Stumbles Recommended!
Dolly Sods is a slice of northern Canada's rocky, windswept plateau in West Virginia. It is a wild and beautiful place - and
very muddy and windy. Long backpacking and day hiking loops abound, as do good campsites. It truly is a "wild" outside the national parks, and Rocky Ridge's 10.8 mile loop is a great introduction to what the region has to offer.
During my mid-November visit, I hoped to catch the tail end of the fall foliage season. But fall comes late in the city, and the fact that DC trees are filled with oranges and reds meant that it was pure winter in Dolly Sods. Fortunately, I had come prepared. (See
Logistics, below.) It was so gray that most of my photos look black and white, but it didn't matter: I can't wait to get back and explore more of the area.
Not quite the weather I was hoping for when I got out of the car.