon Valley, this makes a hike different from your typical mountain location. There are some good views, both of Short Hill Mountain and the Blue Ridge, at the Mountain View Vista, the parking area, and Sawmill Fields. There are a couple of streams gently flowing through the property, and a few ponds. Gordon Pond on the Legacy Loop makes a good lunch break. This area also must have a rich history, with many old cabins/houses along the trails, evidence of old waterworks in a couple of places, and an old line of cairns stretching across the trail. It also is a fairly popular place; I saw about two dozen hikers and three horseback riders while there.

A couple of other notes. Watch for poison ivy in season when on narrow trails. It's readily avoidable, but you do have to watch your step. Butterfly Alley (aka the powerline) is now a gravel lane, but the butterflies and wildflowers are still present.

Name: Ed Duguid                                                                                                     Hike: Jeff Mitchell's Waterfall Wonderland
Date: August 6, 2012                                                                                              Rating: 4

Critique: Great waterfalls, we loved hiking in the river. We hiked with five people, in good shape. We started at 9 am and finished at 530 pm. Two times swimming and lunch break. Everyone was tired at the end. The trail has little markings but seemed travelled frequently.

Name: Joel                                                                                                                Hike: Mason - Dixon Shuttle
Date: 8/3/2012                                                                                                       Rating: 4.5

Critique: I did this as an out and back starting at the north end. The hike started out on a wide road but quickly got into some nice single track. I enjoyed it all. You do have to watch out for the double blue marking indicating trail change when you get out along the river road in order to catch the nice single track paths. The waterfall and elevation changes (strenuous), on the section of path that goes through the power line cut make this a section you don't want to miss unless you don't enjoy switchbacks and hard climbing.

Name: Thomas                                                                                                         Hike: Mason - Dixon Shuttle
Date: 7/28/12                                                                                                          Rating: 4

Critique: We went on a really hot humid day and started around noon at the lock 12 parking lot. There is a note at the upper parking lot warning drivers that there have been many car break-ins so we proceeded to the lower lot which is more secluded from the roadway. The lot also has latrines nearby.

The lock 12 and lime kiln ruins were cool. Based on maps and other on-line descriptions of this hike there may be other ruins in the area. However, perhaps due to going during the time of peak summer foliage, we didn't spot any.

The description of the hike is very good up to the point where the trail descends to River Road at the dam. We turned left up the road and couldn't find where the trail headed. The description mentions an old road and some cottages but we couldn't find those. We ended up walking quite a ways up River Road to some farms. At this point we heard thunder and decided to start heading back to the lock 12 parking lot. On the return back down the road we did see a change of direction blaze that we missed earlier, but we still couldn't make out where the trail went.

The storm hit just as we made it back to the high voltage line towers. The storm actually made the hike even more fun as it was really sweltering hot and the cool downpour really was a relief. Luckily we made it back to the car without slipping on the rocks or getting struck by lightning.

Name: Thomas                                                                                                         Hike: Susquehanna SP
Date: June 5, 2012                                                                                                  Rating: 5

Critique: This is the first hike we went on from this website. This hike not only included historic areas but also a variety of nature vistas including riverfront, farmland, forest, and fields. The description of the hike was also excellent as it really takes you through many areas of the park. Without this description we would have not had any idea what trails to start out on and we would surely have gotten lost as many trails intersect. Thanks!

Name: Rexpit                                                                                                           Hike: Kennedy peak
Date: 7/28/12                                                                                                         Rating: 4.5

Critique: Awesome hike. Went by myself to watch the sunset, it was beautiful. Nice steady climb with a pleasant grade, and great leg burner on the last "leg" up to the peak. I enjoyed solitude on the mountain as no one else was on it, great part of hiking in GWNF. Nice partial views on the way up but the boom at the top .. sweeping vista all around, it was powerful.

Name: J. Parker                                                                                                       Hike: Dolly Sods Wilderness Backpack
Date: July 19-21, 2012                                                                                           Rating: 3

Critique: Thank you for the trail notes! I think we might still be lost out there without them. We definitely did not get to experience the cool mountain air of the Sods. High humidity, temperatures in the low 80s and lots of rain made this a bit of a death march for my 15 year old son and me.

As others have said, the most difficult route finding was in the first mile or so on the Red Creek Trail. The trail appeared to descend, then just ended at the river. You need to stay high above the river for a while. The Dunkenbarger Trail was by far the worst trail conditions I have ever experienced. At first, we didn't know it was a trail because it was a running stream complete with small waterfalls. After that, it became a series of ponds with only a few rocks and roots to help you cross.

My son fell in the water on the final crossing of Red Creek. The high water conditions made this one a little scary. Looking back, we probably should have tried to find the alternate crossing.

It certainly felt like a huge accomplishment to complete this one. I'll come back, maybe in the early fall next time. Thanks again.

Name: Sam                                                                                                               Hike: FMF - Clifford Hollow Loop
Date: July 22, 2012                                                                                                 Rating: 4

Critique: Sunday morning started out with light rain but had stopped by the time I arrived at the trailhead. I made a few modifications to the route, crossing the road at the parking area and starting out on the lower Yellow Trail, making for a "clockwise" loop. This put the more challenging Catoctin Trail segment at the 2nd half of the hike. Even with all of the recent rains the trail was pretty dry and the streams were low enough to cross rock-to-rock. Trails are unmarked at the north end of the loop, but in general bearing to the right gets you to the Catoctin Trail (keep in mind I was making a clockwise loop vs. the CCW loop shown in the map.) It was a good workout (carrying 35 pounds) and overall a nice hike in the woods.

Name: Melissa                                                                                                         Hike: Rockytop-Big Run Loop
Date: June 2-3                                                                                                         Rating: 4

Critique: My husband, myself, and a friend of ours did this hike as an overnight. We did the loop in reverse as shown on this site, and if I were to do the hike again, I would do it that way again.

I have literally spent hundreds of nights out of doors backpacking, and the campsite we had on this trip was definitely "top tier." This campsite is not located by a symbol on the map! It is on a shelf above the stream and shows signs of frequent tent use and good care (no trash, unsightly fire messes, etc). This is located along the trail at a ford south of the bridge crossing 1-2 miles. Camping = 5.

Describing the trail is somewhat difficult, as the trail's two "sides" are completely different. Nevertheless, I can say that this trail is NOT as strenuous as advertised. Our first day (remember, we are doing this in reverse) was downright easy, a stroll through the woods on a well-marked path. Boredom did not set in, however, as we had some beautiful water to look at and fords to navigate.

Our second day brought the only real climb of any note if you are doing this in reverse. The hike was completely different. Out of the valley, it was rocky and exposed, leading to some nice views. We were also rewarded by seeing two bear cubs and one mama crash around in the brush on the opposite hillside.

Views= 4

Solitude was not high, though my prediction is it would be a little better not on a holiday weekend. Solitude= 2.5

This all sounds good, right? Umm... here's the thing. Our hike was almost ruined by the massive amounts of ticks. During the whole hike, in a time span of less than 24 hours, I found exactly 38 ticks on my person. These included deer ticks and dog ticks of all kinds. Thankfully it is now over a month later, and I have not come down with a tick-borne illness. My dog and hiking partners were also beset by these pests, though as I was hiking in front for the most part, I got it worst of anyone.

I would rate this hike a 4 IF it is hiked not in late spring/early summer. I am rating it a 4 because I believe that is its potential, though our experience was not quite a "4" due to the ticks.

Also, another important note is that the trailhead that "google custom directions" will take you to is not the correct one. If you are coming from the south, you will need to keep going about another 4 miles. M.R.Hyker Note: I've triple checked the Google Maps Waypoint and it is correct. There is another access point about 0.7 miles further north at the Big Run Overlook. The next access point to this hike is yet another 3 miles north at the Patterson Ridge Trail and there is no parking area there. Preceding critiquers did not note this problem. Did you load the way point into a GPS? Perhaps you made an error?Name: Melissa                                                                                                            Hike: Rockytop-Big Run Loop
Date: June 2-3                                                                                                            Rating: 4

Critique: My husband, myself, and a friend of ours did this hike as an overnight. We did the loop in reverse as shown on this site, and if I were to do the hike again, I would do it that way again.

I have literally spent hundreds of nights out of doors backpacking, and the campsite we had on this trip was definitely "top tier." This campsite is not located by a symbol on the map! It is on a shelf above the stream and shows signs of frequent tent use and good care (no trash, unsightly fire messes, etc). This is located along the trail at a ford south of the bridge crossing 1-2 miles. Camping = 5.

Describing the trail is somewhat difficult, as the trail's two "sides" are completely different. Nevertheless, I can say that this trail is NOT as strenuous as advertised. Our first day (remember, we are doing this in reverse) was downright easy, a stroll through the woods on a well-marked path. Boredom did not set in, however, as we had some beautiful water to look at and fords to navigate.

Our second day brought the only real climb of any note if you are doing this in reverse. The hike was completely different. Out of the valley, it was rocky and exposed, leading to some nice views. We were also rewarded by seeing two bear cubs and one mama crash around in the brush on the opposite hillside.

Views= 4

Solitude was not high, though my prediction is it would be a little better not on a holiday weekend. Solitude= 2.5

This all sounds good, right? Umm... here's the thing. Our hike was almost ruined by the massive amounts of ticks. During the whole hike, in a time span of less than 24 hours, I found exactly 38 ticks on my person. These included deer ticks and dog ticks of all kinds. Thankfully it is now over a month later, and I have not come down with a tick-borne illness. My dog and hiking partners were also beset by these pests, though as I was hiking in front for the most part, I got it worst of anyone.

I would rate this hike a 4 IF it is hiked not in late spring/early summer. I am rating it a 4 because I believe that is its potential, though our experience was not quite a "4" due to the ticks.

Also, another important note is that the trailhead that "google custom directions" will take you to is not the correct one. If you are coming from the south, you will need to keep going about another 4 miles. M.R.Hyker Note: I've triple checked the Google Maps Waypoint and it is correct. There is another access point about 0.7 miles further north at the Big Run Overlook. The next access point to this hike is yet another 3 miles north at the Patterson Ridge Trail and there is no parking area there. Preceding critiquers did not note this problem. Did you load the way point into a GPS? Perhaps you made an error?

Name: Ed. S                                                                                                              Hike: Hemlock Gorge
Date: July 15, 2012                                                                                                 Rating: 4 (3 when poison ivy out)

Critique: This is a nice short hike, which I suppose is easy to get to for more people than it is for me. The highlight is certainly hemlock gorge itself, along the Gunpowder downstream of Gunpowder Road. Steep rock bluffs, hemlocks, and gentle cascades make this a nice area to take a break from hiking and watch the river. There are also two cemeteries to pass, plus two good side streams. The upland parts of the hike make for pleasant reasonable level sections.

Two words of advice, one already made by many. First, expect poison ivy to encroach the trail along the river downstream of Gunpowder Road, when on the dirt benches. Also on the final connector trail next to River Valley Ranch. I needed to do some fancy footwork to avoid it. It'd probably be better in the cooler months. Second, except for hemlock gorge itself, the woods roads are heavily used by horseback riders, and so on those trails you also have to watch where you step.

Name: Singlemalt                                                                                                    Hike: Circumnavigation of Trout Run Valley
Date: 7/11/2012                                                                                                     Rating: 4

Critique: Back here again after about a year. I decided to take some leave from work and get out in the middle of the week when the heat broke a bit. I did the trip in reverse again because I wanted to camp at Tibbets Knob and I was arriving late in the day. What a great place to wake up and have breakfast with a spectacular view up the valley. I got an early start hiking because I intended to get to Half Moon to camp that night, about 16 miles.
I found water, but not much, at the three stream crossings on the Long Mountain Trail. What an interesting trail through a karst area. You are walking along the main drainage of the valley which is dry, and the feeder streams coming down from the East have water in them. There are sinkholes here and there to the sides of the trail, and places with water loving plants growing, but all the water is underground after reaching the valley floor. After reaching the road and taking a rest I headed up the trail toward Half Moon, and decided that because of the heat and since it was getting late in the day, to camp at the Pond Run/Tuscarora Trail junction rather than get water there and backtrack for two miles to Half Moon. The water was just flowing at the wooden bridge past the junction. After dinner and breakfast with a view back up the valley from where I had come, I set out for Wolf Gap and my truck. Sandstone Spring was just barely flowing as well, so if you do this hike in the immediate future you might have to look way downstream from the trail crossings to find water in the streams.

Name: Bryan Smith                                                                                                Hike: Rausch Gap Loop
Date: 7/13/12                                                                                                         Rating: 5

Critique: First, kudos to those that put this site together. I planned on hiking all 10.5 miles but I ended up stopping too many times to take pictures of all the stonework and old mines. Even though I downloaded the trail to by GPS I found and went on some side trails. I typically hike a new route then, if it seems interesting and relatively safe I bring my boys out for a hike. But I typically hike at 4 mph and was falling way behind because of the all the sites, plus the trail was overgrown at about 3 miles (from Gold Mine rd) and I was catching ticks and saw a copperhead in the grass. So I turned around, but will be back out here to explore with the boys, perhaps with a metal detector - come winter. In the interim I will be bringing them here to ride our mountain bikes, and perhaps ride west to Rausch Gap and take some pictures and look at the swamps. When I was done with this hike I turned west off the road and hike through the woods along a 'clean' stream, not the
yellow one. Nice, scenic, etc. Will look nice after a light snow. Researching this area I see there are lots of trails and things to do.

Name: Dave                                                                                                              Hike: Piney Ridge - Piney Branch Loop
Date: 6/23/12                                                                                                         Rating: 4.5

Critique: This was a very enjoyable hike. If Little Devil Stairs is the bully of this neighborhood in SNP, Piney Branch is the beautiful girl next door. There are waterfalls and swimming holes all along this route, and plentiful campsites by the river as well. We did the hike backwards, going down Piney Branch and up Piney Ridge. You can see pictures we took here.

Name: J. Pierce                                                                                                        Hike: Mt. Rogers Backpack
Date: 6/29/2012-6/30/2012                                                                               Rating: 4

Critique: After reading the trail notes for this hike, I was definitely excited about coming to Mt. Rogers. We stayed at Grindstone Campground as our drive from Ohio was 6.5 hours and we came in on a Thursday. We started Friday morning but the connector trail from the campground was closed as a tornado had taken down many trees. We walked Rt. 603 down to the start of the Mt. Rogers trail. That trail is very tightly packed with vegetation, though a very well marked and steady trail. It was overgrown due to the phenomenal spring/summer weather so far. Once we got onto the AT, it was completely different. My husband, who had never hiked any section before was pleasantly surprised at the shape of the trail and how well it's taken care of. We lunched at the beautiful bald overlooking the mountains. Not to be missed for sure. We unfortunately hit the open mountain up to Mt. Rogers during the hot afternoon sun and the climb soon wore us out. It is only a short hike from there to the shelter, which for us was about 2:00 p.m. A little too early for our taste, and because we didn't know the trail, did not head on to find another campsite later on. We could have done so because there are so many beautiful campsites in the next mile or so of trail. Keep that in mind when you go. Mt. Rogers peak was a little sad, because there is no view. Tall trees surround the top so you don't get the beautiful view that you get at Thomas Knob shelter. Spectacular sunset. As for the Crest Trail, it was very well marked with a sign and we found our way down to Scales with no problem. Again, this part of the trail is completely open and so we were glad we hiked it early and the sun wasn't beating yet. Scales is a nice respite and once you regain the AT it's all woods and cool and clear. We decided to hike out the same day. It was only 8 miles and again, made it to Old Orchard by 1:30. We rested for an hour and then took the next (EASY) 4.5 miles out.
We got back to Grindstone about 4:45 and booked a campsite. The last mile on the horse trail is climbing the hill back up, be ready for that, but overall that horse trail was great! Got to talk to a lot of horse people and the road is wide and not too muddy. Great suggestion for a hike, the only negative was the early arrival to shelters. My husband isn't one for just hanging out and it seemed we had too much time. I prefer getting in around 5 or 6 to camp. Other than that, was terrific!!

Name: Mark Skidmore                                                                                            Hike: Dolly Sods North Circuit Hike
Date: 6/29-6/30/12                                                                                              Rating: 5

Critique: We hiked this in the reverse direction and made it into a backpacking trip staying overnight at the campsite where Dobbin Grade cross the Left Fork of Red Creek. Very nice campsite back in among the trees (it kept us safe and sound from the massive storms that swept through the area) plus there are several more in the area. Hiking in on Dobbin Grade was the driest I've seen it with minimal detours, but after the heavy rains I'm sure it is worse now. The forks of red creek were running with plenty of water even with the dry conditions, but water elsewhere looked pretty stagnant.

Again, many thanks to Mr. Hyker for the great descriptions and directions!

Name: Amy                                                                                                               Hike: Kelly's Run - Pinnacle Overlook
Date: June 27, 2012                                                                                                Rating: 5

Critique: Appreciated the step-by-step guide! Been to the area several times, but never hiked this exact route. Appreciate going UP the streams and getting the cornfield out of the way!! Would have been lost without the guide.
Thank you!!

Name: Rexpit                                                                                                           Hike: Dolly Sods circum mod 1
Date: 6/25/12                                                                                                         Rating: 5

Critique: Yep Dolly Sods lives up to all the raving reviews, a truly fantastical place. Hiking here def gives the aura of being in the lord of the rings...shire...or something like that. Everything I've read on the Sods tells of a truly Unique beauty, wind swept mountain balds with a plethora of plant life...yes it's all true. One thing that id like to mention about this place is there are "views" everywhere....literally

Name: Rexpit                                                                                                           Hike: Canaan valley loop/24 mile
Date: 6/16/12                                                                                                         Rating: 5

Critique: Amazing...my first foray into the Mon and not disappointed whatsoever. The plant life in this park abounds, water everywhere, beautifully moss. I mean this place is stunning. I really enjoyed the obstacle course of bogs too...seriously those were so much fun to navigate. Last but def not least Table Rock and Lindy point are awe inspiring vistas .. beautiful.

Name: Hard Corey                                                                                                  Hike: Pole Steeple Circuit
Date: 06-24-2012                                                                                                   Rating: 3

Critique: I enjoyed three parts of this tour... the AT, Pole Steeple, & Buck Ridge Trail. There was a little too much 'road' walking for my liking. I would recommend this hike to the casual weekend hiker who wants to step up their miles. The difficulty is moderate at best.

Name: MountainStreamFlood                                                                               Hike: Kelly's Run - Pinnacle Overlook
Date: 06/16/12                                                                                                       Rating: 5

Critique: Absolutely great hike. Scrambling up the rock formation on the Conestoga trail above Kellys Run made for a fun climb. Spectacular views of the Susquehanna and countryside abound and last but not least, the wild and scenic hike up Kelly's Run gorge was amazing, especially since the wild rhododendrons were in full bloom.

We added the Pine Trail, which can be picked up from near the second Pinnacle overlook and loops around the Pinnacle's knoll and connects with Old Pinnacles Road for an additional 1.5mi of hiking.

Name: Dan                                                                                                                Hike: Susquehanna State Park
Date: 3/1/2012                                                                                                       Rating: 5

Critique: This hike is pretty amazing for being in the Greater Baltimore area. There's a little bit of everything in terms of scenery - first along the river, then through patches of dense forests, then the parts where the trail cuts straight through the fields. Overall it was quite beautiful, and the directions given here are spot-on!

Name: Garrick                                                                                                          Hike: Cranberry Wilderness BP 1
Date: 6/14-6/16 2012                                                                                           Rating: 4.5

Critique: Did this hike on 6/14/2012 and followed the route as listed in the trail notes. The weather was perfect for the three days we hiked. Absolutely loved it! Navigation was no problem with cairns and signs at every junction but thankfully no blazes. The North Fork trial has some wash outs and there are a number of down trees along the trail. Although some of the reroutes were tricky to locate overall it wasn't bad. We found a great campsite with a picnic table the first night between the two shelter houses along the forest road. The aptly named Birch log trail was in good condition although appears to be seldom used and the climb to the ridge top is challenging without being sadistic. The Laurelly Branch trail was soggy but otherwise nice. The Middle fork trail had some down trees but was in the best condition overall and we made amazing time hiking out on the third day. The wildlife was active as well; saw a deer that about wandered into our first camp, spooked some grouse, saw all kinds of fish in the river, butterflies, and a member of our group even saw a bear between the Three Forks Trail head and the waterfall campsite (great site btw).

We did run into two separate groups of hikers attempting the County Line Trail to the north of this hike and both were forced to bushwhack their way out due to the trail disappearing on them. One group seemed a little frazzled by the experience so steer clear of the Country Line trail if you're not prepared for some wilderness navigation. Overall great this is a great hike!

Name: Ed Duguid                                                                                                     Hike: Old Loggers Path
Date: 6/8/12-6/10/12                                                                                          Rating: 5

Critique: My wife and I really enjoyed this hike. We started at the trail head, and had some adventure getting across the river. In the beginning of the trail there were some thick spots, which could be wet from rainfall the night before. The campsites on the trail were nice, and beautiful scenery. One campsite was amazing with the waterfalls. We brought our dog with us, and she had a blast. The trail was marked well with orange. We packed too much stuff 50 lbs packs. Although we did a get a workout with going up hills. The trail notes are accurate and work well with the map.

Name: Will                                                                                                                Hike: Big Schloss
Date: 2-3 June 2012                                                                                               Rating: 5

Critique: We turned this into a 17-18 mile backpack by adding a side trip to White Rocks. The trail condition was generally excellent, and we didn't get lost once. We stayed at the campsite closest to the intersection of the Big Stony Creek and Tuscarora Trails, which was excellent, as advertised. The Mill Mountain Trail occasionally had rocks hidden by grass, which were a bit treacherous. In general, a great time.

Name: Judith Hafner                                                                                              Hike: Old Rag Mountain
Date: 6.4.2012                                                                                                         Rating: 5

Critique: I am 54 years old and this was my first hike of any level challenge, other than a stroll in a local park or on flat ground. I will admit it was a challenge for me but it was a suggestion from my daughter as something we could do together. she attends and teaches boot camps. So her having faith that I would do well was a very great compliment. Though there were difficult spots the others on the trail were very encouraging and helpful. She was patient with me as I did have to stop many times to rest and drink. I do have several health issues but she is a nurse and as said earlier she thought I could do it. I did make the whole loop of the trail and truly enjoyed the view from the summit. To feel like the birds and experience the majesty that only God could create can only be eclipsed by the birth of your own child. The views are fabulous and beyond what is seen in the pictures we all share and take on this hike. I have to say if my daughter did not suggest this trip for us I would have missed out on an experience of a lifetime. I will be forever in debt to my daughter for this outing.

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: 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.

Name: Blackmamba549                                                                                         Hike: Rocky top-Big Run
Date: March 16-18/12                                                                                            Rating: 5

Critique: Tough Hike. Got food poisoning in the Valley of Browns Mt. trail so that didn't help with the the strenuousness that followed. Pretty views from the Mt tops but the valleys winding rivers and peaceful scenery gave the trail its uniqueness. Plan on doing it again when i am back to full strength!

Name: CJ                                                                                                                   Hike: Difficult Run Loop
Date: 3.18.12                                                                                                           Rating: 4

Critique: I'm just starting to get into hiking, and this was my first time at Great Falls. I really enjoyed this trail. It was not very difficult but not boring either. We have had little to no rain lately, so the whole trail was in good shape with only a few wet spots and no really muddy sections.

When you enter the actual Difficult Run Loop, there is a barricade and a sign saying the trail is closed. I think there are a few hundred yards of passable trail, and then a section where the trail might have been washed away. You would only be able to continue if you descended about 10' and then ascended approximately the same height to get through the washed out section. This might only require some careful walking along some narrow ledges.

The views of the Potomac River are outstanding. There were some rock climbers descending from the rock face about 30 yds from the River Trail. It was an overcast day but it was still really nice to see the rushing river at the base of tall rock faces. We took our sweet time, sat to eat lunch, explored nooks and crannies slightly off the trails, and finished in 4hrs, 15mins. It likely would not be a fun hike following a rainstorm or big thaw.

Name: TG & BZ                                                                                                         Hike: Dolly Sods North
Date: 3/18/12                                                                                                         Rating: ???

Critique: Hiked this one today. Or tried to...

First up, I should say we're experienced hikers and one of us is a trail-runner. We are not novices.

After the first three-quarters of a mile or so, the trail was imperceptible. It petered out after one large rock pile (not exactly a cairn, just a rock pile). From that point on, this hike should be considered a bushwhack.

Despite having maps, a compass and a GPS, we could not find any of the first several trails, and just happily wandered around a bit.

Also, FR 75 is closed about 1.25 miles from the trailhead because of minor water damage that has caused minor erosion to the road, so add a bit to the length of this one until/if USFS repairs the road.

Name: kayakdog                                                                                                     Hike: Stone Tower
Date: 3-5-2012                                                                                                        Rating: 4

Critique: Write up was right on, we had a great hike. Thanks!

Name: Androo                                                                                                           Hike: Otter Creek Backpack
Date: 05-06 August 2011                                                                                        Rating: 5

Critique: I was part of a group of four planning our first overnight backpacking trip after years of car camping. The shorter of the Otter Creek Backpack loops looked perfect for our group - under 15 miles, with a longer first day leading to a scenic destination (reward!) where we could set up camp.

We went in Friday, 05 August 11, driving to the trailhead from our basecamp in Audra State Park. As to be expected, we started a bit later than I had hoped but were on the trail by 8am.

The morning fog burned off pretty quick as we ascended. The climb of Shavers Mountain proved to be perfect for our group. Challenging, but never spirit-crushing. I also found that the delicious energy chews I had brought were an effective group reward after particularly difficult stretches Even so, reaching the Shavers Mt Trail intersection (900ft climbed) was met with plenty of joy. The rest of the climb was easy.

We broke for lunch at the grassy area/spring on Shavers Mt (the left turn of the 4-way intersection). This was a nice spot, although there were tons of (non-biting, thankfully) flies. Also, I don't think there had been much rain, or perhaps my expectations were just off, but the spring seemed low to me. We had brought tons of water however, so it wasn't really a concern.

Continuing down the Green Mountain Trail it began to rain while in the Rhododendron (or Mountain Laurel? There were no blossoms to make it easy for me to tell) so we hurried on to the intersection with Possession Camp Trail. While waiting under the canopy, we saw our first other hikers, a group of three that came from the same direction behind us, but continued on the Green Mountain Trail. After about 20 minutes, the rain stopped and we turned on to the beautiful Possession Camp Trail.

We finally made it to Otter Creek around 3pm (beating my planning guess of 1 mph with plenty of time to spare) and celebrated by collapsing on the rocks for a while

Eventually we hiked north along the creek, and found our campsite. We returned to one of the beautiful swimming holes and everyone enjoyed the cool and refreshing water while we ate dinner.

The next morning, it looked like rain was coming, so we skipped the big breakfast and got a move on. Heading south on the Otter Creek trail, we came across one more group of two camping next to the first big ford (south of the Possession Camp/Otter Creek/Moore Run intersection).

As soon as we got our boots back on the other side, it started to rain. It quickly became a ridiculous Forrest-Gump-in-Vietnam-scene downpour. Luckily, we were prepared and our packs stayed dry. And we were so quickly soaked that it was funny instead of miserable. Even so, we kept a pretty quick pace back to the Mylius Trailhead, and were headed for home by 11am

In conclusion, I can not recommend Otter Creek highly enough for a similarly novice group. It really was the perfect mix of challenge (just one big climb), solitude (only five people despite a Friday-Saturday in summer), and destination (arriving at the creek was the perfect reward after 9 miles of hiking). Also, while I over-prepared (with GPS, and Topos, and printouts) the trails were all very clear and easy to follow which definitely helps to put the rookie hiker at ease.

Best of all, the trip worked exactly as I hoped, and the entire group was hooked and is eager to go backpacking again.

Name: Karen                                                                                                            Hike: Iron Horse Trail, PA
Date: 03/04/2012                                                                                                  Rating: 4

Critique: Do not go into the woods at the Eby Cemetery. It is nothing but brambles. Instead, stay on the paved road (same side of the road as the cemetery) and turn in at the dirt road that has the large hunting camp on it (mentioned in the directions). This means you stay on the paved road about 1/3-1/2 mile. This avoids all the brambles. Also, toward the end, you will again be very near SR 274 (on your left). The trail makes a sharp right to go onto the mountain and it is very rocky. If you want to avoid this, stay on the trail by the road and it turns into a dirt road. Then you can cross 274, facing traffic and walk about 1/3-1/2 mile the end. Because this is "Rocksylvania" - it will avoid going over another rock field at mile 9.5. All in all, a nice hike - it snowed a lot but nothing stuck. Always nice to be outside - my 3 dogs (2 Labs, Shepherd) loved it - lots of fresh water.

Name: dottie                                                                                                            Hike: FMF--Clifford Hollow Loop
Date: 2/25/12                                                                                                         Rating: 5

Critique: excellent hike in nearby Gambrill park. Gambrill offers several hiking trails, along w/ lots of unmarked mt. bike trails. Mike has created several hiking routes that follow both. the Clifford hollow loop is a delightful hike in the woods, just enough steeps to make one work, as well as lots of serpentine paths to keep one marching onward. Saturday's wind was howling full-blast w/ sun and clouds exchanging positions. this hike is a keeper for sure, thanks Mike!

Name: Colin and Brian                                                                                            Hike: Knob Mtn / Jeremy's Run
Date: 2/24/2012                                                                                                     Rating: 4.5

Critique: We took this route after a storm delayed our start on the neighbor mountain trail. Tough climb to Knob Mtn. ridge. It has good views through the forest due to the lack of foliage, but we would have preferred more trail time on the park side of the ridge instead of overlooking the surrounding farmland. We camped at the first site on Jeremy's run. The stream was running very high, making some crossings difficult. The first crossing from the Knob Mt descent required pack throwing and a leap of faith, but all crossings after that were easier though still sometimes treacherous. The counterclockwise route is best, hiking up Jeremy's run was the best part of the hike. The waterfall is definitely worth a stop, especially during high water. Only saw one person, at least in part due to the heavy rains ending minutes before we hit the trail. All in all a worthwhile hike!

Name: Linsey                                                                                                           Hike: Reddish Knob Summit
Date: 2/25- 2/26 2012                                                                                          Rating: 4

Critique: Overall, a great hike with most of the details laid out. For winter hiking, the weather was changing constantly. We started out with 60 degrees and warm, followed by rain and wind for the latter part of the day. Waking up the next morning with 3 inches of snow. There were about 3-4 river crossings prior to reaching the hike up to the summit. I wish I would have known about those. The climb up the first mountain was strenuous, but fun. The distances were pretty accurate for the hike descriptions. Descending the next day was enjoyable but our legs are paying for it for the 3700' descent in one day. Thanks for posting this and we look forward to trying many more of the hikes this year.

Name: Andrea L.                                                                                                      Hike: CSF-Orange Loop
Date: 2/3/2012                                                                                                       Rating: 5

Critique: My husband and I really enjoyed this hike. Weather was perfect for February. Low 40's and an overcast sky with no wind.

The trail was marked great with orange arrows and the paths were very easy to follow. The paths are very level with few hills to climb.

We only encountered 5 people on this 6.7 mile hike. Two were mountain bikers and the rest were hikers. It was very quiet and peaceful. I imagine it is a pretty quiet forest in the winter.

The highlight was the beaver pond. You could see freshly fallen trees where the beavers had chewed right through them.

There is a $3.00 parking fee. The visitor center is closed on Saturday's and Sunday's.

There is a sign outside of the visitor center recommending that you wear bright orange. Part of the forest is a designated hunting area, but the paths do not travel through this area. We did hear gunshots but they were so far off in the distance they were insignificant.

I would recommend this hike to others and hope to do it again myself.

Name: Greg Romano                                                                                               Hike: Mount Rogers/Grayson Highlands-2 Backpack
Date: June 2011                                                                                                       Rating: 5

Critique: We linked Grayson Highlands and Mount Rodgers for a fantastic 3 day backpack loop. We started on Mount Rodgers and the trail is maintained very nicely. Once you near the top, the smell of evergreens hits you, and you're in heaven. Even with the elevation gain, this was not that hard of a climb. It is not that steep, although it does go on for a few miles. The view from the shelter and campsites is amazing. I took a group with me and I decided not to tell them about the trip to surprise them. Once we got into Grayson Highlands, everyone loved the rock formations and the ponies. The rocks are very cool looking and so much fun to play on. They could not believe the openness of the Highlands and the ponies topped it all off.

All in all what a great hike! We hiked in June, so the flowers were blooming, the grass was green and the sky was blue with huge white puffy clouds. We had perfect weather and it made for an awesome trip.

Note: We did heed the warning about parking and paid the $3.00 a night at Grindstone. I am glad we did. We had no incidents, and it was one less thing I had to worry about.

Name: Greg Romano                                                                                               Hike: Old Rag Mountain / White Oak Canyon
Date: June 2008                                                                                                       Rating: 5

Critique: I took a group out and we backpacked Old Rag Mountain and linked over to finish down the White Oak Canyon. This was a fantastic hike! Old Rag is a classic and belongs in Cooperstown. It is by far one of my favorite hikes. It is a strenuous climb but once you near the top the bouldering is way too much fun. This is the part that keeps me coming back and is a great place for the adventurous type! We hiked on a clear and hot day and this did pose some water problems for us. Make sure you bring plenty of it. We then spent a day on some connector trails to get over to White Oak Canyon. This was an unexpected surprise. I had not done much homework on WOC, so to see the size of the waterfalls was a pleasant surprise. The grade on WOC is steep and there are no switchbacks, so be prepared for a climb.

I have been taking high schoolers out on backpacking trips for several years, and this trip has been a favorite. I can't wait to go back!

Name: XXXX                                                                                                             Hike: Piney Ridge - Piney Branch Loop

Date: 02/04/2012                                                                                                  Rating: 4

Critique: Clearly marked trail, good variety of streams, elevation change, can't wait to get back to the area in the spring for wildflowers. It started snowing about halfway through the hike, and fog covered the higher elevations, which made driving back fun. Saw only one other pair hiking.

Name: Austin                                                                                                              Hike: Morgan Run Loop
Date: 11/11/2010                                                                                                     Rating: 4

Critique: A very nice hike. Great views. I had no problems keeping up with the trail. I can understand how at some points it would be difficult to keep up with. The trail is frequented by horses as one can tell by the gifts that they leave. The worst part was walking along the Rt 32 bridge and thereafter. I found a cut into the woods that led to the old Rt 32 that the trail started on so as to not have to walk all the way back to the car along the highway. Very nice trip over all. I thought it would take longer than it did. I completed the hike in under three hours.

Name: Mark & Dottie rust                                                                                         Hike: Allegheny Mountain-Seneca Creek Loop
Date: 11/06/2010                                                                                                     Rating: 5

Critique: originally we planned to do a one-night backpack, but w/ temps calling for 19 degrees, we decided to car camp instead. we camped Friday & Saturday nights in a local campground, Yokums--nothing fancy, nothing bad but will use seneca shadows next time. Saturday a.m. we drove to the trailhead for our hike. while up on Allegheny Mt. trail, we realized the weather was quickly deteriorating. we used bear hunter trail as a bail out, hiking to Judy Springs campground earlier than planned. after a quick lunch stop, we hiked out on Seneca creek trail. total hike was 9 miles, not the 12.7 we planned. all trails were marked, though some signs have been well-chewed, so carrying maps is essential. the snow-covered woods were indeed lovely. thanks, mike, the website descriptions were perfect. we'll return to complete the hike.

Name: Matt                                                                                                                 Hike: Cedarville State Forest-Blue and White Loops
Date: 11/7/2010                                                                                                       Rating: 4

Critique: I took this hike on a beautiful Sunday, mid-day in the Fall. Every space was taken at the parking lot at the pay station (bring exact change) but to my surprise the lot for this hike was completely empty. I'm not sure where all those people were but I didn't see a single person on the 7 miles of trails that I was on. I also did not hear any cars- music to my ears for a place this close to urban sprawl. There was occasional air traffic for Andrews but not a big deal.

As mentioned here, the trails are very well marked- a good thing because there are numerous intersections, especially on the white trail.

There was only one wet spot though it did require a balancing act on a couple logs off the side of the trail; there was a good 6" of standing water.

There isn't any elevation change to speak of but this is a beautiful walk in the woods, particularly in the Fall. I half walked/half jogged the white trail intending to head home after the first ~3 miles but it was so nice and empty I went for the blue too and glad I did.

Name: Gregory St. Clair                                                                                            Hike: Quebec Run Loop
Date: 10/30-31/2010                                                                                               Rating: 4

Critique: Pretty peaceful area, but watch out for crazy mountain bikers. We did this as an overnighter and camped in a large campsite area with a fire ring next to Mill Run. Access is pretty easy from Pitts. sitting around the campfire we heard some Coyotes and it was really Cool!!!!

Name: Allen Keeney                                                                                                  Hike: Trout Pond Loop
Date: 10-29-10                                                                                                          Rating: 3.5

Critique: This was a pleasant hike especially since we were hiking with my 3 year old. Pretty little hike and easy walking. If you are looking for something special, or remote, or challenging this is not it. But as a family hike, a perfect fit.

Name: Gregory St. Clair www.meetup.com/swpabackpackers                       Hike: Dolly Sods North Backpack
Date: 10/30-31/2010                                                                                               Rating: 5

Critique: I absolutely loved this hike! We had a wonderful time and the views where amazing. The trails where well marked and easy to follow. We had fun navigating through the rock field at the top, Cairn and trail hoping. We ended up decending to forks and camped right on the peninsula of the left fork. The low temperature dropped just below freezing and Sunday the high was in the mid 40s. I cant wait to return to the Dolly Sods, I always have so much fun there!

Name: Matt                                                                                                                  Hike: Billy goat c-b
Date: 10/31/2010                                                                                                     Rating: 2

Critique: This hike is OK for what it is- a chance to get outside and burn a few hours. There is some nice scenery and wildlife watching to be had but there are constant reminders of being in the city- beltway traffic can be heard for most of the "c" section, and at one point you can actually see the highway. Also there was almost a constant drone from Dulles air traffic overhead and various machinery echoing up the river. The billy goat sections had light traffic but there was plenty of company on the multi-use path, which accounts for a good deal of the mileage.

I parked at the first lot in the Carderock area; my garmin forerunner measured just under 6 miles round trip. I moved along at a decent pace, stopping occasionally for photos and it took about 1:45 to complete. As you head into the parking area you will drive through a tunnel; the multi-use trail that you want to start on runs above this tunnel.

The hike itself is very easy- very little elevation and only brief instances of rocks to navigate- not really any sense of accomplishment.

Worth it if you are as unfortunate as I and stuck living in the city but don't make a special trip for it.

Name: Michael Brehl                                                                                                  Hike: Rose River - Dark Hollow Loop
Date: 10/22/10                                                                                                          Rating: 4

Critique: Had a great time. We wanted a not-too-difficult hike for our kids, eight and eleven years old. Saw bears and of course lots of deer. Another group on the trail saw a bobcat. Lots of good swimming holes for summertime. One small update: the gravel road at Fisher's Gap is now paved. Thanks for the great website!

Name: Steve                                                                                                               Hike: Chuck Keiper Trail - East Loop
Date: 10/15-17/2010                                                                                               Rating: 4

Critique: This is a fun loop. The trail description is spot on. Some of the trails on the side hills were a little uncomfortable to hike on, but overall it was a great hike.

Name: Chris                                                                                                                 Hike: Black Forest Trail - North
Date: 10/2-10/3/2010                                                                                             Rating: 5

Critique: We hiked the northern loop of the Black Forest Trail over two days, October 2nd & 3rd. The first day we started at the trail head in Slate Run and camped that evening at the campsite at mile ten (in the BFT guide book) for a total of 15 miles. The climb that morning out of Slate run up to Fosters hollow was all it was supposed to be, the vistas on the way up were beautiful. The decent down to County Line branch was a little technical with a good quarter of a mile of a rock scrabble. Once down to the branch we crossed the water at least 18 times before we crossed 44, in the spring I would take the high water route. We stayed the night in hammocks with the temps getting down into the upper 30s. Sunday we hiked the remaining 10 miles back to the trail head. The water fall you pass on the way to Red Run is beautiful, the climb up and out however tested my cardio. The last vista we came to was on the way back down to Slate Run (around mile 2 in the BFT guide book) it was truly breathe tacking. It was also a little odd; in full sun at 2:00 in the afternoon there was not a rattle snake to be seen. The last water crossing was Slate Run, and I had to take of my shoes and socks to cross it. It was actually a refreshing way to finish the hike. We didn't see much in the way of wild life this trip, just a few grouse and lots of bear sign. I'm glad we hiked the BFT, I'm certain that it lives up to it's reputation as one of the best trails in Pa.

Name: Tom                                                                                                                  Hike: Hall of the Hemlocks
Date: 10/9/10                                                                                                            Rating: 4

Critique: This was the second time I did this hike, I had hiked it earlier alone to scope out the terrain. This outing I brought the boy scouts of Troop 434 along for the trek. Everyone did well up to about the 10 mile mark, then it was apparent who does some hiking and who plays video games....

Still, they all completed the hike and we spent the weekend at RGSP. This is a great hike with plenty of solitude. I wish it were longer.

Name: John M. Pugh                                                                                                  Hike: Gathland SP to Weverton Heights
Date: 9 Oct 2010                                                                                                        Rating: 5

Critique: This was exhilarating to say the least. First, a misconception to clear up in the initial description of the hike. Though certainly not strenuous by experienced hiker standards, it is none the less a taxing hike due to the extreme rockiness of the trail and is by no means a flat walk (less than 1/2 mile in total is flat); especially if you do an out and back from Gathland SP. There are several moderate hills in both directions, but your knees and ankles will pay the price if you aren't prepared. Not everyone is a seasoned trekker!

That said, wear a sturdy pair of hiking boots/shoes and enjoy. The entire trail is secluded and quiet with excellent scenery all along the way. We stopped at the Ed Garvey Shelter (very nice), but unfortunately, we were swamped by this year's Stink Bug invasion. Never seen anything like it!

Reaching the Weverton Cliffs and looking out over the Potomac Valley was nothing short of spectacular. It was a perfectly clear day and we could see all the way to Harpers Ferry! Definitely recommend this hike to everyone!

Name: Matthew Culbertson                                                                                     Hike: Rocky Mount
Date: 06/11/2010                                                                                                     Rating: 3

Critique: This trail often goes through very high grass, at least in mid June. It should also be noted that virtually all of the blooming mountain laurel is gone by this time. There are, of course, some other interesting wildflowers to be seen. I think I saw some very new Indian pipe stems rising up, though I can't be completely sure.

The trail was nicely plotted on a ridge seemingly at right angles to the main line of the Blue Ridge. Though steep, this passed along a fine route that often passed through ferns. Once we reached the junction with the Gap Run Trail, we started to climb steeply, having taken the left branch. Despite having read the trail notes, we were still tricked by the false summits. We didn't find the true summit to be obvious, though we did suspect it. We scouted along for a few more bends of the trail, but it started to fall steeply again in deeper woods, so we figured we were at the top. It appeared that after the true summit, the trail was much less used and consequently more overgrown.

The exposed cliffs at the top, just below the trail, were truly a splendid place to rest and take in the view. They offered a great vista of the lesser ridges and the main line of mountains, and narrow views of the Shenandoah Valley. The cliffs were many broken, protruding piers of rock, rather than a continuous wall.

We were here for only a few minutes before strong winds began to blow out of the valley. Soon we saw lightning in the distance, so we packed up quickly and departed, heading back the way we came rather than through the longer Gap Run portion of the hike. Fearing a downpour that never materialized fully, it took us about two hours to get back to our car at Two Mile Run Overlook.

I believe we encountered eight other hikers on this particular trip.

Rated a three, since the trail is quite overgrown (though definitely passable), and the only real views come once you get to Rocky Mount's top. They are great views, but you have to work very hard for them!

Name: rlpurcell                                                                                                           Hike: Dolly Sods North BP
Date: Sept 13 - 16th, 2010                                                                                       Rating: 4.5

Critique: This was a fantastic backpacking trip for the eastern US. We left Bear Rocks around 11:30AM Monday walking west into a 30-35 mph wind under sunny skies. Could have done without the wind which lasted until the next morning, but the scenery was so nice, nothing could ruin it. We camped the first night in an established camp in some pines near the Raven Ridge Trail. A dry campsite, we each had set out with 3 liters of water each. A great evening and sunset!

Tuesday was the most rocky, and with a 60 pound pack, at age 52, I don't mind saying it was rough on my knees. The trail is so easy to follow now with most of the side trails now recovered and new trail signs up. The trail, even in the boulder area of the Rocky Ridge Trail is logical and easy to find...thanks to the work the forest service did in recent years!

Word of warning. Just prior to coming to the Harman trail, we past a man carrying an antifreeze plastic bottle. He said he was on lunch and worked for the Canaan Valley housing authority. He avoided most of the questions I tried to ask and we wondered the rest of our hike why someone would have antifreeze on the trail. He looked somewhat like the maint/custodian man on Scrubs, tall and thin. I would not recommend filtering water from wet spots on the Rocky Ridge Trail...all I can think is that some of the home owners are tired of hearing coyotes howling at night. Anyway...email me if you get sick or the forest service finds dead animals from antifreeze at contact me.

We camped the second night at the pines on the left fork of Red Creek. The water was great...cold and tasted great after filtering.

Day three was down the Upper Red Creek trail to Dobbins. The bog was not bad being September and the Beaver Dam provided a way to get across some of the stream. The one place where the trail could be marked better is where the Upper Red Creek Trail connects to Dobbins Grade. Make sure you turn right! In the field this is not so obvious. Three dry and sunny days...who gets so lucky! We spent our third night in the pines along Dobbins Grade between the Beaver Dam Trail and Bear Rock Trail.

Thursday we had a short hike back to the car. When we broke camp that morning there was a large pack of dogs moving north to south on the other side of the stream in the pines. We were a bit concerned but never saw them, but could track thier movement as they barked as they ran. Once on the forest road we passed three or four trucks with empty kennels in the back looking for their dogs, which were 1.5 to 2 miles from the forest road as we placed them that morning.

Normally we see about 10% color in the trees and the blueberry plants are more red...looks like a bit of a brown out this year. We saw lots of deer, no bears, heard coyotes only one night, heard an owl one night, but it was strangely quiet during the nights. This loop makes a great four day/three night backpacking trip for those of us who like to relax a bit more and examine the environment around us. We only saw three sets of day hikers and one backpacker in the four days we were out. On our way out, it began to rain in Elkins! Great timing!!! I have trail junctions from my GPS if anyone wants them...just email me.+

Name: J. Plue                                                                                                              Hike: Trayfoot Mt / Paine Run Loop
Date: 10-03-10                                                                                                           Rating: 5

Critique: Got started a little later than we wanted to (about 1PM vice 8AM) due to the Google maps confusing me a bit. It should be noted that there are three exits for route 250, the correct one is exit 99.
Rain in Hampton Roads and Richmond did not stop me from making the Sunday trip out here, determined to hike mountains rain or shine. Once leaving Richmond, the rain stopped and clouds parted, revealing sun and blue skies. Blackrock is indeed unique and quite the place to stop and view the valley. The rock formations on Trayfoot's ridge are simply amazing, as is the view of Buzzard Rock.

Had my dog with me, who has never hiked a field, much less the Blue Ridge. He enjoyed the whole trip and surprisingly had energy to burn the whole hike...until the final .86 mile climb. It is correct that the final 400ft elevation gain is no joke. All in all, finished in about 5.5 hours. Not bad for a couple less experienced guys and a dog from the flatlands of Norfolk.
Wonderful write up, recommend this trip to any and everyone.

Name: Tom                                                                                                                  Hike: Dolly Sods Circumnavigation Mod1
Date: 9-12/14-2010                                                                                                  Rating: 5

Critique: Two of us did a slight variation of this trip in reverse. Started at Beaver View, turned left onto Dobbin Grade, crossed the beaver dam and took Upper Red Creek Trail to the Forks. First time in this part of the Sods! Fall color was starting to come on with gold and some red. Camped a ways upstream from the Forks on the main stem of Red Creek, and did some exploring. Sweet camping here! Ran into a group from Delaware. Great to see "foreigners" exploring land we Mountaineer natives know and love. Got down to 39 degrees at the Forks. Brrr!!

Day two was a bit of off-trail fun! Headed down Red Creek to Rocky Point trail, and followed it before deciding to bushwhack to the Lion's Head. No trail, no nothing. Just an uphill gut-buster through a boulder field that finally brought us to the rock wall below the overlook. We debated a bit, then scaled the rock face before sharing lunch with a colorful snake on the Lion's Head. Windy day up there, but awesome. Hiked through the dry campsites, then found the official 'unofficial' path down to Rocky Point, where we picked up Big Stonecoal and followed it to the intersection with Rocky Ridge. Turned left to check out the Canaan Valley view, and decided to camp on the summit in a small grove of trees. This turned out to be good choice since we got to watch a cool sunset and a thunderstorm blow through to our south. Crystal clear skies later! Windy and about 45 degrees tonight.

Day three saw us take in all of Rocky Ridge to its terminus with Raven Ridge, where we headed east to Bear Rocks and then back on to Dobbin Grade. In another mile we turned left on Beaver View and, regretfully, out of the Sods.

This is the absolute driest I have ever seen Dolly Sods. Did filter lots of water when I found it since our days were bright, sunny and windy. Most of the views I remember along Big Stonecoal have grown over, but the openness of the northern Sods more than makes up for this. The Lion's Head is a heckuva view. Reminded me of the Canyon Rim Trail over on Roaring Plains.

Saw one deer, three snakes, a toad, a chipmunk and one squirrel in full attack mode! He ran right at us on Big Stonecoal. All the trails we hiked are in good shape, but I did not expect so much signage. Oh well. I guess spending a few bucks for signs is cheaper than mounting a rescue. Can't wait to get back and hit the few trails I haven't seen yet.

Name: Boost Boy                                                                                                       Hike: Cranberry Wilderness
Date: 2008                                                                                                                   Rating: Oh 5 Definitely!

Critique: Excellent loop having done both this one described, as well as other outings in the Glades. Just wanted to clear up the "orange" water. This is not due to acid rain, but is derived from tannins leaching out from the reaction of various conifers with the ground near steams. It looks like ice tea, but is quite clean. Obviously not potable without filtration, but a natural phenomenon. A pristine area for all to enjoy. Get out there! -pd-

Name: 2dawghikers                                                                                                   Hike: St. Mary's Wilderness
Date: Sept 17-18, 2010                                                                                             Rating: 2

Critique: While I do not consider myself an expert, I have done several hikes in and around the GW National Forest and Shenandoah mountains. The loop, as described on this website, was very challenging as an overnight backpacking trip. We hiked in as described from the Blue Ridge Parkway, and set up camp at the junction of the Mine Bank Creek Trail and the St. Mary's River Trail. We then attempted to hike down to the falls (without packs), but it was getting late in the day and the trail was taking longer than anticipated, so we did not actually make it all the way to the falls...I expect there was not much to see as the creeks and streams were all running fairly dry. The campsites we passed and the one we stayed at were all littered with trash, toilet paper, and even human waste. It is obvious that most visitors do not adhere to proper LNT practices.

On Day 2 we continued the loop hike east on the St. Mary's River Trail. The description on this website does not do justice to the steep uphill grade to reach the Green Pond area and the junction with FR 162. It was extremely difficult with a pack on and would be challenging at the least w/o a pack. FR 162 also has some hefty uphills that are at least laid out as switchbacks. We took the Bald Mountain Trail down to Bear Branch as described. This trail was very narrow with a steep downhill grade. It was also very rocky and overgrown with rhododendron and mountain laurel, and there were many fallen trees blocking the pathway.

We had orginally planned to camp one more night and then make the remaining mile hike out the next day, but we decided it would be best to just get out of there and head home to a nice shower and comfortable bed. The hike back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway was not too terrible, although it felt almost impossible to me as my legs were mush by this point. My husband and our 2 dogs faired a bit better than I did.

The best part of the trip was the few encounters with other hikers and folks visiting the area by vehicle on the FR. Everyone was very friendly and out to enjoy a beautiful day in the mountains.

This would be a challenging, rewarding trip as a day hike, but with a back pack, it was unenjoybale.

Name: Craig (not the photo guy)                                                                                        Hike: Frosty Gap-Cowpasture Backpack
Date: Sept 15-17                                                                                                                    Rating: Unknown

Critique: WORD OF WARNING: Water sources are suspect even during a damp September. Call ahead (304-653-4826) to both ask about stream levels AND when the last time someone from the Nature Center actually went on the trail.

Prior to driving to the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center (304-653-4826), I called to ask about water levels and was assured that the streams were running. Once on the trail, there was either no water in the streams or the water was stagnant. When I returned to the Nature Center, I learned that the individual had not set foot on the trails and was merely guessing.

A friend and I intended to spend three days and two nights on this hike. Unfortunately, we abandoned the morning of the Day 2 due to lack of water sources. Very disappointing.

We also reversed the route (i.e., into a counter-clockwise loop) so that the Day 1 was 6 miles, Day 2 was 11 miles, and Day 3 would be 8 miles. Our rationale was twofold: (1) Our drive-time meant we'd arrive circa 3 pm and didn't think we could do 8 miles before dark and (2) we'd rather hump all our food 6 miles rather than 8 miles on Day 1.

Name: Kim                                                                                                                   Hike: PVSP-McKeldin Area
Date: 9/16/10                                                                                                            Rating: 3.5

Critique: This was a nice hike. The trails were well maintained and not crowded at all mid-week. Apparently there is heavy equestrian traffic (probably on the weekends) judging by the "gifts" left on the trails. It looks like mountain biking is really popular here too. A couple of notes: the blazes appear to be recently painted. The Plantation Trail is now blazed in red and the McKeldin Rapids Trail is blazed in orange. Not sure about the Spring Glen Trail because we had to skip that part due to rain.

Name: Tammy                                                                                                            Hike: AFT-East
Date: 9-9 thru 9-11-2010                                                                                         Rating: 4

Critique: Wow, this was a lot tougher than I anticipated - we did the trail counterclockwise making the end really hard - once you pass the vistas you are in for some very steep climbs. I would recommend clockwise unless you are wanting more of a challenge...otherwise, the trail was pretty decent. Some areas weren't clear at all and you really had to fight your way. The Southern portion lacks water so keep that in mind. Benner's Run was beautiful and a perfect spot to camp. Make sure you have good shoes as there are a lot of rock sections. Once you leave Julian (S. end) and head towards 504 (East side) you are in for some major rock climbs!

Name: B                                                                                                                        Hike: Ramsey's Draft
Date: 09-10 to 11- 2010                                                                                           Rating: 4

Critique: The Restoration Crew has been hard at work and the Ramsey's Draft Trail is pretty clear from the trailhead to the Spring. Once at the Spring the trail is kind of hard to find. There was water in the Draft and the campsites are in good shape. Saw some wild birds, a king snake, and a baby black bear (wonder where mom was).

Overall, a good hike.

Name: Tim                                                                                                                   Hike: Roaring Plains Base Camp and Day Hike
Date: 8/20/10                                                                                                            Rating: 4

Critique: I did this circuit as a one day hike. The weather gods were smiling on this day and produced a crystal clear, sunny day. I had the trail notes, GPS loaded with waypoints file for this hike and a topo map and used all of them to stay on the trail. The portion of the hike on the USFS trails were a no brainer. The "Hidden Passage" trail was a bit hard to follow in places. The "Canyon Rim" trail was a real challenge to follow. In the area of the Talus Slope cairns were few and far between. I think some of the cairns may have been destroyed. I spent more than an hour trying to find the continuation of the trail at the bottom of the talus slope. Once I found it, I should have went back rebuilt some of the cairns on the talus slope, but I was, at this point, way behind schedule and needed to make up some lost time.

As for the hike itself, this was far and away the most spectacular hike I have ever done in the MNF. The views all along the Canyon Rim are just breathtaking. I don't know of any other trail in WV that compares with this for scenic vistas. I didn't encounter any hikers on the Hidden Passage or Canyon Rim segments of the hike.

The USFS was spreading gravel and grading FR19 on this day and the drive from Laneville to the top of the mountain is much improved.

I would really recommend this hike for experienced hikers. A GPS is highly recommended.

Name: Rick W                                                                                                              Hike: Morgan Run N. E. A.
Date: 9/10/10                                                                                                            Rating: 4

Critique: We did the hike on a beautiful late summer day. Using a printed copy of the hike description, we managed to find our way around the hike, but with some difficulty. From the pics on the website it looks like the directions were in early spring. In late summer, some of the landmarks and turns were harder to find because of the foliage. But hey, that was part of the fun. The stretch along Morgan Run is beautiful. It was real low and clear in September. This is a real nice trout stream in the spring and late fall if you like to fly fish. I got to see a lot more of the the park on this charming hike.

Name: T. Axel Jones                                                                                                  Hike: Hall of the Hemlocks
Date: August 21st, 2010                                                                                           Rating: 4

Critique: This hike is an excellent alternative to the Falls Trail when the crowds are overflowing in the summer months. It would also be fun for a second day of hiking if staying overnight in one of the camping areas. The "Hall of the Hemlocks" is worth the hike alone, but there are also some beautiful parts near streams and enough varied scenery to keep the hike enjoyable.

Portions are not well marked, although it is generally clear where the trail is headed. Water levels were very low in August of 2010 so stream crossings were not an issue, however, if going on this hike during a wet season be sure to come prepared.

See T. Axel's U-Tube video here.

Name: Daniel Bachman                                                                                             Hike: Billy Goat B and C
Date: 9/5/2010                                                                                                          Rating: 4

Critique: A nice hike very close to DC population centers. Not too crowded, even on Labor Day weekend (we went in the morning, maybe it gets more crowded later?)

The trail notes aren't clear about where the hike starts. You want to park at the Carderock recreation center to follow the directions here. You can park at other places along the loop as well.

Name: Jason                                                                                                               Hike: Rocky Top-Big Run Loop
Date: 09-02 to 03-2010                                                                                            Rating: 5

Critique: Did this as an overnight hike, which made for two very manageable 7 mile days. Hike out on Rocky Top is easy with numerous great views. Second half of Rocky Top trail is very exposed, very rocky, and very downhill. Quite tough on the knees. Big Run watershed is beautiful. There are at least probably 10 primo sites along Big Run in the first mile of Big Run Portal Trail, so if one or two are full don't worry. We saw two bear (and I have seen bear other times I have hiked in the Big Run area, so this area obviously has its fair share) and the need to hang your food is very apparent. Big Run is full of trout (mainly small ones) and also saw several snakes around the stream.

Agree with others that the hike out of the Big Run watershed is strenuous but there are certainly many tougher climbs in SNP. This hikes get a 5 in my book, as it is one of the few longer loop hikes in SNP that does not seem like 75% of the hike is uphill (only 1.5 miles towards the end is a legitimate climb) and the isolated Big Run watershed is one of the more serene ares of the park and you probably won't have to share it with many because of the hike to get there.

Name: Patrick O'Steen                                                                                              Hike: Big Schloss Loop Trail
Date: 9/5/10 - 9/6/10                                                                                             Rating: 4

Critique: The loop was very pleasant, and a good level of challenge. Camped near the overlook about 6-7 miles in and had a perfect view of the sunset and a nice spot for breakfast.

I'm not sure if it's posted anywhere online, but as of August 29th, 2010, the Big Schloss Trail is closed due to bridge repair for the next 2 months approximately. A bummer to not be able to get to the best viewpoint, but the hike sans Big Schloss was still really nice.

Also worth noting is that as of a couple days ago the Sandstone Spring was completely dried up. Made for some fun water conservation practice!

Name: Friedrich Bort                                                                                                 Hike: Laurel Run
Date: August 22, 2010                                                                                              Rating: 2

Critique: First the Directions to the Parking Aerea is awful. Need better descriptions about the Gate.
there are 2,one that is always open the other is closed, only open for loggers. The Hike itself is good, but been on better ones. Will not go back.

Name: Joe M.                                                                                                              Hike: Jones Mt - Staunton River Loop
Date: 8/29/2010                                                                                                       Rating: 3

Critique: Nice hike, but I picked too hot of day to thoroughly enjoy it. The hike in along the cliffs was very nice, the overlook at Bear Church Rock was great, but by the time I reached the Staunton River, it was getting VERY hot and humid. Did see one small black bear who ran off before I could get a picture. Directions and mileage was spot on.

Name: Dave Eccleston                                                                                              Hike: Dolly Sods Circumnavigation
Date: Sept 10-12, 2009                                                                                             Rating: 4.8

Critique: Magnificent hike. Did it as a 3 day backpacking trip. Weather was perfect. The variety of terrain in this trip makes it really interesting: high plains, deep forests, rocky paths, beautiful streams. Wonderful swimming hole at the south end of Red Creek, hit that about noon and made for a nice break. Navigation was a little tricky because of the lack of signs/blazes. Saw some wildlife: newt, turkey, and deer. Camped next to the out and back to Lion's Head so I could do it unencumbered, was definitely worth the trip.

Name: Dave Eccleston                                                                                              Hike: Saint Mary's Wilderness
Date: July 23-25 2010                                                                                               Rating: 3.5

Critique: This hike had a couple of highlights, notably the falls on the Saint Mary's River (nice swimming), and the overlook at Flint Mountain. We also came across a few of the old mine sites, which was pretty interesting. We did the backpacking loop, but found that a lot of this trip is in really thick forest and it's hard to catch a glimpse of any overlooks. Also, take the advice to heart: once you leave the river and ascend to Green Pond there's no water for a *long* time! It was very hot, and we were getting really low on water by the time we descended to a barely running creek near Bald Mountain.

Name: Pasquale                                                                                                         Hike: Kelly's Run
Date: 8/23/2010                                                                                                       Rating: 4

Critique: We started opposite because when we arrived there were fellow hikers coming out so, unfortunately, we ended up getting confused towards the end. Where we suppose to technically get to the overlook (which unfortunately did not see due to our confusion) we didn't see any blazes until we got to a sign for kelly's run which is where the blazes ended.

All in all, what we saw was gorgeous. There was this little waterfall in the stream that I splashed myself with to cool off and, wow, it was simply amazing. SO refreshing.

Next time, I will be bringing a print out!

Name: Tyler S.                                                                                                            Hike: Rocky Knob-Quarry Gap Backpack
Date: 08/6 - 7/2010                                                                                                 Rating: 3

Critique: My girlfriend and I did the full hike, including one night at the Birch Run campsite, on a Friday/Saturday in early August. It took us about 8 hours. Our cell phone calculated more like 20 miles, as opposed to the 14.7 miles, but I'm not sure which is more accurate. It was a largely flat terrain with only a few areas of elevation. The lake was pretty, and the wooded areas were pleasant enough with the trees providing a cooling shade during the hot summer sun. We hardly passed anyone else, although there was another couple using the shelter at Birch Run. There were multiple camping opportunities along the way, although we stuck with Birch Run because there were a few sites further from the trail and because there was a bear pole. Note that there are no clean water sources along this route, only some streams (so you will need to have iodine tablets or boil the water). The water spigots on the map were misleading! You do pass a few gravel roads along the way, which do take away from the seclusion factor of the hike a bit. No sweeping views or vistas. Overall, a decent relatively easy hike, probably more beautiful in the spring (due to all the Rhododendrons) or the fall.

Name: Kristin Wilcox                                                                                                 Hike: Little Devils Staircase
Date: 8/7/10                                                                                                              Rating: 4

Critique: I did this as a solo hike, staying on the blue-blazed trail to complete the longer loop. About half a mile after passing the yellow-blazed loop, I saw a black bear and a cub crossing the trail about 50 feet in front of me. They disappeared up the embankment into the woods, and I yelled loudly and clapped, hoping to scare them further into the forest. As I continued down the trail, though, I realized they were just 20 feet or so off of the path and the mama bear was standing her ground. She ROARED at me as I passed her! I don't think I'd complete this hike again without bear spray. Other than that, it was a beautiful hike, although trees had fallen across the path in several places and proved difficult to maneuver around.

Name: Brett                                                                                                                 Hike: Little Devils Staircase
Date: 08/07/2010                                                                                                     Rating: 4

Critique: We did the short route and it was pretty fun. Lots of steep rocky climbs. The fireroad back is sort of boring but gets you back fairly quick.