Last Updated: 04/24/2014

Welcome to a web site full of information on hiking in the Mid-Atlantic Region (PA, MD, VA and WV) ... topo maps, 3-D maps, elevation profiles, GPS data, directions, trail notes, photos.... everything you need to prepare for an excursion into the wilderness. Information for 311 hikes and over 3,592 trail miles are now available. Venues such as, but not limited to, Shenandoah National Park/VA,  George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, VA and WV, the Monongahela National Forest in WV, state forests throughout PA, Green Ridge State Forest in MD and regional, state, county and federal parks throughout the Mid-Atlantic region are represented.

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"Yet in the walks I take through nature in quest of truth and demonstration, I recognize a poetry in earth and sea and sky, ruled in their cycles of harmonious actions, deeper and more sublime than ever muse un- taught in science could inspire." William B. Rogers: First State Geologist of VA, First president of M.I.T. and namesake of Mt. Rogers, Va.

The first 0.5 miles was along a maintained gravel forest road. As we passed the junction with the orange blazed Bread Road Trail on the left the gravel surface stopped and little by little the woods road deteriorated into something no longer navigable by motor vehicles. In several places the drainage ditches that are supposed to aid in water removal (I think there is a technical name for them but it eludes me at the moment.) were either silted in or otherwise clogged causing the trail to become a shallow stream. It was never over our boot tops so proved to be just a minor annoyance. In another 0.8 miles we passed a small wildlife pond, an obvious breeding area for frogs. After awhile the trail veered uphill, farther away from Cedar Creek, which you really never get to see anyway, and became even more like a footpath. The tread was also dryer. In another mile or so the trail broke out onto an open and grassy campsite which apparently also serves as a turn around point for a woods road that is open to hunters in season. This is where Treebeard found what might be some kind of rare gem, a golf ball sized black glass nugget. A broken corner revealed a dark gray amorphous center. Since our resident geologist, Shortstack, was absent he decided to carry it in his pack until he could identify it. (Now you know how most ardent backpackers abhor carrying even one more additional ounce than what they have to? I’ll have more on this tidbit later.) 

So after a break we continued on what is a well maintained woods road. It was really pretty nice since it was mostly dirt and surrounded by mature forest and not rutted in the least. After 1.7 easy miles we turned left onto the Tuscarora Trail and began what would be the hardest part of the outing. Initially the climb was gradual and appeared to be heading up a steep draw between Paddy and Little Sluice Mountains. (It’s the same ridge but for some reason it bears two different names. Go figure!) Just as the steepness was getting to become just a too little ridiculous the trail began switchbacking predominantly to the north and then back towards the draw. Some were steep, short and rocky while others were of a lesser gradient and longer passing through pleasant pine groves allowing the hiker to “recover” while still on the move. I caught up to the rest of the group in 1.7 miles after leaving the Cedar Creek Trail. They were taking a break at an oasis of sorts, a nice rock outcrop under a canopy of pine. I joined them for a bit grabbing a nice spot against a tree with the pine straw as a carpet. I studied the map and realized the serious climbing was all but done. We still had about 200 more feet to climb but it was spread out over a mile. 

Continuing on we quickly passed the junctions of the Sulfur Spring Gap Trail and the Old Mail Path, both on the right, in quick order. It was shortly after this that I finally located the oft talked about but previously unobserved trailside spring that supposedly serves as the water source for the White Rocks campsite. It has become more obvious since some Civil Engineer-minded hikers used thin rock slabs to force it to flow through a channel making water collection easier. Just before we reached the crest of the ridge we arrived at the white blazed White Rocks Trail on the left and a fine looking campsite on the right. (I am convinced that it wasn’t here the last time I hiked in this area.) We followed the White Rocks Trail to its associated campsite and dropped our packs before scrambling up the rocks to enjoy the views. We shared it with a very nice family unit, Chris W. and his two lovely daughters. He became really excited when he realized who I was. He said that he felt guilty always using the info from my website and not being able to give anything back and asked if I would pose for a photo with him. I agreed only if he promised to file an Outing Critique. I gave his camera to Gumby and the girls joined us for the photo op. We said our adieus, recovered our packs and headed for a nice campsite at the junction with the Racer Camp Hollow and Little Sluice Trails. I had arranged the logistics such that we should arrive at camp no later than 6:00. To everyone’s surprise, I was the last one to saunter in at about 4:30.  

Day 1 distance:8.8 miles

Day 1 E.G.:2100 feet 

I conned Wooly Bully into hanging the bear bag line with Hardcore volunteering to help him and let Doc use my water filter in exchange for filling up my water bladder while I took one of my patented power naps. I got myself out of my tent in time to join the rest of the group for dinner and the usual fireside banter, talking about past shared and perhaps some unshared experiences. I held out until 7:45 before retiring to my tent, eager to once again get horizontal. I think everyone else did likewise by 9:00.                                       

The cold night brought us all out of our tents early. The chill in the air caused us to break camp quickly, all eager to get warmed up through the anticipated physical exertion. We were on the trail by 8:15. The first 0.5 miles of the purple blazed Little Sluice Mountain Trail was heavily rutted and quite muddy in areas but the trail conditions greatly improved after we crossed Spruce Run. The crest of the mountain was several hundred feet above us. We encountered some gradual climbs along this section, enough to add another 500 feet of elevation gain to the hike, but we were generally walking on either almost flat or downhill grades. Maps indicated that there is a spring located about a mile from where we had camped but other hikers I’ve communicated with could not recall seeing one. Wooly Bully and I had the waypoint loaded in our Garmins and found the well established piped water source right where the USGS said it should be. 

In another mile we arrived at the junction with the Bread Road Trail and another large campsite. I had been told that it frequently gets trashed but someone had done a bang up job of cleaning it up. We hid our packs behind some logs, grabbed our cameras and continued on the Little Sluice Mountain Trail, now more of a grassy lane than a woods road. We passed a few more campsites, some with nice views before arriving at a large grassy area with towering spruce trees. On the eastern edge was a large campsite with a ten foot fire ring. We continued to follow the blazes, climbing a rocky knob with an expansive view of Massanutten Mountain, the Shenandoah Valley and then the park itself. We could easily identify many of the prominent features of Massanutten Mountain including Signal Knob to the north, Kennedy Peak and Edinburg Gap nearly due east and New Market Gap to the south. We stopped at the base of Little Schloss staring up at it in awe. There is supposed to e a 90 foot rock scramble to its top with a nice view of Mill Mountain and Big Schloss to its west. Some of the gang looked for a way that would seem reasonable for a bunch of 50 and 60+ year olds and could find nothing that wouldn’t require at least ropes and rock climbing tools. An elevator would be even better. Not wanting to risk injury or exhaustion we all gave way to that wisdom only obtained after many years of life and retraced our steps back to our packs, grateful enough for the views we had observed. Most of us didn’t bring food or water with us on our little foray so we took a nice break before once again saddling up. It was here that I was inspired to give Chris (his real Christian name) his trail name so we had the usual brief “dubbing” ceremony. 

The Bread Road Trail is really quite dull – a wide dirt road exposed to the sun, quickly plummeting through a series of switchbacks to the Cedar Creek Trail. I consider it more of a means to an end – a necessity to get back to the vehicles. Thankfully the drudgery ends in about a mile. We turn right onto the gravel portion of the Cedar Creek Trail and proceed to retrace our original 0.5 miles when I notice several of the crew including Treebeard picking up pieces of stone from the road, the same material as his now infamous Pet Rock. After studying the stuff more carefully I recollected a quasi-scientific article about recycling that I had read years ago. Government agencies collect glass bottles and other inorganic material, burn them to the point of melting (a process that strikes me as very energy inefficient), cools it and then mills it (another energy using process) before adding it to stone aggregate used for paving. So Treebeard’s potential gem turns out being a precursor to asphalt. I urged him to release his rock so it could reestablish itself in its natural environment (created by man) but he refuses insisting that he needed to keep it for proof … of something. I’m sorry to say I now have to file an Environmental Impact Statement with the EPA and maybe even the Sierra Club. Is there a PETA type non-profit organization for abuse of rocks? 

Day 2 distance: 6.8 miles

Day 2 E.G.: 450 feet

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