June 5, 2021 : Trip 4, Day 2 – Shenandoah National Park

Today we completed our tour of Shenandoah National Park. Since it was Saturday, we tried to get an early start. We planned to start with a hike on Bearfence Mountain Trail . We were about 30 seconds late getting to the trailhead. We saw someone pull into the last parking space as we arrived. We waited for about 5 minutes for an open parking space, then we moved on.

Even though the parking spaces were full, the Skyline Drive was not crowded. Most of our drive did not have traffic.

Having a 100 mile long open road to drive through such beautiful scenery created a unique trip through the mountains.

Since we did not get to hike the first trail, we were way ahead of schedule. We decided to stop at some extra overlooks along the way. Our first stop was called the Point. The view was gorgeous, but it was not clear why the area was called the Point.

As we walked back to the Highlander, we saw a narrow break in the rock wall. There was an almost invisible and steep path on the other side of the opening. Look closely at the picture below or you will miss the path.

While the first 50 feet of the path was steep, the remaining trail was level and narrow. After a short walk, you could see why the overlook was called The Point. You could stand on a rock formation that looked almost like the bow of a ship and get a whole new perspective of the scenery.

After enjoying the Point, we drove toward our next hike at Dark Hollow Falls. The hike to the falls was less than a mile. How hard could it be? Alltrails.com said it was moderate. The hike down to Dark Hollow Falls was steep. The Falls were wonderful.

As we admired the view, we reviewed our hike data from our gps device. We had climbed down over 600 feet in less than three quarters of a mile. That is an average grade of 16%. We later saw that the grade was over 30% on some parts of the trail. For us, that is quite a climb. The hike back to the car was a little longer than the climb down had been. Still, it was worth it for the view of the falls.

You can only see a portion of the height of the falls in a single picture because of the trees. You can also appreciate the climb up and down to this location by looking at the elevation change in this photo.

When we got back to our car, it was time for lunch. We headed to the Harry Byrd Visitor Center to get food and to stamp our National Park log book.

Because of COVID, we could not stamp our log book. Instead, a staff person handed us a stamped sticker to apply to our log. They did not want the stamper to be handled by so many people each day.

We stopped in the store to buy a packaged sub. We decided to try a picnic in the grass under the trees at the visitor center. Our sub was fresh and tasty. Apparently, we were the same for all the mosquitos gathered at the Visitor Center. We decided to finish our lunch in the car.

After food and rest, we headed to the Hawksbill Gap Trail. At the trailhead the path is wide and smooth. It is covered with smooth gravel. It looks like a simple hike. The reality of the trail is a little different. This trail climbs to the highest point in the park. A look at the next picture gives you a visual definition of climbs.

Marlene is les than 40 feet away in this picture. Just like our previous hike earlier in the day, this trail was relatively short, but quite steep. It was also a worthwhile hike. We did reach the summit.

Because it is the highest peak in the park, you get a 360 degree view of the surroundings. It was truly amazing. Climbing the rocks at the peak was fun for one of us. We both enjoyed the dirt path to the summit for the wide open view.

One of the great things about traveling is the people you get to meet. At the trailhead for this hike, we met a group of women with a new take of girl’s night out. The group was doing a three day forty mile hike across the park. Each night they stayed at a new lodge. They were having a great time. At the top of the mountain we met a couple who were also trying to visit all the parks. They are further along on their journey because they started several years ago. Sharing stories about our adventures was fun.

The hike back down the mountain was not as much fun. This trail was even steeper than our morning hike. It was also warmer. We learned we need to review the trail descriptions in more detail to be able to evaluate our schedule and trail selection better for future trips.

After the hike on Hawksbill Gap, we were going to hike the Stony Man Trail. We decided to do the overlook instead.

Oor next stop on our drive through the park was Pinnacles Overlook. From Pinnacles Overlook, you see wilderness that is overwhelming.

When Shenandoah National Park was created, over 80,000 acres was set aside as wilderness. There are trails through that part of the park, but there is no development or facilities. You can see nature as people saw it hundreds of years ago.

There is a tunnel on Skyline Drive. Of course we took a picture. Our grandson Declan loves tunnels.

As we completed our drive through the park, we saw three bicyclists. We had seen several bike riders on the Skyline Drive before, so it was not a surprise.

We first saw the the three bike riders just before Hogback Overlook. We did not expect to see them again. As we drove a couple of miles to Gooney Manor Overlook, we saw the same riders again. It was not such a surprise to see the riders again because the two overlooks were not that far apart.

We went on to Gooney Run Overlook. Amazingly, the same three riders had passed us again. They were riding very quickly. I am sure they enjoyed the downhill rides, but the uphill rides had to be some kind of strain.

Gooney Run Overlook was our last overlook for the day. We spent a little longer there enjoying the view. As we completed our last overlook, we saw the three riders for the last time. They were coming slowly up the mountain toward Gooney Run Overlook.

We completed our drive across Skyline Drive and then drove to Edgewood Maryland toward our next adventure in Rhode Island.