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Day Hike, Raven Rocks, Ice Mountain Trails
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This roughly 2 mile hike happened on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. There were 19 participants. It was led by Sue Collins and was sponsored by the Shenandoah Take A Hike Group It took me an hour to get out of Prince William County, VA. That left me with only 1.5 hours to get to the trailhead for this hike. I made it with about ten minutes to spare. There were 19 people on this hike. My hiking buddy Related Content... In 2006 we did a camp & hike near another Nature Conservancy preserve in Dolly Sods, WV Charlie Johnson was also on this hike. The hike took place within a 150 acre Nature Conservancy preserve near Capon Bridge, WV. There was also a volunteer from the Nature Conservancy that gave a presentation about the two areas that we visited. Her name was Sharon and she was our "docent". We started the first hike around 10:00 AM behind an old former inn that the Conservancy used for storage of items. We hiked about a half mile and ascended about 500 feet. The reward at the top was a fantastic view from Raven Rocks. We took a break up there and saw the North River down below. That was our next destination. So we hiked the half mile back down down the mountain to a junction with another trail, then turned right onto that trail. It was around 11:00 AM. This trail was another half mile down and around 300 feet elevation change. We saw some tagged Hemlock trees that the U.S. Forest Service and the Nature Conservancy were testing to try and find a way to eliminate parasites that were causing them to die. We were at the base of Ice Mountain now. There were various gaps and holes within the rocks adjacent to the trail. When we placed our hands and/or faces within these gaps and holes we felt cold air. Our guide told us that the Native Americans and early European settlers used these cold crevaces to store food within. After looking at these cold gaps and crevaces, which is how this mountain got it's name of Ice Mountain, we hiked on and came across a swinging bridge across the North River. A number of hikers in our group climbed the bridge and took images of themselves and others on this bridge. We could not venture past this bridge because there was a high end housing development on the other side of the river. So we then retraced our steps back to the Affiliate Ad... former inn. It was now 12:15 PM. A number of us then proceeded to go to a restaurant within Capon Bridge called The Farmers Daughter. They only had two items on their menu: A house burger and an Italian style sub. Charlie and I both got the burger. It was fantastic. We then said our goodbyes and started towards home. I got home around 3:15 PM. Again, traffic was terrible within Prince William County, VA. I never would have thought to visit this place on my own. But thanks to the Nature Conservancy, our guide/docent Sharon, The Shanandoah Take A Hike Group and our hike leader Sue, I was able to experience these two amazing and interesting areas within West Virginia. Mike C Click/tap here to find out more about this Nature Conservancy preserve near Capon Bridge, WV Map of where we hiked |
Group pic before hike By Charlie Johnson 
Charlie & our guide Sharon. By Mike Calabrese 
Entering the preserve. By Mike Calabrese Affiliate Ad 
View from Raven Rocks.By Mike Calabrese 
Me along Ice Mountain Trail.By Mike Calabrese 
1 of many cold air vents.By Mike Calabrese 
West end signBy Mike Calabrese 
Swinging bridgeBy Mike Calabrese |
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