A New Entry on my list of Favorite Hikes

I've added a new item to my list of favorite hikes in the Shenandoah National Park. Saturday, April 3, I took the day off, ignoring my lengthy To-Do list, and went hiking in the mountains. How far did I go? It depends on who you believe. The trial guide doesn't agree with the mileage post on the trail markers, and even the trail markers don't agree with themselves! For example, the marker at the Furnace Mountain Trail says it is 0.7 miles to the Austin Mountain Trail intersection. But at the Austin Mountain intersection, the marker points back and says it is 0.9 miles to the Furnace Mountain intersection. I hiked a loop which was either 12.1, 12.7, 13.1, or 13.3 miles. depending on which source you consider authoritative. I started out at my usual parking place at the bottom of the Madison Run Fire Road, east of Grottoes. Spring has not broken out up here in the moutains yet, although there are some hints occasionally. Do you see the bug? Below: I was taking a picture of the snail shell and didn't realize how colorful this photo was until I got home and looked at it. Click on it for the full-size version and look at all the color. Moss. And a large aperture opening. A short depth of field.

Some of the rocks are beautiful. Again, the colors are better on the full-sized version.

This bee's nest is probably intended to look like tree bark, but the bee's overbuilt a little.

Another nice depth-of-field illustration below.

A colorful bug. He flies.

Since I mosey, I can often sneak up on wildlife that skeedaddle from other hikers.

Of course, the little beep from the camera alerts them to my presence, and it's game-over.

Bye.

I don't know my birds, but this one below had a lovely song.

The fire road goes up from the base of the mountains, elevation 1010 feet, up to the summit of the Blue Ridge at Browns Gap, elevation 2100'. Depending on which source you use, the fire road runs for 5.2, 5.5, or 5.7 miles.

At the top, I ate lunch, and then took the Appalachian Trail north for just under a mile to its intersection with the Big Run Loop trail.

The Appalachian trail goes higher, probably another 300 feet or so of elevation change. After a mile on the AT, I took the Big Run Loop Trail west for just over a mile to the RockyTop Trail, which follows a nice ridge through what's going to be a lovely forest once the leaves come out.

After another mile and a half on the RockyTop Trail, I then hit the Austin Mountain Trail, which gently slopes downhill for about two miles as it follows the ridge to Austin Mountain. The trail then drops sharply, very steep and rocky, south for the final two miles to the Madison Run Fire Road, where I turn west again and walk the final mile back to the car.

It's still winter up here, but there are signs that Spring isn't too far away. Another week or two, and it'll be real pretty up here. The views along this trail, especially from Big Run Loop, RockyTop, and Austin Mountain's upper 2/3rds, are fantastic. I'm adding this all-day hike to my list of favorites in this park.