This Saturday was a lot of scenic driving and a little bit of hiking.

Tiny bit of color at Seneca Rocks.

More color visible from Spruce Knob on a gorgeous day.

Looking for somewhere close but also unlikely to be busy, we went back to Otter Creek Wilderness.

This time we drove in on the west side, through Fernow Experimental Forest.

Because my ankle is still a little iffy, we decided to hike to the top of the mountain and then go back down and wander to the bog.

Location: Otter Creek Wilderness
Trails: Moore Run, McGowan Mountain Trails (partial)
Distance: 4.3 miles
Elevation: 3443-3990 feet

Supposedly there had once been an overlook at the top of the mountain, but there was absolutely no view left.

Despite that, it was a very pretty hike, and for an up-the-mountain trail it was pretty easy.

Look! I found the bog!

I have hiked in a bog before, and it is not fun. So we turned around and headed back. Because I don’t enjoy stepping in muddy water up to my knees.

It was a lovely day and a beautiful hike, even if it was shorted then I’d wanted.

Assuming that everyone who could be, would be outdoors over the weekend, we decided for a scenic drive on Monday, with the hope that most people would be packing up and going home, so perhaps we could find some places that weren’t too crowded.

Our primary destination was Gaudineer Scenic Area, because it’s a place we hadn’t visited before. The secondary objective was a drive around Smoke Hole Canyon.

Location: Gaudineer Scenic Area
Trails: Gaudineer Knob; Old Growth Trail
Distance: 0.5 miles; 0.7 miles
Elevation: 4500 feet; 4093-4186 feet

Gaudineer Knob had a somewhat narrow overlook, but the forest itself was beautiful.

Also lots of adorable mushrooms.

A little bit down the mountain was the old growth forest.

Not very many large trees there, but it was still a very pretty short hike.

Then we headed north to Smoke Hole Canyon, where we stopped briefly at Eagle Rocks, which we hadn’t visited before.

Saturday, in our bid to Avoid Humans, we headed to the Cranberry Wilderness, where we rarely see people on our hikes.

Location: Cranberry Wilderness
Trail: Cow Pasture Trail (partial)
Distance: 5.5 miles
Elevation: 3409-3650 feet

We did see a couple people, but could easily keep our distance.

We also drove up the Highland Scenic Highway, and stopped at the overlooks.

Look how many people you don’t see!

We decided to take a long holiday weekend, and get into the woods for some much needed downtime.

Friday was mostly rain, so it was more a series of short walks than a hike, but we did do my favorite trail.

Location: Canaan Valley State Park
Trail: Blackwater River Trail
Distance: 0.9 miles
Elevation: 3208-3260 feet

Then we mostly drove around and took short walks when it wasn’t raining.

Of course we stopped by Blackwater Falls, where the river was running quite high

Here’s the stream crossing at Canaan Loop Road just past Lindy Point.

I’m not sure what kind of vehicle could have driven across on this day, but it was comforting to watch and listen to the water.

Looked at the weather Friday and discovered the Eastern Panhandle was out only option without a high chance of rain.

So off to Cacapon State Park we went.

Location: Cacapon State Park
Trail: Overlook Trail (partial)
Distance: 5.9 miles
Elevation: 2100-2289 feet

At Cacapon we drove up the mountain and did the Overlook trail. Unfortunately, we didn’t hike anywhere near as long as I had hoped, because my ankle was bothering me. But it was still lovely to be in the woods.

This is from the overlook.

You’re hiking along the ridgeline for a bit, but there is never a clearing to get a good view of the valley below.

We also stopped just outside of Berkeley Springs, at the top of the mountain where you have this lovely view of the Potomac.

It was rain all over the state Saturday, so since the orchard people haven’t been at the Morgantown Farmers Market, we decided to find a WV orchard and get our peaches from there.

It was a scenic drive, with a stop at Berkeley Springs and the Pawpaw Tunnel.

I realized we’d never been to Berkeley Springs during the summer when the pool was open–there were a lot of people in the area.

But it was lovely, and I was mostly able to avoid people.

And the Pawpaw tunnel.

This was our first decent hike since I broke my foot, and although it wasn’t steep, and I was extremely cautious on rocky terrain, it was a good hike.

Also: I can’t believe we hadn’t hiked here before. We did an out-and-back on part of the Otter Creek Trail, and it was my favorite kind of trail–along the creek almost the entire way (we were never out of the sound of rushing water).

Otter Creek Wilderness
Otter Creek Trail (partial out-and-back)
Distance: 8.0 miles
Elevation: 1809-2093 feet (446 ft gain)

It’s possible this hike was a little too much for my foot, but today it’s not too bad, so I don’t think I harmed anything, just did a little more than my body was used to.

So where did we go? It was hot, and COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing in WV, so we wanted somewhere cool, and where there wouldn’t be a ton of people.

Seneca Creek Backcountry fit the spot.

Location: Seneca Creek Backcountry
Trail: Spring Ridge Trail (partial)
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation: 3124-4047 feet (932 ft ascent)

Guess who didn’t step on a rattlesnake!!!

Ooh! A snake! Is that a black snake?
(rattle)
Nope! Not a black snake!

Normally I know I have almost stepped on a rattlesnake by by Michael freaking out at the rattling noise behind me. This was definitely an improvement!

Up hill!

More uphill!

Still uphill.

We didn’t go all the way to the top. We reached the rattlesnake and turned around. Which is just as well becuase my foot was starting to ache by that time.

Back at the bottom: Gandy Creek.

Really, more of a saunter than a hike.

Watters Smith Memorial State Park

When we want to hike without seeing other people, we head to the Cranberry Wilderness.

Location: Cranberry Wilderness
Trail: Middle Fork Trail (partial)
Distance: 4.2 miles
Elevation: 2494 – 2664 ft (177 ft)

We’ve hiked eastern portions of this trail before, so we decided to find the western trail head and start there.

The trail starts with a creek crossing.

Then quickly goes to another creek crossing.

The trail runs beside (in) the creek for awhile.

Then we finally reached a crossing that was deeper than we capable of crossing while keeping our feet dry.

If it were warmer, I would have taken off my boots to cross, but it was a little too chilly for that, so we headed back.

So, we’ll go back when it hasn’t been raining for a month (and have water shoes, for the deepest crossings).

We then went to a different spot and were attacked by approximately ten billion flies, so we quickly gave up.

Despite rearranging our masks to cover not just our mouths but also our ears, and wearing glasses, the flies were just too irritating to deal with, when most of our walk was going to be along a creek.

But the views on the brief walk were pretty!

West Virginia has a number of covered bridges–some still in use, some not in use.

Back in 2017 I heard the Carrollton Covered Bridge had burned, but wasn’t quite sure which bridge it was.

This weekend on the way to Audra, I was reminded which bridge it was, since although it’s open to traffic, it is still obvious that it had burned.

There is a push to get it rebuilt, but since three years have passed, it doesn’t seem to be a priority.