Number 11 on the Top 100 List... Wow!

For some strange reason, the cat has suddenly decided to take an interest in the "clicka clicka tappa tappa tap" of the laptop's keyboard as I type this. She has sat on my lap for hours in the past without ever taking any interest in what I was doing. But for some reason, she's now very interested in the noise the keyboard makes. She's staring at it like it was some kind of small rodent or something. Oh, well. Today was absolutely gorgeous, weatherwise. It was sunny, clear, and almost 70 degrees, which we don't often see in February. I decided to take advantage of the weather by hiking up Furnace Mountain. According to the trail marker, it is 3.7 miles from the stream at the bottom to the summit trail junction, and from there, another 0.5 miles to the summit. This makes for an 8.6 mile round trip, including the two 0.1 mile jaunts from the parking area at the park gate up to the trailhead and back. I left the parking area at 3:00 pm, and by 4:30 I was on top of the mountain, so you can tell I was going a little faster than my normal sauntering. I'm out of shape, and made much better time that I expected. Hey, I'm over half a century old, I have asthma and arthritis. I'm somewhat surprised I can still hike to the top of a mountain and back, 8.5 miles round trip, and not have to spend the next day in bed! In fact, I feel a lot better now than I did when I started. What I find amazing is that this hike is Number 11 on the Get Outdoors website's list of the top 100 trails in the United States! Even more amazing, the reviews of this trail say things like, "the trail guide calls this one strenuous and it's an understatement", and "this trail is far more strenuous than the topo maps lead you to believe". Do a Google search on "Furnace Mountain Trayfoot Mountain Overnight Loop" and take a look. And the top 100 trails listing can be found at: http://www.getoutdoors.com/goblog/index.php?/archives/334-Top-100-Trails-of-2005.html Number 11 on the list of Top 100 Trails! Wow! Half-Dome in Yosemite was down at number 16, Mount Mitchell was number 28, Clingman's Dome was number 35, Mt. Pisgah is number 74, and Mt.Katahdin was 85. And Furnace Mountain is number 11! We've got some real jewels here in the valley. This trail is in the Shenandoah National Park in the Madison Run Wilderness area, and is one of the closest ones to our house. It has always been one of my favorites. At the summit, there is a large flat table rock, where the kids and I used to picnic in the summer and heat up our hot chocolate on the stove we'd take up there in winter. Aunt Becky's family went up there with us one summer, although I think some of the crew didn't go all the way to the top. I led the Boy Scouts up there one winter when there was a foot of snow on the ground. Even in the dead of winter, it's still a nice trail. Today was no exception. I saw two people the entire day, even though the weather was practically perfect in every way. Click on these pictures for a larger version to appreciate the beauty. The summit is up near the 2950' elevation, and the stream is down at 1290. So it's like walking up the stairs to the top of the Empire State Building and then going almost halfway as far again. The trail is steep and rocky. But all the way up, there are spectacular views, and you can see across the entire valley.

This gives you some idea of how steep the trail climbs for most of the way. My ears popped six times on the way up.

Without leaves on the trees, the view is magnificent and almost continuous the entire way up and back.

The picture below is the view from the summit looking northwest, towards Massanutten Peak in the distance. This view gives some idea of just how high a walk it is from the valley floor. Below is the view looking the opposite direction, southeast, through the wilderness area towards Skyline Drive, which is five miles away in the distance.

You need good hiking boots to hike this trail. It is quite rocky, and steep in many places. But I love it! The strenuous-ness keeps the trail from getting crowded, and I really enjoy the peace and solitude.

And I feel so much better after a nice 8.5-mile walk, too, after being inside for several weeks. I returned to the house right about dark, making it a fantastic afternoon, especially for February.