Hazel Country-10.5 Miles-Strenuous

Starting Point - Meadow Spring Trailhead

Ending Point - Meadow Spring Trailhead

Hike Distance/Rating - 10.5 Miles/Strenuous

PLEASE NOTE - Since this hike is rated as a strenuous hike, all hikers are going to start on the wait list for this hike until I can verify the hiking experience of all hikers on the wait list. Those who have not hiked a strenuous hike with me have 3 days to answer the following vetting questions.

1. How often do you hike?
2. What strenuous hikes have you done?
3. When and what was the last strenuous hike that you completed?

Failure to answer the vetting questions within 3 days will move those hikers to NOT GOING. The answers to the above questions need to be emailed to me patrickcory@hotmail.com

Trailhead GPS Coordinates - 38.638307, -78.313742

Hike Highlights - Hazel Mountain Trail, Hazel Mountain, Sam's Ridge Trail, Hazel River Trail, Hazel River, White Rock Trail, Hazel River Falls

Hike Details - This is a hike into one of the hike leader's favorite areas in Shenandoah National Park: The Hazel Country. We are going to be on the hunt and lookout for the spring wildflowers. We are going to start down the Hazel Mountain Trail. We will hike past the White Rocks Trail and Hazel River Trail before reaching the Sam's Ridge Trail. We will steeply descend Sam's Ridge to the Hazel River Trail. We will turn right and ford/rock hop across Hazel River four times before reaching the White Rock Trail. We will steeply climb back up to the ridge and make our way to the spur trail down to Hazel River Falls. We will go down to the Hazel River Falls and enjoy this waterfall. We will retrace back up to the White Rock Trail and continue to the Hazel Mountain Trail. We will retrace our steps back to the cars. There will be a post hike at a local restaurant in the Sperryville area.

What to Bring - Broken in Hiking Boots, Trekking Poles, Lunch/Snacks, 3 to 5 Liters of Water, First Aid Kit, Good Day Pack, Camera, Money for Your Driver, Layers of Clothing for colder fall and winter hiking, Beanies/Gloves, Traction/Microspikes, Tick Repellent, Sunscreen, Annual Park Pass