Old Hotel Trail/Cole Mountain Loop

   I never cease to be amazed at the views that Virginia has to offer.  Casey, Boo, and I did this little hike on our way home from school for Thanksgiving break.  I was a little hesitant as to whether my 9 year old dog would be able to handle the 6.4 mile loop, but I needn't have worried.  She did wonderfully.  It was a Friday in November, chilly and a bit bleak, so there were few others out with us.  We drove the bumpy several miles up a tiny gravel road before parking ourselves at the trail head.  With no other humans in sight and no vehicles parked in the same lot, I decided to let the dog explore a bit.  Boo has a tendency to chase all that runs and so I worry about her making a mad dash into a road after a deer, but with no well traveled roads in a several mile vicinity, I decided that it would be okay to give her a bit of freedom.  She took to the trail immediately and we all had a great time.

Boo explores the meadow at the top of the mountain

Boo and I enjoy the views

   We followed the "Hotel Trail" (AKA "Old Hotel Trail") for several miles until it intersected with the AT at which point, we continued on along the AT northbound towards the ridge.  I knew that I should be expecting a bald mountaintop, but as often seems to happen, the magnificence of the peak surprised me.  The meadow was vast and the views, even on a dreary day, were picture perfect.  And interestingly, some way, somehow, someone apparently manages to bring a mower up to the top of the this mountain, because the meadow was mowed just short enough to wander freely across it.  We continued Northbound on the AT until eventually it intersected with the road that we had driven up, at which point we walked the remaining .2 miles back to the car along the gravel road.  A great time was had by all.

near a campground along the way up

climbing toward the ridge

Casey and Boo at an overlook shortly before reaching the bald summit

Devil's Marbleyard

 I went back to the Devil's Marbleyard for something like the 5th time last Saturday.  Let me tell you something - this hike never gets old.  It is by and far one of the most interesting hikes that I've stumbled across in the region and I have yet to find anything else quite like it.  Whenever someone asks me what hikes I would recommend, I mention this little gem of a hike.  And each and every time I decide to hike it myself, I think I know what to expect.  Yet, without fail - I am always freshly amazed at how incredible this pile of boulders actually is.  Photos do not do it justice.  Unfortunately, in a photo it is difficult to accurately frame the angles and true sizes of the rocks.  In real life, you'll realize that this rock scramble is not a short horizontal jaunt across a pile of printer sized boulders.  Rather, it's a seriously uphill climb of roughly .5 miles up a field of boulders ranging in size from that of a soccer ball to that of a large truck.

Me climbing up one of the lower portions

Foamhenge - from a previous trip

My friends and I started our journey on Saturday with a trip to Foamhenge - a must see if you're already on your way to the marbleyard.  Foamhenge is more funny than it is spectacular, but never-the-less, it provides a good chuckle and photo opportunity.  Plus, it's only about a mile out of the way. except for the marbleyard.  And so, it seems to be a recurring trend that I forget that there is actually a bit of a walk before you'll reach the base of the boulders.  Either way, it's a short jaunt, albeit a slightly uphill one - but a forgettable one once you see the boulder field to your left.

From there, we headed to the marbleyard.  I always underestimate how long the hike to the base of the marbleyard takes.  Really, it's not very long at all (a little over a mile along the Belfast trail if I remember correctly), but after returning to the car after doing the marbleyard, it's hard to remember much of anything

I brought Casey (who I am convinced is part mountain goat), Elena (who was new to the marbleyard), and Casey #2 (because my friend group has an unhealthy number of name duplicates).  Also there were Kevin and Courtney and a few of Courtney's friends.  It was a thrilling, yet relatively uneventful trip up the boulders (namely - no one died or broke a leg).  I cheated just a bit as we neared the top by cutting off to a makeshift trail along the side of the boulder field, but eventually the entire party reached the top edge.

The whole party on the way up

We took the easy way down, sliding along the side of the field, rather than rock scrambling our way back down.  We saw a little fence lizard (I think that's what it was called!) and had a record for the least number of wipeouts on the loose footing on the way down.  I still managed to land on my butt once, but after managed to stay on two feet.  All in all - a great trip. 

By the way - some of these photos are mine from older trips and some belong to friends and are from this trip.  I wasn't bothered to bring my camera this time around.

Casey and I from a previous trip