Michael had a date with some friends to go rappelling yesterday, so I decided to go out for a hike on my own at Sky Meadows State Park, which is near the sprawling metropolis of Paris, Virginia. We hiked through Sky Meadows once, many years ago, with our late friend, Anne. That day was frozen solid. Yesterday was quite a bit warmer, if still a bit chilly. It was 24 degrees when I started up the South Ridge Trail and the ground was, thankfully, frozen. The trail had obviously turned into a mud pit the day before. The climb wasn't bad and I had the trail to myself. I stopped now and then to look at birds.
I reached the Appalachian Trail and turned north. It was as pretty as I remembered up there, with the open meadows and views to the east. Although it was bright and sunny, the wind made it pretty cold up on the ridgeline. I started to see more people once I headed down the Ambassador Trail. The trail also had melted a bit and was quickly turning to mud. I stopped for a few minutes at the Piedmont Overlook. There is a nice bench there and I thought about eating lunch, but it was still too windy and cold there. In retrospect, I wish I had eaten there. The trail got more and more crowded and noisy as I descended through the woods. I finally found a log to sit on to eat and watch the non-stop stream of people sliding down the hill of the Piedmont Trail. I did enjoy the descent down the other side of the Piedmont Trail. The view can't be beat and the trail is really pretty. I will say I was glad to be going down it vs. ascending it. The South Ridge Trail is definitely less steep.
Once I was down the in the valley again, I took the Hardow Trail, which runs along a pretty little creek. It was still pretty muddy, but it was quiet. On my way back to the car, I ran into a couple out birding who nicely pointed out a Red-Headed Woodpecker, which was my first of the year. All said and done, it was a nice 8 mile day with some solid climbing.
Definitely get to Sky Meadows early if you want to avoid the crowds.
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