I went to Dolly Sods for the first time last Friday (4-2-10). I have to say that the road is very rough once you leave the paved area and hit the dirt road. However, I have to say that I never hit bottom in my car on any rock and I have a Scion XB, You just have to take it relatively slow and watch for rocks.

The last 1.3 miles before you hit Bear Rocks were closed, so I parked my car, grabbed my dog and my water, and walked there. There were no views along the road, save for nice waterfalls both on the left and right due to snowmelt. When I got to the ridge, the view was absolutely spectacular, and you could see for miles and not see a single building.

I found the first trail, Bear Rocks Trail, and that isabout 1/4 of a mile after the parking area for the rocks and Dolly Sods. I was limited for time so I used my GPS and figured out that there are many hikes, some short and some much longer. I took a series of trails (Bear Rocks trail and Beaver Dam trail) that took me in about a 4 mile loop. The scenery was absolutely spectactular and in some cases unequaled from what I have seen from other East Coast hikes, particularly once you hit the streams and the wooded areas. The last thing that I found kind of cool was the fact that it was 83 degrees and I was in shorts, yet when I returned to the road from Beaver Dam Trail I found out why it was closed. Apparently during the storms in February snow had drifted so high in the shaded areas that it was still 2 feet deep right in the middle of the road. How high that snow must have been to still be there even with the warm weather we had been having! There was no way around it, so I had to walk straight through it. It was really quite strange being hot and having your feet freezing cold at the same time.

The last thing I would say about this area, is that it is very marshy and at times downright wet and muddy, so I would recommend replacement socks/shoes/or boots. But to me that just added to the experience. I was not expecting to go on top of a mountain and find marshland. It really seemed kind of surreal.

In the wee hours of the morning, with rain hanging in the hills and AC/DC blaring from the speakers, I roared into West Virginia high country, here I come!

Sep 7th, 2009: Dolly Sods Wilderness

Mountains have been hard to come by, here in the Pittsburgh area. Loads of hills and other goodies, but the high country had remained elusive. A few people recommended West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest so, after some homework, I settled on the Dolly Sods Wilderness region. This high plateau (~2700ft-4000ft) promised nice hiking and especially open views, which had been relatively hard to come by in Pennsylvania's green hills.

I had an ambitious day planned so was out of the house by 2:30am. My first planned objective had been to catch the sunrise at Bear Rocks and its awesome views (not part of the hike). Rain and dark clouds meant that this was a bust, so I saved that for a non-rainy day. (Snafu #1.)

I only had a map with me (in Pittsburgh, West Virginia guide-books are hard to come by on short notice) so promptly drove to the wrong trailhead. (Snafu #2.) There was a trailhead sign and a fair number of cars parked, the location seemed to tally (somewhat) with what I could see on my map, and there was a wide trail heading off into the hills. Moron that I am, I took this one...a half-hour later I knew that I had made a mistake so back I went. Oh, did I mention that I first explored the correct route but abandoned it too soon.

Finally, after chatting with some back-packers who were finishing off their hike, I found out that the road ended little more than a mile shy of the trailheads. 15min later I was at the start of the Big Stonecoal Trail and on my hike. Right from the beginning the scenery was spectacular. With the light rain the colors of the ferns (both green and gold), mountain laurel, and even the ground, were turbo-charged. Almost unreal

The trail was easily graded by the surface, at times, was a rocky, rooty mess. A couple of miles into the hike I entered a creepy grove of previously burnt, dark trees. The branches were completely bare and stuck out like porcupine quills. Gawking at the weird sight I took a wrong turn and was soon happily squishing my way through a boggy area, where I encountered bear paw-prints, gravel bars and meandering Big Stonecoal Run. (Snafu #3, but not really, since the entire area was extremely scenic.)

My original plan was a longish loop, but with the various time-consuming snafus along the way this had to be cut in favor of a much shorter loop. So, once back on the Big Stonecoal trail, I turned left onto the Rocky Point trail. Think of the worst creek-bed style trail you can and that was the Rocky Point trail...ugh. A short way into the trail I took a  side trip up to Rocky Point. This was the best part of the hike. Meadows, ferns, flowers, autumnal colors, cool rocky outcrops with views of the surrounding mountains, and best of all, a trail that vended its way through an honor-guard of young pines.

After the side trip to Rocky Point, followed by another side trip down to a cascading waterfall, I put on the after-burners. The remaining ankle-twisting mess of the Rocky Point trail was dispatched quickly. After intersecting with the Red Creek trail, I motored along until I hit the Breathed Mountain trail, which would complete my loop. Quick progress slowed down here as I encountered gorgeous meadows and fern/boulder gardens. I was still able to maintain a 3mi/hour clip though and reached my car 9.5hr/14mi after starting.

What an amazing place!  Definitely one of the wildest areas in the east, it feels like you traveled a couple thousand miles north into the Canadian wilderness.  Lots of beautiful Red Spruce and bogs make this a very unique landscape for this part of the country.  A perfect place for viewing wildlife, todays count was 30+ deer and 0 people on the trail, good stuff!  Lots of rabbits and turkeys as well to keep you on your toes.

The ride from Arlington only took 2h 45m, a bit less than google maps had anticipated, nevertheless this is a bit far to travel for a day hike, but certainly well worth it.  Nearly all trails were wet, Dobbins trail was VERY wet, you will get soaked here, bring extra shoes and socks for sure.  After yesterdays rain, the 2nd Red Creek crossing on the return was ankle deep, brrr.  Snowed nearly all day today, easily 15-20 degrees colder than the surrounding valleys.

I'm sure someone else mentioned this, but the gates on Forest Road 75 are still closed, i guess they are opened in May?  Regardless, I ended up parking at the south end of 75 (follow Jordan Run a couple miles farther for alternate entrance) and making the 6 mile "warm up" hike up FR 75 to this loop.  I was gung-ho at the time....23 miles roundtrip made for a long day.

In closing i would recommend this hike to anyone, it is unbelieveable country....i can't wait to see it in the height of summer.  Trails are quite easy to follow, Rocky Ridge is a little unclear in spots, just look for the cairns.

This is a little longer than I like to drive for a weekend hike, but I was not disappointed.  It took about 4 hrs from Richmond to get to the trail head.  The last 4-5 miles to the trailhead is a gravel road and fairly steep so just when I thought I was making good time, I had to slow down to 10-15 mph. The trail is not too far from Seneca Rocks so I camped at Seneca Shadows Campground after my hike and had Seneca Rocks in the background. What a great way to top off the day even after all the beautiful views on the hike.  As some of the other reviewers have stated, your boots will probably get wet.  This was especially true on Saturday due to some heavy rain on Thursday but it was worth getting my feet wet, the views just did not stop!!!