4/30-5/2/21 The weather was getting warm(ish) and I decided to book us another HipCamp. Driving to places in West Virginia is always an experience lol. We drove through Cumberland, which is on our list to visit someday, and into Northern WV. It was foggy and eventually pretty rainy on our way there. It was a little concerning since we had to set up camp. All of a sudden, we were driving up these huge switchbacks in our little Kia Soul. It reminded us of driving to Shenandoah NP.
We had a hiccup checking in to our site, but once we did we realized the campground was unique. We stayed right next to a pretty large creek which almost had out west vibes. It was peaceful and refreshing. I felt the need to disconnect from everything – work, my phone, social media – and this place allowed space for that. There also wasn’t cell service there anyways.
The temperature quickly declined as we set up camp. Kealy cooked up some yummy backpacking meals – perfect for a cold night. We slept in all our clothes and hats it was so cold. I had thought it was going to be in the 40s or 50s at night, but it ended up being a chilly 29. Are we winter campers now? I had a wonderful nights sleep.
We woke up, had breakfast and set off to adventure. It didn’t take long until we realized how remote of an area we were in. We had no service and no map – I don’t know what we were thinking either. Blackwater Falls State Park is a place that I’ve heard about since moving to Maryland. Swallow Falls was another place I wanted to go to, but they don’t allow puppies so we wouldn’t be going there. There were a decent amount of people at the park and I wouldn’t really call it a hike to the falls. It was short, paved, and a had a line of people waiting to get their picture with it. The falls were gorgeous at 57′ tall and reminded me of Tahquamenon Falls in the UP. After seeing the falls, we drove to Davis, WV to check out a coffee shop. We navigated to our next trailhead.
I honestly just picked a good looking trail from AllTrails, which was a scenic and kind of long drive. We were on narrow mountain roads with guard rails that looked like they had seen some things. The drive took us through Canaan Valley with drivers all around us that we could tell were in WV for the climbing. I believe the trailhead was actually in Dolly Sods wilderness, somewhere we plan to go backpacking.
We pull in, feeling a little unsure. What did I get us into? It didn’t look like a trailhead, but just a fire road. We proceed anyways, no sign of Pancake Rock trailhead. It was dead silent. I kept looking behind us it was so quiet. All of a sudden there was a loud noise! A pheasant. It kept happening just to keep us on our toes. My gut was saying we weren’t going the right way. We turn back and eventually find a cairn on the side of the fire road. I guess we were going to be bushwhacking to the top. Kealy picked up Dori and we followed the cairns up. I thought about how we have it made living right next to a well maintained trail like the AT. There was so much moss and random caves on the way. Kealy joked about a bear living in the cave. At the top, we were alone. It felt even more remote.
Once we got back to the car, we saw some backpackers headed out into the wilderness. I navigated to Seneca Rocks since we weren’t that far away. We checked out a Dolly Sods Wilderness sign that warned of bombs from WWII. How welcoming, West Virginia. The drive to Seneca Rocks was unbelievable! We saw the Endless Wall, Champion Rocks, creeks, and mountains everywhere.
The hike to Seneca Rocks felt like more elevation than it actually was. The sun beat down on us as we went around switchback after switchback. The trail was pretty busy with families and couples with dogs. We even saw a bigger version of Dori. Gusts of wind hit us at the top. It felt really high up. The way back was fast and I quickly realized how hungry I was.
Back to the campground. We had a fire and hot meals. Our second night wasn’t as chilly, but I actually slept better when it was colder. Another trip to WV complete.
