Snow on Mud Hole Gap

The name of this hike, Mud Hole Gap, isn’t especially inspiring, but after yesterday, I think it is one of the more under-rated hikes in the area.  Five of us started out from Elizabeth Furnace yesterday in the snow.  There was about an inch of it on the ground and on tree branches and flurries fell all morning, something we’ve seen far too little of this winter.  The woods were beautiful - black tree limbs against the white snow and gray sky - and silent in the way that only happens during and after a snowfall.  

We hiked up the Tuscarora Trail, which winds its way up to the top of the west ridge of Mansanutten.  It is an easy three mile (approximately) climb up to the junction with the Meneka Peak Trail, where we stopped for a lunch break.  There were a few partial views along the way, but they are probably occluded by leaves during the summer.  At the top of the ridge, we were basically in the clouds.  

After lunch, we started down the west side of the ridge.  The trail on on that side is steeper and rockier.  That combined with the snow, slowed me down a little bit, but it wasn’t too difficult.  The trail is lined with Mountain Laurel, so in June, it must be spectacular, but with snow pushing the branches down over the trail, the large bushes just added obstacles to our hike.  At the junction with the Mansanutten Trail, we met a small group of Boy Scouts out hiking to get ready for Philmont.  We turned south on the Mansanutten Trail, which follows a nearly flat old road for almost three miles, passing the Strasburg Reservoir along the way.  


We turned east when we reached the Mud Hole Gap Trail.  We had been following Little Passage Creek while we were on the Mansanutten Trail, but the terrain being flat, it was pretty featureless - and hemmed in by Mountain Laurel.  Shortly after we left the Mansanutten Trail, that changed.  The number and size of the waterfalls gradually increased as we proceeded further down the trail.  The rocks near the creek were covered in bright green mosses.  It warmed up and the snow was suddenly gone, leaving light mist above the creek, which made the scenery even more enchanting.  Little Passage Creek is one of the prettier ones that I've hiked near in a long time.


The trail turned away from the creek, once again, using an old roadbed.  The sun came out for a while and it warmed up nicely.  We took the Sidewinder Trail back to the Tuscaroora Trail, which led us back to the parking lot.  The snow was almost completely gone.  It turned out to be a very enjoyable, pretty hike.


Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Snow on the Tuscarora Trail.

 Looking towards the east ridge of Mansanutten from the Tuscarora Trail

 A pine cone in the snow.

 The Mansanutten Trail

 Strasburg Reservoir

 Stalked puffballs, which are a fungus.  These are about 2.5 inches tall.

 A series of small cascades on Little Passage Creek.

A waterfall on Little Passage Creek.

Lichens on the boulders near the creek.

A mound of moss.

Mud Hole Gap Trail near Little Passage Creek.  Note the lack of snow. 

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.

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):

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.