The point of these
75@75 hikes is to get into the history of Shenandoah National Park a little more deeply than I have in the past. The hikes all have their physical challenges, since they have been chosen because of their moderate length or elevation change. A second reason for choosing them was the connection to what was here before the Park, since humans have occupied the Blue Ridge from time to time over the last 12,000 years or more, and exploring and settling the Ridge began in earnest during the colonial era.
One of the “traces” that is evident on the Piney Branch-Piney Ridge trail is the Dwyer cemetery, which is one of two cemeteries that are formally mentioned on NPS trail guides and in the Heatwole book.
In the case of the Dwyer cemetery – its current state is best described as returning to nature, since no family members actively maintain it – there is no trace of the old wire fence, and the visible markers remaining are newer, formal markers. The Heatwole guide includes a notation about this family; there were seven families of Dwyers that were displaced from the Park when it was formed, and 850 acres of their land was assimilated into the growing Park.
We met a scout troop leader trailside at the little spur that leads back to the cemetery and had a good chat (he confirmed for Tom, still skeptical at that point, that we had gone the wrong direction on the hike – “but the hardest part is behind you now”). He pointed us to a newer, more formal headstone that had a CSA badge mounted near it; this was from the most recent burial, in 1927. Heatwole also notes that a Mary G. Dwyer is buried here, having died in 1867 at the age of 75.
As we returned to continue up the gently climbing Piney Ridge trail, I thought about some of the trees we were seeing here. I understand that this part of the trail goes through an old goat pasture, and that the trees growing in now are second growth, young hardwoods. There are still some magnificent pines on the ridge and black locust trees, species that are called pioneers and first growth forests as the area is taken back by the woods.
Most likely, none of those specimens are older than the Park, but down on the Piney Branch trail and on the cut-off trail I had seen quite a few tulip poplars, which is also known as the tulip-tree. These trees are magnificent cousins to the magnolias, and can be found in most of the branch, river and creek valleys and ravines at the park. They are an ancient tree, and when you see the little flower, the magnolia is not the first relationship that comes to mind, although the tulip does, but once you see the fruit later in the year and after research, the relationship is clear.
One other plant to note in this traces theme is the thriving tea rose I saw trailside, which is a reminder that this area was well populated, like much of the northern district of the Park. There are a couple of old home sites that can be explored, with many decorative and food plants gone feral still remaining. Heatwole notes a grape vine that is three inches in diameter down there…but these areas are in the vicinity of the steep climb, and we were too focused on our misery at that moment.
Early in the hike we’d passed the utility cut that I have a picture of here. Our thoughts considered the descent, and then the ascent, that was shown in this cut. All totaled, we were looking at maybe 200 feet of elevation change – one seventh of the total climb we were in for – but on balance, this third installment of the
75@75 hikes was very rewarding.
Here are some of the reference books I used for this post:
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