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| Little Devil Stairs Trail. |
On Cinco de Mayo, 2012, Kris and I saddled up the Toyota and
made the hard ride out to Shenandoah National Park with our toes pointed to
Little Devil Stairs, a local favorite.
We accidentally opted for a counter-clockwise
5.5-mile loop from the usual trailhead at Keyser Run (the normal way in was
hidden in a corner of the parking lot, but no biggie). Some like to add a couple miles by starting
high on Skyline Drive, which seems like a fine alternative. The first mile up a fire road was a little on
the steepish side, especially when the feeling in your legs is not unlike what
you had for breakfast. At last a nice
break up on the ridge at an historic cemetery—the evidence of a community long
gone, swept away by the acquisition of these lands for a park in the
1930s. A plaque offers a moving poem by
Wayne Baldwin, “Why the Mountains are Blue.”
It’s the sadness, he says.
Enter these
here Blue Mountains,
And enjoy
Sky-Line’s views,
Sample the
streams and fountains,
But don’t forget the sacrifice that was made for you.
After a nice reality check at the cemetery, we rambled on,
soon finding the rocky canyon that is the “stairs.” The trail here is a little rugged in places,
but nothing too tricky—and plenty scenic.
If anything, it was over too soon.
We marched along easier trail for the last leg back to the car—and the
trail we had meant to hike in on, though it mattered little. Along the way, I had some fun waving my phone
camera at Kris.
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