Overall Run -Heiskell Hollow: Spring is Coming

 We returned to Overall Run to do a long hike today. This hike was the first place we had hiked, other than Old Rag, with our friend that we lost last year. Lots of memories today. We started at Thompson Hollow trailhead on the boundary of the park and hiked the quick mile to the Overall Run Trail. It was nice and warm (in the 50s), but we could hear the wind roaring above us. We were surprised, when we got Overall Run, to see how low the creek is for April. We haven't gotten much rain this spring and the creeks show it. 

From there, we turned left and began the hike up to Overall Run Falls. In the first mile, we passed through lots of new spring flowers: Bloodroot, Cut-leaf Toothwort, Dutchman's Breeches, and Hepatica. We also heard our first Louisiana Waterthrushes of the year. After about a mile, the trail turns away from the creek and begins one of the steeper climbs in Shenandoah National Park. The mile up to the falls is definitely character building. It has switchbacks now and it is still steep, but the switchbacks criss-cross the old trail, which was basically straight up the mountain. There was more water in the falls than I expected, but not as much as should be for this time of year. The wind at the falls was a force to be reckoned with. Strong gusts of freezing cold blasts kept us from lingering there for more than a couple of minutes. It was definitely still winter up there. No signs of spring vegetation or buds on trees to be seen.

From the falls, we continued up another mile to the junction with the Weedlewood Trail. Almost immediately, we found a nice log that was out of the wind for lunch. The Weedlewood Trail is a very pleasant horse trail that winds down the mountain, eventually connecting with the Heiskell Hollow Trail. The Heiskell Hollow took us back down to the valley and into early spring, with wildflowers reappearing along the trail. We took the Overall Run Connector and then the Overall Run Trail back to where we started. It was a really nice day on trail. We saw one group of four people and one group of two then entire day, which was pretty nice for a trail that can be fairly busy.

Pictures:

Bloodroot

Rue Anemone

Dutchman's Breeches

The view from the top of Overall Run Falls looking west. 

The Weedlewood Trail

Overall Run - Heiskell Hollow Circuit

Yesterday we hiked almost 13 miles with a friend of ours who is within 50 miles of having hiked every trail in Shenandoah National Park. We helped her check off an out-of-the-way 1.2 mile section of the Heiskell Hollow Trail near the park boundary. This is a strenuous, interesting hike with few people except around Overall Run Falls.

The weather was great, if a little chilly and windy up on the ridge. We started at the Thompson Hollow trailhead on the west boundary of the park. Then we hiked up the steep Overall Run Trail and had lunch at the Overall Run Falls overlook. Overall Run Falls is the highest waterfall in Shenandoah National Park.  When we've done this hike in the past, the falls haven't been much more than a trickle, but all of the creeks are up, so the falls were running pretty well. It was pretty cold up there and by the time we ate lunch and took a few pictures, we were all ready to continue hiking to warm up. Remarkably, we saw no one at the falls, although we later saw a couple of groups of people on their way down to them.

From there, we continued up the Overall Run Trail to the Weddlewood Trail, which took us down off the ridge to the Heiskell Hollow Trail. Some areas of the trail were like hiking on baseballs - lots of small loose rocks covered in leaves. We hiked that out to the park boundary, 1.2 miles beyond the junction that would take us back to the car. It was pretty clear that very few people ever hike that small section. We did not expect to see much on that section, but we were rewarded with a pretty little waterfall and the ruins of an old farm. The waterfall poured over a 6 foot drop into a deep pool that would be great for swimming in the summer. The ruins of an old farm actually included an intact chimney and wall. There was a gate at the park boundary and a deer stand just beyond it with a view into the park (just for reference, hunting is not allowed in the national park). It is deer season in Virginia and we could hear a fair amount of gunfire in the distance.

After exploring for a bit, we returned to the junction with an unnamed trail connecting back to the Overall Run Trail. The unnamed tail was hard to follow at times because the leaves were barely packed down on the trail. We made our way back to the car by the Thompson Hollow Trail.

Pictures from top to bottom:  Overall Run Falls, Mansanutten Ridge from the Overall Run Falls Overlook, small waterfall on lower Heiskell Hollow Trail, Heiskell Hollow trail, Intact stone wall, and ruins of a chimney.