The Ramsey's Draft Loop is beautiful with ridge line valley
views, springs and streams but is tiring with long
ascents and knob traverses on the 11.0 mile first day. Unlike
most ridge trails the Bald Ridge Trail is a long series of
ascents and descents of six knobs. It is 6+ hours of hiking
to one of several great camp spots anywhere from Hiner Spring
and below. Also note that some portions of the trails are hard
to spot and not well marked.
Start out at the end of the parking lot for 150
yards then turn right where a trail will cross Ramsey's Draft.
We needed to go about 50 yards upstream to find a low
water spot to cross. Follow the trail as it begins to ascend
the mountain for the longest steepest section of the loop as
it winds up to the ridge in 2.0 miles.
At the ridge turn left
as the trail you have been following now continues
down the other side of the mountain. Follow the ridge trail 4.5
miles (yellow diamond marked in places) as it crosses The Peak,
Bald Ridge Knob, The Pinnacle and Gordon Peak before arriving
at the next trail junction.
There is a small clearing with a trail coming in from the right
and pond to your left. Continue around the pond on the right
side where the trail continues uphill, then descends and in 1.7
miles arrives at the next trail junction.
Turn hard left at this junction and gradually ascend
for 1.3 miles to arrive at Hiner Spring. There are several good
camp sites here.
Turn hard left downhill staying to the left of the stream down
the valley (the trail does not become apparent for about 150
yards as it passes over rocks). In 0.3 miles you will pass several
great camp sites. Choose one for your camping spot.
Continue down the trail as crosses the steam and
in 0.4 miles turns more to the right. For the next
3.0 miles you will cross Ramsey's Draft several more times before
arriving at the intersection of the Jerry's Run Trail that comes
in from the right.Cross the draft again continuing down the
trail as it crosses back and forth several more times for 2.1
miles where you will arrive at the next rail intersection.
Stay left continuing next to the draft for the
remaining 0.1 miles back to the parking area.
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Reviews For The Ramseys Draft Hike (5 Most Recent)
Camped overnight at the trail head and hiked up the draft. The draft itself was running pretty well and it was obvious that higher water had washed out the trail in some places and there were a lot of blow-downs. We used terrain navigation, what beaten path we could find, and carins left by other hikers. We counted 7 stream crossings of which one was tiptoeing over a large downed tree and the other 6 required wading before we got to Jerry's Run. We ended up just leaving our Crocs on and hiking a couple miles in them rather than repeatedly removing our boots. The water was what you'd expect in December. We took a left at Jerry's Run and scambled over a lot of blow-downs and minor stream crossings on the lower half of the trail before having lunch at what used to be Sexton Cabin. The stone chimney and cement pad are all that's left. We climed out to the Shennandoah Mountain trail on the ridge and made a right toward Hiner Spring. Weather was great and the trail was open generally following a contour line. There was also 3-4 inches of snow and small drifts in some places. Lot's of sign of coyotes in the backcountry. We didn't find any water at the the first campsite at a trail intersection so we hiked to Hiner. Lots of water there and generally sheltered. Two other small groups showed up within 15 minutes but there's plenty of space to camp. Temp dropped into the low teens overnight. Broke camp and began hiking back to the Shennandoah Mt trail at 0800. Trail from the Jerry's run intersection back to the Ramseys Draft trailhead was open and there were even a few yellow blazes. Lower half of the trail toward Ramseys Draft was steep with some switchbacks and actually ends up the draft near the first stream crossing. Made it to the lot about 1145. Forest Service wayside and restrooms at the trail head were open and well maintained.
By:
PHIL
Rating:
Date of Hike: Friday, November 18, 2011
Friday 18 Nov 11, crossed the draft and camped on the far side across from the trail head/parking lot. Hiked counterclockwise up to the ridge and the 11 miles to Hiner spring. The section where the trail skirts the east side of the ridge was a little tough to follow. The small lake was frozen on the surface. Hiking temps were in the high 50's, with sunshine, no wind. Both springs were flowing pretty good so there was plenty of water. Twenty minutes down from Hiner spring, used to be a nice campsite with a fire ring next to the creek, but didn't see it. There were quite a bit of new blow-downs since March 2011, so I guess I missed it or it was obliterated by blow-downs. We had the usual 16 crossings once you start walking on the 'flat' area. Our group took about 4 hrs to walk the 5 miles from Hiner to the parking lot, and were amazed it took so long. We had been backpacking and were in to rush, but no one thought we were walking that slow!
By:
Julie
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, October 22, 2011
Another fantastic camping trip. Our large group went in on Friday and came out on Sunday morning. We started out from the parking lot an hiked straight in. The first draft crossing was difficult due to the water level. We were able to find a large enough log for us to drop in the water to cross. It was iffy but it worked. We came to the first camping spot a little over a mile in and set up camp. A great night for camping with a huge fire and temps in the 40's. We mananged to find a second campsite just up the trail but next to the draft. So on Saturday we packed up and moved our camp. It was well worth the move. The sound of a rushing stream in the background makes for some great sleep. 35 degrees on Sunday morning was a little brisk for my liking. The trail to this site was all but gone unitl we cleaned it up. With a great fire pit and a bounty of water it's hard to imagine a better site. We have been to Ramseys Draft a number of times and were surprised at the number of people out there. The solitude for this trail is not what it used to be, many hikers are finding out what a great place this is. Can't wait til next year!
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 10, 2011
This was an amazing, awesome, and beautiful hike. I met my buddy at the trail head Friday night, and we camped next to the parking area, not too bad of a spot. The next morning we woke up and hiked up the prescribed path. This was a very narrow and rigorous climb, but not too bad. The real workout comes when you start hiking up and down the various peaks. This part of the hike is no joke, hats off to anyone who can do this in a day - I run 20 miles a week and struggled up to Bald Ridge Knob. Also, it should be noted on top of the ridge there are various spots which one can get off of the path (we did this twice), you will realize your mistake when it becomes almost unbearable, just hike back up to the ridge and you will be fine. We did see a nice large pile of bear poo on top of the ridge, but never saw a single bear. We set up camp in Hiner Springs, some people have done some nice work on those sites, and left us a long log we used parts of to make a fire with. We were able to hike to Hardscrable knob that night, and I am glad we did, for this time of the year it is the only place with a decent view. That night at Hiner Springs we had a doe come up in our camp site, she scared me at first (I thought it was a bear, I couldn't see it, but I heard breathing and its footsteps). Anyhow, she was very interested in us, but not scared at all. The next morning we hiked down the Draft, and made several crossings my estimate is probably about 15 crossings, and both of us got our feet in the water on different crossings (just plan on this happening). We made it back to the car and ate some lunch at this fantastic spot in Churchville called T-Bone Tooters, I highly recommend!
By:
BryanH
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, August 20, 2011
We chose to make this hike an overnight trip. We decided to hike across the knobs around to Hiner Springs and camp for the night. About 2 hours into the trip we encountered 2 small bears that hurried away from us as we approached. That night in Hiner Springs we were accompanied by 3 deer. They were not scared of us at all and came within 10 feet of us while we ate. The hike the next morning, back to the parking lot, was much easier as it was almost all down hill. This was a tough hike but we had a great time!
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