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By Maureen Harris
Special to the Rappahannock News
This walk heads uphill from Skyline Drive at a point just south of the Thornton Gap entrance station, passes a lovely stream and the remains of a cabin that burned down in 1946, leads to a stunning view to the west over the Shenandoah Valley, and then to a 360 degree view at Marys Rock.
Tb begin the walk, drive up Rt. 211 west to the Thornton Gap entrance station to Skyline Drive. From there, drive south (left) for about 2.3 miles. On your left will be a paved parking lot. Park here and cross Skyline Drive on foot.
The trail begins just south of where you cross the drive. Walk uphill, and about 4/10th of a mile along the trail will be Meadow Spring on your right. You may notice the 2” x 6” blue paint blazes on some of the trees along the trail.*
This land was owned by C. J. and Louisa Miller, who sold it to the Commonwealth of Virginia in the 1930s to form part of what became. Shenandoah National Park.
The trail will soon make a sharp turn to the right. Just past this turn are the remains of Meadow Spring Cabin, built by mountaineer Perry Sisk in 1930 for the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. The club used it as a base camp while laying out and building trails in this area. The cabin was replaced by the National Park Service with a larger cabin in 1939.
Unfortunately, this second cabin burned down in 1946 and was not rebuilt.
You can see the crumbling chimney remains and the rock foundation.
Continue on your walk uphill for about 3/10th mile, where you will reach the Appalachian Trail. (The Appalachian TVail is designated by 2” x 6” white paint blazes at intervals on the trees; these blazes occur on its entire 2000 mile length from Georgia to Maine.)
At the intersection with the Appalachian Trail, turn left (south) onto the Appalachian Trail and walk about l/10th mile to a splendid rock viewpoint. From here you can see across the Shenandoah Valley. If the day is clear, you can even see the mountains that frame the valley to the west.
This is a fine place to eat lunch, if you have brought a bag lunch with you.
If you have some energy remaining, walk back on the Appalachian TVail, past your initial intersection with it, and continue (north) along the trail for about 6/10th of a mile.
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