Читать книгу Top Trails: Shenandoah National Park - Johnny Molloy - Страница 36

TRAIL 4 North District

Sugarloaf Loop

TRAIL USE

Day Hiking, Backpacking

LENGTH

4.7 miles, 3–4 hours

VERTICAL FEET

±870'

DIFFICULTY

–1 2 3 4 5 +

TRAIL TYPE

Loop

START & FINISH

N38° 45.627'

W78° 16.953'

FEATURES

Ridgeline

Stream

Autumn Colors

Wildlife

Great Views

Geological Interest

FACILITIES

None

This loop dips off the eastern side of Hogback Mountain into the upper Piney River Valley. You will relish far-reaching views on the Appalachian Trail (AT), then follow a moderate grade into the Piney River on the Sugarloaf Trail. A grassy flat beside the Piney River makes for a great resting spot. Head back to the high country, soaking in more great views from Hogback Mountain before completing the loop.

Best Time

Spring through fall are the most rewarding. Wildflowers bloom in the valley during spring. Summer offers a cool and shady respite. Enjoy views on clear fall days, and you might spot wildlife on the trail.

Finding the Trail

The hike starts at the parking area just south of the Hogback Mountain Overlook, milepost 21.1 on Skyline Drive. To reach the trailhead from the Thornton Gap Entrance Station, take Skyline Drive north for 10.4 miles to the parking area on the west side of Skyline Drive, just before Hogback Mountain Overlook. The loop hike starts on the eastern side of Skyline Drive where the AT crosses Skyline Drive.

Trail Description

From the parking area just south of Hogback Overlook, pick up the AT, northbound, as it crosses over to the eastern side of Skyline Drive. 1 Hike through fern-floored oak woods, shortly climbing to a rocky knob spiked with uptilted rock. Note the rock combination to the right of the trail that resembles a chair. Many a hiker has had their picture taken in that oversized throne. At 0.2 mile, a side trail leads left to a rock outcrop framed in mountain ash trees. 2 The western vistas are extensive. Hogback Mountain Overlook is immediately below you. Overall Run cuts a chasm. Ridges rise around it. The Shenandoah Valley stretches out past the park. Beyond the valley other mountains rise to frame the patchwork of farm, field, and town.

Surveying mountain lands west from a trailside overlook on the Appalachian Trail

Geological Interest

Great Views

Descend among rocky woods. Notice how the winds have sculpted the trees to face easterly. Reach the slender Sugarloaf Trail at 0.3 mile. 3 Turn right onto a singletrack path lined with mountain laurel beneath scattered oaks. Briefly run parallel to Skyline Drive, joining an old wagon road. The Sugarloaf Trail curves back to the right, winding on a slightly sloped ridge, former pastureland. Descend to step over two rocky streamlets, wide but shallow feeder branches of the Piney River. Straight rock pioneer walls contrast with the fluid shapes of nature. Backpackers can find legal campsites off the trail in the next mile or so. This loop is a great break-in trip for the novice overnighter and a quick, quality one-night getaway for everyone.

Reach a trail junction at mile 1.7. Turn right onto the Pole Bridge Link Trail. 4 The land is level in these parts—for mountain land. It was cultivated too, despite the rocks you see. Pass through a changing forest, where hardwoods, such as black birch and yellow birch, are vying to replace the fallen hemlocks that once colored the vale evergreen. The gradual descent leads to another trail junction at 2.1 miles. Stay right with the Piney Branch Trail. 5

Step over the rocky branches you crossed earlier before reaching the upper Piney River in 0.1 mile. Large boulders and rocks line the watercourse. Cross the river to reach a grassy flat flanked by a large boulder. This locale makes a nice respite. A set of cascades downstream of this crossing are worth a look.

Stream

Geological Interest

Wildlife

Leave this low point of the loop—you are now a little higher than 2,500 feet—and start climbing toward the crest of the Blue Ridge on a gentle grade. Big rocks line the trailbed. At mile 3.2, pass through an open area with a tremendous rock face rising up the hill to your right. 6 In September, bears converge and eat cherries from trees that grow nearby. You will see much purple, seed-laden bear scat along this path in the fall.

Ridgeline

Curve uphill away from the roadbed to cross a second roadbed near a national park survey marker. The AT is just uphill, at 3.5 miles. Turn right onto the AT, making northbound tracks through open woodland where large widespread oaks grow over grass. 7 Younger trees vie for sunlight. Undulate over a rocky hill to reach Skyline Drive at 3.7 miles. 8 Rattlesnake Point Overlook is just up the road on your right. Keep northbound, crossing Skyline Drive, and ascend the south side of Hogback Mountain.

Great Views

A side trail at mile 4.0 leads left to an outcrop with views. 9 The ridgeline that is Massanutten Mountain forms a backdrop to South Fork Shenandoah River Valley. Range upon range of Shenandoah’s mountains roll south. Dip into a pretty, grassy gap, then resume climbing to reach the Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail at mile 4.5. 10 Pass a limited vista point on trail right before drifting into the parking area at mile 4.7, completing your loop. 11

MILESTONES