Sky Meadows Day Hike
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Fauquier County, VA
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 5, 5 miles
This is a hilly 5-mile hike with about 1000 feet of elevation gain. Sky Meadows Park is located on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains and encompases nearly 1900 acres of open fields and forests. Expect wintery vistas across meadows and woodlands, with great views of Fauquier County farms and vineyards on the rolling Piedmont plains.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, May 8, 2013
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Monroe Run Beginner Backpacking Trip
Saturday-Sunday, May 18-19, 2013
Savage River State Forest
Grantsville, MD
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$20 members, $25 non-members
Level: 5, 5.2 miles, Beginner and above.
This one-night trip is perfect for an easy one-night escape from the city. The hike is gentle and tree-covered with multiple stream crossings.
We'll meet Saturday morning at a Metro stop, then carpool to the trailhead near New Germany State Park in western Maryland. Novice and beginners are welcome. WWO has a limited amount of equipment that can be loaned, so don't let a lack of equipment stand in your way.
Registration Deadline: Friday, May 10, 2013
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Dolly Sods Two Day Intermediate Backpacking Trip
Saturday-Monday, May 25-27, 2013
Monongahela National Forest
Laneville, WV
8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$25 members, $30 non-members
Level: 15 miles
Intermediate.
We will be hiking in Dolly Sods Wilderness, a slice of the Monongahela National Forest, which has nearly everything: rocky vistas, open glades resembling the western United States, thick spruce, northern hardwood forests, and a deep canyon cut by Red Creek. On this year's visit to one of our favorite destinations we'll explore new areas and revisit old ones. If you like camping by a river to splash around in this is the trip for you.
This trip is not recommended for novice backpackers. WWO has a limited amount of equipment that can be loaned, so don't let a lack of equipment stand in your way.
Registration Deadline: Friday, May 17, 2013
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Scott's Run Half-Day Hike
Saturday, June 1, 2013
McLean, VA
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
$7 members, $10 non-members
Level: 5, 4.0 miles
Scott's Run Nature Preserve is only a few miles off the beltway, but offers woodland solitude and magnificent views of the Potomac River. This will be a short but hilly morning hike. A perfect way to spend the weekend!
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, May 29, 2013
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Little Devils Stairs Day Hike
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Shenandoah National Park
Luray, VA
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 9, 5.5 miles
This is a moderately strenuous hike of 5.5 miles and 1800 feet of elevation gain. It begins with a gentle descent through the woods to an old cemetary. Then the trail steeply ascends along a rocky ravine with several stream crossings. You are rewarded with excellent views of towering rock formations, lush foliage, and waterfalls.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, June 5, 2013
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Snickers Gap/Crescent Rock/River Day Hike
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Appalachian Trail
Bluemont, VA
8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 8, 11.0 miles
This is an 11-mile, out-and-back hike along the Appalachian Trail and a side trail in Virginia and West Virginia, with a lot of up and down. We will hike alongside the mountain, with a lovely view of the Shenandoah River Valley for much of the hike. We will stop for a first lunch at Crescent Rock and enjoy the rock cliffs and view. We will then continue on the AT toward the Devils Racecourse and pick up the Ridge to River trail. That path descends about two miles through the private property of the Rolling Ridge Foundation before coming out at a lovely waterfall of a side stream that flows in to our turnaround point, the Shenandoah River. When we come back up from the River, we will stop for a second lunch at Crescent Rock before continuing back to the trailhead.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
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Soapstone Valley Trail Evening Hike
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Rock Creek Park
Washington, DC
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
$7 members, $10 non-members
Level: 3, 4.0 miles
This area was named "Best Place in Rock Creek." This is an evening hike in the middle of the week... why not! A good break from the hectic work week. It descends to a riffling creek, a tributary of Broad Branch that looks positively unpolluted in the right light. The trail follows the creek for a bit and then you cross it by hopping the stones (probably granite, since most of the actual soapstone was quarried out some time ago). You'll crisscross the creek seven or so more times as the valley grows deeper, greener, and more dense. After a last bit of stone-hopping, Soapstone Valley and the trail ends, spitting you out at Broad Branch Road after a mile-and-a-half.
Registration Deadline: Sunday, June 23, 2013
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Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania Backpacking Trip
Friday-Sunday, July 5-7, 2013
Tioga State Forest
Wellsboro, PA
7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$30 members, $35 non-members
Level: 20.0 miles
Intermediate.
Pine Creek Gorge, commonly referred to as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, is surrounded by approximately 165,000 acres of the Tioga State Forest. The West Rim Trail is a 30-mile hiking trail located adjacent to the Western Rim of Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon. We will have a two-night backpacking trip on the West Rim Trail.
This trip is not recommended for novice backpackers. WWO has a limited amount of backpacks, sleeping bags, tents and stoves available to loan.
Registration Deadline: Friday, June 28, 2013
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Volcano and Dinosaur Day Hike
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Dumfries, VA
9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 5, 7.0 miles
This hike is named for the geology walk in Prince William Forest National Park. The hike starts on the North Fork of Quantico Creek. Along the trail are markers discussing the geologic history of the area from 57 million years ago through the Jurassic period to the present. If you have no interest in geology, it is also a very pretty walk along the river. After the geology walk, we will continue the hike along the South Fork of Quantico Creek to finish the loop back to the trailhead.
The park may charge an admission fee of $4 per car.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 10, 2013
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Blackburn AT Day Hike
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Hillsborough, VA
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 5, 6.0 miles
We will start from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club's Blackburn Trail Center. The Appalachian Trail runs above that, up a rather steep bit of path. There are several great rock outcrops from which to view the Shenandoah Valley to the west as we hike north on the trail. We will walk 2.5 miles to Buzzard Rock, then another mile or so to the David Lesser Shelter, where there is a porch swing in addition to a picnic table next to the shelter. We may go an extra half mile down to a spring near the shelter, then reverse our course back to Blackburn.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 17, 2013
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Old Rag Day Hike
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Shenandoah National Park, VA
8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 11, 7.0 miles
This perennial favorite is a challenging 7-mile hike, with 2200 feet of elevation gain. It features scrambling over and between boulders on the trail, as well as some hand-over-hand climbing. The reward at the top is a 360-degree view of peaks, valleys, and towns.
The park charges $8 per person for this hike. Please bring this fee with you on the day of the hike. If the weather is not appropriate for Old Rag, our back-up hike will be White Oak Canyon, another Level 11 hike nearby.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 31, 2013
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Bear Church Rock Day Hike
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Shenandoah, VA
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
$10 members, $15 non-members
Level: 8, 10.0 miles
Unlike many of the other picturesque hikes in the Shenandoah National Park, the Bear Church Rock circuit is not nearly as well known. This hike starts along the beautiful Rapidan River, then heads up alongside Staunton River with small falls and pools, before making a steep climb to the panoramic outcropping of views at Bear Church Rock.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, August 14, 2013
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