Overall Run Falls and Hawksbill

Sunday, we packed up camp and had breakfast.  The rest of the group was doing Stony Man, another trail that dogs aren't allowed on.  So we hiked to see Overall Run Falls instead and planned to meet them at Hawksbill.  Overall Run Falls is the highest in Shenandoah, but it's on a small creek.  I had visited before, but it was barely a trickle.  So with the high water this weekend, I was hoping it would be a little more impressive.  There were some pretty white wood aster blooming along the trail to the waterfall.

In about 1.5 miles, we turned left on Tuscarora-Overall Run Falls and shortly came to the upper waterfall.  Upper Overall Run Falls is about 30 feet high and looked nice in the high water, but there was a lot of vegetation in the way.

Shortly after that, we came to the overlook for the Overall Run Falls.  And it sure looked like a waterfall this time.

Trees in the canyon below blocked a view of the full falls, but it was very nice nonetheless.  The view from the overlook is fantastic as well.

After a short break, we headed back to camp and left.

Driving south on Skyline Drive, we headed to the Upper Hawksbill Trailhead and arrived with everybody else.  Upper Hawksbill Trail is the easiest route to Shenandoah's highest point.  The trail gains about 500 feet in a mile and wasn't bad at all.  Near the summit, we came to Byrds Nest No. 2 Shelter.

Just past here was the summit of Hawksbill.

The views from up here were really great.

Looking east, Old Rag was visible from the viewpoint.

After some pictures, we headed back down and continued on to Big Meadows.

We stopped at the visitor center to get our passport stamped and then to the Wayside to get some blackberry ice cream cake.  It was really yummy.  Alex had a couple bites too.  Finished with our snack, we said good-bye to everyone and started making the drive home.

Cedar Run and Whiteoak Canyon

Saturday we had breakfast at camp and headed south on Skyline Drive.  The rest of the group was doing Old Rag, but we couldn't take Alex on those trails, so headed out for some waterfalls instead.  We made a stop at  Pass Mountain Overlook for a nice early morning view.

Then we made one more stop at Hazel Mountain Overlook, where we could see clouds over the foothills below.

From here, we continued on to our destination for the day - White Oak Canyon.  Parking at Hawksbill Gap, we started off hiking down Cedar Run Trail.  The trail followed its namesake creek steeply downhill.  With all the recent rains, the creek was really flowing, even up near the top.

There were a lot of nice drops along the creek, a few that might be considered a waterfall.  One in particular was especially nice with the water flowing down in three streams over a mess of huge boulders.

I called this one Cedar Run Canyon Falls as it was nice enough to deserve a name.  Another cascade was flowing enough to generate a small rainbow.

Soon we came to the top of Upper Cedar Run Falls.  There were some nice cascades above and a couple guys were swimming here.  Looking downstream, the water fell through a narrow canyon.  Continuing on the trail a short ways, we scrambled down to the base.

It's a really cool waterfall flowing through a very narrow canyon.  We saw the two guys from the top later on and suggested this as a good place to swim.  It wasn't much further to the Middle Falls and we came out at the top again.  In high water, we had to wade across the creek and climb down the rocks on the opposite side.

After a few pictures, we crossed back to get on the trail.  It was just a short ways further to the lower falls, but a very steep climb down the bank to the base.  Lower Cedar Run Falls was really beautiful and worth the difficult climb down.

On the way back up, I spotted an American Giant Millipede scurrying along a rock.

Shortly after this point, we ran into a volunteer with PATC who recommended we avoid the Link Trail and instead stay on Cedar Run Trail to the end at Whiteoak Canyon Trail.  We had to cross Cedar Run at a spot that was tricky in high water, but we managed to keep our feet dry (except Alex).  There was some nice cascades upstream.

Shortly after this point was the split and we took the guy's advice.  When we reached the point where the Link Trail meets Whiteoak Canyon Trail, the wade would have been difficult so appreciated the advice.  Now we were following White Oak Canyon upstream.  It was half a mile or so further to the beginning of the waterfalls.  Before we reached the lowest one, we followed Tims River up a short ways to Tims River Falls.

It looked like the waterfall kept going up, but it would have been a tough climb.  Back on the main trail, we crossed Tims River on a down tree and noticed a little snake on part of the tree.

Stopping at the base of White Oak Canyon Falls #6, we had a nice lunch and enjoyed the view.

After lunch, I went closer to the base for some photos, then found a side path off the main trail that headed up to the top.  Scrambling further upstream, we made it to the base of Whiteoak Canyon Falls #5.  With the water level way up, I couldn't get out far enough to get an unobstructed view.

To get to #4, we would have to wade at the base and then climb up the other side.  Alex was already getting tired so we decided to pass on this one and headed back to the main trail.  White Oak Canyon Trail was not so easy either, especially heading up, but at least it's a trail.  After many stairs and switchbacks, Waterfall #3 soon came into sight.  Scrambling down from the trail, there was an interesting seasonal waterfall flowing down a cliff face.

There's no creek or intermittent stream - just a lot of water flowing down a cliff.  This certainly doesn't exist in normal water conditions, but it was pretty cool to see.  It would have been tough to get to the base of #3 in such high water, so we just headed back to the trail to see Whiteoak Creek Falls #3 from the overlook.

In between the waterfalls, the creek was not flat.  There were plenty of drops and cascades that were nearly waterfalls themselves.

Next up was White Oak Canyon Falls #2, kind of a crappy name for such a nice waterfall.

All of these waterfalls, in fact, deserve more than a number as they were really spectacular and so close together.  In another half-mile, we made it to #1 and went out on the overlook for a view of the highest waterfall in the canyon at more than 80 feet.

After some pictures, we continued on the trail and crossed the creek on a bridge, then took the fire road back to the parking.  When we were close to the trailhead, a young bear popped out of the woods.  He was up above us on the trail, but essentially following us from above.

I was a little concerned with Alex, who was definitely interested in a potential new friend.  Fortunately, the bear wasn't too interested in us and eventually disappeared into the woods.

Back at the car, we headed to Big Meadows for dinner.  The restaurant there is dog-friendly, but it was a long line, so we ate outside from the tap room instead.

After dinner, we headed back to camp for the evening.

South River Falls

It was Sandy's birthday weekend so we headed to Shenandoah National Park for a weekend of hiking, waterfalls, and camping.  Shenandoah is one of the only national parks that allow dogs on the trails so it would be great to bring Alex out on our trip.  We left early Friday morning and arrived at the South River Picnic Area around 930.  From here, we started hiking down South River Falls Trail.  With all the recent rain, the river was really flowing.  After a mile or so, we came to the overlook for the waterfall, but the view was mostly obscured by trees.

Continuing a short ways, we turned right on South River Falls Road and followed to the end at South River.  A short spur trail led upstream to the base of the falls.

The sun was shining right on it, but it was quite impressive in high water.  I climbed up to the base for a picture.

On the hike back, we made a loop by staying on the old road to South River Fire Road and then taking the Appalachian Trail back to the parking lot.

From here, we started driving north on Skyline Drive to meet our friends but had plenty of time to stop at some of the overlooks.  South River Overlook was just past the picnic area and there were a lot of goldenrod blooming here.

Just a little further was Baldface Mountain Overlook.

Our next stop was at the Point Overlook, though we didn't go all the way to the overlook.

A couple miles further, we stopped at Naked Creek Overlook.

Near Big Meadows, a couple cars had pulled over so we did too.  A mama bear and two cubs were in a tree right next to the road.

The cubs were fast asleep, while the mother seemed to be scratching her back against the tree bark.  A lot of thistle were blooming along the road here with butterflies galore.

A little past Big Meadows, we stopped at the Franklin Cliffs Overlook.

Crescent Rock Overlook was our next stop where we could see down into Ida Valley, which was set up for residents displaced by the creation of the park.

Next, we stopped at Thorofare Mountain Overlook.

And our final stop was Pinnacles Overlook.

Then we parked at Panorama by Thornton Gap to meet up with Justine and the rest of the group.  They all arrived shortly after we did.  Hiking the Appalachian Trail southbound, it was around 2 miles up to the summit of Mary's Rock.

There were great views from the exposed rocks at the top.

I climbed up the rocks for a good view.  Down below, Thornton Gap and Skyline Drive were visible.

After some pictures, we headed back.

Before reaching camp, we stopped at Elkwallow Wayside and got some dinner before heading to Matthews Arm campground.  We had a nice group site at the far end of the campground.  After setting up, we built a campfire and then went to bed early.