Hanging Rock Firetower
Mountain Lake to The Pines Campground, VA | Hiking to the Hanging Rock Firetower and Raptor Observatory | September 2023
After sleeping at the Appalachian Trail trailhead near Wind Rock, we spent most of our morning chatting with the trail angel, Step, and a South Bound through hiker. We traded stories about hiking, backpacking, and traveling experiences while enjoying warm pancakes courtesy of Step. We learned that he had also spent a few years living in Hawaii, and it was also fun to reminisce/commiserate over island life.
We said our goodbyes just before noon, then drove back down the mountain on the rough road until we reached pavement on the county road and resumed our drive North. Our only plan for today was to do an easy hike just across the border in West Virginia, and then find a place to camp for the weekend. We didn’t have cell reception for most of the drive through the valley, and the whole time we felt so remote only passing by farms here or there. As we drove up a winding, switchbacking road to reach the trailhead, we thought that surely we were all alone up here, but were surprised to find quite a few cars in the trailhead lot. I guess it made sense, considering it was a beautiful Friday afternoon and the leaves were starting to turn.
Today’s hike was to the Hanging Rock Firetower, on a rocky and slightly overgrown mile-long section of the Allegheny Trail. We crossed paths with many friendly hikers, and at the end were met with several bird watchers, keeping track of the hawks and other raptors — that was probably one of the main reasons there were so many people at the trailhead. Charlotte did a great job on the hike, following our lead up and around rocks, and enjoyed resting in the sun at the peak. The visibility from the summit was fantastic and we were able to see in all directions, and spotted a few hawks circling overhead. Overall this was a perfect hike for today. You can see the official AllTrails map for this trail here.
We made it back to the trailhead, and had a snack there while Curtis took a quick work call. Seeing how busy this area was made us a bit concerned about finding camping, so we wasted no time in getting back on the road and driving to our hopeful campground for the weekend.
We ended up finding a spot in the Pines Campground, a free, first come-first served site in George Washington & Jefferson National Forest. Not long after we arrived, the last couple spots were claimed, so we were glad we didn’t arrive any later. We were pretty surprised that a campground this nice was free, especially being out East.
At this point, we were a little over halfway in our time between assignments in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and only had about 5 hours left to drive to reach our destination. So my request for this weekend was to stay two nights in this spot, relax, and challenge ourselves to not drive anywhere for a full day. Curtis agreed…but only because he was able to walk to a nearby jeep trail and go for a hike on his own. Still, I was thankful for a gorgeous weekend where we had the ability to sit outside almost the entire time we were here, enjoy the warmth and fresh air, and take a break from moving around. Charlotte enjoyed going between napping in the sun, and taking walks around the campground loop. We hope to get better at taking breaks like this, whenever we have the time and a comfortable spot to do so. After two nights here, we packed up and went on our way, refreshed and ready for a few more days of van life before Curtis’ next assignment began.
