6/22/13:
Stars: 4.1 out of 5
Pros: Difficulty, Destination
Cons: Parking Lot, Trail Maintenance
My neighbor, BN,
asked me if I wanted to go on a day hike with him and a couple of his friends.
They were going on what promised to be a beautiful Saturday to a place called
St. Mary’s Falls (St. Mary's Falls), which I believe is also known as St. Mary’s Wilderness, out
off of I-64 past Charlottesville. They were leaving at 7:30am. Well, I only
worked 9pm Friday night to 6am Saturday morning and sleep is WAY overrated, so why
the hell not? I was in. I got off work, packed me some peanut butter &
jelly sandwiches and strapped on my hiking sneakers. I was ready to go!
We met up with
his friends at a park & ride off of 64. Our party consisted of CE (our fearless & bold leader), AE (his lovely wife), S (the rugged trail master), (S’s awesome 8 year old son) and BN & myself (the most debonair S.O.B’s you’ll ever meet). We were accompanied by C & A’s 2 dogs. Quite the party with a diverse range of experience and fitness. Being such a wide swatch of people I am able to provide a lot of different insights. It also made for a very wide range of hiking conversation, which I appreciated. We condensed down from 3 cars to 2
and headed out. I slept most, if not all
of the 1.5 hour drive, so for me it was very nice. I can’t actually comment on
what it was in reality though. I have driven that stretch of 64 plenty of times
in my travels back to Blacksburg and I personally find it to be an easy
drive. You will have to judge that for
yourself though.
The parking lot
and trail head are located at the end of a long dirt road. The parking lot is
long, but quite narrow, especially when people park along the edge behind you.
I recommend you get there early in the morning and back into your parking spot.
We had quite a bit of trouble getting our SUV out when we were ready to leave.
An extra 3 feet in width would have made this parking lot so much easier to
navigate. I feel like at this point though, it is how it will always be so get
there early and park smart.
The trail head is
marked with a giant board that provides all sorts of information, like what to
do if you encounter bears (don’t attempt to snuggle with them). The trail to
the waterfall isn't terribly long, I want to say 2.75 miles. It follows a
stream/river for almost the entire time. You veer away from it briefly, but
it’s never very far away. The trail starts out pretty easy. We hit a nasty
smelling muddy section about 15 minutes in and it was the first of many. Granted,
it had monsooned almost every day for the entire week so that was to be
expected. I found the trail to be fairly challenging. It certainly isn't the
type of trail you want to do if you are just expecting a nice stroll through
the woods. There are several sections where you are gingerly stepping on the
edge of a drop-off. Not a big one mind you, but 5 to 10 feet high. Enough of a
fall onto rocks that if you slipped off, you would be painfully aware of it.
There are also several river crossings. Not the kind with a bridge or stepping
stones, but the kind where you just walk across the river. If you intend to
stay dry when you hike, this is not the one for you. I suggest you wear either
good supportive water-shoes or a pair of sneakers you don’t mind getting wet and
muddy. You can wear hiking boots, but the trail isn't that difficult that you
really need them. I did just fine in my sneakers.
All that being
said, I was very disappointed in the maintenance of this trail. Maybe I’m just spoiled by all
the hiking I've done in the Adirondacks of NY and the Blue Ridge Mts. around
Blacksburg. Those trails all seem to be constantly maintained and updated. This
trail looks like someone started, but just gave up. One part of the trail
collapsed into the river back during the torrential rains from a hurricane
years ago. No effort has been made to reconstruct that part of the trail.
Instead, they just added a river crossing, a 30 foot trail and then another
river crossing. There are also plenty of blown down trees that haven’t been
cleared off the path. Not a big deal for the adults, but a bit of a struggle
for the 8 year old. It makes me wish that the government would reform the
Civilian Conservation Corps so that they could maintain and expand all these
trails. But that is a wish if I've ever made one…
The goal of this
hike is, of course, the waterfall. It certainly isn't massive, but it’s really
pretty. It dumps down into a very deep swimming hole. There are 2 little cliffs
that are very accessible if you are one of the brave that wants to jump down
into the pool. I am not, but C and S both did it. The water is… well, freezing
is truly the only word to describe it. It isn't bad once you get in, which is
the hardest part. If you climb above the falls via the path to the left there
is a second swimming area up there. That is where S convinced his son to jump in twice, like a little gangster. He
was pretty gutsy for a little guy. Kudos to him. The dogs really enjoyed the
water too. They were able to keep up with us the whole hike. I don’t think that
would have been the case if they had been leashed though as there is just too
much stuff to climb over and around. So, if your dog has a tendency to bolt
away if not on the leash, not a good hike for them.
The walk back to
the car seems way longer then the hike up because you are tired. It’s
where had the most trouble. But getting
back to the car and changing out of our wet shoes and socks (BRING DRY SPARES)
was an amazing feeling. I slept most of the way home (I had to work that night
too so leave me be) so I once again can’t comment on the drive. Sorry folks.
If you are
looking to spend the day out of Richmond proper and want to challenge yourself
then head to St. Mary’s Falls. The hike is nice, the swimming is fun and there
are lots of breweries & wineries on the way back home to quench your thirst
(see my next post).
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