Monday, January 23, 2012
High meadows, windswept vistas on a mild day. It was too good to be true, especially after morning rain kept me off the trail until 11AM. Much later and I wouldn’t have been able to make the out-and-back trek over 4400-foot Chestnut Knob. But the weather cleared – one last shower got me wet as I started out, and fog on the ridge obscured all the vistas on the way up, but that’s the beauty of hiking the trail twice – a second chance at seeing the sights. After dropping down 900 feet to Walker Gap where I ended yesterday, the fog had lifted, and on my return leg, Chestnut Ridge presented me with all the glory of its grand vistas:
And at the very top, standing defiantly before the rasping mountain winds, is Chestnut Knob Shelter – a true mountaintop refuge. This is one of the few shelters that is entirely enclosed and has windows and a door. And it’s built like a bomb shelter–with stone walls that must be two feet thick. It used to have a big inside fireplace, but they’ve filled that in and closed off the chimney.
Finally, even at 4400 feet, the hale species Quercus alba (White Oak) thrives. Here’s another look at the one from the featured photo – a big old squat specimen standing just off the trail:
Highlights of the 2100-foot climb/descent off the ridge include a quarter mile stretch of trail with 120 log steps (yes, I counted them), and this creative yet functional trail art:
—————————————-
I got in 13 1/2 miles despite the late start – that meant a late finish too. I was hiking until just after sunset, and once again I was alone on the trail all day. Too bad, because Chestnut Ridge was unusually welcoming for a mid-winter day. Climatologically this is the coldest week of the year, and yet the temperature was up over 60 degrees this afternoon.
—————————————-
Below are plots of my detailed GPS track and Elevation Profile, and the AllTrail page also links that track to photos:
AT Day 23 – Chestnut Ridge at AllTrails