Showing posts with label Buzzard Rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buzzard Rock. Show all posts
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Buzzard Rock: Visiting an Old Friend
The Buzzard Rock hike from Elizabeth Furnace in the Massanutten area of Virginia is an old favorite. I didn't realize how long it had been since we'd been there until I got home and looked for a photo folder on my computer. We haven't done this hike since I got this computer...in 2011. In any case, it is a great hike: a nice steady climb up to the top of the ridge and then a lovely descent, mostly along a knife edge ridge down to the rocks. It is about 9 miles round trip. We had good weather and not much wind today, which is something to be grateful for in winter.
A bridge across a small side stream to Passage Creek, the main waterway running down Fort Valley.
Looking upstream from the bridge
Moss lined trail
An interesting moss
A very cool fungus
The junction of the Tuscarora/Massanutten trails and the Buzzard Rock Trail.
Frost flowers on the Buzard Rock Trail
Looking southwest down Fort Valley from an overlook
The Buzzard Rock Trail
A bootshot from Buzzard Rock
Same view without my feet!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Windy Day on Buzzard Rock
The original plan was to spend the weekend snowshoeing in Dolly Sods. Unfortunately, the job that supports my outdoor habit interfered with the plan to be out of town all weekend. I very rarely have to work on weekends, so I can't complain too much, especially since we were able to squeeze in a long dayhike with the Wandering Virginian.
When we started from the Elizabeth Furnace area, the sun had not yet crested the east ridge of Mansanutten Mountain. Passage Creek still had a lot of ice on its surface. The trail up to Shawl Gap follows the creek north for about 1/4 mile before turning uphill. The trail winds back and forth as it climbs the ridge in long, easy switchbacks. Higher up on the ridge, ice covered most of the trail where it sees little sun this time of year.
We took a quick break at Shawl Gap before turning north for the two mile hike to Buzzard Rock. After climbing up the first hill north of Shawl Gap, the trail sticks to the west side of the ridge. Since it is in the shade most of the day, it was covered in several inches of snow in places. As we progressed along the ridge, the wind picked up a lot. By the time we reached Buzzard Rock, it howled and swirled through the trees. We found a sheltered spot in the sun to have lunch. I really like Buzzard Rock. It is not dramatically high, at only about 1,400 feet, but it is an impressive knife-edged ridge. The top of Buzzard Rock is only a few meters wide and the west side is a breath-taking drop of several hundred feet. The rock is layers of sandstone which have been upturned and are nearly vertical, part of a much larger complex of folded rocks that make up Mansanutten Mountain (more information on the area's geology can be found here).
From Buzzard Rock, we returned to Shawl Gap and continued south on the Mansanutten Trail towards Sherman Gap. The trail stays on top of the ridge, so it was windy, but sunny and relatively warm. Though there aren't really any clear views, this time of year Shenandoah National Park is visible through the trees from most of the ridge. We took another break at Sherman Gap. We decided to hike another 3/4 of a mile out to a rumored point overlooking the Shenandoah River. Along the way, we flushed a couple of grouse and hiked through dense thickets of blueberry bushes. The overlook had a nice view of the river through the trees.
We returned to Sherman Gap and began the long, rocky hike back to the car. Once we dropped off of the ridge, the wind dropped off and it was quite a bit warmer. We made it back to the parking lot about half an hour before sunset. One of the great things about Mansanutten is solitude: We saw three other people in 13.5 miles of hiking, all of whom were on the trail out to Buzzard Rock.
Pictures (click to enlarge):
Shenandoah National Park in the distance to the east.
The ice-covered trail up to Shawl Gap.
Buzzard Rock
Boot shot from Buzzard Rock. This is looking west over the valley.
Looking south from Buzzard Rock.
The Mansanutten Trail south of Shawl Gap. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the ice-covered trail going up the hill.
When we started from the Elizabeth Furnace area, the sun had not yet crested the east ridge of Mansanutten Mountain. Passage Creek still had a lot of ice on its surface. The trail up to Shawl Gap follows the creek north for about 1/4 mile before turning uphill. The trail winds back and forth as it climbs the ridge in long, easy switchbacks. Higher up on the ridge, ice covered most of the trail where it sees little sun this time of year.
We took a quick break at Shawl Gap before turning north for the two mile hike to Buzzard Rock. After climbing up the first hill north of Shawl Gap, the trail sticks to the west side of the ridge. Since it is in the shade most of the day, it was covered in several inches of snow in places. As we progressed along the ridge, the wind picked up a lot. By the time we reached Buzzard Rock, it howled and swirled through the trees. We found a sheltered spot in the sun to have lunch. I really like Buzzard Rock. It is not dramatically high, at only about 1,400 feet, but it is an impressive knife-edged ridge. The top of Buzzard Rock is only a few meters wide and the west side is a breath-taking drop of several hundred feet. The rock is layers of sandstone which have been upturned and are nearly vertical, part of a much larger complex of folded rocks that make up Mansanutten Mountain (more information on the area's geology can be found here).
From Buzzard Rock, we returned to Shawl Gap and continued south on the Mansanutten Trail towards Sherman Gap. The trail stays on top of the ridge, so it was windy, but sunny and relatively warm. Though there aren't really any clear views, this time of year Shenandoah National Park is visible through the trees from most of the ridge. We took another break at Sherman Gap. We decided to hike another 3/4 of a mile out to a rumored point overlooking the Shenandoah River. Along the way, we flushed a couple of grouse and hiked through dense thickets of blueberry bushes. The overlook had a nice view of the river through the trees.
We returned to Sherman Gap and began the long, rocky hike back to the car. Once we dropped off of the ridge, the wind dropped off and it was quite a bit warmer. We made it back to the parking lot about half an hour before sunset. One of the great things about Mansanutten is solitude: We saw three other people in 13.5 miles of hiking, all of whom were on the trail out to Buzzard Rock.
Pictures (click to enlarge):
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Buzzard Rock: 65 Degrees and Snowy
It isn't very often that you get to hike in short sleeves when there is still almost a foot of snow on the top of the ridge. It also isn't very often in the Mid-Atlantic that there is a foot of snow left on the ground on March 7. Today was a beautiful day: bright, sunny, and warm, with lots of snow.
Three of us started out from Elizabeth Furnace and hiked 2.5 miles of the Tuscaroora Trail up to Shawl Gap. Passage Creek was running at the top of its banks in places and is trying to swallow the trail near the picnic grounds. There wasn't any snow in the valley, but about a third of the way to Shawl Gap, the trail was completely covered in snow. It was pretty icy, so it was one more chance to use the microspikes and yaktrax this year. We ate lunch in the warm sun at Shawl Gap next to an old U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Marker.
After lunch, we turned left and headed towards Buzzard Rock. The trail climbed quickly to a small peak before beginning a long descent to the rocks. Although initially snow-free, after the first peak, the trail stayed just to the west side of the ridge in the shade and remained covered in pretty deep snow. The afternoon sun warmed the snow, making it slushy and slippery. As usual on snow, our pace slowed down quite a bit. By the time we made it out to Buzzard Rock, it was warm enough in the sun that we didn't need jackets, even when we stopped to take pictures.
Buzzard Rock is really more of a knife-edged ridge than a specific rock. The west side of the ridge is a straight drop, nearly to Passage Creek 500 feet below. There are good views of the Mansanutten trail to the west, across the valley and of Shenandoah to the east.
Today felt like spring and still looked like winter.
Pictures (click to enlarge):
Three of us started out from Elizabeth Furnace and hiked 2.5 miles of the Tuscaroora Trail up to Shawl Gap. Passage Creek was running at the top of its banks in places and is trying to swallow the trail near the picnic grounds. There wasn't any snow in the valley, but about a third of the way to Shawl Gap, the trail was completely covered in snow. It was pretty icy, so it was one more chance to use the microspikes and yaktrax this year. We ate lunch in the warm sun at Shawl Gap next to an old U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Marker.
After lunch, we turned left and headed towards Buzzard Rock. The trail climbed quickly to a small peak before beginning a long descent to the rocks. Although initially snow-free, after the first peak, the trail stayed just to the west side of the ridge in the shade and remained covered in pretty deep snow. The afternoon sun warmed the snow, making it slushy and slippery. As usual on snow, our pace slowed down quite a bit. By the time we made it out to Buzzard Rock, it was warm enough in the sun that we didn't need jackets, even when we stopped to take pictures.
Buzzard Rock is really more of a knife-edged ridge than a specific rock. The west side of the ridge is a straight drop, nearly to Passage Creek 500 feet below. There are good views of the Mansanutten trail to the west, across the valley and of Shenandoah to the east.
Today felt like spring and still looked like winter.
Pictures (click to enlarge):
The trail up to Shawl Gap.
The upper part of the trail to Shawl Gap.
The north part of Shenandoah National Park to the east. Skyline Drive is visible near the top of the ridge.
Looking south along Buzzard Rock.
Looking down at Passage Creek and Virginia State Road 678.
Boot shot over a gooseneck of Passage Creek.
Sheer drop off the east side of Buzzard Rock.
Elizabeth Furnace, a blast furnace used to make pig iron in the mid 19th century.
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