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  1. #1

    Default Dolly Sods Wilderness

    Any idea of the following loop-

    BigStoneCoal Trail
    Rocky Point Trail
    Red Creek Trail
    Breathed Mtn Trail
    BigStoneCoal Trail

    Or recommendations for a long weekend in the same area?

  2. #2
    Registered User
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    Default

    If I had three days I would park in the northern parking lot (Red Creek Camp Ground) and hike Blackburn Knob trail to Red Creek Trail. Camp somewhere on Red Creek, the camping is great. Then keep heading south and pick up Rocky Point or StoneCoal/dunkenbarger run trail depending on how many miles you want to hike. Rocky Point has great veiws of the valley and is a good hike. Stonecoal puts you in beter shape to see more of the sods. I would do the stonecoal trail unless you feel like only hiking a few hours each day, its well worth it. Hook back up with Big Stonecoal, then Breathed mountain, cross country, then back to your car with blackburn knob. I haven't hiked there in years but I have done all the trails there and I loved them all. The camping is great almost everywhere. Have a great weekend.
    GA-ME 04
    GA-VA 05

  3. #3

    Default

    thanks hustler.

    any idea of mileage.

  4. #4

    Default Info on Dolly Sods loop trails

    “Only two things are infinite; The universe and human stupidity,
    And I’m starting to wonder about the universe.”
    Albert Einstein

  5. #5
    2006 Thru-hiker in planning willyhort0w2's Avatar
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    11-17-2003
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    Default

    I am heading to the dolly sods area the last weekend in october... I believe it is the 29th 30th and the 31st.

  6. #6

    Default

    planning on hiking dolly sods over spring break(next week!) anyone have springtime suggestions for the park?

  7. #7
    Registered User Cheesewhiz's Avatar
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    Default

    be careful crossing Red Creek! it can be swift and deep in the spring.
    :datz May the four winds blow me safely to Maine.

    www.trailjournals.com/cheesewhiz

  8. #8
    Registered User halibut15's Avatar
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    Special Notice: Many of the artillery and mortar shells shot into the area for practice still exist here. In 1997, a highly trained crew surveyed the trail locations and known campsites for shells. They found 15, some of which were still live. All were exploded on site. Many more may still exist and are dangerous. Since it is impossible to survey every acre of the wilderness, we ask that you follow the recommendations below for your own safety.
    If you find an artillery shell, often called a bomb, DO NOT pick it up. Make a notation on a map, showing location, landmarks, and distance to nearest trailhead – anything helpful - and contact either the Petersburg or Parsons office of the Monongahela National Forest. We will know who to contact to get it removed. A good location by you is important to us so that we can find it again.

    Bombs? Heck yes!

  9. #9

    Default

    will try to avoid live munitions...

    speaking of munitions...
    dolly sods is in a national forest? does anyone know what the regulations on carrying a handgun? links?

  10. #10
    Registered User
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    Default Concealed Carry

    Most National Forests (not to be confused with National PARKS) have cooperative agreements with state game or conservation departments. West Virginia allows for licensed (resident) concealed carry on State Park property (even with a sign posted saying all firearms must be cased. All firearms but your concealed carry firearm must be unloaded and cased in a West Virginia State Park), and only offers reciprocity with Kentucky and Virginia (VA resident permits only). West Virginia permits anyone who can lawfully possess a handgun to carry an unconcealed handgun.

    You might want to bookmark www.packing.org

    Judy

  11. #11

    Default

    already have, long long ago, lots of good info.

  12. #12
    Runnin' on Empty Teatime's Avatar
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    Default

    Never heard of this place. When I first saw the thread I had a vision of Dolly Parton laying down sod in a wilderness area. Odd, I thought, why would she be doing that. Boy, was I way off!

  13. #13

    Default

    haha, i keep having the same thought. i believe the original spelling is "Dahle" sods.
    this will be my first time going there, pretty excited.

  14. #14
    Yellow Jacket
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    Quote Originally Posted by IDriveB5
    haha, i keep having the same thought. i believe the original spelling is "Dahle" sods.
    this will be my first time going there, pretty excited.
    Its a great place. Going to spend 4-5 days there in May. Make sure you get the "good maps" as many (all?) of the FS maps are way wrong. The best site for the correct maps is the 2nd entry below. Some of these links may be broken, so check the parent site for updated information...


    Trail Info:
    http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/sp/dolly...wilderness.htm (gov't site)
    http://home.adelphia.net/~johntrudy/ (Excellent Maps)
    http://www.wvhighlands.org/ (covers all of the MNf, links to some old DS maps)
    http://www.wvhighlands.org/Voice%20PDFs/VoiceNov04.pdf (page 11 covers DSN trail descriptions)

    Photos/Video: First link below has GPS information as well.
    http://www.jcu.edu/philosophy/gensler/wva/
    http://community.webshots.com/album/157238358XWOaMH
    http://www.midatlantichikes.com/
    Last edited by tlbj6142; 03-16-2006 at 15:06.
    Yellow Jacket -- Words of Wisdom (tm) go here.

  15. #15
    Is it raining yet?
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    Cool Brainstorming here

    Quote Originally Posted by chknfngrs
    Any idea of the following loop-

    BigStoneCoal Trail
    Rocky Point Trail
    Red Creek Trail
    Breathed Mtn Trail
    BigStoneCoal Trail
    Buy the book dude
    Be Prepared

  16. #16
    Yellow Jacket
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BlackCloud
    Buy the book dude
    What book? The MNFv7 book is a bit weak on content and the maps are wrong.
    Yellow Jacket -- Words of Wisdom (tm) go here.

  17. #17
    Is it raining yet?
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    Default clarification

    Quote Originally Posted by tlbj6142
    What book? The MNFv7 book is a bit weak on content and the maps are wrong.
    Sorry, it was a joke. You asked about so many trails I thought you qualified as an Amazon customer.

    As for what book, well, smartass here has no idea; but there's got to be one!

    I've hiked out there & have found trail blazes & signs to be spotty. Be sure to have a good map, a compass, & know how to use them.

    I don't know why but I don't really like it all that much out there. It's kind of boring!

    DON"T MISS THE NORTH FORK TRAIL TO THE EAST!!!
    Be Prepared

  18. #18
    AT 4000+, LT, FHT, ALT Blissful's Avatar
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    Default

    The Dolly Sods is my husband's all time favorite place to go. There's plant life that one sees only in Canada, and in early August there are ripe blueberries galore. It does get soggy and muddy there, so be sure you have waterproof boots. And it can get pretty cold there any time of the year (snow is likely this time of year as well). This place is much better in the summer though when you can swim in Red Creek and view the plant life. Good campsites by Red Creek are only two miles away if you head out on the trail right from the Red Creek campground. Down the road from the campground, Bear Rocks has a nice view and you can explore that area as well. But he likes it that it really is more wilderness than built up, requiring a map and compass, and you can explore at will. Good for Boy Scouts.







    Hiking Blog
    AT NOBO and SOBO, LT, FHT, ALT
    Shenandoah NP Ridgerunner, Author, Speaker


  19. #19

    Default

    not interested really in campgrounds, definitely looking forward to the back country. all these sites that have been listed are very helpful, thanks

  20. #20

    Default

    I don't think the MNFv7 book is that bad, but there are some errors in the maps. However, if you are willing to work at it a little, here is how you can get accurate trail maps. You won't be able to print them directly, unless you have access to ArcView, however you can do screen prints.

    The Forest Service has GPS mapped all the trails in the MNF. Go to this site http://svinetfc4.fs.fed.us/ and download the desiged quads from the Raster Data Gateway. Download the "trails" GIS data set from the Vector Data Gateway. Download a free copy of the Global Mapper software from ftp://ftpmcmc.er.usgs.gov/release/dl...usgs_setup.exe. Global Mapper will enable you to overlay the vector trails on the raster quads.

    Tip: In Global Mapper, change the configuration color for displaying "Trails" to red vs. the default black. This will make the trails stand out.

    Tip: Onve you load what you want in Global Mapper, go to the Tools->Control Center and highlight the trails overlay. Click the options button. In the "Feature Types" tab, scroll the "Get Feature Name from Attribute" option until "TRL_NAME" is selected. Click the "Apply" buttom. This will cause the trail names to be displayed.

    The USFS quads are generally better quality than the scanned USGS quads. The FS quads also have the green background removed, so they are easier to read, although there is a way to remove it from the USGS quads in Global Mapper.

    Yes, all this is a pain, but it will give you an accurate trail track on a 1:24,000 topo quad. I found that by taking screen snaps and pasteing them into an MSWord document, I could save them and print them all at one time.

    Also note that Global Mapper will only let you load four overlays at a time ... one for the trails plus three quads, so you may have to swap out the quads as needed. Or you can spend $250 for a licensed copy of Global Mapper which has no restrictions and provides a printing function. It's cheaper than ArcView.

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