Hike Options:
On New Year's Day, we will celebrate by hiking trails in the Braley Pond area. The two hikes that we plan to offer are the Braley Pond Loop and the Bald Ridge overlook.
The Braley Pond Loop passes along the edge of the pond, through a mature forest, and by wildlife clearings. In the spring, wildflowers are abundant in this area. You may also take time to do some birding, look for a beaver lodge and water lilies, or even spot some frogs and salamanders.
For a longer hike, take Bald Ridge Trail to the crest of the ridge for an outstanding scenic overlook of Hankey Mountain, Crawford Mountain, Elliott Knob, and the Deerfield Valley. This up-and-back hike is 7 miles with an elevation gain of 1400 feet.
For more information on each hike, click on this link:
https://www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org/braley-pond-loop.html
Trail Maintainers:
Judy Bartlett and Liz Montgomery maintain the Braley Pond Loop and Bear Draft Trail. They both live in Staunton and are fairly new to the area and to trail maintenance. In this short time, they have become active contributors.
Judy is chainsaw-certified and has attended PATC’s workshop on how to make rolling grade dips. Together Judy and Liz have been supporting North River trail maintainers by cutting out blowdowns on trails along the Rt-250 corridor. Judy also helped organize the Mile-a-Minute pull on Hankey Mountain and, on top of all that, she just got certified as a Virginia Master Naturalist.
Thank you for all your help, Judy and Liz!!
On New Year's Day, we will celebrate by hiking trails in the Braley Pond area. The two hikes that we plan to offer are the Braley Pond Loop and the Bald Ridge overlook.
The Braley Pond Loop passes along the edge of the pond, through a mature forest, and by wildlife clearings. In the spring, wildflowers are abundant in this area. You may also take time to do some birding, look for a beaver lodge and water lilies, or even spot some frogs and salamanders.
For a longer hike, take Bald Ridge Trail to the crest of the ridge for an outstanding scenic overlook of Hankey Mountain, Crawford Mountain, Elliott Knob, and the Deerfield Valley. This up-and-back hike is 7 miles with an elevation gain of 1400 feet.
For more information on each hike, click on this link:
https://www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org/braley-pond-loop.html
Trail Maintainers:
Judy Bartlett and Liz Montgomery maintain the Braley Pond Loop and Bear Draft Trail. They both live in Staunton and are fairly new to the area and to trail maintenance. In this short time, they have become active contributors.
Judy is chainsaw-certified and has attended PATC’s workshop on how to make rolling grade dips. Together Judy and Liz have been supporting North River trail maintainers by cutting out blowdowns on trails along the Rt-250 corridor. Judy also helped organize the Mile-a-Minute pull on Hankey Mountain and, on top of all that, she just got certified as a Virginia Master Naturalist.
Thank you for all your help, Judy and Liz!!
Hiking Challenges:
We have two hiking challenges that these hikes will help you with.
1) Winter Hiking Challenge: Winter officially starts on December 21 and ends March 18. During those winter months, we are challenging you to get out and join us. Each hike that you join will enter you into our monthly drawing for one of our PATC toboggans. We have one to give away for each month and one Grand Prize winner of a long-sleeve PATC shirt. Watch for our January calendar and join us.
2) North River Ranger District 90 Challenge: There are three ways to complete this challenge: hiking, doing trail maintenance, or completing a combination of both hiking and trail maintenance that adds up to 90. This is an on-going challenge with no time limit. Throughout the year, we hope to focus on these trails to help you complete this challenge. For more information, click on this link:
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html
We have two hiking challenges that these hikes will help you with.
1) Winter Hiking Challenge: Winter officially starts on December 21 and ends March 18. During those winter months, we are challenging you to get out and join us. Each hike that you join will enter you into our monthly drawing for one of our PATC toboggans. We have one to give away for each month and one Grand Prize winner of a long-sleeve PATC shirt. Watch for our January calendar and join us.
2) North River Ranger District 90 Challenge: There are three ways to complete this challenge: hiking, doing trail maintenance, or completing a combination of both hiking and trail maintenance that adds up to 90. This is an on-going challenge with no time limit. Throughout the year, we hope to focus on these trails to help you complete this challenge. For more information, click on this link:
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html