Thursday, January 22, 2015

Hiking the Endless Wall Trail in West Virginia


The Endless Wall hiking trail is one of the most popular trails in West Virginia.  Its breathtaking views of the endless unbroken cliff line overlooking the New River Gorge makes this a must see.  The above picture is taken from Diamond Point Overlook and gives you an amazing view of the cliffs, and if you are lucky, some rock climbers or kayaks.
 
This trail is not far from the Canyon Rim Visitor Center, off of Edmond Road.  We parked at the Nuttall Trailhead parking area and started our walk.  This mostly easy trail loop is around 3 miles (with 0.5 mile on the road from Fern Creek Trailhead to Nuttall Trailhead). 
 
As with most unknown trails, this one was full of surprises.  One of them was this really cool looking rock bridge with a small stream running under it.  The path gets smaller taking you through tunnels of trees with long branches still covered with leaves, much like the trail at Long Point.

You will also cross these two large wooden beams made into another bridge, which I can only imagine are there because the area gets a little wet when it rains.  This day happened to be bright and dry so they kind of looked out of place in the middle of the woods.

Coming off the beams, you get to walk (or jump) along these large rock stepping stones leading to the start of a short climb up the mountain.
 
This path takes you along the edge of the cliffs with tons of short paths to the edge, allowing for some amazing views.  Right before you get to Diamond Point there is a large rock with several ladders attached.  This is the access path for climbers.  I'm not a climber (fear of heights) but there is over 1,000 different routes established for all who wants to be Spiderman for the day.  I've also read that climbers come from all over the United States just to try these walls and saw several different groups climbing over the weekend with cars in the parking lot from out of state.

On the way home we made our way back to Fayetteville and ate at Gumbo's Cajun Restaurant.  After living in New Orleans for years, I grew to love Cajun food and eat every chance I get.  If it ain't hot and spicy then it's not worth eating.  This was our second time at this restaurant and although Cajun food was on our minds we ended up with hamburgers.  After a full day of hiking, I was starving for carbs and gumbo just wasn't going to cut it.  
 
The hike was amazing and I look forward to going again to explore what is at the bottom of the ladder or maybe just to see the fall colors! 










 

1 comment:

  1. Looking for info on hiking trails plus wine tours in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I am travelling from Canada to Colonial Williamsburg and checking out the area. Thought hiking and wine was a great combo. Any suggestions on anyone who does hiking and wine tours?? Thanks

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