I recently marked off two-and-a-half days to do what I still like to do most – explore new territory. After years of traipsing about the woods of West Virginia’s Canaan Valley/Tucker County I decided to turn a bit southward to Marlinton/Pocahontas County – an area dubbed the “birthplace of rivers”. It is here that the Elk, Cheat, Jackson, Greenbrier, Tygart Valley and the South Branch of the Potomac arise. The Elk River is said to have the best trout fishing in West Virginia. It’s a remote, rural and ruggedly beautiful area that had been calling me for a while.
This brief expedition would use a pre-civil war era cabin (professionally and lovingly restored by Barn Wood Builders) as basecamp. I booked it through Jericho Cabins, and it was a good fit for my wife and I. In full disclosure, I will warn you there’s only one window unit for the two bedroom (two beds in a loft), one bathroom cabin, but we slept fine with the windows open and ceiling fan on in the first-floor bedroom that opened to a tree top level porch with a hot tub.
The cabin was just outside the Town of Marlinton, located 45 minutes south of Snowshoe. I’ll admit I was a little concerned about the town and accommodations, but both exceeded expectations.
The town featured a half dozen restaurants and coffee houses, including the Dari World (where I think all the locals ate) and Alfredo’s, an Italian/Greek restaurant we found to our liking.
I booked the cabin and trip for a retreat from the hustle and bustle that is our lives at Lake Anna, Virginia. Turns out it was a great place to getaway because Marlinton is one of the few hotspots in the otherwise Dark Zone of West Virginia near Green Bank Observatory. Radio and microwave frequency are purposely shunted to ensure a clear signal for the massive radio telescope. What that meant for us was no streaming TV, no internet and no cell phone service except in certain areas – Marlinton was one place where we could get connected – twice a day.
Now all around the town is plenty of public land that offers hiking, fishing, mountain biking and in season, hunting. And as a grouse hunter, I am always looking for places to try. The West Virginia mountains here reputedly hold grouse. More on that later.
Day 1 found us up and moving early, looking for hiking/fishing along the Greenbrier River Trail. This 77-mile pathway was once part of the famous Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and in this region was used extensively to haul timber and serve the tanneries that at one time made Marlinton a boom town. The right-of-way was gifted to West Virginia in the late 1970’s and in 1980 it was opened to the public as a recreational, multi-use trail.
The wheelchair-accessible trail features a hard-packed surface accommodating hiking, bicycling, ski-touring and horseback-riding. Access is provided at 14 trailheads. The route features 16 primitive campsites (several with three-sided camping shelters), 50 to 60 picnic tables, and passes three state parks and two state forests.
Before heading anywhere, I stopped in at the local sporting goods shop, bought a WV fishing license, some water shoes and inquired about where one could hike and fish along the trail because although the river runs through Marlinton, the trail in town is really just a road. The kind clerk informed me that the nearby hamlet of Buckeye offered a good trail access point and deep section of river that would offer the best fishing for a visitor like me.
Fifteen minutes later we pulled into a parking area alongside the slow-moving river and Chrissie and I were off and walking. When the trail paralleled the river, I would peer down scanning for fish. From time to time, I would spy smallmouth bass sunning themselves in the low, clear water.
While we did scramble down the bank and wade fish a bit, those fish were very spooky in the clear, hot water. When we hit two miles out, we turned around and headed back, stopped at a riverside picnic table to enjoy a lovely lunch in the shade.
Our afternoon consisted of a rousing game of Scrabble, some reading and a long-deserved nap before we headed to town for dinner, live bluegrass music and, of course, Dari World ice cream.
Before I turned in for the night, I went outside and looked for meteors. The Milky Way was spectacular. I slept soundly looking forward to more adventures.
For Day 2 Chrissie and I headed up Rt. 55 and turned off on Rt. 150, also known as the Highland Scenic Highway. This is a 23-mile spectacular road that runs through the Marlinton and Gauley Ranger Districts of the Monongahela National Forest. We enjoyed stunning views of the Allegheny Mountains and had many trailheads and pull offs to choose from.
I choose the Tea Creek Trail; a 4.7 miler that followed the mountain stream of the same name. it was similar to what we have experienced in Canaan but slightly less maintained and less travelled. As we gained altitude, the creek bed became more gorge-like, plunging and gathering in deep pools behind massive boulders. Furtive brook trout darted from their hiding places from time to time, and I longed for my flyrod left in the car.
We were getting a bit tired and the gnats were incessant when we finally found a shelter the map showed. Sadly, some irresponsible campers had not been kind to the firepit (there was smoldering trash left around it) so we pushed on to the intersection with the return trail.
Soon after we started the 4.2 mile North Face Trail back to the last ¾ mi. of Tea Creek Mountain Trail down Tea Creek Mountain it began to rain. I had reminded my wife to pack a rainsuit, but she had left it in the car. I was happy to donate mine and we trudged through the rain and the increasingly non-maintained trail. The Garmin Astro collar and receiver I had brought was invaluable.
At some point the only sign of a trail were the occasional blue blazes tacked to trees and the old logging road it followed. Some seriously vicious horse nettles stung our legs and mud threatened to remove my wife’s shoes. It was a slog. The only thing good about that trail was that I’m pretty sure I heard two grouse flush. That was encouraging.
The final ¾ mile descent was brutal because it was steep, slick mud, and mountain bikers had pretty much removed any semblance of a hiking trail. My wife fell once and hurt her knee and ankle. My left knee was done, and I had to use a walking stick. At 55, we are beginning to show a little age.
We hobbled down the mountain and out of the woods and sat at a picnic table to gather ourselves and eat lunch. Thank God I packed one of the fried pies Chrissie picked up at Goose Creek Store in Fishersville on the way out!
A check with my wife’s iWatch said we had done nearly 10 miles and 17 stories! We both agreed that a five-mile hike was plenty from here on out.
Believe it or not, after lunch, we rallied and headed up the road (Rt. 55) to Snowshoe where the annual Treasure On The Mountain Fundraiser Raffle was underway. Many folks were there hoping to win some amazing prizes with a large amount raised for various local causes.
Snowshoe is like a western ski resort with a village at the top of the mountain with restaurants, shops and more. There were plenty of mountain bikers using the lifts and roaring down the slopes. Chrissie and I hobbled around from bar to food vendor, medicating ourselves. One bourbon and ginger and one chocolate/carmel/whipped cream-topped waffle had me feeling better quickly.
As the afternoon turned to evening and the angle of the sun brought on a soothing golden hue we drove back down to Marlinton to pick up a pizza, let the hot tub soothe our joints and watch the Olympics back at the cabin. Needless to say, I slept very well!
On Day 3 we woke up, made some phone calls in town, and then headed back to that deep pool on the Greenbrier at Buckeye. I fished while Chrissie walked the other direction on the trail.
As I water glissaded/slipped my way along river rocks with those water shoes and a bum knee I managed to catch four smallmouth and three red eyes using a Wooly Bugger made by noted Virginia fly angler Robert Thomas. The fish were small, but it was heavenly wading in a river again like my grandfather taught me some 45 years back.
We met back at the car at 9:45 am and headed back over the mountains to Lake Anna watching the car thermometer rise the entire time. We both want to visit this region again and try some of the less rugged trails. I want to see about those ghostly grouse and perhaps a Williams River trout.
