A Brief Shot of Color
I had hoped to go to Hospital Rock in Jones Gap State Park, but between a long wait and obstacles on the trail, the walk was shorter than intended. But the autumn colors were outstanding, regardless.
So, here it was the middle of autumn, and I very much wanted to get up into the mountains to see the colors of the leaves, which were certainly at their height. I was concerned that if I didn’t get up there sometime soon, I’d miss my chance.
To that end, I looked around at different trail descriptions, trying to decide on an apt location for leaf-watching. I found a likely candidate in the Hospital Rock trail, a 2.2-mile round trip trail in Jones Gap State Park. I had considered this trail before, and this seemed like the best time to go for it, although I didn’t have a lot of time that day for hiking. It’s rated at “moderate to difficult,” with an elevation change of about 700 feet, but being relatively short, I figured I could handle it without being gone for too long.
Sounds like a simple idea, right? Yeah, well…
First of all, I was later striking out for Jones Gap than I had intended, so I didn’t get to the park until around 11. And that was where I learned about a detail about this park that I had not been aware of. I had been at this park before, when I went up to Rainbow Falls, and on that day, which was in the middle of the week, the park was quiet and there were very few people around. But on a weekend, in high autumn, the park can get very crowded. So crowded, in fact, that there was a wait to get in.
Essentially, once the park gets to capacity, which often happens by about 10-11 on these weekends, the next car in line can’t come in until another car comes out. I got there about three cars from the entrance, so I was going to have to wait for four cars to leave before I’d get my chance.
I considered just giving it up and going back, but I opted to stay. I had been reveling in the color on the way up to this point, and the idea of just missing out on a beautiful day and vibrant fall colors because I had to wait just seemed ridiculous. Besides, I always bring a book with me, just in case, so I shut off the car, and waited for the park ranger to let me know when I could go on in.
I was fortunate in getting there when I did, I discovered, as the line behind me started to get impressively lengthy. Some gave up, turned around and left; others got out and walked around. Most seemed somewhat resigned to the wait, but there were a few that were incredibly annoyed and stood around with arms akimbo, glaring at the park rangers, as if it was their fault.
All in all, I only had to wait about an hour, letting me make some headway in the book I was reading. At that point, I was in the lead waiting for the next car to come out. The ranger had requested each of us to wait until they gave us the go-ahead before heading into the park, even if we saw a car come out. So, when I saw a car exit the park, I turned the car on and got in gear, ready to go. And I watched in my rear view mirror, waiting for the signal from the ranger.
Unfortunately, that view included a car about two cars behind me angrily gesticulating for me to get moving. She seemed extremly frustrated, which I found amusing, because my going in wouldn’t get her in the park, as she would still be waiting. So, I just let her vent her frustration, and when the ranger waved me on, I went on in, along with the car behind me, as yet another car was leaving.
Once I got in, I parked the car, chatted with the other new entry in the park, and then went to pay my fee. As I was getting my fee envelope and preparing it, I saw the notice that added another level of difficulty to my trip. It turned out that the Hospital Rock trail was partially closed. As far as I could tell, a tree had fallen across the trail and had gotten tangled in a power line. I couldn’t tell from the map or the notice how much of the trail was still available. But, I was committed, I had waited for an hour, so I paid my fee and set off to do as much of the trail as I could.
I set off along the trail, which is pretty well marked, and starts off through a camping area. The campsites were well populated, and I waved to a few of the campers as I hiked through. The trail itself was a relatively straightforward run, with a regular, but gradual incline along its length. There are steeper moments, but nothing prohibitive. I stopped quite often, getting shots of the colors from inside the trees, which surrounded the trail with deep reds and brilliant golds, shot through with green.
Besides the trees, there were often large boulders that the trail wound around and a few small stream crossings. About a half-mile up, the trail crosses Rocky Branch, a small stream that shoots through in multiple cascades. I stopped there for a while to get some shots of the water and the upper reaches of the cascades that could be glimpsed through the trees. After crossing the stream, I made it just a little farther and found an amazing vantage point.
The trees drop away on the southeast side, offering a panoramic sight of the mountains on the other side of Jones Gap. It appears that this area of the trail had been cleared to allow for powerlines. There was a haze over the mountains at that time of day, but it was still gorgeous, and I took the opportunity of a relatively flat boulder to set up and snap away. But it wasn’t just the gap view that was stunning. Looking back up the mountain, the amazing colors stood in stark contrast to the deep blue of the sky. I was definitely getting my leaf fix.
After some time and various configurations of my tripod, I kept going, but only made it a few more feet before the sign that blocked the rest of the trail. So, overall, I went just over a half mile up and a half mile back, so not a long trip at all.
On my way back, as I was leaving the trail at the trailhead, I met two woman and a man coming my way. I recognized one of the women as the angry one behind me in line before. She asked me if they were on the right way back to the parking lot (apparently they had done what they had come to do and were heading back out). I let her know that they were on the trail towards Hospital Rock, not the parking lot, but I showed them the right way out, and we had a pleasant conversation until I took my leave and headed back to the car.
Certainly not my longest hike, but I felt better having at least gotten the chance to see some color before the end of the year. I’m sure I’ll try the hike again, but next time I’ll check to see if it is open first, and I’ll get there much earlier.
