3 Days of Hammock Camping, Hiking, & Backpacking in the Dolly Sods Wilderness.
For this 3 day, 2 night spring backpacking trip, I’ll be hiking a 23 mile loop in West Virginia’s Dolly Sods Wilderness, part of the larger Monongahela National Forest. Dolly Sods is located in the Allegheny Mountains on the highest plateau east of the Mississippi river and features some of the most varied and scenic terrain available to hikers in the Mid-Atlantic region.
For sleep and shelter system on my Dolly Sods backpacking loop, I packed in my Amok Draumr XL hammock, paired with the Amok Borg tarp and Amok Fjol XL sleeping pad. I chose this combo based on plateau’s less aggressive terrain and the extra time I expected to be lounging and relaxing at camp.
No permit is required to camp in the Dolly Sods Wilderness, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the USFS Dolly Sods website here.
No permit is required to camp in the George Washington National forest, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping. You can find more information on the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest website here.
Join my dog Denali and I for some Hiking, Backpacking, and Hammock Camping in the Seneca Creek Backcountry.
For this hiking adventure, my pup and I will be visiting the Spruce Knob-Seneca Creek National Recreation area, within West Virginia’s greater Monongahela National Forest. Our route will be a “lollipop”style hike – meaning we’ll use an “out and back” section of trail from the Spruce Knob trailhead parking area to connect with a series of other trails that form a loop. After completing the loop portion of the hike, we’ll backtrack out using the same section of trail from day one.
The Spruce Knob-Seneca Creek Backcountry offers around 60 miles of trails (marked with blue blazes) with an elevation range of 3,000 to 4,800 feet above sea level. The beginning of this particular loop is actually the highest point in all of West Virginia – Spruce Knob – standing at and elevation of 4,861 feet. Below is a list of trails for each day, along with stats for elevation gain and mileage.
Trailhead Parking: Spruce Knob Parking area (right by the observation tower).
Parking Notes: No parking fees or overnight permits are required. There are restrooms and bear-proof trash bins available for use.
GPS Track Data for this trip can be found on my Trip Data Page.
Trails used, Day 1
Huckleberry Trail
Hornton Trail (just for a short bit)
Judy Springs Trail
Seneca Creek Trail
Hammock Camp along Seneca Creek.
Day 1 – Seneca Creek Loop elevation Profile – Sintax77
Day 1 Mileage: 6.5 miles Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 221 feet (pretty much down hill all day)
Trails used, Day 2
Seneca Creek Trail
High Meadows Trail
Lumberjack Trail
Join back up with Huckleberry Trail
Arrive back at Spruce Knob Parking Lot
Day 2 – Seneca Creek Loop elevation Profile – Sintax77
Day 2 Mileage: 10 miles Day 2 Gross Elevation Gain: 2,173 feet (pretty much up hill all day)
Join Mike and I for for a “Train to Trail” Winter Camping, Backpacking, Campfire cooking, & Hiking adventure in Harpers Ferry, WV.
We tried something a bit different for fun on this winter camping trip – instead of driving, we decided to take an Amtrak train directly to the trailhead. This is actually and idea that Mike and I had been kicking around for a while now. The first challenge was finding an interesting trail that was actually close to a train station, without a need for secondary transportation or an excessive walk. After a bit of research, we determined that Harpers Ferry, West Virginia fit the criteria quite well. The train practically dumps you right on the Appalachian Trail. We booked our tickets, packed our bags, and hit the trail, er, I mean, train station.
With 4 days and 3 nights off, we had a decent amount of time to play with on this trip. The challenge however, would be that we needed to plan an out and back trip that didn’t put us to far away from the train station on our final morning, rather than doing a loop like we normally prefer. Fortunately, we quickly realized that to be a perfect excuse to do a a laid back, more camping, less hiking kind of trip.
The plan? After leaving the train behind,we would hop on the Appalachian trail for a few miles – just long enough to feel the seclusion of the deep winter woods, and set up a base camp for the duration of the trip. Other than that, we really had no hard set plans, other than relaxing, having a good time, and brushing up on our campfire cooking skills. Did we succeed? I guess you’ll just have to watch and see…
Trails Used
Leave Harpers Ferry via Appalachian Trail South After around 3 miles, bushwack West to unofficial campsite.
Return via Appalachian Trail North
Join the crew for 3 Days of Winter Camping, Backpacking, & Campfire Cooking in Dolly Sods, West Virginia.
For this adventure we decided to revisit the Dolly Sods Wilderness for some early December winter camping and backpacking. Full GPS track data for this trip is available on the Trip Data page for those who like to follow along at home. Waypoints for campsites and water crossings / sources are included in the GPX file.
List of Trails Used, In order:
Day 1 Park at Red Creek Trailhead, N38° 58.372′ W79° 23.847′ Red Creek Trail TR514
Cross Red Creek at junction with Big Stonecoal Trail Big Stonecoal Trail TR513
Set up Camp at “Tj’s Moustache Camp”
Here’s how to find it: Heading north on Big Stonecoal, pass the intersection with Dunkenbarger trail on your left. Not to far ahead, Big Stonecoal will make an abrupt right turn to make a water crossing across Stonecoal Run. Instead of making the turn, continue straight along the banks, towards the woods. The camp should quickly become apparent.
Water is obviously plentiful. Firewood is probably another story, as this looks to be a popular area in warmer weather. We were equipped with hatchets and saws to process down tress, so all was well. However, during a warm weather trip without tools, I doubt we would have found much smaller stuff just laying around.
Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 1
Day 1 Stat Totals
Mileage: 5.85 Miles
Gross Elevation Gain: 1,444′
Gross Elevation Loss: 453″
Campsite Altitude: 3,613′
Day 2
Backtrack a little bit to previous day’s water crossing.
Continue on Big Stonecoal Trail TR514
Arrive at the junction with Blackbird Knob Trail and Breathed Mountain Trail
Continue on Breathed Mountain Trail TR553
Turn left at junction with Red Creek Trail TR514 ** Shortly after heading out on Red Creek Trail, we found a decent supply of running water on the trail, which was much appreciated, as there would certainly be no water up towards Lion’s Head, where we intended to camp. As it was running in December, I’m thinking this may be a good option in other months as well. No guarantees though. It’s possible this was just snow melt run-off from up above. If all else fails, you could bushwack down to Red Creek, as we had actually planned to do, prior to finding this little gem on the trail. Continue on Red Creek Trail TR514 Bear to the right on Rocky Point Trail TR554
Turn abruptly right at the unofficial spur trail to Lions Head at N38° 59.243′ W79° 22.062′ ** This is not an official trail and will not be found on maps, however, it is marked with a cairn (pile of rocks). Head straight up from the cairn. There is a false summit a little ways in, but you need to actually bear to the left in order to navigate towards Lion’s Head and the eventual campsite. If you go straight towards the false summit, you’ll know it, as there is no where else to go but straight down. No worries, relax, enjoy the view and retreat towards whence you came. You’ll have to hop down some rocks, but the path should be apparent.
Head north on the Unofficial Spur Trail Towards Lion’s Head
Pause to “ooooh and ahhhh” at the sights
Continue north towards camp
Setup Camp on the ridge beyond Lion’s Head
Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 2
Day 2 Stat Totals
Mileage: 8.6 Miles
Gross Elevation Gain: 1,083′
Gross Elevation Loss: 1,099′
Campsite Altitude: 3,678′
Day 3 Bushwack Northwest towards Rocky Point Tr
Continue on Rocky Point Tr TR554 Turn left to head south on Big Stonecoal Trail TR514
Take Red Creek Trail TR514 Back towards Parking lot and vehicle
Find a cheeseburger!
Dolly Sods Winter 2104 Day 3
Day 3 Stat Totals
Mileage: 3.6 Miles
Gross Elevation Gain: 127′
Gross Elevation Loss: 1,332′
Come along for 3 days of ultralight backpacking and fall camping in West Virginia’s Cranberry Wilderness.
For this adventure, I’ll be taking my newly refined ultralight backpacking loadout for a three day overnight hiking and camping trip in West Virginia’s Cranberry Wilderness. After my last couple of vista-packed trips, I’ve had some requests for more footage & discussion once we get to camp – site selection, shelter setup, fire making, cooking, etc. Well, this video has plenty of all that, and then some. In fact, this ended up being my longest feature length video so far.
For those of you looking for something a little lighter, there’s a full back catalog of shorter videos that might hit the spot, but if you’re ready to get into the finer details of ultralight backpacking gear and spending time outdoors (from my own warped perspective of course), then this is the video for you. A little gift for the hardcore fans 😉
Overview of the route I took. Recorded with my Garmin Oregon 650 GPS.
Parking: North South Trailhead on State Route 150
38.276530, -80.237829
Trails Used Day 1
Start at North South Trail Head on West Virginia SR 150
TR 688 North South Trail
TR 267 Laurelly Branch Trail
TR 271 Middle Fork Trail
Setup Camp on Hell for Certain Branch
This is a large campsite across from trail on opposite side of the Middle Fork River with plenty of fresh water available from the nearby river.
Day 1 Total Mileage: 13.2 miles Day 1 Gross Ascent: 1,102′
Trails Used Day 2
Backtrack on TR 271 Middle Fork Trail towards junction from previous day
Continue on TR 271 Middle Fork Trail
TR 207 Big Beechy Trail
Setup Camp just after summit of Sugar Creek Mountain.
This is a medium-small Campsite, in a beautiful mossy area. Make sure to pack in enough water, as there are no nearby sources. The elevation was around 4,400 feet and the landscape was somewhat conducive to wind, so be prepared for temps that are possibly quite a bit lower than locally forecasted.
Day 2 Total Mileage: 9.06 miles Day 2 Gross Ascent: 2,405′
Trails Used Day 3
Continue on TR 207 Big Beechy Trail
TR 272 North Fork Trail
TR 688 North South Trail towards SR 150
Return to North South Trailhead Parking Lot
Day 3 Total Mileage: 3.17 miles Day 3 Gross Ascent: 367′
Total Mileage for Trip: 25.39 miles Total Gross Ascent for Trip: 3,974′
backpack
stove
with fancy lightshow
.
/ Plate
tanto blade pocket knife
trail runners