Cool Guy and I had a weekday to spend together today, forecast was clear and decent, so we decided to take a trip to Moundsville WV, visit a trail at Grand Vue Park and also visit the Indian Mound Museum. Moundsville gets its name from the ancient Indian burial mounds. Cool Guy had been studying these pre-Columbian Indians in school, but darn school never takes field trips. This was definitely worth the drive to capture the enthusiasm of something newly learned brought to life.
I used the Falcon Guide, Hiking West Virginia, which recommended a trail at Grand Vue Park. I have a great deal of success with these Falcon Guides, not only becoming aware of the many neat places to visit, but also the quality of the hikes and the accuracy of the guides, but this particular hike was riddled with confusion.
I must admit that even the guide said things like "the trail gets confusing here," so I was forewarned, but even in the directions to get to the park, there were numerous errors, and even accounting for changes over the last 10 years, I find it very hard to believe that street names would change that drastically. Nevertheless, we found the park with no wrong turns (a miracle for me), and were able to get right to it.
Let me back up first. We live 70 miles south of Moundsville, and easy jaunt, one would assume. I say Nay, nay. To reach Moundsville, we had to traverse Route 2, which follows the Ohio River, and thus is lined with one industrial plant after another. I cannot count how many times, driving on this two lane highway, that suddenly, a truck, usually a highly explosive tanker, would just pull out in front of me and then proceed to travel at least 15 miles below the speed limit. Long story short, it took us 2 hours to drive that 70 miles. And there is no alternative.
Making things just a little hairier, we left at 7:30 this morning, in deep fog. Following the river, we never emerged from it, and it was a bit eerie that we were within a stone's throw of the river and never saw it once.
So we arrived at Grand Vue, found our trail head and began hiking through the fog and the mist. We had never hiked through quite such conditions before, and it added an interesting dimension to the day. Although we missed the views of the river, of Ohio, of any overlooks that we had earned by our climb, it just didn't matter. The mist was a feature in itself, and that plus, honestly, mild temps, plus the leaves just beginning to turn and fall, just made for a really neat, even melancholy atmosphere.
Our trail, recommended by the guide, was The Overlook Trail, 2.4 miles of easy terrain. Most of the trail was flat and even and a wide swath of mown grass. There was one tricky spot early in, to leave the main trail and venture into the woods, which entailed a bit of a steep descent from a ridge, which then brought us to another wide trail, which we followed throughout. The guide spoke of various forks, confusing places, etc., but we finally gave up trying to figure it out, and just decided to stay on the main trail, and we'd not get too lost.
Features of this hike were ostensibly the views of the river, which of course we didn't have. I think we found plenty of other highlights. First was the mist and fog, and then the turning leave, not to mention the crisp but not cold weather. Hardwood forests, autumn wildflowers, slopes wreathed in mist, and then finally the sun shining in rays upon the meadow, more than made up for meagre view.
The park seems to be a well-kept secret, though Burt mentioned to me that he has seen a billboard advertising it. I'd like to go back in the summer months. There are cabins to rent, and I believe that one could spend a week exploring the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, with its industrial history, archaelogical history, and geographical interests. Grand Vue has, besides cabins and hiking trails, mini golf, an aquatic center, frisbee golf, and a major zip line, and at pretty decent prices.
Cool Guy and I had an enjoyable morning. Nothing particularly breathtaking was encountered, but the day was peaceful, melancholy, contemplative, not strenuous at all.
I used the Falcon Guide, Hiking West Virginia, which recommended a trail at Grand Vue Park. I have a great deal of success with these Falcon Guides, not only becoming aware of the many neat places to visit, but also the quality of the hikes and the accuracy of the guides, but this particular hike was riddled with confusion.
I must admit that even the guide said things like "the trail gets confusing here," so I was forewarned, but even in the directions to get to the park, there were numerous errors, and even accounting for changes over the last 10 years, I find it very hard to believe that street names would change that drastically. Nevertheless, we found the park with no wrong turns (a miracle for me), and were able to get right to it.
Let me back up first. We live 70 miles south of Moundsville, and easy jaunt, one would assume. I say Nay, nay. To reach Moundsville, we had to traverse Route 2, which follows the Ohio River, and thus is lined with one industrial plant after another. I cannot count how many times, driving on this two lane highway, that suddenly, a truck, usually a highly explosive tanker, would just pull out in front of me and then proceed to travel at least 15 miles below the speed limit. Long story short, it took us 2 hours to drive that 70 miles. And there is no alternative.
Making things just a little hairier, we left at 7:30 this morning, in deep fog. Following the river, we never emerged from it, and it was a bit eerie that we were within a stone's throw of the river and never saw it once.
So we arrived at Grand Vue, found our trail head and began hiking through the fog and the mist. We had never hiked through quite such conditions before, and it added an interesting dimension to the day. Although we missed the views of the river, of Ohio, of any overlooks that we had earned by our climb, it just didn't matter. The mist was a feature in itself, and that plus, honestly, mild temps, plus the leaves just beginning to turn and fall, just made for a really neat, even melancholy atmosphere.
Our trail, recommended by the guide, was The Overlook Trail, 2.4 miles of easy terrain. Most of the trail was flat and even and a wide swath of mown grass. There was one tricky spot early in, to leave the main trail and venture into the woods, which entailed a bit of a steep descent from a ridge, which then brought us to another wide trail, which we followed throughout. The guide spoke of various forks, confusing places, etc., but we finally gave up trying to figure it out, and just decided to stay on the main trail, and we'd not get too lost.
Features of this hike were ostensibly the views of the river, which of course we didn't have. I think we found plenty of other highlights. First was the mist and fog, and then the turning leave, not to mention the crisp but not cold weather. Hardwood forests, autumn wildflowers, slopes wreathed in mist, and then finally the sun shining in rays upon the meadow, more than made up for meagre view.
The park seems to be a well-kept secret, though Burt mentioned to me that he has seen a billboard advertising it. I'd like to go back in the summer months. There are cabins to rent, and I believe that one could spend a week exploring the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, with its industrial history, archaelogical history, and geographical interests. Grand Vue has, besides cabins and hiking trails, mini golf, an aquatic center, frisbee golf, and a major zip line, and at pretty decent prices.
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