Mere weeks before my 24th birthday, I realized I had a four day weekend for the weekend preceding my birthday. I knew I wanted to do something big… something I hadn’t done before. I’ve been prepping myself to travel recently -finally accumulating my own travel gear and camping supplies over the last several months. At first, I planned to travel to Acadia– beautiful coastlines, empowering summits, and the first sunrise in the continental United States. My plan was to get up at 2:30AM on my 24th birthday to see the sunrise. I thought it’d be the perfect way to ring it in. But I got a bad gut feeling about it. The whole idea of the trip, while incredible on paper, gave me such a bad feeling I couldn’t shake that a week before I planned to leave, I canceled it.
One thing I’m FINALLY learning is to trust my gut. My intuition knows better than me. I don’t know what would’ve happened had I chosen to ignore my gut. Maybe everything would’ve been ok. Who’s to say? But I’m glad I did trust it because I ended up having the most amazing birthday weekend going to a different National Park instead…
A Mini Road Trip (in true Miniventure Mac fashion)
My weekend ended up turning into a bit of a mini road trip of sorts (my favorite kind). I got to swing through 4 states (and Washington DC!) over three days. It would’ve been a bit longer, but then a part of I-95 collapsed and I did NOT want to be stuck in that kind of traffic on my birthday. No thank you. On Friday, I got to spend some much needed quality time with my brother, whom I don’t get to see too much anymore. Then, on Saturday, I got to see Milky Chance and Young the Giant (!!!) in concert with one of my best friends. Finally, come Sunday, it was time to explore Shenandoah National Park!
A Little About Shenandoah
Shenandoah is only about an hour and a half from DC, so perfect for a day adventure. It’s like, LONG though. I didn’t realize how long the park is until researching it — it’s over 70 miles from one end to the other! So if you’re coming from DC, pick your adventure carefully because that hour and a half can very easily turn into 3 hours depending on which hike you choose. Fortunately, the National Park service has mile markers throughout the park, and put on their website at exactly what mile each Trailhead is located. The Northernmost point is the 0 mile mark, and it increases as you go South.
Shenandoah, like most National Parks, is not something you can do in a day. I, however, only had one day to explore, and this is a reflection of that. I will return in the future, and look forward to those adventures. In the meantime…
A close friend of mine, Carrie, was my adventure buddy for the day. While we had a bit of a slow morning to start with, we managed to get to the park before noon, which honestly was a feat in and of itself.
Prior to arriving, we had planned a few options for our hikes, depending on how we were feeling. The main two were Sugarloaf Loop and Knob Mountain- Jeremy’s Run. They’re quite close to each other, and Jeremy’s Run (6 miles) is only a mile longer than Sugarloaf Loop (5 miles). The National Park website said that Sugarloaf Loop was about a 7 hour hike. Jeremy’s Run was an estimated half hour longer, so we decided to do Sugarloaf. While NPS is correct about a lot of things, this was NOT one of them. I don’t know where they got 7 hours from. It took us 3 hours, and that was with a 20 minute lunch break at one of the overlooks.
Ok SO, to get into the park, you gotta pay (obv). I purchased the Annual Pass before going because it’s only $80 and is good for a FULL YEAR. TO GET INTO ANY FEDERAL LANDS/PARKS. FOR ANYONE IN MY CAR. Alternatively, you can buy like a one week pass for Shenandoah for like $30 a car. Up to you. Depends on how much you’ll be adventuring. I’m putting this here because I LOVE reading negative reviews on Google and most of them for Shenandoah were from people who didn’t google where they were going until they got there. Do your research, people!!!
99.9% of the driving in the park is on Skyline Drive, this beautiful highway that runs the entire length of the park. There are a million and one overlooks to stop at along the way. I feel like in the summer, it might get hellishly busy, but when I went, we got to just cruise down Skyline, enjoying the vibes and stopping at whatever overlooks looked fascinating.
Shenandoah’s Sugarloaf Loop
Sugarloaf Loop starts at the Piney River Parking Area, at Mile 22. If you’re using Google Maps to get there, I would recommend inputting “Sugarloaf Loop Trailhead” because apparently there’s a Piney River Trailhead like an hour south from there, and Google thinks that’s where you want to go. That is, most assuredly, NOT where you want to go. Make sure you’re going to the right place. The parking is near the Elkwallow Wayside where they have food, supplies, and most importantly, BATHROOMS. I would definitely recommend swinging by here first to use the bathroom before going to the trailhead. It’s only a mile or two down the road, and if you’re coming from the Thornton Gap entrance, you’re passing it anyway to get to the trailhead.
From the parking lot, walk towards Skyline Drive and look to your right for the trailhead- it’s got some good info, so read up. Be aware that there are two types of venomous snakes that live in Shenandoah: copperheads and timber rattlesnakes. We didn’t see any venomous snakes, but did meet an adorable lil ring-necked snake on our way back out. Cute lil guy.
The trail starts on the Piney Branch Upper Trail. We followed that to the Pole Bridge Link Trail, swung a left there, and didn’t have too far on that before we made it to the Sugarloaf Trail. Holy bugs though, let me say. Do NOT forget to bring bug spray on this hike. We had to stop a few times when a bug managed to fly directly into Carrie’s mouth. And that was with us having no less than 3 layers of bug spray on.
The Sugarloaf Trail was the most strenuous part of the hike, as you’re finally going back up the mountain. Take breaks, and bring plenty of water with you! You’ll know you’re near the top when you hear cars zooming by on Skyline Drive. Swing another left onto the Appalachian Trail (AT), and be ready to see the view from above Hogback Overlook! It’s quite impressive. Miles and miles of valley stretch below you, seemingly forever. The mountains surround the valley, and they are as blue as blue can be. There’s a reason they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was quite hazy when we went, which added an interesting layer of mystique to the whole experience. But boy, did I wish it was fully clear that day.
From the top, you’ll continue on AT all the way back down to the intersection with the Piney Branch Upper Trail, which is basically where you started. Swing a right and you’ll be back at the parking lot.
Miniventure, Mini waterfall?
At this point, we realized we had so many more hours left to explore since it didn’t take us 7 hours to do the hike (oops). We went back to Elkwallow, checked out the store, and then looked into what else we can do. I opened the National Park app on my phone, which like, wow, highly recommend. One of my friends told me ab it right before the trip, and that was a lifechanger. You can download the parks onto your phone effectively, so even when there’s no service (ei. Shenandoah), you can still explore all that the park has to offer. Super handy.
Carrie and I found a cute little hike, located near the north end of the park (Mile 9.2) called “Lands Run Falls” which seemed the perfect way to end our day. It’s a short, 1.3 mile roundtrip hike to some cascades/ waterfall. Super easy hike, and we were able to relax by the Falls for a while, just vibing and enjoying nature.
All in all, it was a very nice day trip. I will be returning in the future, since it’s really not ~that~ far from me, as far as National Parks go. Luray Caverns is next on my list to check out while down there, so stay tuned. This was the best way to ring in my 24th birthday, and I’m excited for more adventures! Hoping to hit at least 3 more National Parks within 2023, and more in 2024!
Have you been to Shenandoah? Are there any hikes you recommend? When I have more time I fully intend on hiking Old Rag, because it’s a CLASSIC. Let me know in the comments 🙂
Until next time,
-MAC
