Friday, May 20, 2016

Whiteoak Canyon - to the Upper Falls, May 13-15, 2016

Our friends were visiting Luray in their Airstream this past weekend, so we decided to do a hike with them. We always enjoy our time in the woods with them. We've done several hikes with just the couple and a few with their kids as well.

After narrowing down the choices, we decided on Whiteoak Canyon to the upper falls. It's been raining a LOT here in the mid-Atlantic, so we figured if there were ever a time to do a hike that involved waterfalls, now would be the time.

We drove up Skyline Drive in our beloved Shenandoah National Park to the Skyland area. There was still a ton of parking at the trailhead, which was nice.

The first thing we noticed about Whiteoak Canyon was that it was a pretty easy decline. It got steeper as we went, but never anything crazy. The hike back out was tiring though! We decided at around 2.3 miles to turn the party around. Apparently we didn't make it to the "big" falls, but I think we were all happy with what we saw. I'd definitely recommend hiking poles for the way back up if you have them. By the time we hit mile 4.25 or so, I was D O N E. I think if I had my poles, I would've been feeling a bit better.

We crossed Limberlost a couple of times - that's on our list to hike at some point as well.











Look carefully - there are 3 snakes in there


We had a bit of a reward waiting for us after the hike!
Gluten Free Smith Island Cake from Triple Oak Bakery. Delicious!