Winter Hike of Spruce Knob
Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia at 4,862 feet (1,482 meters). I actually made up an unnecessary long hiking circuit to the top of Spruce Knob that I did several times for training purposes over one fall and winter. Only on the winter trip did I bring my camera, but this was a wise choice because then there was lots of snow!
Immediately where we started out on the Allegheny trail we already had to cross this annoying creek above. The first time I came this way the water was low enough to be able to cross it by stepping on rocks. The second time it was way to high and we had to cross using a log.
The third time around not only was the water high but the original log we used had been washed away. It wasn’t too bad but certainly wasted about 30 minutes trying to find the best way to cross. We ended up tossing rocks until we were able to carefully step over some of the fast moving water. It wasn’t deep or wide, but just with everything covered in wet moss and with heavy backpacks it would be easy to slip and fall into the water.
The beginning of the Allegheny Trail that we used starts off with some steep switchbacks. As a matter of fact, probably the beginning of this trail is where the steepest terrain is for the entire trip! We started at roughly 2,200 feet (700 meters).
As we got higher we began to see some patches of snow along the trail and even these Icicles. The higher we got the more snow we saw of course. The photo below was taken close to 4,000 feet (1,200 meters).
After peaking out at 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) we had to descend down a very steep and muddy trail back to 3,000 feet (900 meters). The snow was gone again and we had this annoying river to cross. The first two times I had crossed this river, actually known as Seneca Creek, we had a very large tree that fell across. It was relatively easy to cross because it was so wide. The second time I came it was covered in ice so a bit slippery. And finally this time around I was surprised to find the tree had disappeared. Fortunately there was a skinnier tree not too far away, so we were able to make it without wasting much time. I had tried to install these boards I brought with me to make it easier, but in all honesty I think they just got in our way!
Immediately after crossing Seneca Creek found ourselves in front of one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen in the region; Seneca Falls. Even though we had passed the halfway mark to camp already, just getting to Seneca Falls is a serious hike! It’s at least seven miles out from where we had started and that’s one way, making this a near 15 mile round trip journey for anyone who wants to visit it! Each time I see the falls it seems more beautiful than the first.
After crossing the river we had to continue uphill back to 4,000 feet (1,200 meters). It took a lot of time and effort after a full day of hiking with big packs. We eventually got back into light snow on the trails, to finally finding ourselves in the spruce forest. It was night time when we reached our camp site, but we found this nice open area photographed above. Below is our camp site the following morning. If you notice there is quite a bit of snow on my tent; we received about two inches that night!
The snow we received the night before completely covered everything in sight. The higher we got up the more snow we saw up on the trees and the ground as well. Below is a sign of the Huckleberry trail that we took from our camp site to the summit.
From our camp site it was less than 10 miles round trip to the summit. Since we left most of our gear at the camp, we took only what we needed like our camera, some snacks and water. With the final five miles to the top being mostly flat since we had camped at 4,000 feet, we were able to enjoy a really nice and easy walk without any packs! Above is a shot of the trail.
The scenery was absolutely beautiful as the trail winded in and out of meadows, spruce trees, and sometimes even rocky terrain. It was such a stark contrast compared to the morning before when we were surrounded by leafless trees and ground covered by mud and dead leaves. It would seem with all this snow up here, that we’d definitely have snow at the bottom as well from the storm.
After about an hour and some change of hiking from our camp site we reached a… parking lot! That’s right, the top of Spruce Knob has a parking lot that was a bit of an anticlimactic victory after all the hard hiking we had done. The lot was empty of course, but it still bothered us that these beautiful views we had earned could be gained by anyone willing to drive up here. Even though I say that, the first time I visited Spruce Knob I actually did drive up here to the top with a friend, so I can’t complain! That trip was much easier than this one.
The top of West Virginia has an overlook tower designed to give you some great views. I don’t recall any great views the first time I visited it, and since I don’t have any photos from the lookout tower I suspect there might not be any. This time around with overcast skies and lots of spruce trees in the way, the tower didn’t help much either. The shot below shows what it looks like from the tower, and it’s hard to imagine ever getting any great visibility with the tall spruces around.
