Allegheny-Tuscarora Link North to South ngs map 792 and patc map F

1Allegheny-Tuscarora Link

North to South
NGS map 792 and PATC Map F.
Begin, Tuscarora-Mill Mountain Trail junction
South on orange-blazed Mill Mountain Trail [1004], 6.0 miles. Cross through Wolf Gap.
South on yellow-blazed Tibbett Knob Trail [578], 2.4 miles.
Northwest on SR 691 (Judge Rye Road), 3.5 miles. This is an unpaved road along a ridgeline.
South on orange-blazed North Mountain Trail [1009], to SR 720/CR 20 and communications towers. Approximately 6.4 miles. Very little elevation change; along the ridge line. No water, no obvious campsites. Terminates at communications towers at CR 20/SR 720.
Continue south on orange-blazed North Mountain Trail [1009] to Hunkerson Gap, 6.5 miles. Gentle ridgeline trail, orange blazed. Very little elevation change. The north portion of the trail is soft and loamy, but gets somewhat rockier as you work south, and there are stretches of ghost forests (dead Chestnut oaks). Just north of intersection with Orkney Springs Trail (2 miles S. Of 720) there is a good camping area but no known water. Just north of intersection with Snyder Trail (west) and Hunkerson Gap Trail (east) is a good camping spot in a grove of pines. Forest Service has even cut a pile of wood and there is a fire ring. There is a spring coming out of a pipe less than half a mile east on the Hunkerson Gap Trail, but it is seasonal.


GWNF Map 792, West Side
West on blue-blazed Snyder Trail [1015]. 1.3 miles long, steeply downhill approximately 850' to road 1164. Blue blazed. Cross Capon Run.
West on Hunkerson Gap Road 1.9 miles. Dirt road alongside a stream (water source).
South on WV/VA 259, Brocks Gap Road, 3.8 mi. paved road, decent shoulders. Green Valley Restaurant and store approx 1 mile north of turn for SR 820.

West on SR 820 (Bergton Road) to Blue Hole Rd. 1.4 miles. Paved road, winding, minimal shoulders. (For resupply, continue on SR 820 0.7 miles to Bergton Grocery, open 6am to 8pm, Post office, has outhouse, is hiker friendly.)

Turn left onto Forest Road 302, Blue Hole/Grove Hollow Road 0.2 miles to Blue Hole. Privy, water source, but camping prohibited.
Continue on Forest Road 302 for 7.9 miles to foot of White Grass Knob.

At fork with Hinterland Rd, 0.7 mile from Blue Hole, keep to the right.

A second fork another 0.3 miles; keep to the left. (Right fork is a hunting road)

A gate is 1.9 miles from Blue Hole. Continue to end of road at 7.9 miles from Blue Hole.

Map 791, East Side
From end of Forest Road 302, continue ahead along yellow-blazed new trail, first along old forest road, then graded trail on side of ridge. Trail climbs Cabin Ridge up to ridgeline.

Go south/west along ridgeline. Ascend side of small knob, elev. 3155’. Descend knob; ascend Beech Lick Knob and skirt to the right of it; maximum elevation 3230'. After passing the main summit, you pass through the saddle between the two peaks; there is a small pond (usually dry). This is a good camping spot.

Descend Beech Lick Knob - descent is about 350'. Walk the ridgeline; go around Carr Mountain on the left (east). Elev. 3020’.

On the south side of Carr Mountain the trail turns west (right) and sidehills around the top of Carr Mountain to the ridgeline. Hike the ridgeline due west. The trail picks up a hunters trail, well maintained. Near private property to left, the trail continues on the right side of the ridge. Cross under power line, pick up primitive road (no longer drivable) and descend to Forest Road 232.

Turn left onto Forest Road 232, German River Road.

After 0.6 mile, intersection with Forest Road 1117. Take the right hand fork on Forest Road 232 and climb along German River, moving generally southwest for 2.6 miles. Near top of climb, road turns sharply east.

At intersection with Fulk Mountain Road, turn right (south). After a few hundred yards, at an intersection with Forest Road 87/Little Dry River Road/Fort Seybert Road, turn right (west) again.

After 0.5 mile, take the left fork (Forest Road 85-2, Hall Spring Road). This road continues for about 2.6 miles. There are forks to the left, but stay on the main road.

Continue on road to a Forest Service gate. This part of the road follows Shenandoah Mountain, which the Great Eastern Trail follows, with occasional interruptions, for over 58 miles.

South on Forest Road 85-2, Hall Spring Road beyond gate for 7.2 miles.

Turn left on and cross U.S. 33.

Continue south on yellow-blazed Shenandoah Mountain Trail North [1024] 6.3 miles to Bother Knob, plus 1.0 mile past. Ridgeline walking but major elevation change of almost 2,000'. Good camping spots but no known water source.

West on Forest Road 85A for 1.0 mile. Intermittent Water source from pipe along road on right at 0.9 mile.
South on Forest Road 85 past Briery Branch Gap and Reddish Knob. Good camping spot at junction with Hone Quarry Rd. At 6.2 miles from FR 85A, turn left on Forest Road 427. In 0.5 mile turn right on yellow-blazed trail, and in 0.2 mile turn left on the

North River Trail [539]. 4.7 miles; Yellow-blazed FS trail. This trail follows North River, a good water source. The first two miles follows an old road and winds fairly steeply downhill. At 2 miles, turn hard left and go around an iron gate, then hard right, and proceed downhill along the North River. There is a good camping spot just beyond the gate, near the river.
When water is high or weather is extremely bad, an alternate to North River Trail is to continue south on 85. This road meets road 95 just east of the junction with Shenandoah Mountain Trail; see below.
At the junction with Forest road 95, North River Road, turn right for 1.7 miles.

Turn left onto yellow-blazed Shenandoah Mountain Trail [447] and go 10.2 miles. This goes along the west side of Ramsey’s draft, with good views to the west. The trail is fairly level and the forest cover is excellent. West Ramsey’s Draft is a premier hiking trail, with camping opportunities. Jerry’s Run Trail [441] has a camping spot and a water source near the ruins of the old Sexton Cabin. Ramsey’s Draft is a designated wilderness area, and it is home to stands of virgin timber.

Cross U.S. 250. Resupply store to east at West Augusta, approximately 6 miles from Confederate Breastworks at U.S. 250, Mountain View Grocery. Also, post office and motel, Shenandoah Mountain Inn. To reserve, phone [phone]. Cash only. Rates begin at $30. To west 4 miles is Headwaters, VA with store and Post Office.
South on Forest Road 396 (still Shenandoah Mountain Trail [447]) on a gated road for 3.1 miles.
Two alternatives
1. Proceed south on SMT [447] to FS road 173, 4.4 miles. The trail proceeds along the ridgeline, but views are limited during the summer. There are adequate camping spots, but no good water nearby. Or,
2. Continue on FS 396 to Benson Run Trail [111], then down BRT 3.9 miles (from SMT) to where it intersects FS 173/ Holloway Draft (110), turn left and go up to Shenandoah Mountain Trail in 1.5 miles. BRT has year-round water along its length (Benson Run) and excellent camping spots along the creek.
Back up on the ridgeline, proceed south on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail [447]. The total distance from here to the south end of Shenandoah Mountain is 18 miles. The ridgeline is well canopied, with a mix of pine and deciduous forest. The elevation varies between 3,000 and 3,500 feet, with gradual elevation changes, with a descent to 2000’ at SR 627. Much of the way the trail is narrow single track, maintained by mountain bikers. At some point you will want to turn the map over to:

Map 791, West Side
Pass Nelson Draft Trail [309] coming up from the west 11.9 miles south of U.S. 250.

At 18.3 miles south of U.S. 250, pass intersection with Marshall Draft Trail [547] (to the west), and Jerkemtight Road (to east) intersection. (Jerkemtight Road is washed out and presently inaccessible by vehicles.) There is a large clearing at the intersection (the only clearing south of Benson Run) with a wildlife water hole. (Water is pretty stagnant.) The Forest Service trail guide says there is a water source a short distance down the road along Jerkemtight Branch, but this was not confirmed.

At mile 23.0 from U.S. 250, trail crosses SR 627, Scotchtown Draft Road.

South of Scotchtown Draft it goes at a lower elevation and is not blazed.

(Near the end of Shenandoah Mountain, trail follow a wide woods road and about 1/3 mile before the end, it goes onto private property. It ends at a cabin (perhaps a hunters cabin; looked unoccupied) that sits on SR 678. The trail skirts the west side down to the cabin. A stream crosses the property and can be used as a water source, and a sign, “Shenandoah Mt Trail,” in back of the cabin, facing south. There is a parking lot beneath a cliff about ½ mile west of the cabin and trail head.)

Instead, at the edge of the private property you can use an informal path (use uppermost) on Forest Land down the steep slope to SR 678, reducing distance to the parking area.

West on SR 678 (Indian Draft Road) 0.7 miles to SR 625. Turn left.

South on SR 625 (River Road) for 0.7 miles. No resupply here, but there is an elegant lodge, Fort Lewis Lodge. Prices begin at $110 for a single, and it must be booked in advance. Call John and Caryl Cowden, 540/925-2314, or email [e-mail]; web address is www.fortlewislodge.com.

South on SR 624 (Westminister Road) for 5.4 miles. Near the intersection with SR 609 you cross over Dry Run, which can serve as a water source.

South on SR 609 (Dry Run Road) for 1.0 mile to dumpsters

Turn right (west) on Forest Road 1325 for 0.8 mile.

Turn right (north) on Forest Road 465 (Bath Alum Ridge Rd) for 1.9 miles. On the way, cross Wolf Run, a water source.

Turn left (north) onto an unmarked trail 0.9 mile to an intersection with Piney Mountain Trail. This trail does not show on the NGS map, but is on the USGS Bath Alum quad. There is a campsite and water source at the intersection with Bath Alum Ridge Road and the unmarked trail.

Turn right onto blue-blazed Piney Mountain Trail [453], crossing (in 0.6 mile) Forest Road 358. At the top of the ridge, hike half a mile south along a gentle ridgeline.

Turn right - trail goes steeply downhill for about 2 miles to a junction with SR 614, 3.7 miles from the unmarked trail.

Turn left onto SR 614 (Muddy Run Road) for 0.6 mile.

*Turn right U.S. 220 (Sam Snead Highway) and continue onto Muddy Run Trail [481B], following a Forest Service flag line 0.4 mile until you hit the existing trail. The existing blue-blazed Muddy Run Trail is about 1.2 miles long.

Turn left, southwest, on blue-blazed Hidden Valley Trail [481], 1.6 miles. Enter Hidden Valley. (Or, turn right, go ¼ mile and cross swinging bridge, then left on blue-blazed Jackson River Gorge Trail 1.8 miles to Hidden Valley.)

*(Alternate road walk around unbuilt trail: Turn left on US 220 (Sam Snead Highway, go 1.7 miles.

Take SR 621 (McGuffin Road) right, go1.9 miles.

Turn right on Forest Road 241 (Hidden Valley Road) and go 2.2 miles to Jackson River crossing. This rejoins the Trail route.)

Hidden Valley has a good camping spot with excellent water source. Also available is Hidden Valley B&B in a historic old mansion. Call 540/839-3178 or email [e-mail].

Resupply: 6.5 miles to Warm Springs, Warm Springs Market, hiker-friendly. Warm Springs also has a post office, motel and some B&Bs.

From Hidden Valley go North on Forest Road 241 (Hidden Valley Road) 1.5 miles.

Left (northwest) on blue-blazed Bogan Run Trail [614], 5.8 miles.

Left (south) on SR 600 (Big Back Creek Road) 3.3 miles to Mountain Grove, general store and resupply point. Open 7 days a week, ph. [phone]

Go straight on SR 676 (Gatewood Drive) 0.3 mile through Mountain Grove.

Turn right on VA 39, go 1.6 miles.

Turn right (south) on SR 600 (Bolar Draft Road) 2.8 miles. After 1.6 miles, Hitching Post general store on left. Open 7 days a week, April through December.
Monongahela NF map
Turn right onto High Top Fire Road, 2.8 miles. Camping spots along road. Road open to vehicles for 2.0 miles.

On top of ridge, continue another 0.3 mile, turn left on Forest Road 55, go 0.2 mile and turn left on road at “T” intersection. This road becomes Meadow Mountain Trail.

Go 1.2 miles on Meadow Mountain Trail.

*Turn left on blue-blazed Connector Trail [604], go 1.5 miles

Turn right on blue-blazed Meadow Creek Trail [684], go 2.6 miles.

Turn right on Lake Sherwood Trail [601], go 0.9 mile.

Turn left on Lake Sherwood Road, go to Trailhead Parking, 0.4 mile.

Take blue-blazed Upper Meadow Trail [672] 1.5 miles to Allegheny Trail [701], south end of Headwaters Section.

*(Alternate – Continue on Meadow Mountain Trail [610] 3.5 miles to Allegheny Trail [701].

Keep left on yellow-blazed Allegheny Trail [701] 0.5 mile to Upper Meadow Trail [672].)