Icicles On the Skyline Drive

With a forecast indicating chilly days and a cold night, we headed back to the Luray area to revisit our first camping destination.  Most of the campgrounds in the area are not open in the winter, but I managed to find one that could accommodate our needs a little north of Luray.

Skunks seemed to litter the highway as we drove.  It was strange to pass by seven of them.  Chris spotted a couple of hawks as well during the trip to the mountains.

Our first stop was Moonshadows Restaurant for brunch.  We had discovered the restaurant on our first visit to the area, so there was no question where we would eat on this trip.

After brunch, we drove back up the mountain to the Skyline Drive.  When we were here the first time, we hiked to Overall Run Falls.  It was October and very dry, so there was only a trickle of water.  I thought February would be much more conducive to a beautiful scene.  The last time we hiked from Matthews Arm Campground, a total of about four miles.  With the campground closed, we instead went to a trailhead just up the road.  Chris was not feeling well but was willing to do the hike, hoping the fresh mountain air would help him to feel better.  When I checked the map at the start of the trail, I realized that from the trailhead the hike was six miles instead of four.  It was late in the afternoon and we would soon lose daylight so decided to skip the hike and head to the campground to relax.

As we drove back down the Skyline Drive we could see icicles pouring down the rocks on the side of the road.  Of course, they were not in places where I could safely pull off the road.  I ended up pulling into an overlook and walking back to get pictures of some of them.

As we made our way north to the campground, I noticed signs for Shenandoah River State Park where we had camped back in July.  We arrived at the campground where we had planned to stay.  It was a lovely, but very primitive, campground right on the edge of the Shenandoah River.  We did not see fire pits anywhere and the facilities consisted of one port-a-potty on the property.  We decided to drive the extra five miles and stay at the state park.

The sunset was beautiful as we crested the hill leading to our campsite.  The campground had more campers than we expected to see, which was a treat.  For most of our winter camping, we are alone.  It was a holiday weekend and it was a pleasure to see so many families taking advantage of the extra day off to enjoy the outdoors.  We could hear the delighted exuberance of children so excited about toasting marshmallows on a cold but beautiful night with a star-filled sky.

We made it an early night and slept very well in our cozy sleeping bags.  We awoke early to the excited voices of children.  We were well-rested and it was a very pleasant, gentle way to wake up instead of an alarm.  When we opened the door to the tent we found it covered in a crunchy layer of frost, as were our table and chairs.  Our water bucket had a layer of ice across the top as well.

We quickly packed up and went to Hawksbill Diner for a nice breakfast.  As we left the park, we saw a hawk fly across the road in front of us with his dinner in his talons.  We had a lovely drive, with a view of the mountains, several train trestles, and a stream running beside the road.  As we passed a roadside park we could see Canadian geese playing in the water.  It was an enchanting scene.

Once again, we went back to the Skyline Drive, this time heading south to Stony Man Summit.  Just after turning on to the road, we approached a tunnel through the mountain with icicles formed around the tunnel entrance.  I was able to pull over to take some photos before driving through.  When we reached the other side of the tunnel, there were more gorgeous icicles and even a little waterfall coming down the rocks.  I pulled into the overlook and walked back for a closer look.

We continued on for a few miles before reaching our destination.  In the distance, we could see what looked like a massive sheet of ice on the side of the mountain.  I hoped the trail would take us by it.  As we drove to where the GPS indicated we should go, we missed the trailhead we were looking for.  It was a good miss, though, as there were spectacular icicles covering the side of the mountain, a sight we would not have seen had we pulled in to the correct parking area.  The air temperature was in the mid to high 40s, which was great for hiking up the mountain.  Apparently, the water is cold enough that the icicles were just not melting very fast.

Stony Man Mountain has a four-mile loop, but we opted to just hike to the summit and then come back the same way, about three miles.  Close to the beginning of the trail, we saw a sign for an overlook in 180 yards.  We decided to continue on the trail and then see the overlook on our way back down.  While the trail is somewhat steep in some spots, for the most part, it is a fairly easy trail to follow.

We passed Little Stony Man Cliffs, an outcropping of rocks on the side of the mountain.  We could see patches of ice in spots on the rocks and proceeded with caution.  The view was spectacular, albeit a bit daunting, to see how far the plummet would be if you got too close to the edge.

The view from the summit was breathtaking.  There were plenty of rocks to scramble on at the top, with two areas with different views.  As we descended back down the mountain we spotted a woodpecker that we had listened to for a little while.  As we continued to walk, we could hear some unusual sounds coming from some crows in the distance.  When we spotted them we realized that they were mating.  It was entertaining to watch their antics as we made our way down the trail.

We were not able to see the huge ice flow from the trail.  I figured it must have been under the rocks we were standing on.  When we stopped at the lower overlook before ending our hike, I was able to spot the ice in the distance.

As we drove back through the tunnel, the icicles that we had seen earlier were absolutely stunning, with perfect backlighting causing them to glisten.  We actually turned around so we could drive back through the tunnel to take a picture.

On the way home, we discovered a fantastic gyro at Albana’s Taverna.  As we continued our trip home, we saw five gorgeous hawks within a two-mile stretch.  As if we hadn’t already had more than our fair share of beauty, the sky lit up in gorgeous colors beside us as the sun sank in the sky.  It was a magical way to end a magical weekend.

Cost of trip – 2 tanks of gas $50, camping $40, firewood $12.83.