"This is the hike that never ends..." I sang to myself two miles into the 8 mile loop that is Cedar Run Falls and White Oak Canyon. I'd slept but a wink the night before, waking up shivering every few minutes in our tent at Matthew's Arm campground. As the sun rose, I blearily opened my eyes and found my arms, and Zan's arms, snug around Theo, nestled under the blankets between us. Apparently, I had fallen asleep at some point between the raging party that ended at 2am at the campsite next to ours and stumbling out of the tent to pee at 4am, and Theo had sought out warmth. I giggled at him, and us, and how ridiculously under-prepared we'd been for the weather, uncharacteristically cold for August in the Mid-Atlantic.
We started on the blue-blazed Cedar Run trailhead at the parking lot off mile 45.5 on Skyline Drive. I'd done this hike as an out-and-back up White Oak Canyon three summers ago, and I remembered it being a strenuous climb with rewarding views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, dense woods for aeternity, and the show stopper - waterfalls and natural water slides galore. I'd never hiked on Cedar Run so this hike gave me an opportunity to see an even woodsier side of the loop, dotted with shaded areas, lush vegetation, multiple stream crossings, and a few waterfalls of its own.
We opted to hike down Cedar Run (about 3 miles) and back up White Oak Falls (about 3 miles), with the hope that by the time we climbed the trail to the waterfalls, the sun would be out and bright, ready to warm and dry us after we played in the abundant swimming holes.
At the end of mile 2, Zan and I emerged from the monotony of the woods - ever stunning as it is! - into an open, sunny vista showing off staggered boulders with a swimming hole nestled beneath. A 10-foot or so waterfall cascaded into the translucent, emerald pool. Another couple walked up at the same time, and the four of us shimmied and shivered, touching our toes into the ice-cold water and daring one another to be the first to ride the natural slide into the pool.
Zander went for it, and I cheered him on as loudly as if it were me out there in the freezing water. He picked up speed on the slide and burst into the pool with a splash that almost touched me, catching the scene with my phone on the adjacent rocks. It was numbingly cold, he said, but absolutely refreshing. I ultimately decided to wait until later in the day when things warmed up - a decision I ended up regretting. This small, untouched pool with the perfect slide turned out to be the best one we encountered all day.
At long last, with my knees shaking, and muscled I've evidently never exercised burning, the trail flattered out. We opted to take the mile-long fire road that connects Cedar Run to White Oak. The three mile ascent of White Oak Canyon has a whopping 2500 feet of elevation gain, and I've never been so happy to be out of breath climbing up. It's fascinating how climbing uphill and downhill work different muscles - Zan finds downhill to be much easier on his legs, while uphill feels like salvation - compared to downhill - for mine.
The climb to Lower Falls was my favorite of the entire hike the first time I did it and this time. Whereas Cedar Run is forested, vibrantly green, and the trail is made up of smaller rocks and dirt, White Oak is all boulders. Giant slabs of stone eroded and worn stand stoically in the water, which you follow all the way to the top. The view gets better with every foot of elevation, and I could picnic and wade from those giant boulders all day.
I skipped the swimming holes once we reached the LF. I kicked myself - I honestly think exhaustion got the better of me on this hike. It took all my adventurous spirit to simply make it through.
The climb to the Upper Falls felt easier for me this time around. It came sooner than I expected, and I rallied, wading and playing in the water, daring myself to get close enough to a snake sunning on a fallen tree branch to check out his colors and head shape (I never did muster that kind of courage!), and rock scrambling for fun.
From the UF, the trail continues upward... and further upward! Until when you're starting to freak out that you missed the fire road that takes you back to the Cedar Run parking lot, it finally appears. There is a great overlook within 1/4 of a mile from the fire road - you're on the right path if you stop there for a photo or two.
On a map, the fire road looked short. In reality, it's 1.5 miles or so. The terrain is easy compared to the rock scrambles and careful stepping on other parts of the hike, but it is almost entirely uphill. Zander turned into the spirit leader of the hike. He kept me moving, even when I was melodramatically certain I was going to nap right there on the trail for the next month or so.
But we did make it back to the car without me singing, "Yes, the hike goes on and on my friend..." well, not out loud at least.
if you go...
distance: 7.9-8.2 miles
elevation gain: 2500 feet
time: 5-7 hours, depending on how long you play in the water
good for: waterfalls, swimming holes, picnics
parking on skyline drive: hawksbill gap, mile 44.5
or start at the bottom of white oak canyon by parking on rt 600
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