Mar 13 White Oak Canyon

Planning a hike in Shenandoah National Park was not difficult. The only trail I have hiked there is Old Rag but many times when I would tell someone that, the response was "Have you hiked White Oak Canyon?". I read some descriptions. It was a scenic hike along a creek. No mention of waterfalls. So it didn't jump out at me at first. Then on the eve of heading to Connecticut, I planned a side excursion to SNP and thought I'd hike that scenic creek. Looking a bit more in depth at other reviews and descriptions, I did read about waterfalls and lots of them. It sounded great and with all the rcent rains, those waterfalls would be putting on a show.

The parking area is large and there is a private home nearby with a $10 per car parking sign. It must be a popular trail! Starting out, the trail is wide, like a boulevard. There is a metal footbridge to begin. Then it is a mile of walking alongside a cascading creek. I was thinking, perhaps, the term "waterfall" was being used liberally. Then the scene above presented itself. 

The trail turned steep and canyon tightened. Waterfalls became commonplace. Even side creek had waterfalls. At one spot, an entire cliff face was a shallow but wide waterfall. So many were obscured by trees and probably would only be heard once the leaves arrived.

Looking back down the canyon to Weakley Hollow and the parking area, a lone cedar leans into the sunshine.

Some falls have social trails to get a better look. This was an interesting one.

There were so many large waterfalls, the small ones and the cascades were completely overshadowed.

When I reached a trail junction, I realized I had not properly prepared. There were several choices. I had read it was a 9 mile mile loop but now I had to figure out which trails comprise the loop.

One final waterfall on White Oak Creek before I head off on a horse and fire road to get to the next drainage, Cedar Run. The White Oak Canyon Trail continues to follow the creek up to the Skyline Drive. To access the horse trail, I have to cross the creek. The crossing looked ominous. Easy for horses but today it was going to be iffy for me. Then I looked upcreek and saw the bridge.

The hike on the horse trail was 2.2 miles, a two track which I could have driven on. It did go through very pretty forest landscaped with boulders and rock outcrops. Once I had hiked to Cedar Run Trail, I was right next to the Skyline Drive and a parking area with a couple cars. I had not seen anyone all day but thought I might on the descent back to Weakley Hollow. Cedar Run didn't appear for about a half mile. As it made its way downhill, it picked up water from its side creeks. Finally, when it came time to cross it, it was a formidable rock hop.

I think this is "the slide", a popular spot to cool off on Cedar Run. When I stopped for a late lunch nearby, my first hiker sighting occurred. I later, caught up to Tessa, a seasoned AT thru hiker, and spent most of the remaining hike with her. We met another couple along the way. They were doing the loop in my direction but had started at the Skyline Drive. 

One more crossing of Cedar Run occurs here, looking upcreek at this waterfall. 

It felt good to take my knee brace off back at the truck. The hike had taken over 5 hours to do the 9 miles.