First solo backpacking trip. Couldn’t have asked for better weather in the Sods. The dregs of the hurricane made things extra muddy but that’s par for the course. Everyone starts at Bear Rocks but I began at Red Creek. This means more gnarly climbing right away but less of a mass of people to content with. The cherry on top is jumping in the creek right before the end!
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The best 360 degree view when you get to the top. They say it’s Almost Heaven but up there it is Heaven.
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Views were incredible off of hidden passage trail. Two campsites off that trail. I’d suggest that you just do an in and out using South Prong to Hidden Passage (visit Hiking Upward for a map and info) and don’t do this loop. While the Canyon Rim Trail has a few visas, the entire trail is basically either a grove of rhododendrons overgrown or large boulders. It is very slow going and difficult. Tee Pee, the connector between Canyon Rim and Roaring Plains Trail, is either overgrown rhododendrons, large boulders, or bogs. I’d hate to see this entire loop if it had rained in the past two weeks. Boars Nest is a very rough descent, a lot of elevation very quickly. Total mileage is 16.3 miles, my phone died at 15.51 miles so there’s a gap missing at the end of this trek.
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Dolly Sods never fails to amaze. We hiked Red Creek Trail from the SW trailhead with a loop that included Big and Little Stonecoal in mind. It was a little bit too early in the season for the loop. When we saw the creek crossing we decided to proceed upstream on Red Creek Trail to its intersection with Fisher Spring Creek trail. Beautiful views and nobody on the trail all day! We had lunch near the confluence of Red and Fisher creeks and returned via the same route. The dogs got a bit wet crossing the tributaries, but we stayed mostly dry. A wonderful 7-ish miler.
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Muddy and beautiful! The view on the west side over Red Creek is amazing.
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Difficult hike with no apparent fresh water source. Amazing views and light traffic make the steep climbs and sketchy overgrown sections of the trail worth it. I did this as an out and back so total distance would have been a little over 15 miles in two days.
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Great day hike sandwiched between backpacking into Judy Springs camping area at Spruce Knob National Recreation Area. Hike up to highest point in the state of WV for lunch and then down to Seneca Falls before returning to the campsite.
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Overall a really fun hike. Some parts are a bit overgrown and muddy.
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Harmon is a narrow watershed that is mostly creek stones. It’s not a path you can hike fast. There are no views and it’s mostly just brush. It’s a connector to blackbird knob trail.
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We hiled this backward according to this listing, as we started our trip at the top of the mountain. Pretty nice hike for our final leg of a 3 day trip. Not too difficult, mostly downhill (again, because we came from the opposite direction), and still enough beautiful scenery to keep you happy along the way. Soggy, muddy, and wet in a lot of places. But that is to be expected this time of year. Take your time hopping from rock to rick and you'll be fine. Trekking poles definitely help.
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