Trails Galleries

Shavers Mountain Spruce-Hemlock Stand, WV (11/2007) : Millions of acres of old growth forest were cut in West Virginia's turn-of-the-century logging boom. Left behind are only a handful of "larger" intact stands totalling just over 300 acres (Smaller groups of old trees can be found in hard-to-reach corners of the mountain highlands, but finding them takes a bit of luck). Cathedral State Park, at 133 acres, is the largest and is easily accessed along Rt. 50 in Aurora, WVA. Another significant grove, pictured here, is the Shavers Mountain Spruce-Hemlock Stand in Otter Creek Wilderness. The stand, a National Natural Landmark, is 68 acres and the edge of it is easy to find by hiking 3 miles into the Otter Creek area. We've noticed the big trees in prior backpacking trips but until recently did not know their significance. It's not noted on any maps and gets only a vague mention in one guidebook. The online catalog of National Natural Landmarks simply notes it is "seven miles northwest of Harman in Randolph County." We visited this sacred place in November, 2007 to look more deliberately at the stand and for the first time saw old growth red spruce. At one time, the higher elevations in northern West Virginia were covered with these giants. The Shavers Mountain stand contains both virgin spruce and hemlock (we also saw a couple old growth hardwood trees). This gives it a much different feel than other larger stands of old growth forest we've visited in the Mid-Atlantic where eastern hemlock usually dominate. We penetrated the edge of the stand but found the going difficult in tenacious rhody hells. Next summer we hope to spend more time contemplating this lost cathedral.

Shavers Mountain Spruce-Hemlock Stand, WV (11/2007)

Millions of acres of old growth forest were cut in West Virginia's tur ...

Updated: Nov 14, 2007 9:41pm PST

Little Stonecoal Run, Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV (4/2009) : A loop in Dolly Sods is a great way to spend a spring weekend. Water is running, ramps are up and birds are chirping. Stream crossing are particularly cold. We headed up Little Stone Coal, crossed at Dunkenbarger and back down Big Stone Coal - a classic loop with an iconic view of the Sods at the Dunkenbarger stream crossing.

Little Stonecoal Run, Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV (4/2009)

A loop in Dolly Sods is a great way to spend a spring weekend. Water i ...

Updated: Apr 22, 2009 5:52am PST

Overall Run Trail, Shenandoah National Park, VA (10/2008) :

Overall Run Trail, Shenandoah National Park, VA (10/2008)

Updated: Nov 03, 2008 8:00pm PST

Northern Dolly Sods, WV, By Mountain Bike (Summer 2008) : The terrain in Northern Dolly Sods is open and sweeping in a way that few natural landscapes are on the East Coast. Although these vistas are influenced by the reckless hand of man, the beauty is unmistakable. Wide open landscapes intermingle with thick forest and rocky terrain. The area is home to red spruce, cranberry bogs filled with rare plants, huckleberry stands and numerous other natural features that are rare this far south. All of this has led to a proposed federal wilderness designation to permanently seal the area off from the possibility of resource exploitation. We've skied, backpacked, bushwhacked and mountain biked here many times. The wilderness designation will allow future foot and horse travel but, in what seems to be a very dated interpretation of federal law, will bar mountain biking even though this is a self-propelled method of travel. The area deserves wilderness protection, but traveling by bike is a wonderful way to explore here. We've been spending as much time as possible biking here before the law changes.

Northern Dolly Sods, WV, By Mountain Bike (Summer 2008)

The terrain in Northern Dolly Sods is open and sweeping in a way that ...

Updated: Aug 05, 2008 10:40am PST

Canyons Rim at Roaring Plains, WV 2006-2007 (6/2007) : Rugged, windswept and amazingly beautiful from its high altitude orientation, the Roaring Plains of West Virginia is part of the largest high mountain plateau area in the East. The photos in this gallery are from a remote corner of this region where faint bushwhack routes access and follow the rim of two canyons above the drainages for Roaring Creek and Long Run. Here there are numerous rocky overlooks with spectacular views of Seneca Rocks and Spruce Knob, North Fork Mountain, Shenandoah Mountain and other impressive features of the Potomac Highlands. Indeed, the views from this ridge rival any we've enjoyed in the Mid-Atlantic. This area is ideal for backpacking but is tucked just out of reach of a comfortable day hiking trip. So for both trips, we biked in 3.5 miles on forest road to begin our explorations - a 7 mile bushwhack loop and a shorter loop that involves taking a hard to find and follow shortcut through a maze of mountain laurel. A trip here requires concentration, comfort with difficult terrain and good route finding skills, but one is well rewarded.

Canyons Rim at Roaring Plains, WV 2006-2007 (6/2007)

Rugged, windswept and amazingly beautiful from its high altitude orien ...

Updated: Nov 14, 2007 9:34pm PST

Sorrentine Penninsula, Italy 9/2006 : We rented an apartment for a week in Sant'Agata on the Sorrentine Penninsula, located just south of Naples in southern Italy. Sant'Agata sits at 1,200 ft. above sea level with the ocean less than a mile away and is both removed and centrally located for explorations on the penninsula, down the Amalfi Coast and over to the Isle of Capri. We hiked every day while here and spent some quality time riding buses through this impossibly steep landscape. Sant'Agata maintains a rural feel - in that special Italian way - despite the region's tourist popularity. Every day we were awakened by roosters, shotgun blasts and the sound of mopeds tearing up steep hillside alleys. September was also the time for tending small garden plots of olive, lemon and lime trees and grapes and tomatoes, so there was the smell of burning brush and fresh manure everywhere. We ate caprese salads, drank stiff espresso and tasted powerful limoncello. Our walks took us on high paths along the Bay of Salermo, down to a forgotten fishing village in a tiny cove, above the historic paper mill town of Amalfi and along the coast and through the main town on Capri.

Sorrentine Penninsula, Italy 9/2006

We rented an apartment for a week in Sant'Agata on the Sorrentine Penn ...

Updated: Nov 24, 2006 6:01pm PST

Harman Ridge Loop, Northern Dolly Sods, WV (July 2008 and 2009) : The rain soaked Northern Sods was bursting with color in early July when we slogged through flooded trails to see mountain laurel blooms at peak and fields of ferns flourishing in the monsoon season. The first huckleberries of the season were delicious.

Harman Ridge Loop, Northern Dolly Sods, WV (July 2008 and 2009)

The rain soaked Northern Sods was bursting with color in early July wh ...

Updated: Jul 09, 2009 7:48pm PST

Cranberry Wilderness, WV (7/2007) : The Cranberry Wildernes, in a remote region of West Virginia, is the largest designated wilderness in West Virginia and at 35,000 acres is also the largest Forest Service wilderness in the East. The wilderness protects multiple headwaters streams and high mountain ridges in an area that saw little settlement. Deep forests, mossy ground cover, clear streams and elusive waterfalls create a great place for solitude. We backpacked along a prong of the Williams River and up on the northern ridgetop along Big Beechy Trail, taking in numerous surprises on our first trip to this wonderful place.

Cranberry Wilderness, WV (7/2007)

The Cranberry Wildernes, in a remote region of West Virginia, is the l ...

Updated: Nov 14, 2007 9:37pm PST

Bike Exploring in West Virginia, 2006-2007 : A great way to explore the backcountry in West Virginia is by mountainbike. The Canaan Valley region is home to some of the most extensive bike-accessible land in the Eastern U.S. This fact makes the area a mountain biking mecca and fosters development of nationally-ranked competitive racers. At bottom, though, traveling by mountain bike allows for long tours covering amazing landscapes and vistas while at the same time challenging one in a way foot travel can't. This gallery features photos from several tours, including long 25-30 mile jaunts that require endurance similar to doing a 100 mile road bike ride.

Bike Exploring in West Virginia, 2006-2007

A great way to explore the backcountry in West Virginia is by mountain ...

Updated: Nov 14, 2007 9:39pm PST

Berryland, WV, 2006-2008 : Berryland is what we've been calling a large swath of land in the Canaan Valley region. There are two sectors - upper and lower. So far we've put a few pictures in here from Lower Berryland, which we're calling areas in the low 3000's elevation range near Davis, WV. Canaan Valley Institute Land, the wildlife refuge and similar areas are in places covered in berries - huckleberries, blueberries, blackberries, serviceberries. There are a lot of good mountain biking trails in these areas for access but the hiking is also great. Upper Berryland is the higher elevations - above 4,000 feet typically - and includes mostly huckleberries and blueberries in the Dolly Sods region. Here you can gorge yourself into September.

Berryland, WV, 2006-2008

Berryland is what we've been calling a large swath of land in the Cana ...

Updated: Sep 02, 2008 8:16am PST

North Dolly Sods, WV - Dobbin Slashings Area 2005-2006 : The North Dolly Sods area is on U.S. Forest Service land north of the well-known Dolly Sods Wilderness in Tucker County, WVA. The Dobbin Slashings Bog lies west of the forest service land and recently came under the control of the West Virginia DNR. Access is from A-Frame Road and Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge trails (seek permission to cross private lands for access here) or from Forest Road 75 at the Bear Rocks area. The area is bordered on the west by the outcroppings of Cabin Mountain and is known for remarkable upland plains, created largely by the hand of man. The plains contain boggy lowlands, red spruce stands and wide-open fields. Cranberries, huckleberries and blackberries are plentiful in the late summer. The trip featured here used the Dobbin Grade, Raven Ridge Trail, Cabin Mountain grade and Trail #9 in Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge

North Dolly Sods, WV - Dobbin Slashings Area 2005-2006

The North Dolly Sods area is on U.S. Forest Service land north of the ...

Updated: Aug 25, 2006 9:28am PST

Table Rock - Canaan Backcountry, WV 11/2005 : Table Rock is at the western end of an area called the Canaan Backcountry in Tucker Co., WV. The sandstone rocks form an overlook into the wild and remote Red Run gorge (See our separate gallery on Red Run for a peek). Several ridges can be seen to the west in addition to the Dry Fork gorge. The hike into Table Rock is short and level, making for a great afternoon pick-me-up hike.

Table Rock - Canaan Backcountry, WV 11/2005

Table Rock is at the western end of an area called the Canaan Backcoun ...

Updated: Nov 14, 2005 6:52pm PST

Roaring Plains, WV 2005/2006 : The Roaring Plains area borders Dolly Sods Wilderness to the south and contains terrain and scenery that is similar to the high plains of the Sods. Because it isn't designated wilderness, which tends to draw human crowds, the trails often offer solitude. The photos in this gallery are from trips using the South Prong Trail, Boar's Nest Trail and the tower access road the splits the area. In late summer, blueberries are plentiful on the trail and blackberries are plentiful on the forest road.

Roaring Plains, WV 2005/2006

The Roaring Plains area borders Dolly Sods Wilderness to the south and ...

Updated: Dec 03, 2006 7:07pm PST

Canaan - Middle Ridge, WV 10/2005 : Middle Ridge Trail (#12) is in the Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge, Tucker Co., WVA, looping through the center of the heart of upland bogs. The landscape is open with sweeping vistas. The latter section passes through an abandoned farm and by numerous beaver ponds. These photographs were taken in October, 2005.

Canaan - Middle Ridge, WV 10/2005

Middle Ridge Trail (#12) is in the Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge, Tuck ...

Updated: Nov 08, 2005 8:20am PST

Canaan Valley State Park 7/2006 : Our explorations have been limited so far in Canaan Valley State Park. Recently we checked out a couple of their trails on our mountainbikes and found sweeping views on trails that pass through large open fields. We're looking forward to more trips to this southern end of the valley.

Canaan Valley State Park 7/2006

Our explorations have been limited so far in Canaan Valley State Park. ...

Updated: Jul 17, 2006 12:40pm PST

Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, 8/2006 :

Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, 8/2006

Updated: Oct 18, 2006 1:44pm PST

Cathedral State Park : Although Cathedral State Park is a beautiful place it is also a place of great sadness. Here the state protects 133 acres of virgin forest - mostly eastern hemlock - in what may be the largest stand of virgin forest left in the state. Before the industrial logging boom some 10 million acres of uncut forest covered the state and in places probably looked similar to this park. The buildings in the photos are at an old artist colony located near the park. An historic preservation group is working to restore the colony.

Cathedral State Park

Although Cathedral State Park is a beautiful place it is also a place ...

Updated: Oct 18, 2006 1:21pm PST

Big Trees along the Boogerman Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC (10/2009) : Several of the biggest trees in the East live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park where pockets of old-growth escaped logging during the industrial boom. One of those places is the Boogerman Grove, in the park's southeastern reaches, and it is full of towering giants. The Eastern Native Tree Society has documented numerous large trees in this area. The tallest known eastern tree - a 186 ft. tall white pine - is here, as is the largest known tulip poplar by volume. We visited this grove on a multi-day trip in the Smokies. In one section we saw one giant white pine after another, each towering over the forest canopy. Old-growth tulip poplars commanded small coves on the park's northern aspects. The area includes stands of old-growth eastern hemlocks, almost all of them standing dead after infection with the hemlock wooly adelgid. Along nearby high ridges, one can also see old-growth red spruce and occasional stunted old-growth oaks.

Big Trees along the Boogerman Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC (10/2009)

Several of the biggest trees in the East live in Great Smoky Mountains ...

Updated: Nov 02, 2009 12:58pm PST