We're hiking at Turk Mountain because I missed the parking area for Blackrock Summit and there was shade in the Turk parking area. It's a humid day but only in the high 70s along the southern end of the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. To reach Turk Mountain Trail, we headed south on the AT for less than a mile. All trail junctions in the park have these concrete posts with a metal band embossed with trail information.
The trail heads down and down. I wonder if we are really going to the top of a mountain. Yes, the trail bottoms out and heads up and up. And then steeply up. There are a couple limited viewpoints before a final scramble of large rocks. Then it is wide open sky.
The view is looking west at the Shenandoah Valley between Staunton and Harrisonburg. I looked for the interstate but could not make it out. Rt 11, the old route up and down the valley was visible.
It is not clear in this photo but the top right side of the rocks is a rock field of medium rocks much like Devils Marbleyard. From the valley, these rock fields look like huge bare spots. Being medium size rocks, this is called a talus field.
I attempted to scramble around to get a better photo of the talus field but I must be getting old and the rocks presented a precarious challenge that I did not want to undertake. The yellow jackets were a concern too.
Once the yellow jackets joined in the fun, we picked our way through the rocks and back onto the trail for the return leg. Careful foot placement was needed for the first few minutes until we reached another talus field with a more limited view. Passing that, the trail was an easier walk. Nice hike for a hot and humid day. Our afternoon hike would be in a tunnel and much cooler.
Small talus field
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