Three Ridges Wilderness-Beautiful Hike Along The AT-7.0 Miles-Moderate

Designated in 2000, Three Ridges Wilderness south of Charlottesville, is one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in the State of Virginia. Encompassing over 4600 acres, Three Ridges is a gem of a place to hike through as it offers scenic overlooks from high elevation rocky outcroppings, a healthy diversified hardwood forest, meandering streams with tumbling cascades, and a haven for a variety of wildlife. Winding its way through this wilderness area are a couple of hiking trails. The one most often traveled by foot is the Appalachian Trail. The other, lesser known trail is the Mau-Har Trail. For this 7 mile retrace hike we will primarily be trekking along the Appalachian Trail.

Starting from Love Gap, along the Blue Ridge Parkway between Mile Post 15 and 16, we will initially access a relatively primitive dirt road that is occasionally used by the Forest Service and Trail Maintenance Crews. We will hike this forested terrain that contains lots of mountain laurel for about 1.5 miles.

Upon intersecting the Appalachian Trail we will encounter uphill stretches on 2 different sections of our hike. But the rewarding, panoramic view from the rock outcropping at the mid-way point of our hike is well worth it. This will also be the location where we will have an extended break for snacks/lunch.

A bit more than half of our hike will be contained within the Three Ridges Wilderness. And this area truly lives up to the definition of the word Wilderness - which is simply "a region where the land is in a natural state; where impacts from human activities are minimal".

At the conclusion of the hike, for those that are interested, we can stop at a local cidery or brewery for a bite to eat and a refreshing drink.
Hope you will be able to participate in this group hike outing.

What to Wear and Bring:

>hiking apparel should include moisture wicking clothing such as polyester and/or merino wool as a base/skin layer
>a light jacket and/or pull-over fleece top
>a good pair of broken-in hiking shoes/boots
>wool/merino hiking socks (such as Darn Tough, Smart Wool)
>1.5 to 2 liters of water and/or an electro-lyte replacement drink
>Most Importantly – Snacks/Lunch – which will be eaten at a scenic overlook along the trail

Hope you will be able to participate on this beautiful hike on what I hope will be another stellar blue sky, sunny day.