Good news for all of you who enjoyed the road trip blog: I've decided to keep this blog going as a travel one. This holiday weekend, Cara and I were able to add to your list of National Parks - and it did not disappoint.
We still have until June 2017 on the America the Beautiful pass, a pass that gets your car into any National Park fee-free. With that in mind and an invite from Cara's family to go camping just outside the Shenandoah National Park, we knew that we'd be visiting our eighth (!) National Park of the year this past weekend.
The campsite was a private one, and it wasn't anything to write home about. Let's pick up with the park.
It's actually somewhat comical that Cara and I originally thought about biking to the park - we stayed about five miles away from the park entrance - and the trail I had found online, the Dickey Ridge and Snead Farm trail, was only five miles into the park.
Ten miles on a bike doesn't sound too bad. The comedy, though, comes in when you realize that the elevation change from our campground to the Dickey Ridge trail is a roughly 2,000 feet increase.
That wasn't happening.
So, on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, we ended up driving in, and it was the right call because along with Cara and me, her parents, their dog, Juneau, and her aunt and uncle, and their dog, Titan, joined us in the park. The bad part was that we found out at the entrance that the Dickey Ridge trail was closed off to dogs because of a recent bear attack where a dog died.
That was OK, however, as we found another trail, part of the Mount Marshall Trail, about 15 miles into the park that would give us some nice views.
That was the plan, but we didn't get more than a mile in before needing to take a stop and admire the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley.
As the photos above show, the weather was perfect hiking weather. It was in the upper-60s with a light wind. The clouds would provide the occasional shade spot. But when you're hiking in a densely wooded area, shade is abundant. Still, it was a beautiful day.
After a quick stop at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center five miles into the park, and a chat with some knowledgeable park rangers, we made our way to the Mount Marshall Trailhead.
The Mount Marshall Trailhead takes you on to the Appalachian Trail, which is a pretty cool and monumental experience. There were two suggested hikes, both on the Appalachian Trail, which we decided we'd do.
The first was a short hike, less than a mile, but it increased in elevation quickly to a viewpoint about a half-mile in. It was called the North Mount Marshall hike.
The trail itself was pretty rocky and narrow at times.
But it paid off when you got to the viewpoint, scaled the rock, and took in the amazing sight.
We had a slight scare when one in our party slipped on a rock and twisted their knee. But after some deep breaths and a little bit of rest, they were able to make their way back to the cars on their own.
Because of the injury and wanting to be cautious with the rest of the hiking, Cara's Aunt Sharon, Uncle Colin, and mom packed their stuff up in one of the vehicles and took themselves and Titan back to the campground.
That left Cara's dad, Cara, Juneau, and myself to try out the South Mount Marshall Trail, which is still part of the Appalachia Trail.
A few hundred yards into this 1.6-mile hike and we quickly realized that this is the hike we should have started with. The path was much more easier on the feet and knees, and the elevation change was not nearly as steep as the first hike.
Lesson learned: when the trailhead map says one hike is the easier hike, it is, even if it is the longer hike.
This hike contained three stunning viewpoints, all right next to each other.
I know it might seem like a lot of the above valley photos look the same, and that makes sense because it is the same valley, but each chance you got to take a look at some of these breathtaking views, you realized the incredible beauty of mother nature. And that is pretty darn cool.
Like I mentioned earlier, the Mount Marshall Trailhead was about 15 miles into the park. After making our way back from the North Mount Marshall viewpoints to our vehicle, we decided to drive an extra seven miles to the first northern campground in the park, the Matthews Arm campground. It was your standard National Park campground, but it was also a nice place located within the park. Maybe next time...
Now that we were 20-some miles into the park, we decided to turn around and head back to our campground.
At around mile marker 11 or 12, we saw two cars stopped on the side of the road with their four-way flashers on. If you've never been in a National Park before, this is usually a sign that some kind of animal is nearby.
After a quick check of both sides, wouldn't you know it, but a baby black bear cub and mama bear were right there. They couldn't have been more than 30 yards from our car.
I tried my best to take a photo, but my phone does not have the best zoom capabilities. You can give it a shot and open the photo below to look for the bears. I know it might not look like anything, but I swear there are two bears in that photograph.
That wouldn't be the only black bear I saw that day. As we continued our drive back to the campground, at about mile marker six or seven, just outside the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, I saw a cub on the left shoulder take off up into the woods just as I drove by.
After an exciting and eventful day in the park, we finally made it back to our campground in time for a late-afternoon snack.
However, that was not the only day Cara and I would be in the Shenandoah National Park.
The next day was our last day in the area, and we decided to head back into the park to hike the Dickey Ridge and Snead Farm trail. That's the trail that was off-limits to dogs, so we couldn't do it on Saturday.
The trail itself starts right across from the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center. As the photo of Hike #2 shows you above, it's a 3.7-mile hike that loops up and over the ridge, passing the old Snead Farm, and returning back to the visitor center.
The trails on this trek were comparable to the South Marshall Viewpoint hike we did yesterday. They were well-worn and not to difficult to navigate.
That said, the trail climbed in elevation quite a bit. That makes sense, though, when you think about the fact that the Dickey Ridge trail is literally taking you to the top of the Dickey Ridge. You best be ready to hike uphill.
The scenery was beautiful with a mix of trees and rocks.
And off in the distance, you could see other mountain ridges. After hiking for nearly 1.5 miles, you could start to sense that you were getting close to the top.
And, boy, did it open up once you got to the top. It's yet another view of the Shenandoah Valley, but it's different and unique just like all of the others.
After getting to the top of the Dickey Ridge, you make your way back down the trail. You eventually come to an intersection near the main road of the park, Skyline Drive. You can either continue taking the Dickey Ridge Trail, which I believe is nearly 18 miles in length (although I could be completely wrong), or you can turn left onto the Snead Farm Trail and cycle back to the visitor center.
We chose the latter and enjoyed a relatively easy descent back to the where we started.
After getting back to the visitor center, we said our goodbyes to the Shenandoah National Park and headed back home.
We're very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit yet another National Park. It's been an incredible summer (and start to the school year).
As we hiked along the Snead Farm Trail back to our vehicle, Cara and I talked about other National Parks that we'd like to visit. Acadia National Park was on the top of both of our lists. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park came in second.
So, who knows where we'll end up next. I'll be sure to keep you updated, though, wherever we end up.
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