We hiked this section on June 16, 2012.
We all drove to the trail head at VA 632 (Johns Creek). Dirigo and I started hiking south around 7:30 while Sir Grunts A Lot drove the car to VA 635 (Stony Creek Valley).
We both had on long sleeve shirts because it was a bit chilly and overcast.
We quickly reached War Spur Shelter and saw several rhodendrums still waiting to bloom.
War Spur Shelter
We shed our long sleeve shirts because we were warming up as we ascended.
We then continued the long climb to the top of mountain. We were both very happy that we were doing the big climb while the temperature was a bit chilly.
Once we reached the ridge line, the trail beneath our feet was nice & soft. We were really enjoying the wonderful weather today!
Soft ground
About two miles before VA 613 we met two very nice section hikers. They told us they stopped at Mountain Lake Hotel. Apparently the movie “Dirty Dancing” was filmed there! Visitors are welcome to tour the resort and see where the scenes were filmed. The resort is only 5 miles from the trail.
When we reached VA 613, we met thru-hikers Wayless Wade, Caveman Chris, Twigs, and Woodys. They were all very young but very nice.
We surprised two section hikers and then ran into Cracker Jack, Ying & Yang, and then finally met Sir Grunts A Lot.
Sir Grunts A Lot and Dirigo
Sir Grunts A Lot was making good time so we told him to slow down. Sir Grunts A Lot said that in about a quarter mile the trail gets really rocky.
As we started to descend we ran into section hikers Nikon & Scrappy from Fairfax and Yoda.
Yoda (wearing the scarf) maintains the beautiful Raven Rock shelter and is also a member of the Mountain Club of Maryland (MCM). Yoda retired as a tech writer and then became a high school English teacher. Since Python has thought about teaching math as she gets closer to retirement, she was very interested in Yoda’s experiences.
Nikon asked Dirigo to take their group picture but he wanted to make sure everyone’s feet were in the picture. Then Nikon returned the favor and took our picture.
Dirigo & Python
We had a nice chat with Nature Guard at Bailey’s Gap shelter. He was really nice so we each gave him some candy.
Dirigo and Nature Guard at Bailey Gap Shelter
The descent was long but not too tough on the knees. By this time it was starting to get really warm.
We crossed VA 635 and crossed a wonderful wooden bridge. As Dirigo was stepping off the bridge she got stung by a yellow jacket!!
A little further up the trail, we met two gigantic dogs – Jim (Mastiff) & Tall (Newfoundland & Great Pyrenees mix).
Jim & Tall
Tall was the size of a minature horse. We asked the owner of the dogs if he knew where the zip line was and he didn’t know but said there were backpacks by the side of the trail.
We saw the packs by the side of the trail and went down by the water. We saw several ropes across the stream but didn’t know how to use the pulley system.
One of the hikers on the other side went to the line and then sat on the wooden seat and then started to pull himself across the stream. Dirigo went next – click here for video. She got to the other side and had a nice chat with the captain.
We finally reached VA 635 around 3:30.
Well then we got really badly almost hopelessly lost trying to find the trail at VA 632. The roads are not well marked in this area and the VA Gazetteers does not provide much detail for the rural roads. But we did get to see some buffalo!
Buffalo
Fortunately Sir Grunts A Lot was happy to see us – I think he was relieved he didn’t have to spent the night in the woods without any gear! We apologized for being late and explained why.