Our second morning waking up in a Shenandoah National Park campground started better than the first. It rained more overnight, but stopped before dawn. It was foggy and damp as the sun came up, but we could see bits of blue sky through the fog. I woke up with a super sore knee. I was hurting a little after our hike to Mary's Rock yesterday, but then I didn't really feel it anymore on the other three hikes. The IT band on my right knee was screaming when I got out of the van. It was so tight I could barely bend my knee to walk. But by the time I went to the bath house and back,it had loosened up and I was willing to try a hike.
Our campground was just a few miles away from Bearfence Mountain, which our hiking guide book said featured a rock scramble hike to the top of the mountain with a 360-degree view. It sounded fun and different so we started our day there. It was still foggy, but clearing as we began our hike. The sun popped out and reflected brightly off the fog as we climbed through the woods. It was really cool for the first 15 minutes until the fog burned off. The trail started innocent enough, just climbing steadily toward the peak. The hike was only 1.1 miles in total. I was expecting rocks the whole way, so I was a bit surprised at the first 0.25 miles. Then it got real. We started scrambling up big boulders and through large cracks in giant rock fins that protruded from the mountain.
Sunlight coming in through the fog on Bearfence Mountain
Let the rock scramble begin
First view as we reach the top of the first fin
The first viewpoint was up on top of a big rock fin. We got our first views of blue sky and mountain tops here. Then the trail took us back off the fin with some challenging rock sections. We then caught up with another couple. They were from Germany and having a bit of trouble with the rocks. We got to them just as the trail went up onto another fin, this one bigger than the first. The lady was not liking the heights and narrow ledges. One section went across the edge of a 175-ft cliff. You had good footing and plenty of hand holds, but one spot you had to step across a gap and swing most of your body over the edge of the cliff to reach the next ledge. That was the end of the lady's climb. It was a shame because the top was only about 50 yards beyond this point. It was a 360-degree view for sure. You stop atop a narrow rock sticking up off the mountain peak. It is tall and narrow. I'm guessing that's where the mountain gets its name, because it would be a nice barrier to have between you and a bear. The descent was quick and much easier than what we climbed up. The rocks disappeared and we were back to the car. This was the most fun hike I have ever done! I liked the challenge of the rock scramble and the little bit of danger. It made me think and work hard to find lines. It was like being in a giant playground. I just wish it was longer.
Following our German friends up the final part of the rock scramble where it got super technical.
On top of Bearfence Mountain
Of course, one hike would not do it for us. We were in the van just a few minutes before hitting the trail again, heading upwards to take advantage of the clear day to see some mountain views. My knee was feeling better with activity so off we went. This time we hiked up to Hawksbill Peak, the highest point in Shenandoah National Park at 4,051 feet. Again, it was a short hike, taking just 0.8 miles to reach the summit. There are multiple trails that will take you to the top. We chose probably the most boring, and most difficult, option. We didn't know it when we picked the route, but our way ended up being mostly steep fire road. While not the most scenic option, it was time efficient. There was a hiking shelter at the top, followed closely by a spectacular view. You can look over the valley from a ridge along the trail, or continue up a few hundred more yards to a stone platform. We saw an eagle as soon as we reached the top, followed by many chipmunks scurrying around the rocks.
Old Rag Mountain from Skyline Drive as we moved between Bearfence Mountain and Hawksbill Peak.
Heading up Hawksbill Peak
Shelter up on top of Hawksbill
Eagle soaring around Hawksbill Peak
Nice view from Hawksbill Peak
All mountains within view were labeled on this directional compass
After descending Hawksbill, we went back by the Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center to get some trail snacks and a souvenir we saw yesterday. There was a little Hawksbill Peak survey marker you could buy in the gift shop. It meant nothing to me until I had climbed to that high point. Now it was the perfect souvenir to take home. We still like to get one thing from each major park we see, usually turning them into an ornament for our Christmas tree. We also grabbed some Pecan Maple Syrup and Peach Cider made in Virginia, along with some chips and other snacks to eat on our afternoon hike.
Hawksbill survey bench mark souvenir
Enjoying the sun at an overlook along Skyline Drive
The plan for the afternoon was to go see another waterfall, then I would get in some road riding on Skyline Drive before dark. Our hike choice was further south on Skyline Drive. Bearfence was about halfway through the parkway's 105 miles, so this hike put us into the southern half of the park. South River Falls was the target. Our trail guide showed the distance to the falls to be about 1.3 miles. We expected a downhill to the falls and climb back out, as that seems to be the norm for waterfall hikes at Shenandoah. We didn't expect it to take too long. We were wrong. The trail began with a steep decline before meeting up with the Appalachian Trail. We had been on and off the AT several times this week as the trail passes through the full length of the park.
The AT portion took us over many creek crossings, some being very wide, but shallow. We did our best to use the rocks to stay out of the water, but Shannon had a couple of mishaps and ended up with wet feet. It's bound to happen when you spend so much time crossing water. We finally reached the waterfall at 1.3 miles. It was an overlook above the falls. Honestly, it was not impressive at all. You couldn't really see the bottom half of the waterfall through the tree tops and it just didn't look very big. We were kind of disappointed as it was hard work to get back here. We ate our lunch at the overlook and dried Shannon's boots in the sun.
First of many creek crossings on the way to South River Falls
Water flowed along much of the trail as we descended the mountain
South River Falls from the upper viewpoint
Drying the boots while eating lunch
We decided to continue on, hoping for another view further down the trail. After just 0.2 miles more, we came to a split in the trail with a sign showing South River Falls to the right. We followed and continued descending down the mountain. This path was mostly gravel road, but water was running down the trail on almost all of it. As we were starting to tell each other how we had about had enough of the descending and water crossings, another sign came up directing us off the gravel road onto some rocky singletrack. That motivated us to continue. The rocky trail moved along a creek and was absolutely beautiful in the forested bottom. Moss was growing on almost every surface and thickened as we continued for another 10 minutes before the roar of the waterfall met our ears. Finally, South River Falls came into view. It was awesome! It totally blew away the upper view. This thing was huge! The water plummets 83 feet, making it the third largest waterfall in the park. It had a rock in the middle of the cliff that caused the falling water to fork in two. Totally worth the hard work to get here!
The point at which the gravel road turned back to singletrack. Loved this picture!
South River Falls
Me over on the right checking out the waterfall from a ledge. I could have looked at this thing all day. The water seemed to glow in the sun and the split was almost symmetrical. This is probably the coolest waterfall I have ever seen. The recent rains made the water flow even more powerful.
We saw no other people on the trail after the upper viewpoint as most went back from there just like we had planned. We enjoyed the waterfall for quite a while, then started back out. The watery road was not a fun climb. We decided to go back a different way once we reached the split point. There is a different trail that goes back to our parking area from that split. We had hoped it would avoid all the creek crossings we had to deal with on the way down. It did avoid all water, sticking mostly to gravel service roads. Again, not so scenic, but it got us out quicker with dry feet. It was a tough climb though and we were pretty spent at the top. This hike ended up being 4.5 miles in length, giving us a total of 7.2 miles for the day. It wasn't as much distance as yesterday, but much tougher hiking with no flat sections of trail to be found anywhere today. No ride again today, but I was ok with it when the day was done as my legs were smoked!
This would be our last night inside the park. We moved a bit further south on Skyline Drive to Loft Mountain Campground where we got a campsite for the night with just enough time to cook up dinner before darkness arrived. We had another interesting campground experience, this time at the bath house when we went for showers. The men's showers were closed, so I had to sneak into the women's showers. Shannon made sure nobody was inside before I went in. Once in a stall, nobody knew I was a guy in there. Nobody came in the whole time I was in there. She went to clear the building again before I came out. Nobody inside, but there was a guy sitting on the bench just outside the door. I tried to wait him out, but he was playing on his phone and seemed to be happy sitting on that hard bench in the cold evening air. I finally just decided to go out. I wrapped my head up with a towel and hid my face with my hoodie. I even tried to walk like a woman in an attempt to keep him from noticing I was a dude. He never looked up, even with Shannon's hysterical laughing at my walking.
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