Lost River State Park, West Virginia

We have driven by Lost River State Park in West Virginia countless times. We've even biked through it, but, other than stopping for water on that ride, we had never explored the trails there. Since the rest of the country was watching a football game on Sunday and the weather was supposed to be warm for February, we figured it was a good day to check it out.

 The hike began with a pleasant walk along Howard's Lick Run. Sunday morning, the edges of the creek were coated in ice.

 Ice on the edges of the creek.

 After less than half a mile, we turned uphill and began the long, steady climb up to Cranny Crow overlook. After a mile or so, we came to the remnants of a day use shelter. The roof looked like it was in good shape, but the bench was completely rotted out.

 The view from Cranny Crow overlook. As we climbed, we were more an more exposed to the wind. Although the temperatures were in the high 40s, the windchill was probably in the low 30s. At this overlook, we could stand out on the rocks for very long because the wind was blowing so hard.

 A little shelter at Cranny Crow Overlook.

 Further along Big Ridge, there is an old fire tower. The bottom sections of the stairs has been removed, so we couldn't climb it, but it was still a neat tower.

Michael hiking ahead while I took pictures. He was lucky enough to see two bald eagles: an adult and a juvenile. He didn't get any pictures and I wasn't lucky enough to see them.

We finally reached Millers Rocks at the north end of Big Ridge. This is the view of the cloud bank to the west.

Looking north from Millers Rocks

Looking south towards where we started.

On the way back, near a picnic area, a historic cabin sits in the middle of a meadow. This cabin was built in 1840.

Lost River State Park is spectacular. We hiked just under 12 miles and only saw four other people. We will definitely be back.

Climbing in West Virginia: A Ride out of Wardensville

I am catching up on some blog posts after a very busy few weeks. Two weekends ago, we went out and rode this route in West Virginia. We started in Wardensville, West Virginia and rode west on old highway 55. When we moved out here, what is now old highway 55 was the only route between Wardensville and Moorfield to the west. It is a curvy two-lane highway that takes a while to drive. The first time we went out to Dolly Sods, we drove on it. Shortly after that, a four-lane expressway (that is hardly used) replaced it. The old road is still there, though, and while browsing the Strava Heat Map, I discovered that people ride their bikes on it (as an aside, if you haven't looked at the heat map website, you should. I could spend way too much time looking at where people ride).

The ride on the old highway couldn't have been more pleasant. In the first 25 of 30 miles between Wardensville and Moorfield, I think we were passed by fewer than 5 vehicles. The climbs were challenging and the road is in excellent condition. And there were wineberries at the top of one of the climbs. The only downside was that the road isn't signed very well, so there were a couple of intersections where it wasn't perfectly clear where we were supposed to go. We figured it out without any wrong turns, though.

From Moorfield, we embarked on the harder part of the ride. We set off towards Lost River State Park, which involves a single climb that is more than six miles long and has at least one place where the grade tops 14%. The descent into Lost River State Park was beautiful and the kids working at the pool in the park let us fill our bottles in the changing room sink.  From there, it was miles of pretty riding to get to a store...where we found ice cream and cold drinks. Our loop took us up another beastly climb before finally rewarding us with a long descent back into Wardensville. Totals for the day: 72 miles, 6900 feet of climbing.

I only had my phone with me for a camera, so the picture quality isn't as good as usual.

 At the top of a hill on old highway 55.

 Wineberries at the top of that same hill.

Pretty fields and mountains south of Moorefield.

Michael and our friend waiting for me to take photos.

At the top of the first long climb out of Moorfield. This was clearly the entrance to a nice farm at some point in the past. The large stone posts have the letters "P" and "S" on them.

The view from the top of one of the hills.

The Lost River Store where there was ice cream to be had.

We came through the last part of the route just after a rain storm. It never rained on us, but the road was wet.