Skyland North
Rock Spring Hut to Skyland North ~ 9 miles total ~ November 3, 2001
It was another unseasonably warm day at around 75'. Luckily, it was raining in the morning, so when I got to the park, there weren't too many people there. Later in the day, the place filled up. I'd say it was in the low 60's at elevation.
This hike was only about 4 miles of AT, but it got me to the middle of the Central Section, and having a hut there meant it was likely a one day hike from the next hut, which should make things more convenient if the next hike is an overnighter. Considering how long it takes to get to that point via Skyline Drive, I kind of think it will be.
I had estimated the distance of this hike at 6 miles, but then as I was skirting the back of Hawksbill, I decided that I'd go back climbing over it, since it is the highest point in SNP and I was already there. The thing about the 6 mile estimate is that I was timing myself thinking I was doing six miles. As a result of this, I did the 9 miles and 2688' of climbing in 3.5 hours, all the time thinking that it *seemed* like I was making much better progress than my watch indicated. I'm glad I didn't know it was 9 miles until afterwards -- I never would have believed I'd make that distance and I might have made different choices.
The AT on this section isn't particularly interesting, but I did see a 4 point buck, which is something I've never seen before. Not only did I see this big buck, it didn't even get out of the trail until I was about 10 feet from it. It stepped off and looked at me impatiently as I passed by. This was in the little oasis of wilderness between the Skyland stables parking at the parking for Stony Man, amazingly enough. There is about 1 mile of trail in there though.
Hawksbill is very much worth the climb, but I can make a couple of statements about it. I think I made the right choice in direction: the climb down (for me on the north side of the mountain) was very steep. The people I saw climbing up that way were all sweating and tired looking. The second statement is that it is very hard to find the right trail down once you get up to the summit if you are northbound. I don't think I can help much except to say it's the trail behind Byrd's Nest that is the narrower of the two. One is more like a fire road. It's not that one.
I used that trail over Hawksbill, the Crescent Rock Trail, the Limberlost Trail and a yellow-blazed horse trail to return to my car. I also used about 1.5 miles of AT on the return trip between Hawksbill Gap and Mary's Rock and then that last bit within the Skyland property. The Crescent Rock Trail is very nice and would be stunning in the spring. Limberlost is similar except that it is utterly flat and is nearly paved. It would be gorgeous with all the rhododendrons in bloom, but I'm sure it would be packed with people.
