Epic Day on Robertson Mountain and Stony Man

Epic.  That is the only word that can describe what transpired yesterday.  We planned to hike Old Rag and Robertson Mountain in a figure eight, which would have been a long hike (~14 miles) with quite a bit of climbing and, of course, the Old Rag rock scramble.  We ended up hiking almost 21 miles with more than 4500 feet of climbing.  Michael and I broke our personal distance records by 4 and 3 miles, respectively.  And we never did hike Old Rag.  

We were late meeting Horizontal Tread and another friend due to a traffic hangup on the beltway, so we didn’t get to the parking lot until 8:30.  By that time, it was already half full. We all agreed that, rather than starting with Old Rag, we should end the day there so we would still avoid the inevitable lines.  Then there was a suggestion to add Stony Man Mountain to the mix, making what promised to be a challenging day into a truly epic day.  

We spread the map out and picked a long route that would take us over Robertson Mountain, down into Nicholson Hollow, up to Stony Man, and back down with a side trip over Old Rag (the full route is below the pictures for anyone who is interested).  Phew!  I’m worn out just typing that.  What I failed to do in the parking lot, was a quick tally of the mileage.  In the long run, that was probably good, because, had I realized what we had just planned, I likely would have pushed for something shorter.

Anyway, the flowers were blooming along the Weakley Hollow Road and we were grateful for overcast skies on the climb up to Robertson.  We took a break for lunch at the summit of Robertson. The hike up the Old Rag Fire Road and to the saddle on Indian Run Trail went by quickly.  Indian Run Trail is just as steep as I remembered it, but going down wasn’t as bad as climbing it and the Nicholson Hollow Trail up to Skyline Drive was a pretty easy climb. In contrast to the crowds on Old Rag, by the time we reached Skyline Drive, at the top of the Nicholson Hollow Trail, we had seen a grand total of 8 people.  

By this time it was sunny and probably around 80 degrees.  Since it has been cool for the last couple of weeks, the heat was bothering me a little.  The trees high on the ridge haven’t really begun to leaf out, so there is little shade.  I stopped at one point to pour some water over my head, which did help. In July, I would be grateful for 80 degrees, but it is April. We took a break in the Stony Man Overlook parking area before heading south to Little Stony Man and then on to Stony Man Mountain.  

By the time we reached Skyland resort, it was after 4 pm and we still had a lot of hiking left to do.  We took stock of where we were and how far we had to go and realized we just didn’t have enough time, on a Sunday evening to do Old Rag.  Even without it, we still had 8 miles to hike.  We also decided to get dinner at Skyland, which would give us a longer break and the chance to rehydrate.  Sitting there, waiting for a menu, I finally did that quick tally of how far we had come:  12.5 miles.  That was kind of a startling moment.  Dinner was good and we drained more than a pitcher of iced tea.  

Refreshed, we made good time down the long, quiet fire roads back to the car, catching glimpses of Old Rag in the sunset along the way.  We made it back to the car just after dark.  It took us 11 1/2 hours, but that also included almost 1 1/2 hours at Skyland, so we made reasonably good time.  The amazing thing is that I feel pretty good today: just a little stiff and a little footsore.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

Uvularia perfoliata (Perfoliate Bellwort) on the Weakley Hollow Fire Road.

 Orobranche uniflora (One-Flower Cancerroot)

 Galearis spectabilis (Showy Orchis)

 Mitella diphylla (Miterwort) on the Indian Run Trail.

 Michael and the Stony Man Overlook parking area with Stony Man in the background.

 Viola pedata (Birds Foot Violet)

 Green creeping up the valleys from the top of Stony Man.

 Phlox subulata (Moss Phlox)

 The sign on Skyline Drive at Skyland Resort. 

 Shadows growing long on the Old Rag Fire Road.

Old Rag at sunset from the Old Rag Fire Road.

The full route that we actually hiked:  1) Weakley Hollow Fire Road to Robertson Mountain; 2) Up and over Robertson Mountain and then up the Old Rag Fire Road to the Corbin Mountain Trail; 3) Corbin Mountain Trail to Indian Run Trail; 4) Indian Run Trail to Nicholson Hollow Trail, following that up to Skyline Drive; 5) a short walk south on Skyline Drive to pick up the Appalachian Trail south 6) Appalachian Trail across Little Stony Man to Stony Man Mountain, where we took the Stony Man Summit Trail to the top; 7) Skyland Horse Trail to Skyland Resort; 8) the Skyland Big Meadows Horse Trail to Old Rag Fire Road to Post Office Junction; and (finally) 9) back to the car via the Weakley Hollow Fire Road.

Miles and Miles of Flowers: Stony Man Overlook to Hawksbill Summit

We set off in search of flowers yesterday and did we ever find them.  We also picked up a couple of trails that we hadn't been on before.  We started at the Stony Man Overlook near milepost 39 on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.  The flowers started as soon as we got out of the car:  Scattered around the south end overlook were Aquilegia vulgaris (Garden Columbine), a non-native, but lovely flower.  As soon as we entered the woods, we encountered the distinctive smell of Rhododendron roseum (Hoary Azalea).

Our route for most of the day would be the Appalachian Trail.  After less than a quarter mile of walking, we came out into a clearing along the edge of Skyline Drive.  Yesterday was one of the first truly warm days of the year, so we were pretty happy to get to the south end of the clearing and back into the full shade of the woods.  The woods at the elevation of the overlook are completely leafed out and transitioning to early summer.  From there, the trail begins a gradual, pleasant climb up to Little Stony Man, passing the Passamaquoddy Trail along the way.  We spent a few minutes on the rocks of Little Stony Man, before continuing the climb up to Stony Man.  Even though it was warm and we were climbing, there was a nice breeze.  As we got closer to Stony Man, there was less shade since the trees haven't fully leafed out at that elevation. 

We had lunch on Stony Man and even had a few minutes of solitude on the summit.  On the way down the Nature Trail/Appalachian Trail, the forest floor was covered in Houstonia caerulea (Bluets).  We passed Skyland and the horse stables and continued towards Hawksbill, the highest point in Shenandoah.  We had much of this section of the trail to ourselves, only occasionally passing another hiker.  The birds filled the air with songs and we occasionally heard a Pileated Woodpecker crying in the distance.  We passed through groves where Hay Scented Ferns covered the entire forest floor. 

When we reached the Lower Hawksbill parking area, we took the Lower Hawksbill Trail up to the summit.  The weather seemed to be deteriorating and it sort of tried to rain for a little while as we were climbing.  By the time we made it to the summit, however, it had stopped and we had a decent view.  We returned the way we came until we reached Skyland, where we turned west on the Furnace Spring Trail. 

The Furnace Spring Trail does not appear to get used very much, in spite of its proximity to Skyland.  It is one of the least distinct trails I've seen in Shenandoah (I say this having not hiked in the south district very much).  There isn't much to it in the half-mile between the Appalachian Trail and the junction with the Passamaquoddy Trail.  The Passamaquoddy Trail might have the most letters in its name per mile of any trail in the park, especially since it is only a mile long.  That mile was one of the more pleasant of the day.  The trail winds along the cliffs below Stony Man for the first three quarters of a mile.  At one point, we found a tiny waterfall pouring down from a cliff, nearly onto the trail.  As we walked up an indigo bunting flew off.  Behind the waterfall, there was a perfectly flat rock in the cool shade.  We took the opportunity to splash the cold water our faces and took a short break on the rock.  Further on, we passed Little Stony Man and another nice overlook, before returning to the Appalachian Trail and to the car.

We hiked about 14 miles.  It was one of those perfect days with birds singing, flowers blooming, and good timing.  We made it to the car just ahead of a downpour.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Viola pedata (Birds Foot Violet).  This violet is named for the shape of its leaves. 

 Aquilegia vulgaris (Garden Columbine), with Stony Man in the background at the Stony Man Overlook.  Non-native, but very pretty.

 Pedicularis canadensis (Wood Betony, Lousewort).  There are two color varieties of P. canadensis:  Burgundy and yellow (below).  These two were growing right next to each other.

 P. canadensis, Houstonia caerulea, and the leaves of Amianthium muscaetoxicum (Fly Poison) on the Stony Man Nature Trail.

Viola canadensis (Canada Violet).  The backs of the petals are lavender in this variety of violet. 

Micranthes virginiensis (Early Saxifrage) along the Appalachian Trail.

 Actaea pachypoda (White Baneberry, Doll's Eyes). 

 Early Spring near the summit of Hawksbill.

 Packera aureus (Golden Ragwort) on the Appalachian Trail.

 Potentilla canadensis (Dwarf Cinquefoil).

 Ranunculus fascicularis (Early Buttercup)

 Hay-Scented Ferns

The view from the overlook below Little Stony Man on the Passamaquoddy Trail.