We had decided to make our first “real” camping trip be at Matthews Arm Campground in Shenandoah National Park. I think both of us were a little nervous about the trip as we headed out Thursday afternoon but we faced it bravely and with a sense of humor.
We stopped in Front Royal, VA for supplies (a tarp because of the rain/wet ground, a cooler and food) before heading to the northern entrance to the park and Skyline Drive. The ranger at the gate took our park fee and suggested we head to the Elkwallow Waystation two miles north of the Matthews Arm Campground, in order to purchase our firewood before the store closed at 7. It was about 5:30 when we entered the park and she mentioned it should take about 40 minutes to drive to Elkwallow. As we pulled away from the gate she told us to drive careful because there was lots of fog on the mountains.
She wasn’t kidding! Much of the 20+ miles we drove on Skyline Drive that evening were dense with fog and when we finally climbed above it, it was an amazing sight to see.
The park ranger was right on the money with her suggestions, except the store at Elkwallow actually closed at 6 so we just missed it. Luckily, as we were poking around, an employee said she could sell us a bag of firewood and just ring it up in the morning. Thank goodness! We would have fire!
Around 6:30 that evening, we finally got to our campsite at Matthews Arm and started to set up. We laid down the new tarp (best purchase of the trip), pitched our tent and got the campsite ready. Once we were finishing setting up, we heading off on a short hike prior to starting a fire and making dinner.
The Traces Trail is a short, 1.7 miles hike encircling the Matthews Arm Campsite. It is named Traces Trail because there is evidence (stone fences and foundations) of settlements in the area. It was a nice hike with enough rocks and roots and slight ups and downs to keep things interesting. Along the way, we saw several deer and even spotted the “traces” implied by the trail name.
It was dark by the time we made it back to camp so we found the flashlights and lanterns and worked on starting a fire. Up until this point, the rain that seemed imminent had actually held off. There was some drizzle and mist on the drive out to Shenandoah but it had stopped by the time we got the park. However, as we were splitting up the firewood to make smaller starter pieces the rain started coming in fits and spurts. It was never a hard rain; however, it did put a damper on our fire, which we were never able to coax in to a decent-sized campfire. Still, in spite of the sporadic rainfall, we did manage to cook some hotdogs and enjoy an evening around the campfire.
It wasn’t long before we decided to call it a night, after straightening up camp and the supplies in the car, we snuggled in to our tent thankful for the dry and warm spot to sleep (it was in the low 50s that night). Just as we settled in for sleep, the rain started falling harder and more steadily. Lucky timing for the second time that day. Also, it turns out our cheap, $30 tent from Target was in fact waterproof so maybe we should consider that three-times lucky.
Friday morning we woke up early because we wanted to get to Old Rag Mountain early to ensure a parking spot near the trail. I think the rains from the previous day kept many potential hikers from getting a fresh start on the day because we didn’t encounter the crowds we expected on this popular hike.
The hike was a blast and we decided that this was definitely the best hike we’d been on outside of Maine (Acadia National Park still holds my heart when it comes to hiking). Here’s a description and more pictures of our hike.
We were exhausted after successfully tackling this tough hike and once we made it back to the car, we decided to grab a bite to eat in the small town nearby, Sperryville, VA. We found a wonderful place, serving freshly prepared (often local) food called Rae’s Restaurant. I had a Black Bean Burger and salad that was truly yummy.
We headed back to the campsite, with a short detour south along Skyline Drive to check out the Big Meadow area and stop at the souvenir store for a hat (for Mike) and some local honey (for me). Content after the long day, Mike started working on our fire for the evening and I relaxed off to the side intermittently watching his progress, offering advice and bellowing services, but mostly reading and relaxing. Once it got dark, we munched on grilled cheese sandwiches cooked over the fire and made s’mores but even the scrumptious camping food couldn’t keep the sleepiness at bay and before too long we gave in and called it an early night.
Saturday morning, we were up even earlier in order to pack up the campsite and load the car. Even though we were still planning on hiking in the park that morning, we wanted to check out before we set off on our final day of adventure. As we packed up, one of the things that became apparent was we were both sore from the strenuous hike up Old Rag the day before, Mike more so than me. We decided to take the trail to see the highest waterfall on the mountain – Overall Run Falls at 93 feet high – rather than the trail to Little Devils Staircase (another rock scramble) as we had planned.
We ended up hiking much further than we intended that morning and the trail ended up being much more strenuous than we thought. The Overall Run Falls was actually a bit of a disappointment but I would like to try this hike again in the spring. I think that is when the falls might be more impressive. In addition to this disappointment, we were both more worn out by Old Rag Mountain than we had thought and I don’t think we gave this trail a fair shot. We were excited to get back to the car and home.
As we drove north along Skyline Drive, our camping adventure coming to end, Mike declared that after all that hiking and camping, he had a hunger than only a steak could conquer and so, we headed home in search of steak with a successful camping experience coming to end.
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