Trail Notes:

Day 1: From the day use area walk around the campground loop. Either direction will get you there but turning right out of the day use area is the shortest. If you go that way turn left onto the orange blazed Mill Mountain Trail.

Climb, steeply at times, for about one mile before reaching a saddle in the ridge. Pass 2 vistas on the right with views of Little Sluice Mt and the Massanutten Mt further east. In 1.83 miles from the beginning come to the junction of the Big Schloss Spur Trail (White blazed). A 0.5 mile round trip will take you to a 270 degree view.

Return to the Mill Mt Trail and continue north. In another 0.83 miles pass the blue blazed Big Schloss Connector Trail. In another 0.91 miles arrive at another vista overlooking Trout Run Valley. From there it is another 0.93 miles to Sandstone Spring where there is good camping and reliable water. More camping w/o water can be found 0.87 miles further and yet another dry site about 0.35 miles further.

In about 0.29 miles from the last campsite arrive at the junction with the Tuscarora/3 Pond Trail (blue blazed). If you wish you can turn right and find camping at about 0.5 miles either on the Tuscarora or Little Stony Run Tr. There is a spring just beyond Sugar Knob Cabin on the latter. This hike has you going straight ahead onto the Tuscarora and in 1.34 miles arriving at a campsite above Pond Run, the junction of yellow blazed Halfmoon Tr and a short white blazed trail that leads to a vista. Water can be found about 1 mile down on the Pond Run/Tuscarora Trail from the campsite.

Day 2: From camp turn left onto the yellow blazed Halfmoon Tr. In 0.57 miles arrive at the junction of the white blazed Halfmoon Lookout Spur. You may wish to stash your packs here since you'll be returning this way.

Take the Halfmoon Spur Trail all the way to the end, passing purple blazed German Wilson Trail (no sign) along the way. There is also a cliff view below the main summit. Check them both out.

Return to the junction with Halfmoon Trail, recover your gear, and descend about 1 mile to Halfmoon Run, water, camping and the junction with pink blazed Bucktail Connector Tr.

Follow Bucktail Connector Trail through mature forest, second growth thickets and grassy meadows for 2.58 miles and the junction of orange blazed Bucktail Trail. Turn left onto it and follow it to a forest loop road. Turn left, cross Trout Run Road and pickup yellow blazed Long Mountain Trail. Follow Long Mt Trail north for a few hundred yards and then turn sharply left (south) onto an old woods road. The trail will leave the road and pass through a grassy area near a campsite and cross Trout Run. Cross the stream on a newly constructed bridge. Climb steeply up a footpath. The trail eventually becomes a woods road and switchbacks up Cherry Ridge. At about 1.87 miles from the trailhead pass a grassy clearing on the right and an old woods road on the left (the old Crack Whip Furnace trail, I believe) before arriving at yet another large grassy clearing. The continuation of the trail is a grassy woods road on the right side of the clearing.

In about another 1.2 miles the fun begins as you reach a 200 yard long rock field. There is no trail but the trees are blazed rather frequently. Take your time! Once across you’ll return to a relatively smooth footpath. In another 0.3 miles come to yet another grassy clearing. A woods road goes right and downhill. You want to turn left and follow the blazes. You'll cross a couple of streams (not always flowing) with a grassy area in between suitable for camping (There is no fire ring.).

In 0.64 miles from the last stream there will be another grassy opening to the right of the trail. This is a great campsite under the shadow of Ben’s Ridge complete with a fire ring. There is a small spring in the woods behind the clearing (walking towards the ridge) that some one has damned up. A better water source is a stream that crosses the trail less than 100 yards south of the campsite. This stream is not shown on any maps I’ve found but it does exist although it can dry up in the hot summer months.

Day 3: As you travel south from the campsite you will pass one more woods road on the right and begin to ascend Devil’s Hole Mt. at 0.62 miles from the campsite come to the intersection of purple blazed Trout Pond Trail. Turn left staying on Long Mt Trail. As you climb you will be following a narrow footpath. As you reach the crest of the mountain the trail will once again become a woods road. Pass several grassy clearings on the left and in 2.32 miles from Trout Pond Trail reach FR 691.

Turn left on FR 691 and walk 2.44 miles to a parking area on the left with a campsite and fire ring. Look for yellow blazes marking the beginning of Tibbet Knob Trail. Follow the blazes (some will be on rocks) along the spine of the ridge until you reach the overlook in 0.91 miles. Long Mt will be to your left, Halfmoon Lookout straight ahead and Mill Mt with Big Schloss on your right.

Follow the yellow blazes and scramble/slide/sush-on-your-butt your way down the steep face of the knob. In a hundred yards or so you will regain a more normal trail that descends to the Wolf Gap Campground and your awaiting vehicles (1.50 miles from the top). On the way down you will cross over a small summit which affords nice views of Big Schloss and Little Sluice.

Printable/Downloadable Directions and Trail Notes

Critique this outing

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Name: Kyle Henson Hike: Trout Run Circumnavigation
Date: 3/5-3/6-2007 Rating: 4

Critique: We started this hike intending to do the full 27 mile loop but because of time restraints we had to cut it short.
We hiked as described here but did a few things differently. We hiked the first day into Halfmoon Run making the first day 9 miles. We felt the camping was much better there and we did not have to walk 1 mile to water (the case if you stay at Pond Run night 1). We decided to turn around and backtrack from there on day 2 and check out some side trails (Halfmoon and the locked cabin area). We arrived night 2 at a very nice camp spot off the trail at Sandstone Spring and set up camp and collected enough firewood to burn for 3 days. Temps were dipping into the mid 20's that night and the night before. As we were collecting wood we noticed a fresh, yes, fresh, pile of bear dung. Then we found another...and another...and another...and another...and another...about a dozen of them and all within 25-50 yards of our campsite--literally forming a circle around our site. Then about 100 yards into the woods we discovered what we believe is a Bear Den. It was comical. So comical we decided to pack up and do some night hiking--something I have wanted to do anyway. Had great views of some city lights on top of the ridge. 4.5 miles later we were at our car and drove back to Delaware. The next person to camp there will be greeted with great firewood.
All in all a great trail. Great views. I would call it easy-moderate in difficulty unless doing all 27 miles then moderate. Had great daytime weather in the 50s but night temps were very cold.

Maps and description were perfect. Thanks!

Oh, one other thing. As we were descending Big Schloss about 1 mile from the car at 930pm we were greeted by 7 teenagers hauling 2-3 sleeping bags, a cooler, and a few 12 packs up the mountain to sleep at the top of the ridge. As far as we could tell they did not have any gear for sleeping in 20 deg temps. Add alcohol to their systems and I guarantee someone was crying all the way down that mountain at 2am...ha-ha, we had a good laugh at that.

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Name: Danny Doyle Hike: Trout Run Valley Circumnavigation
Date: June 21-23, 2007 Rating: 4.5

Critique: This hike gives you several excellent vistas, three of which are outstanding - Big Schloss, Halfmoon Lookout and Tibbet Knob. Big Schloss alone made the trip worthwhile for me. You get to stand on the very edge of the peak of the mountain, and the claimed 270 degree view over the valley below is no exaggeration. The wind blows a gale in your face, and hawks soar beneath as well as above you.

The surprising thing is that the trails are practically deserted. I saw only two dayhikers on the first day, no one at all on the second, and two groups of two dayhikers on the third. There were no signs of other backpackers on the trails, only one other car in the parking lot when I started on Thursday, and just five when I left on Saturday. Mount Rogers or Dolly Sods this ain't.

I did the trip as described, with the exception that I camped at Sandstone Spring the first day, and on Cherry Ridge off the Long Mountain Trail on the second. This made for a long third day hike, and the last segment up and down Tibbets Knob Trail approached the cruel and unusual. Still, the view from the top of the knob made it a worthwhile investment of sweat equity.

The map and directions were terrific. We owe M.R.Hyker a lot for putting this info all in one place.

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Name: Cham Green Hike: Trout Run Valley Circumnavigation
Date: 3/10-11 Rating: 5

Critique: This hike was performed in the opposite direction. Instead of using Long Mountain Trail we bushwhacked directly on the Long Mountain Ridge for awhile, camping on the ridge, and then down to the road when it became too cumbersome ultimately picking up the Halfmoon Trail. The southernmost stretch of the ridge is fine for a bushwhack until you get to the midpoint where there was not only a fire at but also a something happened to take out the tree canopy, maybe and ice storm or gypsy moths). The undergrowth is incredibly thick and almost impassable in March and you will get dirty from the char. This would be undoable in the summer months. You can get some decent mileage and really great elevation changes with this route. Spectacular views are along almost the whole way. For pictures and more information please check out the entry for Monday, March 12th, 2007 at http://www.chamspage.blogspot.com.

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Name: Jeff Hosken Hike: Trout Run Valley circumnavigation
Date: 2/18/2006 Ranking: 3.5

Critique: This was a nice hike, even though I only got to do half of it. I departed the Northern VA area solo about 7:30 Sat Morning. The drive over is quite straightforward, as is finding the campground. (I forgot to bring the directions, but easily made it on memory and an atlas.) I started hiking about 9:45. It was fairly cold (estimate below freezing) with a 10-15 mph wind. The trail is as described, and the initial climb is a good warmup. Once on top, the trail rolls along. Due to the wind and low clouds, I did not take the time to go to the top of Big Schloss. Standstone spring was running strongly, and I had lunch at the dry campsite beyond Sandstone. I then proceeded onward, following the described trails, which were easily followed. (The colored trails on the map were a great help.) I did note that the Tuscarora trail was initially marked with green blazes, although the blue ones showed up quickly, and then seemed to alternate, with the blue being more frequent and perhaps newer. (M.R.Hyker Note: The green blazes on Great North Mountain outline a Special Deer Study Area. Still trying to figure out what the deer are studying!)
I reached the camp just beyond the valley road (691?) (M.R.Hyker Note: That's called Trout Run Road at that point. When it crosses into VA it is called Wolf Gap Rd.) about 3:30-4:00, and decided to camp for the night. My knee was letting me know that it did not like the descent from the hills, and I thought it best to not try to press on to the next dry camp. The campsite was nice--there was a good bed of leaves to pad the ground, and the river provided a great background sound--but it was a cold night. My REI thermometer read 4 degrees F the next morning. While obviously not a scientific instrument, it has been fairly close in the past, and it seemed about that cold.

Spending the night there was a good decision, as my knee was unexpectedly quite sore the next day. Based on my knee and the ice covered rocks for the stream crossing, I decided to bail on the second half of the route, and hiked back up the road to the campground. As I walked up the road, it looked like I could have easily used the road bridge to cross the stream and then walk back downstream to pick up the trail, if I had wanted. I did not notice any signs posted in that area against trespassing, but there were certainly lots of them further up the road!

Overall, this was a great adventure and a good learning experience. I had a new GoLite Jam Pack and tried to go ultralight for the hike. I think I pretty much hit (maybe passed) the bottom end of my comfort range for ultralight hiking, temp-wise. I was never dangerously cold, but I would definitely have packed differently had I known exactly how cold it would get. My alcohol stove worked fine, though I took care to keep the alcohol warm-ish, in my coat pocket. I also brought extra fuel, so that I did not have to keep to a strict fuel plan.

Other comments--I only met two other folks on the hike, a couple heading towards (they said) a PATC hut below Mill Mountain. ((M.R.Hyker Note: That would be Sugar Knob Cabin (small, one room affair but it has a stove!) at the top of Little Stony Run Tr, close to the Tuscarora Tr. See Big Schloss for its exact location.) This is my second hike from MRHyker's website, and they have both been very well described and laid out. My only suggestion might be to make the maps available in UTM coords, as well as lat/long, but that may be too much work. Thanks for the work you have already put in! (M.R.Hyker Note: Thanks for the props! You're right, adding that extra data would be a lot more work.)

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