The Wild Oak Trail, George Washington National Forest VA - trip report and photos

[headsizeburrito]

So I decided it was getting silly to put so much stuff in a single giant thread, so I'll just make more new threads I guess.

[For those tracking fall colors, this hike and these photos were on Oct 26]

The Wild Oak Trail is a loop in the George Washington National Forest and designated as a National Recreation Trail. The distance is about 28mi and the elevation gain/loss depends on who you ask. VHTRC reports 7,800ft, but that is too high. Measuring it on Caltopo says 7,100 and my GPS reported 6,600. So that's a pretty good range, but I'd expect something between the lower two numbers to be most in line with reality. Anyway, it's got a pretty good bit of up and down for VA.

Due to a combination of liking sleep and having a long drive, I reached the trailhead fairly late. This was clearly not going to be a crowded trail because even at 9:30am on a Saturday during "everyone go look at colorful leaves" season there were only four other cars in the lot. I did see a group car camping next to the trail in one spot and one unoccupied tent along the trail, but the only people I actually saw on the trail all day were one trio of hikers and one mountain biker. The trail is marked with Morse code style white blazes of a short blaze above a longer blaze. It's quite well established in most places and junctions generally have good signs. Most is typical single track trail, but at opposite ends of the spectrum one section is along a dirt road, while another is steep and fairly overgrown to the point where it looked more like an old abandoned trail, but GPS confirmed I was still on track.

I don't know if there is a canonical direction to do the loop, but I chose counter clockwise to do the big climbs in the first half, which I think is the best way to go. The trail starts with a pretty good climb to Grindstone, then moderates a little but continues a steady upward trend to Little Bald Knob, the high point of the route. I was hoping that the elevation and name meant there would be some good views, but there isn't much to see. After a steady descent (that did have one nice opening looking out into some great fall color) you cross the North River and pass Camp Todd along SR 95, where I saw a group of car campers. Luckily the river was pretty low and easy to cross without getting wet, this was the only spot where that was a possibility. From there you climb again to Big Bald Knob, which despite it's name is smaller than it's similarly named neighbor. The descent from here is one of the steepest sections of trail and ends in another gravel road crossing (SR 715). The final climb is fairly moderate up to Hankey Mountain and the ridge that the trail will descend (with some minor ups and downs) for pretty much the rest of the loop. This section was a bit of a slog, especially once it got dark, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice bridge to cross the North River this time around before the final flat section back to the trailhead.

Overall I'd call the route pleasant but unremarkable. It had three or four nice views and a couple good climbs, but not a lot of variety for 28 miles of hiking. I did certainly appreciate the small number of people I saw, and the fall colors were quite nice. Weather was great for hiking with cool temps and clouds but no rain. There were minor but established tent sites every few miles it seemed, so if you were looking for a quiet overnight loop it might be a good option.

That night getting ready for bed I spotted a tick attached on my upper thigh. This was my first one after living in the region for over a year, so that's a pretty good record, but it was still a bit gross. I was wearing long pants all day and didn't contact much brush, but these things happen. I also didn't use any DEET/picaridan because I wrongly assumed it wasn't an issue as it cooled down in late October. I went to my first aid kit and pulled out my tick key, slightly excited to use a never before applied gadget. The tick was very small and not engorged, so despite many attempts it would just slip through the key without any effect. Giving that up, I used tweezers instead, pulling it out and washing it down the drain, then cleaning the area with an alcohol wipe. Infection generally takes a while and it couldn't have been attached for more than about 12 hours, so I'm pretty sure I'm safe, but might be a little paranoid about it for a while. In any case I'll have to be better about using repellants and it's a good reminder to do a thorough tick check after a hike.

Trash found and packed out: Two drink bottles, one food wrapper. I saw more than this that I wasn't a good enough person to stop and collect, but overall very little trash. At least I left it a little better than I found it.

Stats: 28.8mi, 6,600ft gain/loss, 10h4m.

[headsizeburrito]

Map at trailhead

Junction sign and blaze

An unusual way for a tree to take out a bridge

Fall color

One of the few big views of the route, but it was a good one

Nice color in a drainage

[headsizeburrito]

Just a cool rock

Some trail crew wanted to play with a chainsaw I guess to make a little bridge, easier to just walk around it!

Nice color along the dirt road section near Hankey

Spooky mushrooms

Nice bridge across North River near the finish

[tekewin]

I've never used my tick key. Hope I never have to. I'd be paranoid about a tick bite, especially one from the east coast since I think they have a higher rate of lyme. The bullseye pattern around the bite is a telltale sign, but I don't think it always appears.

Those colors are really nice. That kind of oak coverage is pretty cool. 28 miles and 7k gain is a huge day.

[headsizeburrito]

I recently learned there is actually a Lyme vaccine, but it was taken off the market due to limited demand. Kind of surprising and I'd probably get it if it was available. I'll keep an eye on the bite location but so far no news is good news.

Just posted day two of the weekend of hiking here: three-ridges-and-the-priest-george-wash ... t8184.html

[JeffH]

Now that it's getting to be stick season with the trees, are the views opening up any more or is it still too dense along the hilltops?

[headsizeburrito]

Haven't been out since in the interest of letting my knee heal up, but from what I see locally there are still lots of leaves on the trees. Even when the leaves are all gone you don't get a lot of big views just because the trails are pretty much always among the trees and there aren't a lot of places they open up. As a result even very minor rock outcroppings along trails have become named points, which feels a bit silly, but you work with what you have I guess.

You can see some examples of what things look like around the area without leaves in some of the pics I posted in this other thread over the last year or so:

miscellaneous-mid-atlantic-meandering-t7938.html

[jarredorlane]

Stunning trees. Those foliage are photo-worthy.