A Week in the Heart of the Appalachian Mountains: West Virginia & Pennsylvania

[mortonm]

This was going to be an action packed day, and we were lucky that we got off to an early start. After finishing up Canaan Loop we would be travelling through the Dolly Sods Wilderness, then to Seneca Rocks, followed by Spruce knob, the highest peak in West Virginia.

The Dolly sods is a very unique and interesting area, with great hiking and many things to do. Today we would just be doing a scenic cruise through the wilderness on our way to Seneca Rocks



Lots of tight twisty roads, elevation change and intermittant great scenery.



Next up was Seneca Rocks, a unique formation with exposed rocks, fairly rare in Appalachia







For those History Buffs, the US 10th Mountain Division trained here before shipping off to fight in the Second World War

 

[mortonm]

The next section of our trip, is one of my most memorable spots, of all the scenery and all the mountains and valleys we saw, this one stuck out the most to me. As we were traveling from Seneca Rocks to Spruce Knob the back way, we were driving along ridge lines and gaining elevation. We were on a fairly well maintained dirt road, with heavy tree cover on both sides, all of a sudden we pulled out into a Valley. Its hard to describe, but it was a perfect little Mountain Valley tucked up high, and from what we could tell only had one way in/out on each end. It was just wide and flat enough to have a farm to two nestled within. I am not sure of the name for the Valley, if it had one but we dubbed it the Hidden Valley. It was only a few miles long but it was certainty a place I would love to own a cabin in.



There are actually a couple of things to note in this valley that we discovered later. The Sinks of Gandy are a geological feature running right through here. YOu can actually access them right near where that photo was taken. At the time we only saw the marking on the map, and it was private property so we didn't investigate further. It is an underground river/cave that runs under part of Yokum Knob and is about 3/4 of a mile long.

There was also a minor skirmish during the Civil war in this area, 8 confederate soldiers who had been radiinng into West Virginia were being chased by union soldiers after robbing a general store. They caught up to them at the Sinks of Gandy and a gunfight ensued. Several of the soldiers were killed and the stolen property recovered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinks_of_Gandy

From There we continued on towards Spruce Knob, we were making some time as the day was getting long. Spruce Knob is the highest peak in the Mountain State coming in at 4863 feet. There is a parking lot, washrooms and an observation tower as well as a small trail along the summit.













We stayed at the overlook for quite awhile, it was the highest point either of us had been during our exploring adventures, and it was a spectacular sight, with nearly 180 degrees of scenery.

 

[mortonm]

As we left Spruce Knob and headed South, we needed to start looking for a place to stay that night. Mountain State Overland had provided 5 free campsite locations along a small creek. As we drove by then one by one they were all full, and the weather was turning nasty pretty quick. We made the executive decision to get a hotel in Cass, WV for the night. We were planning on riding the Cass scenic railroad the next so it made sense.

Cass is an old logging town, and much of it was owned by the logging company. Many of these houses have now been refurbished and turned into rental spots. We weren't aware of this until the next day and grabbed a room in the only hotel in town, the Bear Creek Lodge. The room was only $60 since they thought the AC was broken (it wasn't) and it was actually really quite nice and clean. They had food downstairs as well as beer.

We walked around town a bit before dinner to see about the train schedule for the next day.

Greenbrier River



Old Hardware Store truck from town, I bet this old truck has seen some rough roads and tough times.





Rail Station and the old company store on the hill to the left



We cooked dinner on the balcony and went to bed fairly early, using the wifi to post a few pictures and catch up on emails/let our families know we were still alive.



The next day would be our last in West Virginia for the Trip, after the Railroad our plan was to head North through Virginia to Gettysburg and Pennsylvania....stay tuned

 

[mortonm]

The next morning we got up early and walked over to purchase our tickets for the Cass Scenic Railway. There are two rides, a 2 hour trip up the Mountain to Whittaker Station or a 5 hour trip to Bald Knob (which is almost as high as Spruce knob). The train trides didnt start until 11 so we opted for the shorter trip to Whittaker station and back.

We wandered around the town a bit visting the museum, which had a model of the town during its boom time in the early 20th centurty.

These trains were open for having a look around inside











I dont know how old this register is in the Company Store but they seem to like Canadians!



This is the engine we rode on, its is A Shay Locomotive, and was used here because of its ability to carry large loads up steep grades.





Built in Lima, Ohio

 

[mortonm]

The old Rail yard where they would service and maintain the locomotives. They had exact replicas of every single piece on the trains and cars made from wood so that they could cast a replacement in a matter of hours, instead of bringing in the part.



New Rail yard where the trains are currently worked on



Heading out



We were in the last car right before the engine (which was pushing not pulling), the smoke was really pouring out of the locomotive, pretty cool to be standing 10 feet away



A few nice look outs on the way up

 

[mortonm]

Whittaker Station used to house logging crews who would chop the wood and load it onto the rail cars to be taken to the Mill in Cass, then sent all over the Eastern United States.



Now there is some old loggin equipment and cars set up for a mini tour and break on the trip.



Heading back down



Here is the Bald Knob Train heading passed. There are several switchbacks which allow the trains to gain elevation without traveling around the entire mountain.



After the train got back (a little later than we thought) it was time to make some miles and head back into the National Forest. We spent a few hours traversing mountain after mountain, up and down through some great dirt roads, nothing too technical but a nice drive and we were able to make some headway.

This night we were supposed to stay at a few free spots along the West Vriginia/Virginia Border



However the two or three best spots were occupied and a few of the others were quite overgrown. As we came down off of the Mountain, which had been straddling the state line, we came into Virginia in earnest and left West Virginia for the final time of this trip.



We decided to find a campground from our GPS that was in the general direction of Gettysburg. We found one about a hundred miles away that sounded pretty nice. We started a cannonball run over the mountains and into the Shenandoah Valley. It wasn't until we got relatively close that we realized it was a KOA site, oh well. It was actually pretty cheap and really nice and it was already into the twilight so we had no other option. It wasn't the best solution but the plus is that we had made it 2 hours closer to Gettysburg for the next day.

As we pulled into camp we ran into the largest grouping of deer I have ever seen in the wild, there was easily in excess of 10, but the its hard to tell from the pictures. We took this as a good sign.







We made some dinner, had a few beers and had a good nights sleep. The next morning we would be up early to push North through the Shenandoah Valley into Maryland, then Pennsylvania

 

[jhill15]

What an awesome trip! We live in Charleston so this is right in our back yard. Love black water falls, I havent been to cass since I was a kid but man I would love to take my kids up there for the train ride. The canaan loop is something im gonna have to do, we go bording up at timberline but most of the times ive been up there when its a white out and you can only see 3 ft in front of you lol.

Gotta get up there
Thanks for sharing
Cheers! !

 

[mortonm]

What an awesome trip! We live in Charleston so this is right in our back yard. Love black water falls, I havent been to cass since I was a kid but man I would love to take my kids up there for the train ride. The canaan loop is something im gonna have to do, we go bording up at timberline but most of the times ive been up there when its a white out and you can only see 3 ft in front of you lol.

Gotta get up there
Thanks for sharing
Cheers! !

Thank you! lots of adventure left on this trip once we were out of WV !

 

[jds0912]

Cool trip. Sub'd

 

[Cereal_Killer]

Right through my area! I'm in Waynesboro, PA, just north of Hagerstown, MD, just across the state border. Great trip report. Definitely want to do this kind of trip myself.
Have fun through my neck of the woods and stay safe.

 

[Haggis]

Hell mortonm did you you read all of our old trip reports? :elkgrin:

Looks like you had a great trip! Thanks for sharing your tale with us.

 

[mortonm]

Hell mortonm did you you read all of our old trip reports? :elkgrin:

Looks like you had a great trip! Thanks for sharing your tale with us.

I have read a good many of your threads, and have gotten many helpful hints!!

 

[msoverland]

Sweet shots and a great trip report this far! You guys are certainly covering some ground.

 

[cobra_4]

Awesome trip! Thanks for sharing! West Virginia is some pretty country, I took a tour of it back in June, only from the asphalt as a part of the Hot Rod Power Tour, we went up Hwy 119 from the Tennessee line all the way to Charleston, very pretty drive.

 

[mortonm]

Sweet shots and a great trip report this far! You guys are certainly covering some ground.

Awesome trip! Thanks for sharing! West Virginia is some pretty country, I took a tour of it back in June, only from the asphalt as a part of the Hot Rod Power Tour, we went up Hwy 119 from the Tennessee line all the way to Charleston, very pretty drive.

Thanks guys!