We headed up the trail slowly, not entirely sure that we would climb all the 2.2 miles to the top, since Michael and I were still quite sore from our Spartan Race. The first part of the trail is the Mill Mountain Trail, which climbs up to the ridge of Mill Mountain. This part of the climb is the steepest, and I never seem to remember exactly how steep it is - it always seems like it goes on forever.
The climb is worth it, because when you emerge on the ridge, you begin hiking along the state line between Virginia and West Virginia, with glimpses of the beautiful scenery through the trees on both sides.
In the photo below, Virginia is on the right side of the trail, and West Virginia on the left.
At the first large break in the trees, we stopped to get a photo with the mountains of Virginia spread out in the background.
The trail continues along the ridge for a mile or more, with some rocky areas along the way. The vegetation was more overgrown on this visit than I have ever seen it, which made for a narrow trail through the wildflowers at some points, and opened up into some small meadows at others. We saw quite a few insects, and more millipedes than I have ever seen in one place.
After hiking along the ridge, we finally came to the turn where we depart from Mill Mountain Trail and head up to the top of Big Schloss. Of course, this meant more uphill on tired legs, but once we were this close we weren't going to turn back without making it to the top.
After climbing past the first few sections of rocky outcropping, we came to bridge that allows you to safely cross onto the main rock formation that is Big Schloss. When you see the bridge, you can't help but wonder how anyone managed to carry the materials and heavy beams up the trail to reach that point - there isn't an easy way in! The kids played troll before we crossed over.
Once you reach Big Schloss, you are just on the Virginia side of the state line, but the views give you a panoramic look across Virginia and West Virginia. I loved climbing around on the rocks when I when I was younger, and even though the kids were tired of hiking when we reached the top, their energy and excitement suddenly returned as they explored the rocks. We watched them closely because it's a long way down, as you can see from this angle.
Here are a few pictures that show the West Virginia side behind us.
This shot below shows the ridge along Mill Mountain, the route we hiked up to the rocks. That ridge is the state line, so to the right of the ridge is West Virginia, and to the left is Virginia.
This is some of the view on the Virginia side.
Michael took this panoramic shot that shows us from the ridge all the way around the West Virginia side.
I noticed as we came down the trail that the leaves were just beginning to turn red on some of the trees. (It was much easier to enjoy the views in the woods on the way down, since I wasn't huffing and puffing like I did on the way up!)
The total hike was about 4.5 miles and took us about 3 hours. If we'd been thinking more clearly, we would have packed a picnic lunch and carried it up to the rocks along with more bottled water - it's a great place for a picnic. We were driving to the Washington, D.C. area after leaving Big Schloss, which took us up Hwy 81 to Strasburg to I-66. At exit 13 from I-66 is one of my favorite places - The Apple House. With a selection of local wines, apple ciders, hot sauces, unique gifts and the best apple cinnamon doughnuts I've ever tasted, this is a required stop in our family if we are anywhere near the vicinity. I've been known to drive miles out of my way to include this stop in my route. ;-) The doughnuts are best fresh, but a few seconds in the microwave warms them back up nicely!
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