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)
If you are coming from the north on 42, then short cut on SR 736 just south of Parnasus (SR 737 is a dirt road). After turning off 250 at the Mountain House Picnic area go straight past parking for the picnic area and use the parking area near the vehicle gate. Water was high enough April 17 in Ramsey's Draft Right Prong at the trail crossing for the ridge trail to Big Bald Knob that one could not cross stone to stone. So, if you are not wearing knee boots, then, at the parking area, hike across the stream bed to a fallen tree to the right slightly downstream. If your balance is good, then walk across the tree. On the east side go downstream about 30 yards to a slight hollow that will take you up to the ridge trail. Hiking upstream on the left side of the loop to cross over and get on the ridge trail is not an option because the drop off on the east side of the stream is cliff-like in places, and you will be too far from the ridge trail.
By:
Steve S
Rating:
Date of Hike: Friday, April 17, 2009
This was my first backpacking trip! A buddy and I spent friday through sunday hiking. The first day we got a late start and were a little rushed to make the pond area we intended to camp by sundown. It was very physically and mentally demanding, because every time we thought that we were ascending the final peak to our destination we were greeted with another knob. The views were beautiful however, but we were too rushed to enjoy them Fri. We were blessed to make our camp at the pond just at sundown and to have wood left for us by previous campers for a fire. There is a pseudo-pond / depression w/ muddy water on the left of the trail not too far before the actual pond. THIS IS NOT THE POND!!! THERE IS A REAL POND WITH PLENTY OF WATER IN IT!!! You will need to cover your H20 pre filter with a piece of cloth or coffee filter and some rubberbands so as not to clog it. The stary sky was a great reward for our efforts that day. The next day we headed to Hiner spring to camp. If you aare facing the pond the trail is to the right in the woods and goes straight up bald knob which is not really bald but thick w/ trees. It's a good idea to have a compass w/ you. While looking for tearjacket trail which is a hard left off of the baldridge / dividing ridge trail there is a trail that is a hard left that was not on any of our maps. It went North and the correct trail goes West. There is also an old wood sign at the correct turn that says Ramseys Draft Wilderness on it. Good spot to take a lunch break before going up hill a ways to Hiner Spring. We got there in about 3 hours and found plenty of wood for a fire and plenty of spots to camp. While cooking dinner 9 deer came down about 15 yards away to eat and drink at the spring. That was Saturday. Sunday we hiked down the draft and back to our car. This wasn't as physically challenging as the 1st day. But there were about 12 stream crossings and we had wet socks. 4 or 5 we walked across blowdowns of huge trees across the draft. We had to go over/around countless blowdowns and many areas have alot of rocks that slow you down a bit trying not to twist your ankles. There are a number of campsites in the draft also that we werent aware of. This was a great first trip, but very demanding physically over all.
By:
SSW
Rating:
Date of Hike: Friday, October 17, 2008
As the other reviews make reference too, hiking ramsey's draft is a very rewarding and challenging experience but also can be difficult and frustrating due to lack of good blazes and signage. We actually tried to do the hike back in the spring by initially crossing the river and then going up along the ridge. This turned out to be a disaster from the start, as we crossed the river too far down stream, and ended up scaling the side of the ridge to find the beginning of the trail. After hiking a little over a mile along the ridge, we thought we had passed the point to turn left on the 'bald knob' trail, so we turned around and hiked back to the parking lot, and then continued up the draft and camped along the river. Hiking up the draft proved to be pretty wet, and my feet were completely soaked the entire hike. That night a thunderstorm rolled in and a tree fell on our tent, nearly killing us!! So, lessons learned....
1) if you are planning on hiking in along the ridge (which is my suggestion) make sure to stay on the west side of the river until you clearly see the trail turn right and cross the stream. You can be sure you are on the trail after you cross the stream because it parallels the river for several hundred yards on a nice uphill slope and in the initial stages their are even rock 'stairs' which make the climb easy.
2) When hiking along the ridge, it is extremely obvious when you get to the bald knob trail to turn left, there are several signs on a tree, and it is nearly impossible to get lost on the way to this intersection, as their is no where else to go and the trail is well worn and blazed.
3) In the spring the water will be high, prepare to get wet... when we redid this hike in the fall it was bone dry, so that was nice for the hike, but bad for fishing
4) When setting up camp, be aware of the trees around you!!! we should have taken warning when we saw all the downed trees along the path.
Fall hike: we returned in the fall to do the hike again, going in along the ridge. Most of the brush was dead, so it was fairly straightforward to follow the trail as it zig-zags along the ridges. It was difficult to tell where we were the entire time along the ridge until we finally reached the pond (in my opinion, would be a great place to camp).
The trail continues around the northern side of the pond (you don't have to walk around the pond, just next to it for a few yards to find the trail) and the trail starts to go uphill for several hundred yards. Eventually you get to a rock outcropping which you have to climb over.
I never noticed the top of 'bald knob', but eventually you come to to a 'Y' intersection at which to go right, as the trail left will soon disappear into brush (i suggest taking it for a minute just to make sure). Go another 1-1.5 miles downhill and eventually you will get to a sign and board which point towards the trail leading back to hiner spring.
The trail to the spring was easy to follow in the fall, but i can imagine late spring and summer being very difficult as the trail goes through a lot of brush, and is slightly uphill until you get to the 'spring' clearing. We made camp at the spring, and actually cooked steaks, onions, and potatoes. We did a poor job of cleaning up the steak grease, and got really excited about the prospect of a bear coming that night. However, despite our attempts, we did not see any bears the entire trip (though we did put a bear bag up high enough that a raptor couldn't even get to it)! Their was a family of deer around our tent the entire night though, and they are definitely not shy of humans, as they walked within several feet during the night many times.
Along the ridge we saw several grouse, saw some bear droppings, and some horse droppings, but did not run into a person during the hike in. Hiking out along the draft was easy, just follow the stacked up rocks along the draft to see where to cross. In most places their are trails on both sides, so if you miss a crossing you can still find the original trail again. The best places to camp are along the river here. Hiking out on a saturday, we passed many groups hiking in along the river, of which I assume most were heading to the spring. The spring is a great place to camp, but if you are looking for more solitude I would camp along the draft or up on the ridge by the pond.
Overall a good hike, just make sure to get a really good map, compass, and read the reviews on this website!
By:
Mark G
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, August 16, 2008
On 8/16/08 I left the Mtn. House parking lot around 1:30 pm hiking solo. I crossed the Draft -- almost totally dry with zero flow -- heading east, and ascended the Bald Ridge Trail. Goal was to make Hiner's Spring as a campsite and return the next day via Ramsey's Draft. During the first two miles on Bald Ridge Tr., I encountered three mountain bikers but saw no other people the rest of the hike. (Don't know if that part of the trail is in the Wildnerness Area, in which any vehicle use, including bicycles, is prohibited.) Didn't see anyone else for the rest of the trip. The trail was overgrown in parts but generally presented no navigational challenge until I began searching for the "sharp left" past the pond mentioned in the Hiking Upward trail description. I never found the intersecting trail. I got as far as a very brief rock scramble ascending about 10 feet -- after passing the last yellow diamond blaze I saw -- which led, within 1/4 mile, to a campsite nearly overgrown with mtn laurel/rhododendron. The trail appeared to dead end at the campsite. The location of the sharp left (westward) turn given in Hiking Upward, Yochi's 6/8/08 review, and the trail description in "50 Hikes in Virginia" all differ and none got me to the intersection. I was running out of daylight and lacked a compass so did not attempt bushwacking to get to Hiner's Springs. If anyone has guidance on where the sharp turn occurs, I'd appreciate it.
I wound up camping at a bivvy on Bald Mtn Peak with decent views, especially of a spectacular orange "bad moon" (full) rising over North Mtn. around 8:30 pm. On 8/17/08 I returned to the parking lot via the same Bald Ridge Trail. I left camp at 7:00 am and arrived at the lot around 10:30 am.
This is bear country. Througouht the trail on Bald Ridge proper, I encountered lots of bear scat of varying vintage. Particularly in high brush or mountain laurel thickets, I made noise and scared off a couple of bears on 8/16. Bears came to the campsite twice during the night and I saw three bears the next morning. Six of the seven bears were juveniles around 100 lbs, but one was an adult, about 200 lbs, feeding in a tree until it heard/smelled me and then skedaddled.
I also saw grouse in two areas (including a covey of at least eight birds), a raven, a smooth green snake, and deer (does). I heard veeries, peewees, warblers, and a pileated woodpecker, besides more common birds. A few hemlocks dotted the Ridge; perhaps 25-30% suffered from the adgelid. Cinnamon fern scented the ridge plateaus, and in some spots the hickory and maple saplings showed signs of fall color. I wish I knew more about plant identification because the habitat boasted plenty of flowers and trees I didn't recognize. Views along the ridge were good, especially Eastward, with very little evidence of human encroachment. Winter views west and northward should be fine.
I did not think any of the trail posed more than a moderate endurance challenge. (I'm out of shape now -- this was my first aerobic activity in the last two months due to recovery from an injury -- although usually I do a lot of backpacking and trail running.) The biggest problem -- after my inability to locate the trail junction -- was overgrowth, mostly saplings and small hardwoods, but that actually added to the fun in my opinion. Water was absent throughout the trail. What I took to be the "pond" mentioned in the guides -- an oval depression about a foot deep and 30 feet across at its widest point, just north of Gordon's Peak -- was completely dry and filled with a noticeably lush variety of foot-high, grassy weed. (Perhaps I misidentified this depression as "the pond" mentioned in the guides, which in turn led to my not finding the trail to Hiners Spring.) I suggest bringing at least two liters of water to get to Hiners Spring; I had two liters and was rationing it on the return trip. It was in the low to mid 80's both days, sunny, winds about 5 mph during the day with slightly higher gusts, and humidity around 40-50%.
All in all, a delightful hike, especially the wildlife (one of the best hikes ever in that regard). I'll return to find the Hiner Spring trail when I have more daylight available.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Thursday, July 10, 2008
Well, this was not only my first backpacker, but I also went solo. It was a great experience overall. After reading some reviews of nettles and bugs, I made sure to wear pants and spray. I didn't encounter a major problem with either, although at various spots I was quite thankful for the bug spray. Gnats, mostly.
The trail is kind of sketchy at many points. On Gordon's Peak (I think that's where I was) I lost the trail for about 10 minutes but continued zig-zagging up the ridge until I crossed it. Hiners Spring is a great camping spot. Coming down the draft there is a maze of trails, just make sure you never are more than a hundred yards or so from the stream and you'll find your car ok. The trip up to Hiners Spring took me 6 hours exactly and coming back down the draft was a little over 3 hours.
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