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Hiking
Shenandoah
National Park
A Guide to the Park’s Greatest Hiking Adventures
Fifth Edition
Bert and Jane Gildart
i
For our children and their children: May you always find
enchantment and beauty in places such as Shenandoah
An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

Falcon and FalconGuides are registered trademarks and Make Adventure Your Story is a trademark of
Rowman & Littlefield.
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright © 2006, 2012, 2016 by Rowman & Littlefield

Previous editions of this book were published by Falcon Publishing, Inc., in 1998 and 2000.
All interior photographs by Bert and Jane Gildart unless otherwise noted.
Maps: Alena Pearce © Rowman & Littlefield
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available
ISSN 1556-7958
ISBN 978-1-4930-1684-6 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4930-1685-3 (e-book)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
The authors and Rowman & Littlefield assume no liability for accidents happening to,
or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.
Contents
Acknowledgments................................................................................................ vii
Introduction........................................................................................................... 1
Human History of Shenandoah National Park............................................... 1
Natural History of Shenandoah National Park............................................... 3
Seasons and Weather....................................................................................... 4
Fees and Permits............................................................................................ 5
Be Prepared: Backcountry Safety and Hazards................................................ 5
Backcountry Essentials................................................................................. 10
Hiking with Children.................................................................................. 11
Leave No Trace............................................................................................ 12
Hiker’s Checklist.......................................................................................... 13
How to Use This Guide....................................................................................... 14
Hike Finder.......................................................................................................... 16
Map Legend......................................................................................................... 20
North District (Skyline Mile 0.0 to 31.5)..........................21

1 Dickey Ridge Trail, Skyline Mile 0.05......................................................... 24
2 Fox Hollow Trail, Skyline Mile 4.6.............................................................. 27
3 Snead Farm–Dickey Ridge Trail Loop, Skyline Mile 4.6.............................. 30
4 Lands Run Falls, Skyline Mile 9.2................................................................ 33
Compton Gap Hikes (Skyline Mile 10.4)..........................36

5 Fort Windham Rocks–Indian Run Spring, Skyline Mile 10.4..................... 37
6 Compton Peak, Skyline Mile 10.4............................................................... 40
7 Mount Marshall Trail and Beyond, Skyline Mile 12.35................................. 43
8 Keyser Run Fire Road–Little Devils Stairs Lariat, Skyline Mile 19.4........... 48
9 Sugarloaf–Keyser Run Fire Road–Hogback Mountain Lariat,
Skyline Mile 21.0........................................................................................ 51
10 Traces Trail, Skyline Mile 22.2..................................................................... 55
11 Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail Loop, Skyline Mile 22.2.................................. 59
12 Thornton River, Skyline Mile 24.0.............................................................. 63
13 Knob Mountain–Jeremys Run Lariat, Skyline Mile 24.0............................. 66
14 Byrds Nest Summit and Byrds Nest Shelter No. 4, Skyline Mile 28.5.......... 71
Central District (Skyline Mile 31.6 to 65.5).......................75

15 Pine Hill Gap–Broad Hollow Loop, Skyline Mile 31.5................................ 77
16 Old Rag, Skyline Mile 31.5......................................................................... 80
17 Marys Rock North, Skyline Mile 31.6........................................................ 87
18 Marys Rock South, Skyline Mile 33.5......................................................... 90
19 Buck Hollow–Buck Ridge Trail Loop, Skyline Mile 33.5............................ 93
20 Hazel Falls and Cave, Skyline Mile 33.5....................................................... 97
0 Kilometers 10
Shenandoah National Park Overview 0 Miles 10
To Winchester and
Hagerstown, MD
Hypsometry WEST 66
340
4,500 VIRGINIA 522

3,500
2,500 81
1,500 To Washington, DC
500 Front Royal
0 Front Royal
Elevation (feet) Entrance Station 522
11
NORTH
DISTRICT
340
VIRGINIA
COMPTON
GAP HIKES
Luray
522
211 211 211
To
Washington, DC
Thornton Gap
Entrance Station and
340 66
BUS
340
Skyline
Drive
522
CENTRAL
33 Harrisonburg DISTRICT
340
11 S H E NA N D OA H
Elkton NAT I O NA L PA R K
81
33
Swift Run Gap

Entrance Station 29
SOUTH
DISTRICT
To
33
Roanoke
Loft
LOFT
Mountain
MOUNTAIN Stanardsville
ve
340
i
Dr
e
15
lin
Sky
To 29
Staunton
Waynesboro
Rockfish Gap
Entrance Station
250
64
Charlottesville
To Blue Ridge
Parkway
15
64
33
29
250
To
Richmond
iv Hiking Shenandoah National Park

21 Corbin Cabin Cutoff–Nicholson Hollow–
Appalachian Trail Loop, Skyline Mile 37.9................................................. 101
22 Stony Man Trail, Skyline Mile 41.7............................................................ 105
22-A Little Stony Man Trail, Skyline Mile 35.9................................................... 108
23 Millers Head, Skyline Mile 42.5................................................................. 110
24 Limberlost, Skyline Mile 43.0.................................................................... 112
25 Cedar Run–Whiteoak Canyon Loop, Skyline Mile 45.6........................... 116
26 Hawksbill Summit, Skyline Mile 45.6........................................................ 122
27 Rose River, Skyline Mile 49.4................................................................... 127
28 Dark Hollow Falls, Skyline Mile 50.7........................................................ 130
29 Story of the Forest Trail, Skyline Mile 51.0................................................ 134
30 Big Meadows, Skyline Mile 51.0................................................................ 139
31 Lewis Spring Falls Trail, Skyline Mile 51.2................................................. 142
32 Blackrock, Skyline Mile 51.2..................................................................... 146
33 Rapidan Camp–Laurel Prong–Hazeltop Loop, Skyline Mile 53.0.............. 148
34 Bearfence Mountain, Skyline Mile 56.4..................................................... 152
35 Lewis Mountain Trail, Skyline Mile 57.5.................................................... 156
36 Pocosin Trail, Skyline Mile 59.5................................................................. 158
37 Saddleback Mountain, Skyline Mile 62.8................................................... 161
38 South River Falls, Skyline Mile 62.8.......................................................... 164
South District (Skyline Mile 65.5 to 105.4)..................... 169

39 Hightop Mountain Lariat, Skyline Mile 69.9............................................. 171
40 Powell Gap, Skyline Mile 70.0................................................................... 175
41 Simmons Gap, Skyline Mile 73.2............................................................... 178
42 Rocky Mount–Gap Run Lariat, Skyline Mile 76.2................................... 181
43 Brown Mountain–Rocky Mountain Run Lariat, Skyline Mile 76.9.......... 185
44 Ivy Creek, Skyline Mile 77.5..................................................................... 189
Loft Mountain and Other Hikes from the

Loft Mountain Complex (Skyline Mile 79.5)................... 192
45 Loft Mountain Loop, Skyline Mile 79.5..................................................... 194
46 Frazier Discovery Trail, Skyline Mile 79.5.................................................. 198
47 Big Flat Mountain Loop, Skyline Mile 79.5............................................... 202
48 Big Run Loop, Skyline Mile 81.1.............................................................. 205
49 Doyles River Falls and Jones Run, Skyline Mile 81.1................................. 208
50 Austin Mountain–Furnace Mountain Loop, Skyline Mile 83.0.................. 211
51 Rockytop, Skyline Mile 83.0..................................................................... 215
52 Blackrock Summit, Skyline Mile 84.8........................................................ 219
53 Trayfoot Mountain–Paine Run Loop, Skyline Mile 87.4........................... 223
54 Moormans River, Skyline Mile 87.4.......................................................... 226
55 Riprap Trail, Skyline Mile 90.0.................................................................. 231
56 Turk Mountain, Skyline Mile 94.1............................................................. 236
57 Jarman Gap to Beagle Gap, Skyline Mile 96.8............................................ 239
Contents v
58 Bear Den Mountain, Skyline Mile 99.5..................................................... 242
59 Calf Mountain, Skyline Mile 99.5.............................................................. 246
Appendix A: For More Information................................................................... 248

Appendix B: Further Reading............................................................................ 251
Appendix C: Where to Stay................................................................................ 252
Hike Index......................................................................................................... 254
About the Authors............................................................................................. 255
Help Us Keep This Guide Up to Date
Every effort has been made by the authors and editors to make this guide as accurate and
useful as possible. However, many things can change after a guide is published—trails are
rerouted, regulations change, facilities come under new management, and so forth.
We welcome your comments concerning your experiences with this guide and how
you feel it could be improved and kept up to date.While we may not be able to respond to
all comments and suggestions, we’ll take them to heart, and we’ll also make certain to share
them with the authors. Please send your comments and suggestions to the following address:
FalconGuides
Reader Response/Editorial Department
246 Goose Lane
Guilford, CT 06437
Or you may e-mail us at:
editorial@falcon.com
Thanks for your input, and happy trails!
vi Contents
Acknowledgments
No book is ever written and completed without the help of others, and this guide
is no exception. We have many people to thank for their help and valuable informa-
tion about this special park. Greta Miller, director of the Shenandoah National Park
Association, who has always aided with logistics and friendship; Karen Taylor, who
reviewed the book, for her suggestions; Dan Hurlbert, map specialist, was an invalu-
able help; Rolf Gubler, wildlife biologist, for sharing some of his vast knowledge;
Mara Meisel and Enedina Gasaway, great flower identification ladies; Ranger Bill
Jones, for sharing park stories; and Mequette Gallegos, geology intern. We attempted
to incorporate all their thoughts, suggestions, and ideas, and hope we have correctly
interpreted their comments.
We want to thank Bill Schneider, founder of Falcon Publishing, Inc., who initially
got us to Shenandoah in 1998; Jess Haberman of Globe Pequot, who got us back
in 2010; and to both Katie Benoit and Evan Helmlinger, who got us back in 2015.
We also want to thank Julie Marsh, with whom we have worked on previous Fal-
conGuides. We have known her for almost twenty years, and during those years she
has greatly improved our work. She has also helped us ride out several “storms” that
extend beyond the business of communications, so, again, Julie, we thank you.
Last but not least we want to thank our special friends Susan and Adam Maffei,
who at one time hiked virtually all the trails with us.
vii
Introduction
I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out ’til sundown, for
going out, I found, was really going in.
—John Muir
Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Virginia, Shenandoah National

Park is both a hiker’s challenge and a delight. Hiking the park is a challenge because
of its generally precipitous nature, but a delight for the same reason. Long and narrow,
this 197,411-acre park straddles a ridge crest that courses over 100 miles north and
south, embracing rolling hills, quiet hollows, meandering streams, and verdant forests.
More than 79,000 acres of the park are designated wilderness.
To some, it seems all the trails in Shenandoah either ascend or descend, but not
every park trail is steep or rocky. With more than 500 miles of trails, the park offers a
wide variety of terrain and insights into the park’s past.
The famous Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT) is a major route through
Shenandoah National Park. From Skyline Drive, the AT leads 1,280 miles to its
northern end atop Mount Katahdin in Maine. Each year about 150 people trek the
entire AT. Not everyone will want to hike from Maine to Georgia, but many who
come to Shenandoah do hike the 101 miles that pass through the park, many of
which combine the AT with park trails.
Human History of Shenandoah National Park

“Shenandoah” is an Indian name, probably from the Iroquois language.There are sev-
eral translations of the term, including “river through the spruces” and “big flat place.”
The most common translation, however, is “daughter of the stars.”
The wilderness of Shenandoah National Park never presented much of an obsta-
cle to European explorers. In his book The Undying Past of Shenandoah National Park,
Darwin Lambert wrote, “For almost two centuries, more than a dozen gaps or passes
of the park-land had roads that followed packhorses, which followed Indian paths,
which followed elk and bison, which followed mastodons.”
John Lederer was the first European trailblazer to explore what is now Shenan-
doah National Park and leave a record. In 1669, sixty-two years after the founding of
Jamestown, this German adventurer—assisted by Monacan and Manahoac Indians—
climbed either Hightop or Hawksbill (no one is sure which) and gazed down into the
valley below. Other explorers followed, and they were impressed by the valley’s rich,
fertile land. They wrote favorable reports of the area, and their writings—combined
with expanding population pressures—prompted settlement.
Shenandoah’s hikes are an ideal combination of natural beauty and exercise.
1
Between 1725 and 1730, set-
tlers established two small villages
in the Shenandoah Valley. The
earliest settlers farmed the fer-
tile and level land at the mouths
of the hollows. As these areas
became crowded, later settlers
used the marginal farmlands, and
immigration eventually stopped
altogether. Early settlers grew
corn, tomatoes, and beans and
raised cattle.
The surrounding forests pro-
vided a cash crop of lumber, and
sawmills began to emerge. Moun-
tain farmers hitched their mules
and dragged oak, chestnut, yel-
low poplar, and pine to the mills.
Realizing that the bark of chest-
nut, oak, and hemlock, along with
the wood of chestnuts, could be
used in the process of tanning
hides, farmers built roads to trans-
port the bark to market. Today,
many of those roads exist as trails.
Tractor seats remind hikers that Shenandoah was once
home to farmers. Farmers and settlers also built
roads to transport goods from
the Shenandoah Valley to outside
markets. Many of the roads remain today as well, and are used as fire roads. Two such
roads were used by Stonewall Jackson during his Valley Campaign, when he suddenly
turned back Union forces at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
The Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, helped build Shenandoah’s trail sys-
tem soon after it became a park. Created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to
improve economic conditions during the Depression, the CCC provided work for
jobless men between the ages of 18 and 25. At any one time there were six camps and
more than 1,000 workers in Shenandoah, building overlooks, walks, and structures
along Skyline Drive (completed in 1939), constructing and improving trails, fighting
fires, and building park facilities. Soon after Shenandoah was authorized in 1926, the
Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) built the Appalachian Trail and later helped
with its relocation. The club still helps National Park Service trail crews with main-
tenance and construction.
2 Hiking Shenandoah National Park

All of Shenandoah National Park’s trails are well marked with distances and arrows for
orientation.
Trail workers weren’t the only people living in the park in the 1930s. A few years
before Shenandoah became a park, 465 mountain families still lived in the area. With
special government permission, nineteen families remained within park boundar-
ies in 1940. The last park resident died in 1979. Though overgrown, graveyards and
other vestiges of the mountain people remain. Along Shenandoah’s trails you’ll find
stone walls that once stabilized mountain roads, and you’ll see old apple orchards now
dominated by striped maple and tulip poplar.
Natural History of Shenandoah National Park

Though several key wildlife species such as elk, wolf, and cougar are absent today,
much of Shenandoah Park is being restored to a more pristine condition. Now pro-
tected inside the park, Shenandoah’s forests have recovered dramatically. Hundreds of
plant species—including one hundred species of trees—now flourish inside the park.
As the forests reestablished themselves, so too did Shenandoah’s wildlife. Today, more
than 200 species of birds and fifty species of mammals exist in the park. Red fox and
beaver populations have increased, as have Virginia white-tailed deer, which were
almost wiped out in the region. Managers estimated in 2011 that their number was a
healthier 5,000 to 7,000. Black bears have also returned to the park, increasing their
population from an estimated two in 1937 to more than 300 in the mid-1990s (see
“Be Prepared: Backcountry Safety and Hazards”).
Introduction 3
Turkey populations have also rebounded from virtual extirpation. Biologists esti-
mate there are more than 500 in Shenandoah National Park as of 2011.We frequently
saw turkeys as we hiked the park’s trails and traveled Skyline Drive while researching
this guide, particularly in the early morning and late evening. Peregrine falcons have
also returned to the park. Keep an eye out for them on Stony Man and Hawksbill
Mountains (see Hike 22: Stony Man Trail and Hike 26: Hawksbill Summit).
Seasons and Weather

Th’ fog’s ah liftin’ on the Rag. Hit’s ah goin’ ter clear.
See th’ fog a rollin’ down the Rag. Hit’s ah goin’ ter rain.
—Unerring method of predicting weather by
turn-of-the-twentieth-century residents
living near Old Rag (still incontestable)
Weather in Shenandoah changes frequently. In the summer, fog can roll in suddenly
and bring cool temperatures. Hail and high winds accompany drenching rains. Fall
and spring are two of the most pleasant
times to hike in Shenandoah, but they can
also be the most awesome. Lightning storms
are frequent and can be nerve-racking, as
we discovered one day while hiking in Jer-
emys Run.
Average summer temperatures in
Shenandoah vary from the low 50s to the
mid 70s (degrees Fahrenheit) between June
and August. Fall (September to November)
temperatures can be quite variable, rang-
ing from the low 30s to the high 60s. Win-
ter (December to February) temperatures
range from the mid-teens to the high 30s,
and in spring (March to May) temperatures
rise from the mid 20s to the mid 60s.
You can expect to see snow in Shenan-
doah from November through March
and often into April. Rain falls during all
months and is usually heaviest from May
through October. Fog (and smog) can be
really heavy and constant during the sum-
mer months and can last from a few hours
Leaf detail as seen in fall in many of the to a week at a time.
Shenandoah National Park’s streams.

Vegetation begins to green in April, when nights are often still cold and the days
warm. Summer brings warm, and often very hot, days. Autumn brings a wonderful
show of fall colors and is the busiest time in the park. Winter is a quiet time, bring-
ing ice, snow, and sometimes frigid temperatures. It also brings more views through
leafless trees, abundant animal tracks, and solitude. During winter, very few services
or park personnel are available. Skyline Drive is usually open all year but does close—
sometimes for weeks at a time—after severe storms.
Fees and Permits

There is an entrance fee that varies depending on time of year and type of vehicle.
There are no additional fees to hike on any trails. A backcountry permit, which is
free, is required for those camping in the backcountry. For the most up-to-date fee
information, please contact the park at (540) 999-3500, or consult the park website,
www.nps.gov/shen.
Be Prepared: Backcountry Safety and Hazards

In Shenandoah National Park you must keep
your wits about you.
Begin by getting in shape before going on
long hikes. If you are out of shape, hot weather
and high humidity can worsen your experience.
About half the trails in the park begin with easy
descents that can lull you into continuing far-
ther and farther down the trail and make you
forget about the long homeward ascent.
If you are caught in a lightning storm, seek
shelter away from open ground and exposed
ridges. Dropping even a few yards off a ridgetop
will reduce your risk. In a forest, stay away from
single, tall trees. Look for a cluster of smaller
ones. Avoid gullies or small basins with water in
the bottom. On open ground, find a low spot
free of standing water.
During a lightning storm, assume a low
crouch with only your feet touching the
ground. Put a sleeping pad or pack—be sure
it has no frame or other metal in it—beneath
your feet for added insulation against electrical Fall is the perfect time to visit Shenan-
shock. Do not huddle together; members of a doah National Park, when the leaves
group should stay at least 30 feet apart so that take on brilliant hues and lend
if someone is hit, the others can give first aid. If an underfoot crackle to your hike’s
soundtrack.
Introduction 5
you are in a tent, get in the crouch position. Stay in your sleeping bag and keep your
feet on a sleeping pad.
Watch for signs of an imminent lightning strike: hair standing on end, an itchy
feeling on your skin—one hiker described it as “bugs crawling all over”—an acrid,
“hot-metal” smell, and buzzing or crackling noises in the air. Tuck into a crouch
immediately if any of these signs are present.
Stay out of shallow caves, crevasses, or overhangs (numerous in Shenandoah—and
very inviting). Ground discharges may leap across the openings. Dry, deep caves offer
better protection, but it’s still best to crouch and not to touch the walls.
If someone in your group is hit by lightning, be prepared to give CPR and first
aid for burns and shock. Many victims survive—even direct hits—especially if help
is nearby and rescuers can begin resuscitation. There is no danger of electrocution or
shock from touching someone who has been struck by lightning.
Most of the park’s accidents occur at waterfalls. Each year many people venture
too close to a waterfall, slip on wet or loose rocks, and injure themselves in a fall.
Avoid wet rocks near steep ledges, waterfalls, and cliffs.
Hypothermia, a lower-than-normal core body temperature, can occur in Shenan-
doah, especially when it’s wet and cold, for these are times when all the factors con-
tributing to loss of body heat are present. Frequently during the summer, fog moves
in and is followed by rains that drench the mountains. Other times it hails, and hikers
who aren’t prepared can experience hypothermia. Temperatures need not be below
freezing for hypothermia to be a threat. Most cases occur in windy and wet weather
with temperatures ranging between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Shivering marks the first stage of hypothermia. In advanced stages shivering stops,
but only because the body is too weak to continue shivering. This stage may be
accompanied by slurred speech, clumsiness with the hands, and impaired judgment.
At the first sign of hypothermia, take precautions by changing into dry clothes. In
more acute situations, place the victim in a sleeping bag with people lying on either
side. Feed conscious victims something warm and sweet, but do not give them alco-
hol. Because acute hypothermia can lead to death, get medical help immediately.
It’s often quite hot in Shenandoah in the summer months, so be careful of heat
exhaustion. Avoid strenuous hiking in the hottest part of the day—usually midafter-
noon.Wear loose, light-colored clothes and a hat with a wide brim and some ventila-
tion. But most important, carry and drink lots of water, even before you realize that
you’re really thirsty. Shade is easily found in Shenandoah. Take time to rest in the
shade and keep drinking water.
Poison ivy abounds in Shenandoah. Learn to identify it, avoiding plants with shiny
leaves in groups of three. (Heed the old adage: “Leaves of three, let it be.”) In the fall,
poison ivy turns a beautiful orange and the plant produces a white berry (see Appen-
dix B: Further Reading for a recommended field guide to Shenandoah’s plants).
We recommend you wear long pants and long sleeves while hiking in Shenan-
doah. Trails are sometimes narrow, and it’s easy to get poison ivy oil on your skin and

clothing. Use care when selecting where to dig “cat holes” for bodily waste. Rashes
on the genitals can be particularly troublesome and may require medical attention.
If you have or may have touched poison ivy, wash the area immediately with
water. Washing within the first ten minutes often can prevent irritation. Ideally, you
should place suspect clothing in plastic bags until it can be thoroughly washed to
remove irritating oils. If a rash appears, apply calamine or Caladryl lotion. Persistent
rashes may require something stronger, such as a salve containing cortisone. Extreme
cases may require medical treatment.
Most waters in Shenandoah appear refreshing but may contain a microorganism
called Giardia lamblia, which can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration in humans.
Mammals—especially beavers—spread this nasty parasite through their feces. Water
can be rendered safe by boiling it for at least five minutes, or by passing it through a
filter system with a mesh no larger than 5 micrometers. According to some experts,
iodine tablets and other purification additives are not considered effective against the
parasite. Any surface water supply is a potential source of this organism, and hikers
who drink directly from streams and springs risk contracting “beaver fever” and its
painful symptoms.
Biting insects—mosquitoes, gnats, and flies—can ruin a trip. Be prepared with an
effective repellent that you have tried ahead of time. It is too late to discover that the
repellent is more irritating than the bugs when you are already on the trail. DEET is
the active ingredient in most repellents. However, prolonged overuse of a solution of
30 percent DEET can cause some negative reactions, particularly in children.
In Shenandoah the incidence of Lyme disease, caused by a parasitic microorganism
carried by ticks, is low.Ticks, however, are numerous, and contact with them makes it
possible to contract Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and human granu-
locytic ehrlichiosis infection. Ticks can appear any time of the year at temperatures
above 50 degrees Fahrenheit—even in January and February.When they attach to the
skin, ticks secrete saliva that thins the blood and they begin to feed. At the same time,
they may inject a disease-carrying parasite. General symptoms of tick-borne diseases
include fever with shaking chills and severe muscle pain. Lyme disease may produce a
rash on the palms and soles of the feet, which later spreads to the whole body.
The best way to keep from getting the disease is to prevent ticks from attaching to
your skin. Wear long pants and tuck them into your boots or bind the bottoms with
a loose rubber band. Wear long-sleeve shirts. Consider applying a spray containing
DEET to your skin and clothing. Some manufacturers sell a tick spray (for clothing
only), and it seems to work well when sprayed on pant legs and boots. At the end of
the day, conduct a tick search, and don’t panic if you find one. The process of trans-
mitting the disease takes hours.
To remove a loose tick, flick it off with a fingernail. If the tick is firmly embed-
ded, use tweezers to pinch a small area around the tick’s mouth and pull it out. Try
not to squeeze the tick’s body, as this increases the risk of infection. Finally, clean the
area with an antiseptic.
Introduction 7
Deer are tagged to help monitor concerns about infusion of chronic wasting
disease into Shenandoah from outside the park.Tagged deer that wander outside
park boundaries, where the disease is prevalent, are tranquilized. Blood is then
examined, and as of 2015, no CWD has yet spread into Shenandoah.
Rattlesnakes are common in Shenandoah, but during the months we spent

gathering information for this book, we encountered only two. You should always
remain alert to the presence of snakes. If you’ve never heard a rattlesnake rattle, don’t
worry—the sound is unmistakable. Rattlers strike when they’re angry, and some-
one in Shenandoah has been bitten every few years, although no deaths have been

reported. Snake venom is relatively slow acting, a fact that allows victims time to get
medical help.
Learning to avoid snakes and their bites is relatively simple. Watch where you step
and where you sit down, particularly in rocky areas. Avoid hiking at night. Snakes
generally hole up by day, then bask on sun-warmed rocks or sand when temperatures
cool in the evening. They generally hunt at night, so it is best to sleep in tents with
sewn-in floors and zippered doors.
Before hiking in snake country, become familiar with first-aid treatment for bites.
Commercial snake-venom extractors are great if used within the first three minutes.
Victims—if alone—should walk slowly to the trailhead and seek immediate medical
attention. If you are accompanying a snakebite victim, anticipate and treat for shock
as needed.
Copperheads, the other venomous snake species in Shenandoah, are said to be
common, though we never saw one. They usually have yellow spots with black
markings that tend to make them fade into their surroundings in mottled light. (See
Appendix B: Further Reading for a recommended field guide to snakes.)
Use proper precautions to avoid trouble with black bears in Shenandoah National
Park. Never keep your food in your tent. In the backcountry, string it from a high
branch, ideally in sealed containers. When you obtain your free backcountry permit,
park officials will give you specific height and distance requirements for hanging
food. Never cook in your tent.
If you encounter a black bear while hiking, do not run. Black bears are gen-
erally intimidated by noise and an upright stance. Clap and shout to let the bear
know where you are. If the noise doesn’t scare the bruin, quietly back off from a
potential encounter. For more information on coexisting with bears in the back-
country, see FalconGuides’ The Quick Reference Bear Country Survival Guide, by Bill
Schneider.
Shenandoah rangers say falling trees pose a greater risk than they have for many
decades. Gypsy moth infestations and violent storms have resulted in rotten roots and
dead trees ready to topple in many locations in the park. Be watchful of dead trees
when you’re on the trail—especially in high winds—and be careful where you pitch
your tent.
Plan hikes within your group’s physical ability. Do not attempt hikes or back-
packing segments that are longer than you and your group can safely accomplish in
daylight. Know the terrain. Before departing, study the maps. Hiking after dark is not
only uncomfortable but also dangerous, especially if you are not familiar with the
topography and trail conditions.
Always leave an itinerary of your hike with someone before you leave. It should
include where you will park, a description of your car and license plate number,
where you will be hiking, when you expect to complete the trip, and who to contact
in case of emergency. If you have questions about the trail, ask park rangers before
you leave. If you plan to backpack overnight, make sure you first acquire a free
Introduction 9
backcountry permit, available from the park’s two visitor centers, at ranger stations,
and at park entrances.
Parts of Shenandoah can be used by both hikers and horseback riders. Such trails
are marked with yellow blazes, and horses have the right-of-way on them. Hikers
should yield to all stock and riders. If you encounter stock on the trail, move quietly
to the lower side of the trail to let the stock pass. To avoid spooking horses, make
your presence known. Hikers-only trails are marked in blue; if you are hiking on the
Appalachian Trail, the markers are white.
Backcountry Essentials
Comfortable clothes and footwear will do a lot to make your hike pleasant. In cool
weather, dress in layers. The first, inner layer should be light, made of a material such
as polypropylene that will wick moisture away from your skin. Next, wear a warmer,
porous layer that can be removed if necessary. Over that, wear an outer layer that is
windproof and rainproof. Layers allow you to regulate your temperature by putting
on or taking off layers as the weather and exertion dictate. A good poncho or raincoat
is standard backpacking equipment, especially in Shenandoah, where rain, snow, sleet,
and hail are frequent and unpredictable.
Hiking boots should be sturdy and supportive and have good soles. Many people
wear heavy leather boots, while others prefer lighter-weight boots with breathable,
water-resistant fabrics. If you are a beginner, visit your local outdoor sporting goods
The famous Appalachian Trail is a major route through the park, attracting about 150 through-
hikers each year. In 2015 it attracted Dianne White, seen here hiking near the Pinnacles Picnic
Area.

store and try on different boots. Several good books on hiking equipment, including
Colin Fletcher and Chip Rawlins’s The Complete Walker, are listed in Appendix B:
Further Reading.
Backcountry camping is available throughout most of the park. Stays are limited
to two nights at any one site or fourteen consecutive nights in the backcountry. All
campers must obtain a free backcountry camping permit, available from visitor con-
tact stations during business hours or by writing the park superintendent’s office (see
Appendix A: For More Information). Include your name, complete address, entry
and exit dates of trip, number in party, and trip itinerary. Maximum group size for
backcountry trips is ten. Some trails are closed to backcountry camping. Park service
officials will let you know which trails are closed and provide you with other regula-
tions, when you receive your permit. (For suggestions on minimum-impact camping,
see the “Leave No Trace” section.)
Hiking with Children

Hiking with children can be enjoyable for the whole family. Kids see the world from
a different perspective—it’s the little things adults barely notice that are so special to
children: bugs scampering across the trail, spiderwebs dripping with morning dew, liz-
ards doing pushups on a trailside boulder. Kids love to splash rocks into a lake, watch
sticks run the rapids of a mountain stream, and explore animal tracks in the sand.
To make the trip fun for children, let the young ones set the pace. Until your
children are able to keep up on extended hikes, forget about 30-mile treks to a favor-
ite backcountry campsite. Instead, plan a destination only a mile or two from the
trailhead. Children tire quickly and become easily sidetracked, so don’t be surprised
if you don’t make it to your destination. Plan alternative campsites en route to your
final camp.
Help children enjoy the hike and learn about what they see. Always point out
special things along the trail. Help them anticipate what is around the next bend—
perhaps a waterfall, or a pond filled with wriggling tadpoles. Make the hike fun and
interesting, and kids will keep going.
Young skin is very sensitive to the sun, so always carry a strong sunscreen and
use it on sunny days. A good bug repellent, preferably a natural product, should be a
standard part of your first-aid kit. Also, carry a product that helps take the itch and
sting out of bug bites. A hat helps keep the sun out of sensitive young eyes. Rain gear
is also an important consideration. Children generally have less tolerance to cold than
adults, so ample clothing is important.
Parents with young children must, of course, carry plenty of diapers—and pack
them out when leaving. Some children can get wet at night, so extra sleeping clothes
and a waterproof pad are must-haves. To alleviate extra weight, parents with very
young children can pack lightweight and inexpensive dry baby foods to which only
water need be added.
Introduction 11
Before the park was established in 1935, hunting had completely eliminated deer from Shenan-
doah. A dozen deer were reintroduced on the park’s opening, and from that paltry beginning a
herd of over 5,000 now occupies the park. Predators are few and the herd must remain in bal-
ance with its habitat; otherwise it will literally eat itself out of house and home. Still, it is a treat
for hikers to see a doe with its young.
Make your children aware of what poison ivy looks like and warn them not to
touch it. Be especially watchful for stinging insects—wasps, hornets, and bees—and
examine your children carefully and often for ticks.
Children learn from their parents by example. Hiking and camping trips are excel-
lent opportunities to teach young ones to tread lightly and minimize their impact on
the environment.
Leave No Trace
Few experiences are more irritating or distasteful than finding aluminum cans, candy
wrappers, and other trash along the trail. If you can pack it in, you can pack it out.
LEAVE NO TRACE—SEVEN PRINCIPLES

Plan Ahead and Prepare Minimize Campfire Impacts
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces Respect Wildlife
Dispose of Waste Properly Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Leave What You Find
© Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www.LNT.org

Some people take an extra garbage bag on hikes just to pick up litter left by incon-
siderate trekkers. A clean trail is less inviting to the litterer.
Modern, lightweight camp stoves and lanterns eliminate the need for campfires
and the stone fire rings left behind. Open fires, in fact, are prohibited in Shenan-
doah. Backpacking stoves are ideal for wilderness camping and for brewing a hot cup
of coffee or bowl of soup. For more information on minimum-impact hiking and
camping methods, ask local rangers or visit LNT.org.
Hiker’s Checklist
The following list serves to suggest the types of items you may want to include in
your day pack. For instance, the male partner in this authorial team shows some
tendency to swell following bee stings, so he always carries an antihistamine. Most
people, in fact, react to bug bites, and since body chemistry changes from year to year,
you should always take along some type of antihistamine. Customize the first-aid kit
in your day pack and backpack to meet your own specific needs.
First-aid equipment and supplies Moleskin

Waterproof plastic bag to hold your Needles
entire first-aid kit Scissors, or a Swiss Army knife
Bandages with scissors
Adhesive tape Survival kit
Gauze and/or gauze compresses Space blanket or large garbage bag
Elastic bandage Whistle
Aspirin or other pain medication Waterproof matches and/or a reli-
Antibacterial ointment able cigarette lighter
Antihistamine for allergic response Compass
Small packet of meat tenderizer to Maps
treat insect stings Extra high-energy food bars
Mild laxative 10 to 20 feet of light nylon rope
Antidiarrheal medication Small flashlight
Compact snakebite kit that
includes an efficient suction device
Introduction 13
How to Use This Guide
More than 500 miles of trails wander through Shenandoah National Park, and know-
ing where to start can be difficult. This guide will help you select trails based on your
abilities and interests.With that goal in mind, we spent three months hiking nearly all
of the trails in the park. We often found that the aesthetics of Shenandoah’s incred-
ible natural history, as well as its human history, provided compelling reasons to hike
these trails.
Even though we hiked nearly every trail, we did not write about them all. We
made as many loops as possible because most hikers won’t have drop-offs or pickups.
With a good topo map (listed in each hike description) and this guide in hand, you
can easily choose your own loops or one-way hikes.
There are mileposts on the west side of Skyline Drive. Because almost all trails
originate from this road, it’s very simple to find your desired trailhead. Skyline Mile
0.0 begins at the north entrance to the park, near the town of Front Royal. Rockfish
Gap provides the site for the last milepost, located at Mile 105 in the south. From
there, US 250 and I-64 go west to the town of Waynesboro, at the bottom of the
mountain as you leave the park.
Hike descriptions include Distance and Difficulty entries. Easy trails can be
completed without difficulty by hikers of all abilities and are generally level and short.
Hikes rated moderate will challenge novices. Moderately strenuous hikes will tax even
experienced hikers, and strenuous trails, generally those that climb steeply, will push
the limits of the most Herculean hiker.
The Traffic listing indicates how much use a route receives. Trails receiving light
use offer an 80 percent probability of meeting one or two parties in a day. Moderate
traffic indicates an 80 percent chance of meeting three or more parties, while heavy-
use trails offer an 80 percent probability of seeing five or more other groups. Trails
receiving heavy use are usually muddy in wet weather. This is a general assessment;
the traffic level will vary by season, month, and even day of the week.
Hike descriptions also list the Maps required for the hike and provide Finding
the trailhead directions.
The Hike section includes geologic and ecological features, fishing opportunities,
campsites, and other important information. Photographs have been included to give
you a visual preview of some of the prominent features seen along the trail. Knowl-
edge of a few special terms will help you understand the geography of Shenandoah
National Park: A gap is a mountain pass, a hollow is a valley, and a run is a small stream
or brook.
The Miles and Directions section highlights landmarks, trail junctions, and
gradient changes. Distances were derived using a planimeter, which measures two-
dimensional distances on a topographical map. These distances were then corrected
for altitude gain or loss and were further modified when park managers made more
14
precise determinations. Nevertheless, the resulting mileages should be considered
conservative estimates because they do not always account for small-scale twists and
turns or minor ups and downs.
Where appropriate, elevation profiles accompany trail descriptions, providing
a general overview of major elevation gains and losses. Elevation profiles are not
included for trails where elevation gains and losses are insignificant. The profiles
depict the ups and downs of the hikes, with miles on the horizontal axis and eleva-
tion (feet above sea level) on the vertical axis. Elevation increments vary depending
upon the hike’s steepness. Some short dips and climbs (especially those less than 500
feet) may not show on the profiles. Elevation lines are adjusted to fit onto the graph
and do not necessarily reflect the actual trail-slope angle.
If you are trying to estimate the length of time required to complete a hike,
remember that most trails in Shenandoah either ascend or descend. On the level a
good hiker might average 3 to 4 miles an hour. But not here! Don’t figure just an
hour for a 3-mile hike—figure two hours. And then add a little more time to smell
the roses. Shenandoah is a place of great beauty, and you won’t want to rush through.
Hike descriptions include an approximate time range to complete your journey.
Use this guide in conjunction with topographical maps or other maps as indicated
in the hike descriptions. If you refer to all the information provided, you will be pre-
pared for the pleasures and pitfalls of hiking Shenandoah National Park.
About the Maps

The maps in this book use elevation tints, called hypsometry, to portray relief. Each
gray tone represents a range of equal elevation, as shown in the scale key with the
map.These maps will give you a good idea of elevation gain and loss.The darker tones
are lower elevations and the lighter grays are higher elevations. The lighter the tone,
the higher the elevation. Narrow bands of different gray tones spaced closely together
indicate steep terrain, whereas wider bands indicate areas of more gradual slope.
Below is a 3-D rendering of the identical geographic area

depicted on the right using hypsometry.
Darker brown
shows higher
Peak elevation.
Closer contours
indicate steep slope.
Valley
Wider bands of color indicate

more gradual slope.
Darker green shows

lower elevation.
This diagram demonstrates how to read

hypsometric relief maps.
How to Use This Guide 15

Hike Finder
Easy Day Hikes
Hike 2: Fox Hollow Trail
Hike 3: Snead Farm–Dickey Ridge Trail Loop
Hike 4: Lands Run Falls
Hike 5: Fort Windham Rocks–Indian Run Spring
Hike 10: Traces Trail
Hike 14: Byrds Nest Summit and Byrds Nest Shelter No. 4
Hike 22: Stony Man Trail
Hike 22-A: Little Stony Man Trail
Hike 23: Millers Head
Hike 24: Limberlost
Hike 29: Story of the Forest Trail
Hike 30: Big Meadows
Hike 32: Blackrock
Hike 35: Lewis Mountain Trail
Hike 36: Pocosin Trail
Hike 41: Simmons Gap
Hike 45: Loft Mountain Loop
Hike 47: Big Flat Mountain Loop
Hike 52: Blackrock Summit
Hike 57: Jarman Gap to Beagle Gap
Hike 58: Bear Den Mountain
Hike 59: Calf Mountain
Hikes with Children

Hike 5: Fort Windham Rocks—Indian Run Spring
Hike 7: Mount Marshall Trail and Beyond
Hike 22: Stony Man Trail
Hike 24: Limberlost
Hike 26: Hawksbill Summit
Hike 28: Dark Hollow Falls (with in-shape kids)
Hike 29: Story of the Forest Trail
Hike 31: Lewis Spring Falls Trail (alternative route)
16
Hike 35: Lewis Mountain Trail
Hikes 45/46/47: Loft Mountain area hikes
Hike 59: Calf Mountain
Moderate Day Hikes

Hike 6: Compton Peak
Hike 15: Pine Hill Gap–Broad Hollow Loop
Hike 20: Hazel Falls and Cave
Hike 27: Rose River
Hike 31: Lewis Spring Falls Trail
Hike 38: South River Falls
Hike 39: Hightop Mountain Lariat
Hike 46: Frazier Discovery Trail
Hike 56: Turk Mountain
Hike 57: Jarman Gap to Beagle Gap
Strenuous Day Hikes

Hike 8: Keyser Run Fire Road–Little Devils Stairs Lariat
Hike 11: Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail Loop
Hike 12: Thornton River
Hike 13: Knob Mountain–Jeremys Run Lariat
Hike 16: Old Rag
Hike 19: Buck Hollow–Buck Ridge Trail Loop
Hike 21: Corbin Cabin Cutoff–Nicholson Hollow–Appalachian Trail Loop
Hike 25: Cedar Run–Whiteoak Canyon Loop
Hike 33: Rapidan Camp–Laurel Prong–Hazeltop Loop
Hike 42: Rocky Mount–Gap Run Lariat
Hike 43: Brown Mountain–Rocky Mountain Run Lariat
Hike 44: Ivy Creek
Hike 50: Austin Mountain–Furnace Mountain Loop
Hike 51: Rockytop
Hike 53: Trayfoot Mountain–Paine Run Loop
Hike 54: Moormans River
Hike 55: Riprap Trail
Hike Finder 17
Backpacking Trips (one night or more)
Hike 11: Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail Loop
Hike 13: Knob Mountain–Jeremys Run Lariat
Hike 16: Old Rag
Hike 50: Austin Mountain–Furnace Mountain Loop
Hike 51: Rockytop
Hike 55: Riprap Trail
Hikes with Great Views

Hike 9: Sugarloaf–Keyser Run Fire Road–Hogback Mountain Lariat
Hike 16: Old Rag
Hike 17: Marys Rock North
Hike 18: Marys Rock South
Hike 34: Bearfence Mountain
Hike 40: Powell Gap
History Hikes
Hike 21: Corbin Cabin Cutoff–Nicholson Hollow–Appalachian Trail Loop
Hikes to See Waterfalls

Height Skyline
Hike Falls in Feet Mile
Hike 11 Overall Run Falls, upper falls 29 22.2
Hike 11 Overall Run Falls 93 22.2
Hike 25 Cedar Run Falls 34 45.6
Hike 25 Whiteoak Falls No. 1 86 45.6

Hike 27 Rose River Falls 67 49.4
Hike 28 Dark Hollow Falls 70 50.7
Hike 31 Lewis Spring Falls 81 51.2
Hike 38 South River Falls 83 62.8
Hike 49 Doyles River Falls No. 1 28 81.1
Hike 49 Doyles River Falls No. 2 63 81.1
Hike 49 Jones Run Falls 42 81.1
Hike Finder 19
Map Legend
Transportation Symbols
66 Interstate Highway 1 Trailhead
211 U.S. Highway Ranger Station
230 State Highway Visitor Center
600 Paved Road Parking
Unpaved Road Campground
Featured Trail Viewpoint/Overlook
Trail Picnic Area
Point of Interest/Structure
Water Features
Bridge
Body of Water
Lodge
Marsh/Swamp
Town
River/Creek
Gate
Intermittent Streams
Stable
Springs
Peak/Summit
Waterfall
Pass/Gap
Land Management Cave
State Line Cliff
National Park Boundary Tunnel
Rock Outcrop Management Direction Arrow

Plan (ROMP) Area
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eyes with her own liquid eyes, and seemed ready to fall into his
arms, when I got up behind him and lighted a giant fire cracker and
put it under his chair and just as the fuse was sputtering, I said, “Pa,
ma wants you at the hotel,” and the fireworks went off, the woman
threw a fit and Pa raised up out of the smoke and looked at me and
said, “Now, where in hell did you come from just at this time?” and
the head waiter took the woman into a private room to bring her out
of her fit, the waiters opened the windows to let the smoke out, and
the crowd stampeded, and the police came in to pull the place and
find the anarchist who threw the bomb, and Pa took me by the hand
and we walked up the sidewalk to a corner, and when we got out of
sight of the crowd Pa said, “Hennery, your ma ain’t here, is she?” in
a pitiful tone, and I said no she wasn’t along with me this trip, and Pa
said, “Hennery, you make me weary,” and we walked along to the
hotel, Pa asking me so many questions about home that it was a like
a catekism.
The Fireworks Went Off—the Woman Threw a Fit, and Pa
Raised Out of the Smoke.
When we got to the hotel and went to Pa’s room and I told him what I
had been doing since he abandoned me, he said he was proud of
me, and now he had plenty of work and adventure for me to keep
him in.
He said he had tried several airships, by having someone else go up
in them, and that he was afraid to go up in one himself, and he
seemed glad that I had been ballooning around home, and he said
he could use me to good advantage.
I asked him about the woman he was talking to about marriage, and
he said that was all guff, that she had a husband who had invented a
new airship, and he was trying to get title to it for use in America, for
war purposes, and that the only way to get on the right side of these
French women was to talk about marriage and money, because for
money any of them would leave their husbands on fifteen minutes’
notice. He said he had arranged for a trial of the airship the next day,
from a place out in the country, and that I could go up with the
inventor of the ship and see how it worked and report, so we went to
bed and I slept better than I had since I shipped on the cattle ship.
In the morning while we were taking baths and preparing for
breakfast, I found that Pa had been flying pretty high on government
money, and he had all kinds of gold and paper money and bonds,
and he made people think he owned most of America.
Pa asked me how the people at home looked upon his absence, and
if they advanced any theories as to the cause of his being abroad,
and I told him that everybody from the President down to Rockefeller
knew about what he was out looking after, and that when I left Bob
Evans at Fortress Monroe he told me to tell Pa to send a mess of
airships to him so he would meet them when he got to San
Francisco, as he wanted to paralyze the Japs if they got busy around
the fleet, which pleased Pa, and he said, “Just tell the people to wait,
and I will produce airships that can fight battles in the clouds, but it
will take time.”
Then we went out in the country about a dozen miles, and met the
inventor and his wife, and the inventor filled a big balloon that looked
like a weiner sausage with gas that he made over a fire out in a field,
and the inventor and I got on a bamboo frame under the balloon, and
he turned on the gasoline that runs the wheel for steering, and they
cut her loose and we went up about fifty feet and sailed around the
country a half mile either way and watched Pa and the wife of the
inventor as they sat under a tree and talked politics.
We came back after a while and Pa was proud of me for having so
much nerve, and I told him the government at home was
complaining because Pa didn’t go up in the airships, cause they said
he couldn’t buy airships intelligently unless he tried them out, and
that if he didn’t look out they would send some expert out to take his
place and spend the money, and as we were landed on the ground I
dared Pa to get on the frame and go up with us for a little spin, and
he was afraid the woman would think he was a coward if he didn’t,
so he got up and straddled the ridge pole of the bamboo frame, and
said he would take a whirl at it if it killed him. The balloon thing
couldn’t quite lift all of us, so I got off and give her a lift, and up she
went with the inventor steering, and Pa hanging on for dear life and
saying, “Now I lay me down to sleep.”
Up She Went with the Inventor Steering, and Pa Hanging On

for Dear Life.
I have seen some scared men in my life, but when the machine got
up about as high as a house, so Pa couldn’t get off, and the woman
waved a handkerchief at Pa, he swallowed his Adam’s apple and
said, “Let her go Gallagher,” and Gallagher, the Frenchman, let her
go.
Well, you’d a died to see the thing wobble and see Pa cling on with
his feet and hands. For about a quarter of a mile she went queer, like
a duck that has been wing-tipped, and then she began to descend.
First she passed over a lot of cows that women were milking, and
the cows stampeded one way and the women the other way, and the
women were scared more than the cows, cause when they got out
from under the ship they prayed, but the cows didn’t.
Then the ship struck a field where about forty women were piling
onions on the ground, and it just scattered women and onions all
over the field, and of all the yelling you ever heard that was the
worst.
Pa yelled to them that if he ever got off that hay rack alive he would
pay the damages, and he thought he was swearing at them. Then
the worst thing possible happened. The airship went up over a tree,
and Pa was scared and he grabbed a limb and let go of the bamboo,
and there he was in the top of a thornapple tree. The balloon went
over all right, and the inventor steered it away to where it started
from, and the woman and I watched Pa. The thorns were about two
inches long and more than a hundred of them got into Pa and he
yelled all kinds of murder, and then the women who owned the cows
and onions the ship had wrecked surrounded the tree with hoes and
rakes and pitchforks, and they made such a frantic noise that Pa did
not dare to come down out of the tree. So Pa told us to take the train
back to Paris and send the American Consul and the police and a
hook and ladder company to get him down and protect him.
I told Pa I didn’t want to go off and leave him to be killed by strange
women, and maybe eaten by wolves before morning, but he said,
“Don’t talk back to me, you go and send that patrol wagon and the
hook and ladder truck, and be quick about it or I won’t do a thing to
you when I catch you.”
So we went and put the airship in a barn and went back to town and
turned in a police and fire alarm to rescue Pa. The chief said there
was no use in going out there in the country before morning,
because the women couldn’t get up the thornapple tree and Pa
couldn’t get down. So I went to bed and dreamed about Pa all night,
and had a perfectly lovely time.
CHAPTER X.
Pa Had the Hardest Time of His Life in Paris—Pa Drinks Some Goat
Milk Which Gives Him Ptomaine Poison in His Inside Works—Pa
Attends the Airship Club in the Country—Pa Draws on American
Government for $10,000.
Pa has had the hardest time of his life in Paris, and if I ever pitied a
man it was Pa.
You see that last fly in the airship pretty near caused him to cash in
his chips and go over the long road to the hereafter, cause he got
blood poison from the thorns that run into him where he landed in the
top limbs of the thorn apple tree, and he sprained his arm and one
hind leg while being taken down with a derrick, and then before we
left the country town for Paris he drank some goat’s milk, which gave
him ptomaine poison in his inside works, and a peasant woman who
sewed up his pants where they were torn on the tree pricked him
with a needle, and he swelled up so he was unable to sit in a car
seat, and his face was scratched by the thorns of the tree, and there
were blotches all over him, so when we got to Paris the health
officers thought he had smallpox and sent him to a pest house, and
they wouldn’t let me in, but vaccinated me and turned me loose, and
I went to the hotel and told about where Pa was and all about it, and
they put our baggage in a sort of oven filled with sulphur and
disinfected it and stole some of it, and they made me sleep in a dog
kennel, and for weeks I had to keep out of sight, until Pa was
discharged from the hospital, and the friends of Pa out at the airship
club in the country got Pa’s airship that he bought for a government
out of the tree and took it to the club and presented a bill for two
hundred dollars, and I only had seven dollars, so they held it for
ransom.
Gee, but I worried about Pa!
Well, one day Pa showed up at the hotel looking like he had been in
a railroad wreck, and he was so thin his clothes had to be pinned up
with safety pins, and he had spent all his money and was bursted.
The man who hired Pa in Washington to go abroad and buy airships
for the government told Pa to use his own money for a month or two
and then draw on the secretary of the treasury for all he needed, so
before Pa went to the hospital he drew on his government for ten
thousand dollars, and when he came back there was a letter for him
from the American consul in Paris telling him to call at the office, so
Pa went there and they arrested him on the charge of skull dugging.
They said he had no right to draw for any money on the government
at Washington. Pa showed his papers with the big seal on, and the
consul laughed in Pa’s face, and Pa was hot under the collar and
wanted to fight, but they showed him that the papers he had were no
good, and that he had been buncoed by some fakir in Washington,
who got five hundred dollars from Pa for securing him a job as
government agent, and all his papers authorized him to do was to
travel at his own expense and to buy all the airships he wanted to
with his own money, and Pa had a fit. All the money he had spent
was a dead loss, and all he had to show for it was a punctured
airship, which he was afraid to ride in.
Pa swore at the government, at the consul and at the man who
buncoed him, and they released him from arrest when he promised
that he would not pose any more as a government agent, and we
went back to the hotel.
“Well, this is a fine scrape you have got me in,” says Pa, as we went
to our room. “What in thunder did I have to do about it?” says I, just
like that. “I wasn’t with you when you framed up this job and let a
man in Washington skin you out of your money by giving you a soft
snap which has exploded in your hands. Gee, Pa, what you need is
a maid or a valet or something that will hold on to your wad.” Pa said
he didn’t need anybody to act as a guardian to him, cause he had all
the money he needed in his letter of credit to the American Express
Company in Paris, and he knew how to spend his money freely, but
he did hate to be buncoed and made the laughing stock of two
continents.
So Pa and I went down to the express office, and Pa gave the man
in charge a paper, and the grand hailing sign of distress, and he
handed out bags of gold and bales of bills, and Pa hid a lot in his
leather belt and put some in his pockets, and said: “Come on, Henry,
and we will see this town and buy it if we like it.”
Well, we went out after dark and took in the concert halls and things,
and Pa drank wine and I drank nothing but ginger ale, and women
who waited on us sat in Pa’s lap and patted his bald head and tried
to feel in his pockets, but Pa held on to their wrists and told them to
keep away, and he took one across his knee and slapped her across
the pajamas with a silver tray, and I thought Pa was real saucy.
A head waiter whispered to me and wanted to know what ailed the
old sport, and I told him Pa was bitten by a wolf in our circus last
year and we feared he was going to have hydrophobia, and always
when these spells come on the only thing to do was to throw him into
a tank of water, and I should be obliged to them if they would take Pa
and duck him in the fountain in the center of the cafe and save his
life.
Pa was making up with the girl he had paddled with the silver tray,
buying champagne for her and drinking some of it himself out of her
slipper, when the head waiter called half a dozen Frenchmen who
were doing police duty and told them to duck Pa in the fountain, and
they grabbed him by the collar and the pants and made him walk
turkey towards the fountain, and he held on to the girl, and the
Frenchmen threw Pa and the girl into the brink with a flock of ducks,
and they went under water, and Pa came up first yelling murder, and
then the girl came up hanging to Pa’s neck, and she gave a French
yell of agony, and Pa gave the grand hailing sign of distress and
yelled to know if there was not an American present that would
protect an American citizen from the hands of a Paris mob. The
crowd gathered around the circular fountain basin, and one drunken
fellow jumped in the water and was going to hold Pa’s head under
water while the girl found his money, when Pa yelled “Hey, Rube,”
the way they do in a circus when there is a fight, and by ginger it
wasn’t a second before half a dozen old circus men that used to
belong to the circus when Pa was manager in the States made a
rush for the fountain, knocked the Frenchmen gally west and pulled
Pa out of the water and let him drain off, and they said, “Hello, old
man, how did you happen to let them drown you?” and Pa saw who
the boys were and he hugged them and invited them to all take
something and then go to his hotel.
When Pa paid the check for the drinks they charged in two ducks
they said Pa killed in the tank by falling on them. But Pa paid it and
was so tickled to meet the old circus boys that he gave the girl he
went in swimming with a twenty franc note, and after staying until
along towards morning we all got into and on top of a hack and went
to the hotel and sat up till daylight talking things over.
We found the Circus boys were on the way to Germany to go with
the Hagenbach outfit to South Africa to capture Wild Animals for
circuses, and when Pa told the boss, who was one of Hagenbach’s
managers, about his airship and what a dandy thing it would be to
sail around where the lions and tigers live in the Jungle, and lasso
them from up in the air, out of danger, he engaged Pa and me to go
along, and I guess we will know all about Africa pretty soon.
The next day we went out to the club where Pa keeps his airship,
with the boss of Hagenbach’s outfit and a cowboy that used to be
with Pa’s circus, to practice lassoing things. They got out the
machine and Pa steered it, and the boss and I were passengers, and
the cowboy was on the railing in front with his lariat rope, and we
sailed along about fifty feet high over the farms, until we saw a big
goat. The cowboy motioned for Pa to steer towards the goat, and
when we got near enough the cowboy threw the rope over the goat’s
horns and tightened it up, and Mr. Goat came right along with us,
bleating and fighting. We led the goat about half a mile over some
fences, and finally came down to the ground to examine our catch,
and we landed all right, and Hagenbach’s boss said it was the
greatest scheme that ever was for catching wild animals, and he
doubled Pa’s salary and said we would pack up the next day and go
to the Hagenbach farm in Germany and take a steamer for South
Africa in a week.
They were talking it over and the cowboy had released the goat,
when that animal made a charge with his head on our party. He
struck Pa below the belt, butted the boss in the trousers until he laid
down and begged for mercy, stabbed the cowboy with his horns and
then made a hop, skip and jump for the gas bag, burst a hole in it,
and when the gas began to escape the goat’s horns got caught in
the gas bag and the goat died from the effects of the gas, and we
were all glad until about fifty peasant women came across the fields
with agricultural implements and were going to kill us all.
Pa said, “Well, what do you know about that,” but the women were
fierce and wanted our blood. The boss could talk French, and he
offered to give them the goat to settle it, but they said it was their
goat any way, and they wanted blood or damages.
Pa said it was easier to give damages than blood, and just as they
were going to cut up the gas bag the boss settled with them for
about twenty dollars, and hired them to haul the airship to the
nearest station, and we shipped it to Berlin and got ready to follow
the next day.
Pa says we will have a high old time in Africa. He says he wants to
ride up to a lion’s den in his airship and dare the fiercest lion to come
out and fight, and that he wouldn’t like any better fun than to ride
over a royal bengal tiger in the jungle and reach down and grab his
tail and make him synawl like a tom cat on a fence in the alley.
He talks about riding down a herd of elephants and picking out the
biggest ones and roping them; and the way Pa is going to scare
rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses and make them bleat like calves
is a wonder.
I think Pa is the bravest man I ever saw, when he tells it, but I
noticed when we had that goat by the horns and he was caught in a
barbed wire fence, so the airship had to slow down until he came
loose, Pa turned as pale as a sheet, and when the goat bucked him
in the stomach Pa’s lips moved as though in praying. Well, anyway,
this trip to Africa to catch wild animals is going to show what kind of
sand there is in all of us.
CHAPTER XI.
The Boy and His Pa Leave France and Go to Germany, Where They
Buy an Airship—They Get the Airship Safely Landed—Pa and the
Boy With the Airship Start for South Africa—Pa Shows the Men
What Power He Has Over the Animal Kingdom.
I was awful glad to get out of France and into Germany, and when
we had got the airship safely landed at the Hagenbach stock farm
and boxed and baled ready to load on a boat for South Africa, and all
hands had drank a few schooners of beer, and felt brave enough to
tackle any wild animal that walks the earth, I listened to the big talk
and the gestures, though I couldn’t understand a word they said,
except when they held up their fingers for more beer.
I felt that we had got among Americans again, because all a German
needs to be an American is to be able to talk a little broken English.
The French are all right in their way, but they are too polite. If a
Frenchman wants to order you out of his place he is so polite about it
that you think he wants you to stay there always and be at home.
If a German wants you to get out he says “Rouse” in a hoarse voice,
and if you don’t rouse he gives you a swift kick in the pants and you
instinctively catch on to the fact that you are due some other place.
The Germans that are with us on the animal hunt in South Africa all
speak English, and while at the Hagenbach farm Pa convinced
everybody that he was the bravest animal man in the world, “cause
he would go up to any cage where the animals had been tamed and
act as free with them as though he did not know fear,” and he went
around in his shirt sleeves the way he used to in the circus, and
would pat a lion on the head, and if the animal growled Pa would
scowl at him and make the lion believe Pa was king of beasts.
Pa has found that putting on a pair of automobile goggles and
getting down on his hands and knees and crawling towards the
animal in captivity frightens the animal into a fit, but I guess when he
tries that stunt on wild animals on the veldt of Africa he will find it
does not work so well.
I expect to have to bring Pa back the way they transport canned
sausage, after a few wild lions and tigers and hippopotamuses have
used him for a cud to chew on.
Before we took the steamer for South Africa I had the first serious
talk with Pa that I have had since I joined him in Paris. I said, “Pa,
don’t you think this idea of chasing wild animals in Africa with an
airship is going to be a sort of a dangerous proposition?” and Pa
began to look brave, and he said, “Hennery, this is an age of
progress, and we have to get out of the rut, and catch up with the
procession and lead it. The old way of capturing wild animals by
enticing them into baited traps and letting them touch a spring and
imprison themselves is about as dangerous as catching mice in a
wire trap with a piece of cheese for bait.
“Of course, we shall take along all of the traps and things usually
used for that purpose, because roping animals from an airship is
only an experiment, and we want to be on the safe side, but if the
airship proves a success I will be considered the pioneer in airship
wild animal capturing, and all animal men will bow down to your Pa,
see, and my fortune will be made. We will get into the animal country
and locate a few lions and tigers, first, and sail over their lairs in the
jungle, and while I hold the steering apparatus our cowboys will sit
on the bamboo rails of the ship and throw the rope over their necks,
and when they find we have got them where the hair is short they will
lie down and bleat like a calf, and when we dismount and go up to
them to tie their legs they will be so tame they will eat out of your
hand.
“I have got it all figured out in my mind and I don’t want you or
anybody else to butt in with any discouraging talk, for I won’t have it.”
“But suppose the airship gets caught in a tree?” I said to Pa. “Well,
then, we will tie up and catch baboons,” said Pa. “Everything goes
with your Pa, Hennery.”
Well, it was like moving a circus to get the stuff loaded for South
Africa, as we had more than fifty cages to put animals in to bring
home, and tents and food enough for an arctic expedition, and over
two hundred men, and several tame lionesses and female tigers to
use for decoys, and some elephants for Judases to rope in the wild
animals, and when we got started it was more than a week before
we struck the coast of Africa, and all there was to do on the trip was
to play poker and practice on the tame animals.
We almost lost a tame lioness. Pa wanted to show the men what
power he had over the animal kingdom and he induced the manager
to turn Carrie Nation, the big lioness, loose on deck, while Pa put on
his auto goggles and scared her. Gee, but I thought I was an orphan
for sure. The boys had trained that lioness to be a retriever, like a
water spaniel, and on every trip some of the boys would jump
overboard when there was no sea on and let Carrie jump over the
rail and rescue them, so when they let her out she thought there was
going to be a chance for her to get her regular salt water bath, and
that it was expected that she would do her stunt at rescuing a human
being.
When she was let out of her cage and the crowd was lined up all
around the rail, and she saw Pa in the middle of the deck, on all
fours, with the black goggles on, she looked around at the crowd of
her friends as much as to say, “What is the joke?” but she sidled up
to Pa and lashed her tail around and began to play with Pa as a
kitten would play with a ball of yarn.
She put her paw on Pa and rolled him over, and when Pa got right
side up and crawled towards her looking fierce, she side stepped
and cuffed him on the jaw and everybody laughed except Pa.
Then Pa thought he would make a grandstand play and drive her
back in her cage, and he started towards her real fast on his hands
and knees, and gave a “honk-honk” like an auto, and we thought she
was scared, but I guess she wasn’t frightened so you would notice it,
for she jumped sideways and got around behind Pa, and I said, “Sick
him, Carrie,” and by gosh she grabbed Pa by the slack of his pants
and made a rush for the railing, and before I could grab her by the
tail she jumped right overboard with Pa in her mouth, and landed
kersplash in the deep blue sea, with Pa yelling to the men to take her
off.
Pa Gave a “Honk, Honk” Like an Auto, But the Lion Wasn’t

Frightened So You Would Notice.
We all rushed to the rail, and I began to cry, but the boys told me not
to be scared, as Carrie would bring Pa to the yawl all right.
The men launched a life boat and the lioness was swimming around
with Pa in her teeth, as though she was a dog with a rag doll in its
mouth.
Pa was swallowing salt water and saying something that sounded
like “Now I lay me,” and Carrie was trying to keep his head out of the
water by lifting hard on his pants, and finally the life boat got near
them and they grabbed Pa by the legs and pulled him in and he laid
down in the bottom of the boat, and the lioness climbed over the side
and began to shake herself, and then she licked the salt water off,
and when the boat came alongside she jumped up on the deck and
rolled over and turned somersaults, and then they pulled Pa on deck
and when he got his sea legs on he said to the manager of the
expedition and the captain of the boat, “Gentlemen, I have rescued
your lion, and I claim salvage, and you can give me credit for
whatever she is worth as a show animal,” and then Carrie went to
her cage, and everybody patted Pa on the back and made him think
he had saved a thousand-dollar lion from drowning.
Pa asked me to accompany him to our stateroom, and when the
door was closed and he saw my tear-stained face, he said, “You
think you are dam smart, don’t you? I heard you say sick him to that
old moth-eaten lion, and now don’t you ever interfere with my plans
again. I got that lion so frightened by my fierce look, and the noise I
made, that she jumped overboard, and I went along to save her.
Now, help me off with my clothes and rub me down, and I will go out
and chase a tiger round the deck, and make it climb up into the
rigging and beg to be taken down. That is the kind of a man your Pa
is,” and Pa began to shuck himself, and I rubbed him down as if he
was a race horse. I can see that when we come to the wild animal
fields Pa is going to astonish the natives.
We landed at a port in South Africa in the night, and before morning
we had all our stuff on a special train and about daylight we pulled
out for a place about three hundred miles from the coast, and the
next day we were in camp with the tents all up and the cages in
place, and had engaged two hundred negroes with no clothes on to
help us.
When they saw the airship spread out ready to be filled with gas
when we got ready to use it, some of them deserted, but we got
others to take their places.
I suppose when we fill that gas bag with chemical gas and it begins
to flop around, there won’t be a negro left in Africa.
We were in wild animal country all right. The first night the lions in
the jungle kept us awake, and Carrie Nation answered every time
the wild lions bellowed, until Pa had to go and maul her with a
bamboo club.
The next morning there were lion tracks all around camp, and Pa
says the trouble is going to be that the lions will hunt us instead of
our having to go after them.
A drove of zebras stampeded by our camp the first morning, a
couple of giraffes were looking us over from a hill top, and a
rhinoceros went through the camp and stole a smoked ham.
Pa is so scared he stays in his tent most of the time and shivers. He
says he has got chills and fever, but I can tell when a man’s heart
comes up in his mouth, and chokes him.
I told him this morning that if he showed the white feather now it was
all off with him, and the Hagenbach’s would leave him in Africa to be
adopted by a tribe. Pa said, “You watch me when we get to catching
animals. I will make any animal that crosses my path think he has
run into a live wire.”
Well, I hope Pa will not be a coward.
CHAPTER XII.
All Kinds of Climates in South Africa—Pa Hires Men to Capture Wild
Animals—The Boy and His Pa Capture Some Tigers and a Big Lion
—They Have a Narrow Escape from a Rhinoceros.
I don’t know whether I like the climate of South Africa or not, but you
can have any kind of climate you are looking for, from the Alaska
kind to the tropical kind, the same day.
I think it is the climate that makes all the animals so mad. One
minute a lion or a tiger may be lolling with his tongue out, fighting
flies and scratching fleas, and the next minute there are icicles on his
moustache, and he has to crawl into a hole in the ground to keep
from freezing.
These natives beat me. They do not wear any clothes except a doily,
made of bark or grass, over their loins, and from the doily, above and
below, their skin is bare, and they ought to be arrested for disorderly
conduct and exposure, but their skin is thick and warty like a
rhinoceros, and when it freezes it looks like pickled pigs’ feet.
One man we have hired to help capture animals is a native chief with
sixty wives, and he has brought them all to camp with him, and we
have to feed them, and it is rumored the women all have their caps
set for Pa, if the husband dies, and Pa is afraid they will kill their old
man and select Pa to fill the vacancy, that being the unwritten law
that a man’s wives can select a husband.
Gee, if I had to be a stepson to all those sixty senegambians that
look like monkeys in the face and when on dress parade like oxen, I
should die, or they would, if I could find chloroform enough to go
around.
Well, Pa is trying his best to save the life of that husband of the sixty
wives, and every time one of the wives pats Pa on the back or
chucks him under the chin he has a chill, and I know he will do
something desperate if they get after him in flocks.
I suppose I ought not to have done it, but I told one of the wives who
understands a little English that Pa liked to be hugged and
squeezed, and held on the girls’ laps, so when we get through work
at night and sit around the camp fire they take turns holding Pa on
their laps, and he thinks one of the women broke one of his ribs
hugging him, cause they are strong as giants, and have a terrible
squeeze.
I told one of them she could make herself solid with Pa if she could
get him a nice long snake, so she went off into the jungle alone and
came back dragging a snake more than twenty feet long, and put it
in Pa’s tent when he was asleep. When Pa woke up in the morning
and found the snake coiled upon his blanket he threw a fit and went
to the doctor and got some medicine for chills and fever, and we put
the snake into a cage to sell to a menagerie.

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Hiking Shenandoah National Park a

guide to the park s greatest hiking

Hiking Mount Rainier National Park A Guide To The Park

Hiking Mount Rainier National Park a guide to the park

Hiking Grand Teton National Park a guide to the park s

Hiking Yosemite National Park a guide to 61 of the park

Hiking the Adirondacks a Guide to the Area s Greatest

Hiking New Mexico A Guide to the State s Greatest

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Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks A

Bert and Jane Gildart

An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright © 2006, 2012, 2016 by Rowman & Littlefield

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available

North District (Skyline Mile 0.0 to 31.5)..........................21

Compton Gap Hikes (Skyline Mile 10.4)..........................36

Central District (Skyline Mile 31.6 to 65.5).......................75

4,500 VIRGINIA 522

Swift Run Gap

iv Hiking Shenandoah National Park

South District (Skyline Mile 65.5 to 105.4)..................... 169

Loft Mountain and Other Hikes from the

Appendix A: For More Information................................................................... 248

Help Us Keep This Guide Up to Date

Thanks for your input, and happy trails!

Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Virginia, Shenandoah National

Human History of Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah’s hikes are an ideal combination of natural beauty and exercise.

2 Hiking Shenandoah National Park

Natural History of Shenandoah National Park

Seasons and Weather

4 Hiking Shenandoah National Park

Fees and Permits

Be Prepared: Backcountry Safety and Hazards

6 Hiking Shenandoah National Park

Rattlesnakes are common in Shenandoah, but during the months we spent

8 Hiking Shenandoah National Park

10 Hiking Shenandoah National Park

Hiking with Children

LEAVE NO TRACE—SEVEN PRINCIPLES

12 Hiking Shenandoah National Park

 First-­aid equipment and supplies  Moleskin

About the Maps

Below is a 3-D rendering of the identical geographic area

Wider bands of color indicate

Darker green shows

This diagram demonstrates how to read

How to Use This Guide 15

Hikes with Children

Moderate Day Hikes

Strenuous Day Hikes

Hikes with Great Views

Hikes to See Waterfalls

18 Hiking Shenandoah National Park

66 Interstate Highway 1 Trailhead

211 U.S. Highway Ranger Station

230 State Highway Visitor Center

600 Paved Road Parking

Unpaved Road Campground

Featured Trail Viewpoint/Overlook

Trail Picnic Area

Land Management Cave

First-aid equipment and supplies Moleskin