October 18, 19, 20, 2021
Skyline Drive, as you might imagine, runs the ridge line of the Blue Ridge mountains, and hence nearly every trail heads downhill!! The Appalachian Trail (AT) runs along the drive, and many trails do head up to the peaks, so you could pick a hike that doesn‘t drop downward, but we didn’t…Some lovely mixed hardwood forest going into fall color, clear creeks with cascades, and a long slog uphill - was the theme of our hikes.
The Skyline drive, when connected to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP), is a whopping 574 miles. And it has lookouts every few miles. The Skyline Dr alone has 71 lookouts in its 105 mile length! The Skyline is completely within the Shenandoah National Park, but the BRP (the longest linear park), is all “managed” by the NPS, even though the roadway runs thru State Parks, Recreation areas, and Forest Service land. We camped along the route for 3 nights, first night at Loft Mountain, and the next two at Rocky Knob. On our layover day, we decided on an epic 11 mile hiking loop from the campground. We were surprised to see dogs on all the trails, even in Shenandoah, and the first set of pups were wearing orange vests!? Shoot! It’s hunting season!! Luckily I was wearing my red backpack 🎒. Rock Castle Gorge Loop trail had some 2000 ft of elevation loss, and almost all within the 2 miles section at the beginning… We made it out just before dark, and relaxed by a fire with our easy backpacking meal dinner. The rest of the drive down the BRP to Asheville, NC was the show stopper for Fall colors - especially near Grandfather mountain!
To do this area right, and take in all the sites, we might have to spend the rest of our lives here😋.
