Canceled - St Mary's Wilderness The Other Way (trip canceled due to near total lack of water available along the trail)
Difficulty - Moderate
This is a wilderness area, so I am limited to only 10 people total going on this backpacking trip.
Dates: Friday evening, September 15 - Sunday, September 17th
Departure: Leave Williamsburg at 5:00PM (if the group wishes to leave earlier, I can leave as early as 12 noon).
We can gather at the Target parking lot in the Marquis Shopping Center off 199 at exit 242 on I-64. It is a 3 1/2 hour drive without stops to the trail head.
Take I-64 West to exit 96, then south towards Lyndhurst, then VA664 East, then right on Coal Road Number 42, taking it for several miles to the parking lot for Cellar Mountain Trail on the left. There is limited parking, so carpooling is best. If there is more than 1 vehicle, we can park one at the St. Mary's Trail parking lot and shuttle. This would also eliminate 2 miles of road walking at the end of the trip.
Friday September 15 camp at Cellar Mountain TrailHead
Saturday, September 16, hike 9 miles up and over Cellar Mountain, then onto the forest road to Green Pond, where we will pick up the beginning of the St. Mary's Trail and head down to the old ore processing site (best campsite in all of Virginia) and camp. After the big climb up Cellar Mountain, it is ridge walking and downhill.
Sunday, September 17, continues on the St. Mary's Trail to the parking lot with lots of crossings of the St. Mary's River, so plan to get your feet wet. Shuttle once we get to the parking lot, if we have more than one vehicle or hike the two mile road walk up to Cellar Mountain parking lot to pick up the vehicle and head home.
Maybe a brew at Devil's Backbone?
Weather - Check the weather for Wintergreen Resort and pack accordingly.
Water - There is no water at the camping site on Friday night, so bring water for that and to start the day. The first six or seven miles are dry. Plenty of water the rest of the way.
Food and Shelter - Pack whatever food you want for the trip and pack out all trash you pack in. There are no shelters, so tent camping or hammock camping. There are no privies.
Maps - I will have maps for everyone. The best map is National Geographic #789. GPS and cell service are spotty and non existant in some areas we will be in.
Questions - Do not hesitate to text, call, or email. I am not on any social media, so I can not communicate that way.
Mark Wenger
swfl1951@gmail.com
948-529-0043
