HIKING VIRGINIA

Heavily settled prior to Shenandoah National Park’s formation, the woods tucked between Piney River and Keyser Run today hold clues both obvious and obscure, from family cemeteries to low stone field walls long overgrown by a resurgent forest. Above all, it is a sanctuary of rushing water and steep cliffs. Those who like to save the best for last will appreciate our twist on conventional wisdom: Most people like to climb up Little Devil Stairs, but we save this knee-knocking route along Keyser Run for a finishing act.

THE RUNDOWN

Start: Parking area and park registration booth on VA 614/Keyser Run Road

Distance: 7.4-mile loop

Hiking time: About 5 hours

Difficulty: Moderate due to several unaided stream crossings and a moderate elevation, with one strenuous segment through Little Devil Stairs due to steep, rough terrain and numerous unaided stream crossings

Trail surface: A gravel forest fire road gives way to centuries-old roads that have reverted to singletrack paths. A majority of this hike is along streams, and in sections exposed rocks and roots make for uneven terrain. The last segment of this route is over exposed rocks, some as big as cars, and steep drop-downs. In spring, sections of trail may be washed out.

Land status: National park

Nearest town: Sperryville, VA

Other trail users: Equestrians permitted on Hull School Trail between the Bowers Family Cemetery and Piney Branch Trail

Accessibility: This trail is not accessible to people with disabilities; however, most of the facilities within the park are. Check out the accessible 1.3-mile Limberlost Trail (Mile 43).

Canine compatibility: Leashed dogs permitted

Trail contact: Shenandoah National Park, 3655 US 211 East, Luray; (540) 999-3500; www.nps.gov/shen

Schedule: Open year-round.

Fees/permits: Entrance fee, payable at a self-serve fee station at the trailhead. If camping, obtain a free backcountry permit at a park ranger station. A Virginia fishing license is required.

Facilities/features: None

NatGeo TOPO! map: Thornton Gap

NatGeo Trails Illustrated map: Appalachian Trail, Calf Mountain to Raven Rock; Shenandoah National Park; Massanutten and Great North Mountains

Other maps: PATC #9: Shenandoah National Park Northern District

From Sperryville, follow the combined US 211/522 east. In 2.1 miles, turn left (north) on VA 622/Gid Brown Hollow Road. Drive 2 miles and turn left onto VA 614/Keyser Run Road. Stay straight on Keyser Run Road as first VA 672 and then VA 623 branch off left and right, respectively. In 5 miles from the highway, enter a trailhead parking area with room for ten or more cars. GPS: N38 43.831’ / W78 15.517’. DeLorme: Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer: Page 74 C2.

The woods that descend to Piney River are a beautiful place on a sunny morning, especially so after a strong spring rainstorm. Birdsong floats down from the tree canopy, and sunlight dapples the leaves and ground. Dry streambeds are flush with runoff. Deer poke about the forest understory, chewing on twigs. On the trailside, lush green plants grow in a seep from the rocks. Lettuce saxifrage and Solomon’s seal are telltale plants that mark the spot of many natural springs.

Ephemeral streams emerge after a heavy rain. As you descend Hull School Trail toward Piney River, a run of small plate-size rocks may be visible off the left side of the trail. First instinct is to call it a boulder-strewn spring or streambed. Further exploration shows it’s more likely a stone stream; while water runs down it after heavy rain, it is dry other times. Skinny-trunked maples grow from the rock bed, indicating soil stability not found in a consistently running stream. Crusty lichen, another indication of stability, appears on rocks near the edges of the stone stream.

Piney River, reached at the junction of Hull School and Piney Branch Trails, gushes downstream with force. Stream crossings without the aid of a footbridge force a search upstream and downstream for a fallen log or rocks suitable for hopping. In the forest near the stream’s edge, small rivulets form on both sides of the Piney Branch Trail, marking points of minor flooding. “Why the Mountains are Blue” by Wayne Baldwin recounts the sadder history of the creation of Shenandoah National Park.

Where the Piney River passes through a steep gorge, the trail steepens as well, climbing the hillside on switchbacks. Where it briefly levels, the river can be heard, but not seen. A small window through the forest canopy does offer a glimpse to the solid cliff wall on the opposite side. Just the spot, perhaps, a denning bear or mountain lion might prefer.

The presence of mountain lions—also referred to as cougars, pumas, panthers, and catamounts—is subject to debate. Officially, the last eastern subspecies of mountain lion, Puma concolor cougar, was documented in Virginia in 1882. But anecdotal sightings, if not actual documentation, continue to occur. Whether the population is a resurgence of the native eastern cougar, a wanderer from another region (Florida currently has the only population of cougars in the East, the highly endangered Florida panther, Puma concolor coryi), or an escaped or released pet is unknown.

Any thought of a lurking predator is dispelled as you climb away from the Piney River gorge along Pole Bridge Link Trail. In spring, the grassy fringes of the trail here are a spectacle of wildflowers, whether the ephemeral spring beauties, the white petals of giant chickweed, delicate purple wild geraniums, or common violets and buttercups. Dry, grassy spots host a profusion of common lousewort, a red-and-yellow blossom that seems more at home in a cow pasture than these woodlands.

The descent through Little Devil Stairs offers what Piney Branch Trail only hinted at: up-close interaction with rugged nature. There are at least eight stream crossings, and after a heavy rain, probably more. At one point the cliffs on either side close in so tightly, you’re forced to walk down a small island that conveniently emerges from the stream.

A rock talus marking the halfway point of the descent through Little Devil Stairs highlights the geologic dynamism of the park. A “river” of its own sort, the talus covers the hillside with rocks and boulders, most of them tire-size or smaller. Talus creep describes the slow downslope movement of this rock slope toward the valley bottom. In a geologic time frame, this slope is considered dynamic and moving. The slope and the quartzite rock itself show no signs of the stability (lichen or vegetation) that was evident on the stone stream alongside the Hull School Trail.

MILES AND DIRECTIONS

0.0Start from the Little Devil Stairs parking lot. Follow a gravel road uphill from the west end of the lot.

0.2Swing right (north) on the fire road and walk past signs marking the boundary of Shenandoah National Park.

1.1After a steady climb, enter a clearing that is the junction of Keyser Run Fire Road and Hull School Trail. The Bolan family cemetery is off to the right. After exploring, depart the clearing on the left, following yellow-blazed Hull School Trail, which descends as a narrow woodland footpath.

1.7A small stream cuts across the trail. Ahead, in 0.2 mile, cross another stream and then swing left as the trail continues a gradual descent to Piney River

1.8Turn right on Piney Branch Trail at a T junction and hike upstream on the blue-blazed trail. Just before reaching this junction, study the woods off the trail on the right. Rock piles amid a young forest indicate possible field-clearing activity dating from when this park was settled. Careful exploration of the rock piles yields the presence of a freshwater spring at the base of one.

1.9Pass a primitive campsite off the trail on the left. Soon after, cross Piney River. Note: After a heavy rain, you may have to explore up-or downstream for a suitable place to cross.

2.3Continue straight (north) on Piney Branch Trail past a junction with Piney Ridge Trail on the left.

2.5After a short stretch of trail that runs close to the stream, begin a climb from river-bottom forest up the side of a river gorge.

3.0A vigorous climb levels briefly and the forest canopy opens to views of the imposing cliff face on the opposite stream bank. In the next 0.1 mile of trail, look for unmarked paths leading off trail right to the river’s edge.

3.3Cross Piney River on stream rocks and start a steady uphill climb on Piney Branch Trail. The stream is now on your left side.

3.5The trail levels briefly, and off the trail to the left is a primitive campsite.

4.2Detour off the trail to the left to explore the cliff line that gives visual proof to the elevation you’ve gained in the last 1.2 miles.

4.6Turn right (east) on Pole Bridge Link Trail. Level terrain off both sides indicates you are traversing across the flat top of a ridge.

4.7Pass a primitive campsite off the trail to the right.

4.9Stay straight on Pole Bridge Link Trail at a junction with Sugarloaf Trail on the left.

5.4Reach Fourway, a junction with Keyser Run Fire Road and Little Devil Stairs. Cross the fire road diagonal left and reenter woods on Little Devil Stairs Trail. The trailhead is marked by a concrete trail marker.

5.7Begin a series of five switchbacks that carry you down a steep slope into Little Devil Stairs Canyon.

5.8Cross Keyser Run, the first of four unaided stream crossings over the next 0.3 mile. Note: The next 1.1 miles descend extremely technical terrain as you scurry across, squeeze through, drop down off, and hop across rocks and boulders that litter this stream gorge.

6.0Cross Keyser Run for the fourth time and pass beneath a 20-story-high cliff line that forms the right stream bank of the canyon. A talus in this area is littered with tire-size rocks, and the trail footbed is loose rubble.

6.1Two quick stream crossings put you back on the right stream bank. Ahead, Keyser Run is squeezed by cliffs and the trail takes a middle course down an island formed by a split in the stream. Watch for blue blazes on trees for guidance. Note: In spring or after heavy rainfalls, this section may be washed out, requiring you ford downstream as you follow the blue trail blazes.

6.3Cross Keyser Run from the right to left stream bank. This is the first of four stream crossings as the trail emerges from the gorge into a wider stream valley.

6.7Cross from the left to right stream bank, the last in this dizzying descent. Ahead, the trail separates from the streamside and crosses a small knoll.

7.2Begin a long stretch of hiking across flat bottomland forest. Just before reaching the trailhead parking lot, cross a stream.

7.4Arrive back at the parking lot.

Rappahannock County Visitor Center, 3 Library Road, Washington, VA 22747, (540) 675-3153, www.rappahannock.com

Wilderness Weekend is held each Sept at the park’s Byrd Visitor Center, mile 51 on Skyline Drive, near Big Meadows.

Thornton River Grille, Corner Store, and Pizza Kitchen all under one roof, 3710 Sperryville Pike, Sperryville; (540) 987-8790; www.thorntonrivergrille.com

Park rangers lead a variety of nature, wildflower, and geology hikes. www.nps.gov/shen.

21. PINEY RIVER