Mike Breiding's Epic Road Trips: 2025

June 28th to July 5th - 2025
A Week In The Heart of The Highlands of West Virginia

Our week in the West Virginia Highlands started back in February of 2024. WV friends Doug and Dianne were visiting us in Tucson while they were staying at a timeshare in Scottsdale. During their visit to Tucson we got to talking about timeshare availability. Dianne said it might be possible to snag us a place if we had one in mind.
First on the list was the Canaan Valley area of WV. It turned out there was nothing available for 2024. Dang!
But Dianne kept us in mind, and sure enough, on March 17th, 2025, she sent us an email about a place with availability from June 28 to July 5. We said YES! Dianne booked it for us, and we had to pay a whopping $179.00 for 7 nights. Not bad, considering the weekly rent is $900.00. Thank you, Dianne!!!

The Highlands of West Virginia area is a wonderful place to visit if you love hiking, kayaking, birding, cycling, botanizing, and tree hugging. People also go there to golf and downhill ski. No, thanks.
Now it was time to get out the hiking maps and plan our trip. And that we did. There is much to choose from: Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley State Parks, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the 921,000-acre Monongahela National Forest, and much, much more.

Canaan Valley, WV Topographic Map by Peter Forister
NOTE: I added some labels for place names and measurement conversions. Pesky meters!

This gorgeous map by Peter Forister clearly shows why Canaan Valley is the highest elevation valley in the eastern US. It has an average elevation of 3,200 feet (974 m) above sea level. This elevation, combined with the cold air drainage from Canaan and Cabin mountains, produces a micro-climate that is more like northern Canada than central West Virginia. Plants and animals can be seen and heard in Canaan Valley one would normally encounter much further north. This is why Canaan Valley is said to be "A little bit of Canada gone astray."

Sitting high in the Allegheny mountains in eastern Tucker County, West Virginia, is a unique and beautiful area known as Canaan Valley. With an average elevation of 3,200 feet above sea level and a 35,000-acre watershed, it is the highest valley of its size east of the Rocky Mountains. Its northern forest character and unique wetlands support many plants and animals that are unusual and rare, not only in West Virginia but also the eastern United States.

In 1974 the Secretary of the Interior designated a portion of Canaan Valley as a National Natural Landmark. The designation was given, in part, because the Valley contains a boreal ecosystem: a collection of plants and animals in an environment that is usually found much farther north in areas of New England and Canada. In fact, the area has been referred to as "a little bit of Canada gone astray."

Source:EPA.gov - Download here

In 1970, just 4 years before that designation of Canaan Valley as a National Natural Landmark, Allegheny Power System made it clear they had their own plans for Canaan Valley.

In July of 1970 the Allegheny Power System (APS) applied for a permit for the Davis Power Project (DPP or proposed project) from the Federal Power Commission (FPC, a pre-cursor of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC). A year later they submitted an environmental assessment of the proposed project.
The project would build two dams. The large one would be on the Blackwater River, between Canaan and Brown Mountains and would flood the valley floor. The small one would be in the Dobbin Slashing area of north Dolly Sods.
At night when power demand was low, water would be pumped to the upper reservoir. During the day when more power was needed, the water would flow through pipes from the upper reservoir to the lower one, turning turbines and generating power as it went.

Source: WV Highlands Conservancy

If the Davis Power Project had been built it would have flooded over 7,000 acres of the valley floor to generate electricity to go to power hungry northern Virginia. There is a map of the planned project here.

The Power Project never happened and now over 18,000 acres of the valley is located within the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, established in 1994, was the nation's 500th such refuge.

This did not happen over night, it took almost 25 years of blood, sweat and tears by many dedicated people to make it happen.
Not surprisingly there are now new threats to the valley and the surrounding area, and so the fight goes on.

We checked into our place at 4:00 on Saturday. After getting everything unloaded and stowed we checked out what would be our Happy Hour station for the next 7 days. On the left is Cabin Mountain and on the right is Canaan Mountain. This photo is a preview of the mighty fine cloud viewing we would have for the rest of our stay.

On Sunday we arose at our usual 5:00, had a leisurely coffee time on the deck and then headed down to the Freeland Boardwalk which was just a few minutes away.
August 11th, 1994 – The refuge was established with the purchase of 86 acres known as the Freeland Tract. This is where Freeland Boardwalk is now located.

The boardwalk is 6' wide and about .50 miles in length. It has sweeping views of the surrounding meadows, fields and stands of Balsam Fir. We will see more of that later.

Bobolinks have been seen in the fields along Freeland Road and we hoped to spot one, but we never did see any. But we did see many Red-winged black birds, Meadowlarks, Common Yellow-throats, and a Swamp Sparrow.

Male Bobolink from AllAboutBirds.org

When we made trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan we would sometimes see Bobolinks in the open fields along some of the back roads. It was always a treat to see them.

Yippee! Coyote scat! The distinctive "tails" and the abundance of plant material, fur and hair make the scat easy to identify. We had hoped for, but did not hear any of their wonderful and sometimes eery 'singing" at night.

There is a good article about the Freeland boardwalk here.

It was now time to hustle back and get ready for our guests. Doug and Dianne were going to be stopping by for breakfast and we wanted to make sure they were well fed. We had a very tasty breakfast and a nice visit and then they were on their way home to Hurricane WV.

Not long after Doug and Dianne's departure, John and Robin arrived. They came up from the Richmond VA area. In June of 2021 they visited us in Morgantown and we took them out to Coopers Rock SF. I have seen tree hugging before, but I never saw rock hugging before. They loved the area so we knew they would enjoy the Canaan Valley area.
We had lunch and visited the rest of the day. Then, before you know it Happy Hour rolled around and then dinner.

For supper we had make your own burritos. This is some of the fixin's. Very tasty, filling and healthy.

After supper, Robin, Betsy, John and I went down to the Freeland Boardwalk.

This was taken form the overlook on Freeland Trail. It was a lovely, warm and breezy evening and the cloud viewing was exceptional.
We enjoyed a leisurely stroll and John and Robin found a nice bench to relax and take it all in.

The next morning (Monday) I went down by myself to the board walk. I was there by 6:30 and it was a whole different world from the previous evening, cool and foggy and quiet.

The conifers are Balsam fir and are considered distinct from the other Balsam fir and are referred to as "Canaan Fir".

Abies balsamea range map at WikiPedia

As you can see from this range map, most of the Balsam fir is in Canada. Note the dot for Canaan Valley, where Canada went astray.

I wasn't the only one who was out for an early morning stroll. Like most other places, there are lots of deer in Canaan Valley.

The cool moist air was invigorating, and the scenery was very atmospheric.

While I was out bathing in the fog, the rest of the crew were getting ready for todays hike. But first - breakfast. John and Robin brought some eggs from their respective hens so I made up a mess of scrambled eggs and added all the leftover veggies from dinner, nicely sauteed in butter and olive oil. Tasty.
Thus fortified we drove up to Blackwater Falls State Park and hit the trail.

Photo: John Williamson

Here we have two fine looking specimens! Robin and John were really enjoying all the huge rhododendrons and although this giant rhodie had not one flower, we saw some beauties.

From pink to pure white.

John and I have a long-time connection with rhododendrons. Over 40 years ago we met at an American Rhododendron Society meeting in the Richmond, VA, area. And, as is said, "The rest is history."

This lilliputian mushroom was only about 3" tall. It is known as the Salmon Pinkgill (Entoloma quadratum) It is quite the little cutie, don't ya think?

This was the first time I had seen this bizarre looking mushroom. What a contrast with one above. It is called Old Man of the Woods (Strobilomyces strobilaceu ). "Young specimens are edible, with a choice flavour".

John and I both recognized these odd looking white galls. They can occur on both rhododendrons and azaleas, two shrubs we have both had a long love affair with.

Photo: John Williamson

Ahhh... there is nothing quite like forest bathing.

No hike is complete without ferns. Here we have the ubiquitous Hay-scented fern (Sitobolium punctilobulum), one of my favorites. It can form large colonies in both sunny and shady conditions and will even grow on top of large weathered rocks, thus, one of the common names is Boulder Fern.
Since the 1850s this fern was know as Dennstaedtia punctilobula but was recently changed to Sitobolium punctilobulum.

This species was moved to the genus Sitobolium that was split from a polyphyletic Dennstaedtia. A phylogenetic analysis split the genus into five genera (Dennstaedtia, Microlepia, Mucura and Sitobolium) (Triana-Moreno et al. 2023). The Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I (2016) predated this reclassification but recognized that Dennstaedtia was not a monophyletic genus.

Source: www.natureserve.org

Now you know.

This was an exciting find for me. Although the Long Beech fern (Phegopteris connectilis) is not unknown to the highlands of West Virginia, it was the first time I had encountered it. It is mostly found in the northern United States and Canada with scattered populations at higher elevations in the central Appalachians.
The Broad Beech (Phegopteris hexagonoptera) fern is much more common and can be found in shady woods throughout the central and eastern US.

OK! Here we are at the main event - Pase Point vista.

This magnificent view of the Blackwater Canyon was the highlight of the hike.

Photo: Robin Scates

I think it is safe to say John struggled a bit on today's hike. He is scheduled for a knee replacement in early August and I know he endured a good bit of pain to join us on this hike. Thank you, John!

Until recently, thousands of acres of the Blackwater Canyon were in private hands, including the old railroad right-of-way that can be seen on the right side of the canyon as a line break in the trees.

The West Virginia conservation group Friends of Blackwater announced yesterday the successful culmination of a 25-year campaign to ensure the full protection of Blackwater Canyon in Tucker County as a publicly owned natural and recreational resource.

The 10,000-acre canyon, which includes Blackwater Falls State Park, is home to dozens of rare plant and animal species and serves as an outdoor recreational centerpiece for the West Virginia Highlands economy.

Source: Read more at wvhighlands.org

This itty-bitty fern was growing in one of the cracks of the cliff face at the vista point. It appears to be a depauperate plant of the Mountain Spleenwort (Asplenium montanum). Or maybe the Lobed Spleenwort (Asplenium pinnatifidum). What do you think it is?

The Pase Point vista was near the tail end of our hike and soon we were back at the trailhead on our way to a relaxing Happy Hour and dinner. Dinner. Oh, my. Robin brought eggplant parmesan made with zucchini as her eggplants weren't quite ready yet. That, and a nice green salad capped off the day nicely.

The next morning there were moody skies and a fog enshrouded Canaan Mountain. This was taken just before 6am when all was quiet.

After breakfast John and Robin readied themselves to depart. Originally they were going to stay another night, but that did not work out as planned. Boo-hoo...

Robin and her family love to trout fish. Knowing that I decided to pass on my dad's old creel to Robin. I knew she would appreciate it. And why let it just sit on the top shelf of a closet? That creel must be at least 70 years old.
And, that nice big Monarda next to Robin? John brought that for us to plant at our place in Morgantown. It now has new flowers and is being visited by humming birds.

 

Shortly after John and Robin's departure we got our hiking gear and some food in the van and started the drive to Dolly Sods.

Dolly Sods is a rocky, high-altitude plateau with sweeping vistas and lifeforms normally found much farther north in Canada. To the north, the distinctive landscape of "the Sods" is characterized by stunted ("flagged") trees, wind-carved boulders, heath barrens, grassy meadows created in the last century by logging and fires, and sphagnum bogs that are much older. To the south, a dense cove forest occupies the branched canyon incised by the North Fork of Red Creek.

The name derives from an 18th-century German homesteading family, the Dahles, and a local term for an open mountaintop meadow, a "sods".

Source: WikiPedia

The virgin forest on Dolly Sods was primarily red spruce, eastern hemlock, Allegheny birch, sugar maple, and black cherry.
These trees reached heights of 90 feet and diameters of up to 12 feet and were 300-400 years old. No one knows for sure. The needle duff underneath this forest of spruce and hemlock was many feet deep. After it was cut over, the duff, slashings, and other tree remains caught fire, probably sparked by steam locomotives working in the area.
It burned until it reached the rocks below. Nothing was left.
That was nearly 100 years ago. Dolly Sods is recovering, albeit slowly. And this formerly ravaged landscape now has a unique beauty all its own.

Photo: Abhijeet Ajay Gupta

This beautiful photo of Dolly Sods came to me in an unusual way. Last year I had to have a bone graft in my right jaw. The work was done at the WVU School of Dentistry by a student in periodontics. His name was Abhijeet Ajay Gupta. I asked him during one of the visits if he travelled much to see West Virginia. He told me he had been to Dolly Sods and really enjoyed it. Later that day he sent me the above photo.

To get to Dolly Sods "proper" requires a slow, steep and bumpy drive for 6 miles from where the pavement ends on the Laneville Road. Once you have made that ascent the road levels out and goes straight across the top of the mountain for about 8 miles. At that point, known as Bear Rocks, the road makes a steep decent back down the mountain on the east side.
The sign shown above is placed in a pullout where the road levels and straightens out. There is also a vista point there as well.

Betsy transcribed the sign above to make for easier reading.

On the Divide

You are standing on the Allegheny Plateau.
The plateau's eastern edge is marked by the Allegheny Front, a ridge that stretches from New York to Tennessee. This tremendous geologic presence influences both water flow and climate.

Water Flow
Here at Dolly Sods, the Allegheny Front marks the Eastern Continental Divide. Water west of the Front flows to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Water east of the front flows to the Chesapeake Bay.

Climate
Along and west of the Allegheny Front, high mountains force air up, forming clouds that release precipitation as they rise. The air east, or downwind, of the Allegheny Front, is drier and produces less rain or snow.

For more information about the Dolly Sods ecosystem, visit the Northland Loop Interpretive Trail.

Now, here again are two fine specimens! In the foreground is the Cinnamon Fern Osmundastrum cinnamomeum. As you can see it grows quite large, but does indeed grow larger, up to 6 feet.
This fern species has a fossil record extending into the Late Cretaceous of North America, approximately 70 million years ago, making it one of the oldest living plant species. Way cool...

One of the reasons I wanted to get up to the Sods was to check on a plant locality I visited over 40 years ago.
Back in the 1970s I was told about a population of the Mountain Wood fern (Dryopteris campyloptera) that grew in the woods adjacent to the Bell Knob fire tower road on Dolly Sods. I was very excited to hear about this, and being a fledgling FrondFondler I wanted to see every fern I could.
I made the Pilgrimage to the Sods to see this rare fern. Lo and behold, it was easily seen from the road to the fire tower. At that time I remember seeing just a few scattered plants.

I am happy to report, on this visit, we did not see just a few scattered plants of the Mountain Wood fern, but many hundreds of plants. Obviously Mountain Wood fern is thriving. Unfortunately this poorly composed and out of focus photo does not do this lovely fern justice.

We also saw some nice Lycopodiums on the Bell Knob fire tower road. This one is the Stiff clubmoss (Spinulum annotinum).

Here we have Stag's-horn clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum). This plant is common throughout the Highlands of West Virginia and can form extensive colonies.

Neither of us had ever seen a thistle this tall. Quite impressive. It is most likely Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum). This thistle is known to grow up to 13' tall, and since Betsy is every bit of 12' tall, I'll bet this thistle is a thirteener.

Ahhh... the lovely Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) with its heavenly scent. Once upon a time when one saw a milkweed there was often evidence of the Monarch butterfly - the butterflies themselves, the caterpillars, the eggs, or maybe even a chrysalis if you were lucky. But, no longer. The Monarchs are so few in numbers we rarely see them.

 

Our next stop would be the Northland Loop Nature Trail.

This interpretive sign was on the Northland Loop Nature Trail. If you have trouble reading it you can see it for yourself if you go here.

We were delighted to see the Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) was still in bloom.

Mountain laurel flowers have a unique pollination mechanism.
As you can see the stamens and anthers arch back into crevices in the petals making them "spring loaded". When a bee or other pollinator comes in contact with a stamen it springs forward, dusting the bee with it's pollen.

Here we have another Cinnamon Fern and this one still has its "cinnamon sticks" that are actually the fertile frond with its millions of spores. This was a treat to see because the fertile fronds are ephemeral and they had been gone for over a month in the Morgantown area. Morgantown sits at 960' and this fern sits at 3284'. Therein lies the story.

We were all set to continue our walk on the Nature Trail when it started to rain. Where was our rain gear? Back in the van.
We did and about face to the van and then started down the road to Bear Rocks. By the time we got to the parking area it was a torrential downpour.

The rain did not look like it was going to let up so off the mountain we did go. When we arrived back to Canaan Valley the rain had stopped - just in time for Happy Hour.

 

Wednesday was one of those mornings Betsy and I call "foggy-doggy".

This shot was taken at 6:00am just about 2 hours before my "big walk".

That walk is 11 miles and starts in Canaan Valley SP, goes up and over Canaan Mountain and then down to Blackwater Falls SP to the finish at the bridge in Davis.

The first time I walked this was with John Wood on July 18th, 2018. Petra and Betsy dropped us off at the starting point and then headed out to kayak on Blackwater River. John and I did not quite make it to Davis that day due to a navigation error. In other words, I forgot to bring the map. Duh...

On July 19th 2021, Betsy and I took the big walk and this time we finished up in Davis as planned.
On June 4th of 2024 I extended the hike to 13 miles.
Now, today, July the 2nd, 2025 would be my 4th time on this lovely hike.

Betsy dropped me off at the Allegheny Trail Trailhead on Back Hollow Road and I was on my way.

The trail follows an old road for about 1/4 mile and then goes out into open fields for a bit.

The lush grass growth had been tossed about by the wind and made some interesting patterns.

And into the woods I go...

I was no sooner in the dark, cool woods when I heard the call of a Hermit thrush. Betsy and I love hearing this bird and I was missing her.

The Cinnamon ferns in the Highlands are luxuriant and big, and I am sure over 100 years old. The fern at the base is New York fern (Amauropelta noveboracensis). It is common in eastern and central North America and its range extends from Newfoundland and Ontario south to Georgia.

The lycopods are always nice to see. This one is known as Running cedar, although there are several common names. For many years this plant was assigned to the genus Lycopodium. But, no more. It is now (Diphasiastrum digitatum)

Fan clubmoss is another common name, and for good reason.

This section of the Allegheny Trail has lots of wet and often muddy sections of trail. Here, the hiker is afforded the luxury of a foot bridge.

Founded in 1972 by the West Virginia Scenic Trail Association the Allegheny Trail is a 311-mile north-south trail from the Mason-Dixon Line at the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border until it meets the Appalachian Trail on Peters Mountain at the Virginia-West Virginia border.

Source: West Virginia Scenic Trails Association

It is not often I see a lycopod growing in moss on a tree trunk. This is a testament to the cool temps and abundant rain fall in the Highlands.

I saw this mushroom in several places on this hike. Could this be the Golden Waxcap mushroom (Hygrocybe chlorophana)?
As my dad used to say, "You tell me, then we'll both know."

The trail went through several boggy areas that provided some good plant gawking. The red in this photo is sphagnum moss. I am not sure if it is the species that is consistently this color or if sun exposure changed the hue.

Those white specks are cranberry flowers. The plants grew right up to the board walk.

Someone put in a lot of time and effort to lay the stones shown here. Like many trails, the Allegheny Trail is maintained by volunteers.

Just about every rock, tree trunk and downed logged was covered with both Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron seedlings.

Towards the end of my walkabout I noticed this plant along the Engine Run trail in Blackwater Falls SP. I think it may be Scotch heather (Calluna vulgaris). If that is indeed what this plant is it may have been brought in by the "Scots-Irish" or "Ulster Scots" who settled this area in the 1700's.

Not long after this I was texting me darlin' wife, "Come git me". The original plan was to pick me up at the Davis Bridge. But, as luck would have it, she was out hiking the same leg of the trail I was. After a bit I caught a glimpse of her far down the trail and eventually caught up to her. By now, it was—you guessed it—Happy Hour!
And so down the road we went for a bit of porch sitting and a nice supper of Robin's zucchini Parmesan and a green salad.

I would be remiss in my reporting if I did not mention a few more of the birds I heard on my Big Walk. I previously mentioned hearing the Hermit. Thrush and here are the other notables.
* Black-throated Blue Warbler
* Black-throated Green Warbler
* Magnolia Warbler
* Ovenbird
* Winter Wren
* Veery
* Swainson's Thrush
* Hermit Thrush
* Blue-headed Vireo
You can find out more about these denizens of the Highlands by visiting www.AllAboutBirds.org.

 

The sunrise on Thursday morning was a good beginning for the day we had planned. Today would be more driving than hiking. The map below shows our route.

Our first stop for the day would be the Sinks of Gandy Creek. Somewhere under that knob is about 1.5 miles of cave that Gandy Creek has slowly eroded from the Greenbrier limestone.

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The cave entrance cannot be seen from the road and a well worn path across the pasture leads you to the entrance. But first a scramble over an old farm gate is required to get to the footpath to the cave entrance.

Here Betsy makes her way to the cave entrance all the while keeping a sharp eye on a herd of cattle she thought might charge her.

Once upon a time I joined a group of cavers for a through trip. However the creek was high that day and there was the threat of rain. It was decided to save this through trip for another day.

The cave takes the entire flow of Gandy Creek and can flood suddenly following rain. An article in the Saturday Evening Post in 1941 by Clay Perry recounts the story of four cavers who were trapped in the cave for five hours.More...

Source: West Virginia Encyclopedia Online

I thought this cow was dead but Betsy said she could see it breathing. Indeed, it was still alive, but down for the count. I'll bet it turned into a stinky mess.

Gandy Creek — and thus the Sinks themselves — were named for Uriah Gandy (or Gandee) who settled in the area around 1781. Local settlers were certainly well aware of the Sinks by the 1830s. The earliest recorded reference to the Sinks may be a November 1833 letter sent by Randolph County physician Benjamin Dolbeare to the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society in Richmond.

The Sinks were noted locally as the site of the last known killings of elk by hunters in what is now Randolph County, probably about 1830 and 1835. (The last elk killed in all of West Virginia were shot around 1843 in nearby Canaan Valley.)

The Sinks first came to widespread public notice by way of a tongue-in-cheek account of a pleasure expedition to the region published by David Hunter Strother in Harper's Magazine in 1872 and 1873, although the visit upon which it is based probably occurred around 1854 This story, entitled "The Mountains", details the high jinx of a group of lively "Virginia gentlemen" who bumble through the then-virgin forest, annoying the sullen local "mountaineers", in search of the "tunnel of Gandy".
This semi-fictionalized narrative treated the locals in rather xenophobic terms and recounted a lurid tale of cattle rustling, abduction and desperate escape in the cave and the surrounding area.

Source: WikiPedia

Source: Click the map to go there

Here is the lay of the land. The cave entrance is in a pasture field and completely out in the open.
The exit, however opens to a shady area with trees and shrubs. Very different habitats. And the cool, shady exit habitat supports a population of Canadian yew (Taxus canadensis), a shrub that has very limited distribution in West Virginia as shown in the map below.

There is another plant growing in the area that is somewhat rare. That plant it the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). As you can see from the map below, the Gandy Creek area is just about as far south as the Ostrich fern grows.

Of course there are many more interesting plants growing in this neck of the woods, but we will save them for another time.
Right now we must be on our way so we can relax and get high.

And that is the end of our tour. Now we must hurry back to the Valley, lest we miss Happy Hour.

And high we are. 4,863', to be exact—the highest point in West Virginia.
As you can see, this view looking north from the summit of Spruce Knob is quite stunning. This is just one of many fine views along the Whispering Spruce trail. The observation tower has just about been overtopped by the Red spruce and no longer affords views like the above. I have no idea how far the most distant point is, but, as they say around these here parts, it's a fer piece.

My first visit up to Spruce Knob was almost 50 years ago in 1978. I was in the company of Geary, Sue and Denise. We stealth camped up on top that night and the wind it did blow. Memorable.

If I am correct in my interpretation of the map, Betsy and I were looking at the Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Plateau. No matter what you call it, it is mighty purty.
There were more people than we expected at the summit, but we found a secluded pic-nic table and had a quiet lunch while listening to the Juncos call.

Now that we have come up, we must go down.

The first thing we did when we went down, was look up. That is Seneca Rocks. Once upon a time I was up on that rock attached to a rope and scared shitless. Thanks, Geary.
Other times when I went it was a steep scramble "up the backside". Eventually a wide and well switch-backed trail was built as well as an observation platform at the top. Betsy has been up there also.

When we were up on Spruce Knob just a bit ago it was breezy and in the 50s. Down here in the low county it was in the toasty 80s. That meant no hiking for us. Instead we checked out the visitors center.

"All it takes is Hard Work and a shovel." That was what Betsy heard me say one night when I was talking in my sleep. This is true of all things in life.
Neither Betsy nor I are strangers to shovels. Using one, I have moved tons of gravel, dug ditches, and transplanted many hostas, rhodies and ferns.
Betsy's main use for this tool has been to shovel the shit I sling about with wild abandon.

 

Previously I mentioned John Wood and I went on the Long Walk on July 18th, 2018. That same trip we also went on a not quite so Long Walk - 8 miles down the Blackwater Canyon via the railroad grade.
I decided I wanted to walk that again, so on Friday, our last full day, I did.

Click the map to go there.

The arrow indicates part of the railroad grade through the Blackwater Canyon from Douglas to Hendricks. I would start in Douglas and upon my arrival in Hendricks, call Betsy to be fetched.

(In the late 1800s)Henry Gassaway Davis's companies built mines in all directions around Thomas, and built branch lines to connect them. At each mine, company-owned mining towns sprang up. They included a railroad station, a company general store, a school, a post office, one or more churches, and single- and multi-family homes for the miners and their families. Douglas is one such community.

Source: TheClio.com

This sticker was on the railroad bridge at the start of my walk. Is punk really dead? Maybe it is just taking a nap.

Orange water - isn't that pretty? This is from Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). AMD is from sulphur bearing minerals being exposed by coal mining. This process results in the production of sulfuric acid and the leaching of heavy metals into surrounding waterways. It drops the water PH significantly and this has the effect of killing most aquatic life. I am not a chemist - this is a simplified explanation.

The Blackwater Canyon Rail-Trail starts out as single track and gradually gets wider. The surface is packed ballast and a bit rougher than I am used to.

For much of its length the rail-trail is very scenic, remote and quiet.

Judging by the moisture content of the scat, I must has just missed Urso.
I moseyed down the rest of the trail taking time to have a snack, enjoy some of the big trees, and listen to the Wood thrush and Winter Wrens.

Here we are at Hendricks. Quick trip, eh? I texted Betsy about piking me up - she was enjoying her own hike so I hung out at the gazebo until she arrived to take me back to Happy Hour. Ah, the trials and tribulations of the Leisure Class.

For supper we finished off the last of Robin's zucchini parmesan. Like us, it gets better with age.

 

It is now Saturday morning and time for us to end our week in the Highlands. We packed up the car, checked out and then made our way to Blackwater Falls SP and the Lindy Point Vista (see map above).

Here we are at Lindy Point Vista. On the right side of the photo you can clearly see the line of the Blackwater Canyon Rail-Trail.

This would be a very nice place to spend some time cogitatin' and relaxin' - but, we must be on our way.

But first, I need to rev up the WayBack Machine!

These two photos were taken in 1999. I don't know what month it was, but it must have been chilly. But, judging from foliage color it was most likely late September or early October.
In 1999 this property was still in private hands and there was no viewing platform. This spot was already well known and visited often. Fortunately, the State of West Virginia was able to acquire it and keep it open in perpetuity. Hopefully...

The final shot from A Week In The Heart of The Highlands of West Virginia.
Thanks for joining us.

See you next time...
Mike and Betsy

 

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