Shenandoah National Park
We just spent a glorious week at Shenandoah National Park. When we arrived Monday, the forest was pretty green, but by Thursday it was in spectacular attire. On the first day we hiked up to the summit of Compton Gap. This meant about a mile and a half on the Appalachian Trail and then another mile on a side trail. The view was nice, but not much different than the Drive itself.
We checked into Skyland and settled down to celebrate out arrival with a bottle of wine on our veranda. Dinner that night was surprisingly good.
After breakfast Tuesday, we hiked into Rose Canyon. It was a very nice walk down, but we had to be back at Skyland by 12:30 so we tried to set a speed record for climbing 1200 feet in 30 minutes. This did not feel at all enjoyable, but we made it back in time to jump on horses and head into White Oak Canyon. Kay really enjoyed herself and wanted to go Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the wind was so bad on Wednesday, that the horses were not allowed to come out and play, so we headed into Luray for breakfast at Uncle Buck’s. Very nice. Once we got back on the mountain we decided to chance the wind and at least start down White Oak. This canyon was on the lee side of the mountain and once we dropped below the ridge, the wind was manageable. The hike was absolutely perfect. There was an Autumn scent in the air, bright blue sky, 60 degree temperatures and just spectacular scenery. A hike of about three miles brought us to the top of the falls. We seriously thought about going the rest of the way down, but several signs warned that the going was very hard and we should rethink it. So we went back up, with the idea of going out of the park and coming up to the falls from the bottom on Thursday.
Once we were back to Skyland, we decided to drive up to Big Meadow and look for bears. I’m still a little confused as to why this was a good idea, but since no bear felt the need to expose himself, it didn’t matter. But Big Meadow was an interesting place to see.
After packing Thursday we, decided to go down Dark Hollow Falls, then hike out onto Big Meadow and then on the way home, try and go up White Oak from the bottom. Instead, we were so captivated by Dark Hollow falls we stayed there for a long time. Then when we got to Big Meadow we took a two mile forest trail and eventually walked into the Meadow.
Sadly, we needed to head for home. We made Carlisle Pa that night and found a delightful English Pub. (Don’t tell my ancestors)
Of course our trip back to Binghamton was made in a rain storm!!. Our journey ended at 2:30 Friday. The cats were thrilled to see us, but the rest of the Village seemed to have survived quite nicely without us.
It was a great trip, with beautiful scenery, sparkling company and surprisingly good food. I would actually go to Skyland just for the dinners.