Camping the Dolly Sods Wilderness - Fall Backpacking in West Virginia

3 Days of Fall Camping, Hiking and Backpacking in Dolly Sods, West Virginia. GPS data at http://www.sintax77.com

For this adventure, we'll be exploring a very unique area of West Virginia - the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area, within the Monongahela National Forest. Being a high altitude plateau sitting at around 4,000 feet (the highest plateau east of the Mississippi river), the Sods offer a stark contrast to the surrounding West Virginian ecosystem. In fact, you may feel more like you're in Canada than West Virginia.

For an overview and listing of my gear check out this video:    • 2014 Ultralight Backpacking Gear List  

Accompanied by my wife and our two close friends, this was a 3 day, 2 night backpacking adventure. Each day's track data was recorded to individual GPX data files, available for download over at my website for those interested.

Parking: Bear Rocks Trailhead 39.06352, -79.30326

Trails Used in Order:

Day One (11.5 Miles):

Bear Rocks Trail 522
Raven Ridge Trail 521
Rocky Ridge Trail 524
Blackbird Knob Trail 553 (only for a very short segment)
Big Stone Coal Trail 513
Setup Camp a bit before Little Stone Coal Trail

Day 2 (9.5 Miles):

Dunkenbarger Trail 558
Little Stone Coal Trail 552
Red Creek Trail 514
(Out-n-back excursion on Breathed Mountain Trail 553)
Setup camp along Red Creek Trail between Breathed Mt and Blackbird Knob

Day 3 (6 Miles):

Red Creek Trail 514
Blackbird Knob Trail 511
Upper Red Creek Trail 509
Dobbin Grade Trail 526 - Prepare for mud and thigh-deep sinkholes!
Return to car via Bear Rocks Trail 522