Goose Nest, WV Mountain Top House
We had a special week in the panhandle of eastern West Virginia. Our whole family spent 5 nights in a house on top of a mountain in Goose Nest, WV. The house faced the east and afforded us a spectacular morning sunrise.
After breakfast each morning, we set out on an adventure. The first day was a hike around Sleepy Creek Lake. My Outdooractive app showed a trail around the lake and this day we learned an important lesson. If a trail looks well maintained but isn’t marked, proceed with caution. The trail disappeared. Instead of turning back, we forged our own trail through the woods for about 2 miles. We were fortunate not to have run into impassible brush.
Besides Martinsville, West Virginia area hiking, we explored some local historic sights. There was a great deal of Civil War events that happened in West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia — states that meet close by.
Harpers Ferry
In historic Harpers Ferry, we toured some of the sights including crossing the bridge over the Potomac River before heading back into town for lunch. We stopped at the Coffee Mill on Potomac Street for burgers. They have a dog-friendly patio out back where Theo was welcome.
After lunch, we climbed the stairs up to St. Peter’s Church on the Appalachian Trail. We diverted from the trail to check out the Appalachian Conservancy on Washington St. where my son picked some swag and I asked if the hikers from Georgia had started arriving. The conservancy is basically the halfway point of the AT. The friendly host said that hikers start arriving in June depending on how fast they hike.
Having the time to hike the whole AT will never happen for our family, so we set a more achievable goal. We hope to hike on the AT in each of the states from Georgia to Maine. Two down and nine more to go!
Antietam Battlefield
After a rainy morning in Harpers Ferry, the sun came out and we explored Antietam National Battlefield for a sobering hike on the Final Attack trail. Antietam is the site of the bloodiest single day in American history.
After Hiking
After each day of exploring, we returned to our mountain retreat to cook dinner. The star meal of the vacation was some wild salmon on a cedar plank cooked on the charcoal grill.
Once dinner was cleaned up, we sat around the fire pit with some well deserved beers. For wood, our Airbnb host allowed us to use fallen trees from the property. I brought my chain saw and used it several times. The nearest neighbor was miles away, so wood could be prepped early in the morning.
Hiking the last day
On the final day, we used two cars so that we could do a point to point hike instead of out and back. We hiked the southern end of Sleepy Creek Management Area, parallel to the Tuscarora Trail and crossing it at one point. We have now hiked portions of the Tuscarora Trail in 2 states, PA and WV.
It was an amazing trip. We all enjoyed it. What we really liked is the fact the one side of the mountain was almost empty. The woods were expansive and quiet. On the other side of the mountain was plenty of civilization to seek out food and supplies.
