Gerhard Shelter Loop, Wardensville WV

Hike number 20 continued our further exploration of the George Washington National Forest near us along the Virginia and West Virginia border. We did a loop on Sunday that was new to us for the most part around Gerhard Shelter, although we have hiked north, south, east, and west of this loop. It was a great hike for solitude: we saw no other person all day. The last person to sign the book at the shelter signed it five days before us.

Heading into the GWNF out of Wardensville on Waite's Run Road, we parked at the bridge over Waite's Run and walked the County Line section of the Tuscarora north towards route 55, stopping for lunch at the Paul Gerhard shelter, one of the nicest and cleanest shelters I've seen on any trail. The shelter is about halfway between Waite's Run Road and Route 55, about 4 miles in. From the shelter, we looped back on the east side of the mountain back through Wilson Cove to the car.

The Start of the Hike

Looking at the map below, the initial part of the hike, not shown in any detail on the map but where the blue-blazed Tuscarora crosses Waite's Run Road, is a short segment of blue-blazed fire road labeled County Line Trail that runs from the Waite's Run Road up the hill. In just under a mile, the blue-blazed Tuscarora leaves the fire road very obliquely off to the right, almost counterintuitively if you're looking at the map. Turn right and soon you will find yourself climbing the hill at a pretty good clip. I found this section to be a lot of fun with its steep twists and turns.

Our Loop Hike on the Tuscarora

Beyond the switchbacks, the trail ultimately straightens out while climbing more gently to the ridgeline. Once at the shelter (at the very top of the photo), we headed east down the hill into Virginia and then back south on the unblazed fire road (FR 93) shown in gray. This road ultimately merged into the Vance's Cove Trail (on the map, the trails look disconnected but they are not) which turned slightly right onto the Wilson Cove Trail. This trail starts just as you head south into West Virginia from Virginia.

In a couple of miles, the Wilson Cove Trail goes right by Wilson Cove and empties right back into Waite's Run Road. It's maybe just shy of a mile back to the bridge over Waite's Run where we parked. The entire loop was 11 miles. The stated mileage was 10.6 miles, but PATC has relocated the Gerhard Shelter Trail so that it is no longer a straight shot down the hill, but rather a more pleasant walk with switchbacks. It is still pretty steep though.

Common Speedwell, Veronica officinalis

In the middle of the fire road and up again on the ridgeline, I saw several patches of Common Speedwell, the first I have seen blooming this year. And as I predicted last week, the Mountain Laurel is coming into its own and we saw vast patches of it in bloom, with blooms anywhere from snow white to very pink.

Stunning Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia

A Much Pinker Mountain Laurel

Yellow Violet, Viola pubescens

It's only been in the last couple of weeks that we have seen fungi start to grow. I thought the following picture made an interesting still life.

Shelf Fungi Still Life

And the flies started coming out in full force this week. We have been remarkably bug free until this week, but the flies in particular seemed to be everywhere. This is the first time we have seen millipedes on the move but they are a common sight all summer.

North American Millipede, Narceus americana

When I was a youngster and young teenager, I went to Boy Scout camp over in Augusta County, across the Blue Ridge from my home in Albemarle County. In those damp woods, I would see hundreds of Red Efts, the juvenile form of the Eastern Newt. This land-dwelling juvenile form wanders for a couple or three years until it finds a pond and transforms into the aquatic adult form with a bladed, paddle-like tail. While the adults can grow to be sizeable, the efts that we saw were generally not much longer than two acorns put end to end. Ann had never seen one before so it was pretty neat to show her one. I saw about six or seven all day long.

Red Eft, the Juvenile Stage Eastern Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens

Other than the blooming mountain laurels, one of the other main sources of color along the trail headed to the ridge of Great North Mountain was Snowbells, small shrubs with very sweet bell-shaped white blossoms.

Snowbells, Likely Styrax grandifolia

Pink Lady's-slipper, Cypripedium acaule

At one point, Ann pointed at a False Solomon's Seal and asked what it was. After I identified it for her, she asked what true Solomon's Seal looks like. There happened to be one in bloom not two feet away. In the wild, Solomon's Seal blooms are rarely like those of specimen plants grown in gardens. The green blooms suspended under the leaves are very shy and hard to spot and do not photograph well.

False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum racemosum

Greenbriers are very common in our woods and are a real problem for hikers who bushwhack. The thorns on these fairly aggressive vines are tenacious. But the seedlings have a certain beauty with whorls or four or five leaves. It's hard to say which greenbrier this one is, but judging from some of the adult ones nearby, I'm going with Bristly Greenbrier and not the Common Greenbrier.

A Greenbrier, Likely Bristly Greenbrier, Smilax hispida

Any girl that is going to thru-hike the AT needs a trail name. I'm going to start with "Layer Break." I say this lovingly, but I have just never seen someone put on and take off quite so many layers of clothes in a hike as she.

Annie Gets a Trail Name: "Layer Break"

Another Gorgeous Azalea

The Blueberry Crop Looks Great This Year

The uphill climb to the ridge was something on the order of three miles and we covered it in good time, stopping every now and again to listen to the cuckoos calling. We finally saw one flit up in the top of a tree, but of the many we heard, that was the only one that we saw. Except for a steep bit in the switchbacks, the trail climbed fairly gently. As we neared the ridge, we pretty much abandoned hope of any views as we had clearly climbed up into the clouds.

Nearing the Ridge, in the Clouds

Finally, when we topped out, we could see, well, nothing. We were wading through knee-high grass for a few hundred yards in the clouds. I only found one tick on me once I got through to the other side and that seems pretty good for I figured I would be covered. So, there were no views, but the clouds were trapping something very delightful smelling that neither of us could place. We would soon discover what it was.

The Ridge Top Views Were Astounding; Not!

Suddenly, we came upon interesting looking three-leaved low shrubs on both sides of the path and having just come through big patch of poison ivy, I was on high alert for three-leaved plants. Although most of the leaves on this one in the photo below look like poison ivy, the vast majority reminded me of poison oak from out west. I was in no hurry to touch this plant, but I took my time looking at it because I know that I have never seen such a plant before. I figured it must be a sumac, but it was beyond my knowledge. Back home, it was easy enough to determine that it is the non-poisonous Fragrant Sumac, a favorite of professional landscapers for its beautiful red foliage in the fall. Live and learn.

Fragrant Sumac, Rhus aromatica

Just beyond the sumacs, we came upon many White Fringetrees on either side of the trail, some of them arching gracefully over the trail, slightly bowed under the weight of the clouds condensing on them. As we walked under, we figured out the source of the intoxicatingly sweet fragrance that we had been smelling for a few minutes.

Smelling the Fringetree

Basketball-Sized Clump of White Fringetree, Chionanthus virginicus

Keeping the fringetrees company were many, many Viburnums, some with softball-sized blossoms, some more white, some more yellow. Most were Northern Arrow-wood, perhaps my favorite of all our local species.

Northern Arrow-wood, Viburnum recognitum

After walking across the exposed ridgeline for a few hundred yards, we started down into the woods again and were serenaded by tanagers at every turn. In just a few minutes, we came into a clearing where the Gerhard Shelter is situated.

Paul Gerhard Shelter

We sat and ate lunch rather quickly. After walking for a couple hours to get to this point, we were both a bit sweaty and we started to chill in the cool air. I stayed behind to sign the log book in the shelter while Ann, in an effort to get warm, headed on down the trail towards the spring and the fire road beyond. I took off behind her about four minutes later and it was then that I understood why the mileage to the spring and fire road (FS 93) from HikingUpward was different from the mileage posted on the shelter: PATC has recently built a marvelous new trail that switchbacks down the very steep mountain and replaces the old trail which was a straight arrow shot down the hill.

Even though the new trail is less steep than the old, it is still pretty steep. If you are staying in the shelter, you are not going to want to walk 6/10 of a mile down this hill to the spring and then tote your water back up. You are best advised to pack it in from the nearest source.

As we were walking down to and by the spring, the flora really started changing on the east side of the mountain compared to the west. All of a sudden, Rattlesnake Weed was blooming everywhere and here and there were clumps of Long-leaved Bluets, the first I have seen this year. Several Wood Thrushes entertained us with their enchanting calls as we made our way down to the forest service road, where we emerged into light sunshine (finally!) and turned right and south along the east flank of the mountain.

The walk at this point was flat to downhill along a gravel road which ended about 3/4 of a mile along, only to continue as an un-blazed path through the woods. Soon enough, this trail would merge directly into the yellow-blazed Vance's Cove Trail. Although this sounds like a lot of landmarks to look for, it really isn't any big deal; you just keep walking straight ahead south. Alas, horses have really torn parts of this trail all to hell and there are a lot of sloppy and muddy sections.

Finally, the Vance's Cove Trail ends at another forest service road, which is labeled the Wilson Cove Trail. The road runs right along the border and as you move from north to south, you cross back into West Virginia, having been in Virginia since leaving the shelter. A right on Wilson Cove Trail will take you back to Waite's Run Road and your vehicle.

Coming South into West Virginia

Just as soon as we popped out on the Vance's Cove Trail, a much wider road, Ann spied something red (and very hard to miss) in the trees just across the way, a Scarlet Tanager just above eye level sitting out in the clear. Tanagers usually hide at the tops of trees and are frustratingly hard to see, but easy to hear, sounding a bit like an enthusiastic House Finch. We heard many of them during the hike, as well as their cousins the Summer Tanager. I shot a few frames of a Summer Tanager, but they were all in dark profile with no detail. The bird was just too backlit.

Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea, Very Common Here

For the duration, a couple miles, of our walk, we saw a lot of fairly common roadside flowers, but one gave me pause. On the east side of the road, we saw predominantly hawkweeds, which with their multiple blooms at the top of a long stalk are fun to look at from above. On the west side, the shadier side, the hillsides were covered in Rattlesnake Weed. And then here and there, we saw one that looked very different.

Meadow Hawkweed, Hieracium caespitosum

It has a bloom similar to many plants, and not too far off of a dandelion, which naturally were here and there all over the place, but it sported single blooms 12 to 14 inches off the ground, a single bloom on a single bloom stalk per plant. Each plant had a strong basal rosette of highly toothed leaves. This is the False Dandelion, Hypochaeris radicata, a beautiful flower.

False Dandelion with a Bee Visitor

So common are Ox-eye Daisies that I rarely photograph them. Yet, the one below was one of the very first of the year and too perfect a bloom to ignore.

Ox-eye Daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare

Likewise, Black Locusts are not notable in these parts, being almost a weed and certainly among the most prolific colonizers of barren areas. What is notable is that we haven't seen any blooming in two weeks or so and here were some in perfect full bloom. These flowers are so delicious. I love them in salads where their green pea cross honeysuckle flavor can shine. Dredged in batter and fried, they make wonderful fritters as well.

Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacacia

It's not every day that I see Horsetail growing in the wild. There were several patches of it near a creek pouring into a roadside ditch that also hosted a stand of cattails. I know that it is an escaped pest, but I love the foliage, especially in this picture where the rain drops are still on the leaves.

Field Horsetail, Equisetum arvense

I won't be taking too many more pictures of Yarrow this year, but this is the first of the year and the blooms are so pristine.

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium

Eastern Gray Penstemon, Penstemon canescens
Rattlesnake Weed, Hieracium venosum

Seven-spotted Ladybug, Coccinella septempunctata, on Yarrow

About 10 miles into our hike, the Wilson Cove Trail emptied into Waite's Run Road and we followed the creek downhill a bit less than a mile to the car. All along the road were large patches of Geraniums, but in too much shade to photograph. At one point, we came across a group of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails in the mud and that reminded us that we saw a whirling dervish of four Black Swallowtails about a mile and a half back, flying in a tight circle, resembling a living dust devil.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus

Waite's Run is a gorgeous trout stream and although we were tiring of road walk by this point, it was very relaxing walking along listening to the whitewater cascading over the rocks.

Waite's Run

Creek Empties into Waite's Run

After we packed up, we drove back into Wardensville and had a couple of beers at Lost River Brewing, a tradition after having hiked in this part of GWNF. I enjoyed this hike and it would be a favorite were there a bit less road walking.

Grilled Halibut Tacos

After a week of fairly miserable weather, this week has started off beautifully with a chance to get out and hit the grill. Over coffee Monday morning, Ann suggested fish tacos for dinner. I thought that was splendid idea.

Grilled Halibut Tacos with Curtido and Cilantro

Later in the day, I texted Ann, "slaw or salsa on the tacos?" She decided on slaw and so I made a batch of curtido, the quintessential Salvadoran slaw that always accompanies pupusas. Mine is made from green cabbage, carrot, red onion, salt, oregano, and lime juice. It is crunchy and tangy and the perfect topping for a bit of grilled halibut.

I prefer grilled fish in my tacos, though most restaurants tend to use fried fish. I don't really want batter on the fish if the whole thing is in a tortilla, either corn or wheat. Your mileage and your tacos may vary.

Laurel Run, Orkney Springs VA

After a week off hiking in North Carolina and southwest Virginia, it was good to be back on our home turf in the George Washington National Forest, west of Woodstock on the VA-WV border, nominally in Orkney Springs, VA. This hike that Ann chose for Mother's Day is number 19 for 2017, the year in which we have committed to 52 hikes, an average of one per week. After a slow start in which we were behind by as many as 5 hikes due to horrible weather and illness, we are back to hike number 19 in week number 19, thanks to all the hikes we crammed in last week.

Thanks to my not paying attention while busy enjoying a conversation with Ann, what was planned to be a shorter hike of about 9 miles ended up being almost 12 (11.8) thanks to a wrong turn. I just don't make navigation mistakes, but I have to own this one. More on this later.

The Payoff on North Mountain

We were hiking just south of Tibbet Knob, starting on a dirt road variously called Farm Road 252, Logging Road 252, or Forest Service Road 252, but not signposted as anything. You see it coming in from the right on the map below, labelled Laurel Run Road. We stopped at the first gate that you see across the road, right where the rightmost edge of the tape is, walked up the road until we saw the trail heading slightly right through the woods. We climbed the mountain to the junction of the trail, the dirt Judge Rye Road (route 691), and the orange-blazed North Mountain Trail. Although the map makes it appear that you might have to road walk 691 for a little, in truth, you never have to get to 691 to turn left on North Mountain Trail.

The North Mountain Trail is a very pleasant ridgewalk at first with great views to the east and then it opens up into more grassy areas and bald-like areas before reaching the purple-blazed Stack Rock Trail which you follow left and down the mountain to the intersection with the dirt road. Don't make the mistake I did and turn right on the dirt road thinking that you are on Laurel Run Road. Turn left and follow the dirt road back to your vehicle. Although it looks like you have to make a hard right turn at the northern end of the Laurel Run Spur Trail to get onto the yellow-blazed Laurel Run Road, no such turn exists. The two trails are the same dirt road and they meet just where you took the yellow-blazed trail slightly right and off into the woods.

After making the wrong turn on the blue-blazed road, we were busy chitchatting away, all the while I was thinking that the landmarks were unfamiliar. I ignored the warning in the pit of my stomach until we got to a place where the blue-blazed Laurel Run Spur Trail started to climb, after about 35 minutes of walking. The trail back to the car should not have climbed at all. After a 35-minute walk, we should have been close to the car. Dumb me. Don't be like me.

Our Hike

Sunday was the first sunny day after three days of a lot of rain. When I made the decision to wear trail runners instead of boots on Sunday morning, I knew I was risking wet feet. And wet feet I had. In the photo below, we had to cross a creek that is clearly much wider than normal. The stones leading across it stopped just over halfway across. I dropped another big rock in the deep water and that foothold let me vault across the remaining water on my trekking poles. Ann just plowed through in her waterproof boots.

Heading up the mountain, the trail masqueraded as a creek or was it a creek masquerading as a trail? I could only avoid the water for so long until the inevitable happened: water in the shoes. Good thing my trail runners dry quickly. One other consequence of all this water was pretty unbearable humidity, especially in the sunnier areas. The trees trapped the evaporating rainwater and at times, it was like walking through a sauna. All this went away once we climbed the hill.

Trail Masquerading as a Creek

Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes

This is a hike of varied habitats. It starts through the woods on a dirt road, seemingly used mostly to give loggers access to various tracts of woodlands. We passed several areas that had been cut in the last five years and some more recently. Each patch was studded with standing trees marked with orange spray paint. And in the thicker trees, some as old as 30-40 years, we could see stumps from old logging operations. It seems to be a well-managed forestry operation. As much as I hate to see wildlife habitat disrupted, we need wood for everything from paper to housing.

The Laurel Run Trail follows the creek of the same name up North Mountain, passing through a couple of fields managed for wildlife. I noticed in the yards leading up to the first field a few Goldstars and then once I got into the field, I found it carpeted in Goldstar blooms. There is something incredibly attractive about both the golden shade of yellow and the six-pointed blooms.

First Wildlife Field

Field Covered in Common Goldstars, Hypoxis hirsuta

I had read in other accounts of this hike about the numbers of pink lady's-slippers to be seen. I only saw one the length of the Laurel Run Trail on the edge of the first wildlife field, but we did see dozens at an equivalent elevation coming back down the mountain on the purple-blazed Stack Rock Trail. These orchids are incredibly beautiful.

First of Many Pink Lady's-slippers, Cypripedium acaule

Group of Four Lady's-slippers

Second Wildlife Field; North Mountain

Azaleas are a pretty common thing in our area, where the soil is acidic enough to support them. With a dozen or more species in Virginia, I have stopped trying to figure out which is which and am just enjoying them. Despite being common in areas around here, we saw only three of them in bloom all day and each of the three was discernably different from the others.

Azalea #1: Blooming Before Leaves

Azalea #2: Blooming with Leaves

Azalea #3: Looking Like Fuchsia

Similar to the azaleas, there are 18 species of Vaccinium listed as native to Virginia and I haven't a clue how to separate them. Vaccinium comprises the blueberries, huckleberries, cranberries, and other such berries. I thought that the pink to almost red blooms on this one and many alongside the trail were beautiful. And as to species, I don't think I really care as long as the fruit is tasty. I can't wait for the crop to ripen.

A Blueberry/Huckleberry, Vaccinium sp.

Just before the yellow-blazed Laurel Run Trail ends at the mountain top, there is a little pond off to the left as you head up the hill. I scared a frog or two and an American Redstart hollered at me from the brush, but there was nothing much doing at this pond. Visit it or not as you see fit.

Pond Just Before Joining North Mountain Trail

North Mountain Trail on VA-WV Border

Wood Anemone, Anemone quinquefolia

The orange-blazed North Mountain trail starts as a classic ridge walk of the sort that is very common all along the North Mountain range and of the sort that Ann and I really like. There is something fundamentally neat about walking upon the spine of a mountain and having the land fall away on both sides of you. In our case on Sunday, away to Virginia on the left and West Virginia on the right.

Great Place to Take a Break

Soon after starting the ridgewalk, you will see a side trail over to a rock outcropping. The view, looking over at Devils Hole Mountain to the east, was beautiful. As you can see, we could not have asked for clearer skies.

The Money Shot: Looking at Devils Hole Mountain

Coming Back From an Overlook

Eastern Tent Caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum

Queen of Her Domain

Further along, the ridge broadens and seems more like a classic saddle than a ridge. First the trees thin out and are undergrown with lush spring grasses and then the trees fall away, leaving almost a classic bald effect, a field up on a mountain.

Parts of the Ridge are Wide and Grassy

A Bellwort, Uvularia sp.

Wild Pink, Silene caroliniana

Large, Almost Bald Areas Along the Mountain

The open areas are home to a lot of different, less woodland, species of flowers including large mats of dwarf cinquefoils and dove's-foot geraniums.

Field Pennycress, Thlaspi arvense

Plaintain-leaved Pussytoes, Antennaria plantaginifolia

Dove's-foot Geranium, Geranium molle

Mats of Dwarf Cinquefoil, Potentilla canadensis

Early Saxifrage, Micranthes virginiensis

Turning down the mountain onto the Stack Rock trail, we quickly descended and as we gave up elevation, we saw more and more buds on the mountain laurels and the further down we went, the closer and closer to opening they seemed to be. Finally, we came upon a cluster with a single open bloom and then a few yards further along, a single cluster that was about two-thirds open. The coming two weeks should see laurels in all their glory, depending on elevation.

Single Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia, Blossom

About a Week Early for Mountain Laurel

Down where the Stack Rock Trail meets the blue-blazed dirt trail, I've already recounted how we stupidly went right when we should have gone left. The roadwalk is a cakewalk, yet we walked for 35 minutes jabbering away before we knew, with a sinking feeling in our guts, that we had absolutely gone the wrong way. How far can you walk in 35 minutes on a dirt road? At least a mile and a half and maybe more as it turns out.

It was a beautiful day and what the hell, we had to make the most out of it, though I know Ann would have liked to have gotten off her hurt knee earlier. The roadsides were home to great swaths of glowing Golden Ragworts, equally golden buttercups, the odd Goat's Rue, and masses upon masses of blackberries. The berries in the Rubus genus are legion in Virginia, counting about 15 species, and while I can rule out a lot of them, it is hard for me to categorically identify what we saw alongside the road. That said, though, I think many of them were Rubus flagellaris, Common Dewberries.

Roadside and Creekside Packera aurea

Mats of Roadside Blackberries Perhaps Rubus flagellaris

Tall Buttercup, Ranunculus acris

Part of the reason we were so distracted and took the wrong turn is that we were thinking ahead to beer at Woodstock Brew House, a short drive away in downtown Woodstock, near the courthouse. After an extra three miles of walking more than planned, we were extra thirsty when we arrived and fairly hungry too. Because of the graduation and Mother's Day traffic, my restaurant was bombed all weekend and there was no time to think, let alone make lunch for our hike. We subsisted on Clif bars, granola bars, and Lance crackers from our packs until we could get to food. We ended up getting a plate of nachos that sounded awesome on paper, with pulled pork and so forth. In the end, there were a couple of shreds of pulled pork but not enough to sneeze at. Still, as starved as we were, those nachos were not long for this world.

Post Game Location

Mugshot

Casey Jones Vanilla Porter

Nachos

And that is our saga of the Laurel Run loop. This time of year, with the leaf cover still kind of scant up on the mountain, we had great views. We really enjoyed the wide variety of scenery. Later in the season, this trail would definitely have more of a green tunnel quality and if it hadn't been for the recent rains, all the road-walking would have been a pain in the butt, with cars kicking up tons of dust. But on Mother's Day, and despite the extra mileage, it was a really enjoyable hike.