Mandy and I recently did the Cascades and Barney Wall hike in Giles County, VA. These two hikes are part of our 2015 goal to do the 16 most scenic hikes in VA. Our list of the most scenic hikes is definitely subjective as it came to us as a chain email, but one that we thought would be really cool.
Mandy had done this hike years ago and had remembered the highlights but was excited to see it again. I was not sure what I was in for but was excited none the less.
We started our day with a huge buffet breakfast at the resort that "Dirty Dancing" was filmed at. Well my breakfast was huge, Mandy showed much more restraint on hers. As we ate we were hoping the weather would clear up - it was raining pretty good and it was in the 50s. We decided that we were all the way down in southern Virginia so we might as well tough it up and head out. On the drive from the resort to the trail head we stopped at Dollar General and bought some cheap but warm gloves and hats. The total to outfit ourselves and buy some snacks was about $13.
We started out at a nice bathroom area in the parking lot. There was a group of girl scouts doing the Cascades hike that morning and they were picking Mustard Greens as well. They were all very excited and running around in the rain. There was a park ranger there and we explained to him our goal of doing both Cascades and Barneys Wall as one hike. He was pretty clear that he did not think that was a good idea because the trail was not marked well. I was a bit surprised as I read about the route on Hiking Upward and all seemed straight forward there. We decided to get up there and see how bad it was and turn back if need be.
The Cascades trail consists of two routes. The upper trail is a more groomed gradual path and is easier going. And the lower trail has a bunch of boulders and things to scurry over and follows close to the water. We decided to do the more challenging path on the way there and take the easier route on the way back.
We started out and I was very very impressed. The landscape was absolutely beautiful. We were in a lush forest with large boulders everywhere and boiling white water rapids just feet away. The day was wet and rainy but once we got walking we warmed up pretty quick and the view and perfume of the forest made me pretty much forget all else. After about 2 miles we reached falls. The falls were very impressive and we stopped and rested a bit there.
The falls out of the way we turned our attention to Barneys Wall. We decided to head out towards the wall and feel out the trail. If the way seemed too ambiguous we would turn back. The first junction we came to was well marked so we pressed on. The trip to Barneys Wall was an additional two miles one way from the falls. The trail was steep but seemed straight forward and we pushed on for a mile or so. We were both on high alert because we did not know if the ranger thought we were just city slickers or if there was a real concern ahead. About this time I saw some movement on the trail ahead. Crazy Appalachian stalkers, a bear, something worse? No it turned out to be two twenty something college girls and their friendly dogs. We asked them about the trail ahead and they said it was pretty easy and that we were on the right track. After that we laughed to about how o edge we were and pressed on with an new curiosity to see what was at the top. We knew we were getting higher in altitude as it started to get real cold. The rain started to come down a little heavier too. All of the sudden we stumbled upon a camp site with a small trail to the side of it. We followed this little trail and it opened up to the coolest and scariest drop off. We could see a huge drop and the hills all around us. We both took turns crawling to the edge and looking down. It was definitely worth the walk and made for some cool photos. But like all photos they really did not do the real thing justis.
From there we hiked mostly down hill the remaining 4 miles. In total the trip was 8 miles. We were tired and wet when we got back to the truck but both very happy with the whole experience.
