Skookum Traveler: The Priest, Maintop Mountain and Spy Rock (VA)

Middle section of Crabtree Falls.

I’d discovered another two-fer possibility in the Blue Ridge and headed out early from DC on Saturday December 21^st. Snow and closed roads had put a crimp on peakbagging the previous weekend, but now, on the winter solstice, the forecast was spectacular, with a predicted high close to 70. Not bad for the first day of winter. I made the long drive to Crabtree Falls southwest of Charlottesville, with my sights on The Priest and Maintop Mountain, including a short detour to Spy Rock (below). It was also going to be a great day to try out my nifty new Canon PowerShot-SX280HS-Wifi-HD video-GPS-20x-blah-blah-point-and-shoot-cameroid.

46. The Priest: The hike can be shortened considerably by starting at an upper parking lot, but then you miss the scenic climb past the highest series of falls east of the Mississippi. Crabtree Creek drops over 1,000 feet via multiple falls and cascades. An excellent 1.7-mile trail to the top offers great views throughout. A few lingering patches of ice demanded some extra care in spots, but nothing treacherous. From the top of the upper falls, an easy path led another mile to a fire road, followed by a short stroll upward to intersect the A.T. Hanging a left there, it was 1.2 miles farther to the summit. The high point is a rock pile in the trees, but a fine overlook awaited along the ridge a short distance below. It seemed I had the entire mountain to myself and I didn’t see another hiker until I returned to the falls. I did see my first fox east of the Mississippi, right close to the summit, and figured he must have been working on his summit list too. Note of caution: signs at Crabtree Falls state that 28 people have died here while venturing off the trail onto rocks that are slicker than they look. The most recent fatality occurred in 2013.

Miles (RT): 9.0 miles; elevation gain: 2,500 feet
Cumulative mileage and gain: 208.2 miles / 54,700 feet

Top of the falls.

On the way to The Priest.

The summit.

My foot on it.

Descending.

47. Maintop Mountain and Spy Rock: After burning up way too much time taking way too many pictures with my new camera, I burned rubber up to the Spy Rock trailhead behind a fish hatchery, a short drive from Crabtree Falls. It was already 3:30pm and I had, at most, two hours of good light left. The hike up and back would be a bit under four miles with 1,500 feet of elevation gain. No problem.

About a quarter mile up the private road that leads to the A.T., I met a boy of maybe six or seven running toward me looking as happy as all get-out. He came right up to me like I was his uncle and said “Deh uh voo ut duh en—uh woowy guh one!” Which I translated to mean there was a really good view at Spy Rock. I thanked him for his generous insight, then noticed the rest of the family approaching from around the bend. Within an hour, I was atop the rock, which rises like a massive blob out of the surrounding forest. The hiker boy was right. It was gorgeous. Tiny pools at the summit reflected a darkening sky. Confederate soldiers spied on their Union enemy from this perfect vantage point approximately one sesquicentennial ago.

But since Spy Rock is not the high point, I clambered down and continued up the A.T. briefly to where a former, less obvious path climbs leftward to the top of Maintop Mountain. I presume it’s called the main top, since Spy Rock isn’t the actual top of the mountain, even if it’s the main destination for day hikers. By now dusk was approaching and the wind was howling, so I snapped a picture of my feet on the highest rock pile and skittered back down.

Miles (RT): 3.8 miles; elevation gain: 1,500 feet

Cumulative mileage and gain: 212.0 miles / 56,200 feet