Backpacking Dolly Sods, West Virginia

It's good to be back in Dolly Sods, WV! This is my second trip to the Sods and I swear it got more beautiful than the last time. There are a million things I could say about backpacking in West Virginia, but I'll let the 35 minute video I created speak for itself.
We had originally planned on making our first annual outing for the channel here at Dolly Sods earlier in the year, but a record snow fall had other plans. We ended up moving that trip to North Fork Mountain which is an adjacent mountain range from Dolly Sods which received no snow. I gathered some of the folks from the annual trip and we decided to take a second go at it.
We started off at Bear Rocks trail, which instantly shows off some of the beauty of the Monongahela National Forest. Open meadows and beautiful skies give you a preview of how majestic this area really is. Along the various trails on the plateau, you weave in and out of small spruce groves, boulder fields and even some spots with trees that are leafy.
Our time atop the plateau was capped off on Rocky Ridge where we saw some amazing vistas along the edge of the plateau. Our timing was a few weeks early, but we managed to pick quite a few blueberries while hiking for convenient snacks. They would have been more ripe in a week or two but they were still good. We capped off day one by descending along Big Stonecoal trail down into the lower elevations. We set up camp here and I got my second swing at pitching my Warbonnet Mountainfly tarp in porch mode.
James and Andrew got to try out some new gear as well, as they had lightened their packs significantly since their last outing. Some notable improvements were their use of trail runners and switching to the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo trekking pole tent.
Day two started us off with some minor water crossings and venturing through some older growth conifers. The low lying areas along Red Creek are very beautiful and provide another “biome” to further add to the diversity of the wilderness area.
The highlight of day two was climbing to the top of Breathed Mountain. The trail up isn’t really a trail as it is more rock climbing and scrambling than anything else. The views from atop the mountain are some of the best in the Monongahela National Forest. I didn’t capture it on video because there were people in the way, but there is a rock formation that juts out from the side of the mountain called Lion’s Head that is very unique.
One of the high notes of the trip was snagging a primo campsite along Red Creek. We managed to go for a swim a couple hundred feet from a small waterfall in the creek. I must say this is the first time I’ve ever gone for a swim during a backpacking trip which was a welcome refreshment.
Day three started by climbing the big hill by Blackbird Knob. This put us back up at somewhat higher elevation where the mountains opened up into meadows with great views. We once more descended into the lower elevations along Upper Red Creek Trail and the notorious Dobbin Grade.
Dobbin Grade has a reputation for being a trail you should avoid due to all the mid. My personal opinion is that everyone should experience this trail at least once. Despite slogging through the bog, this trail has some amazing meadow views and cool water features.
Here’s the gear I brought on this trip!
lighterpack.com/r/h28umj
Join our Facebook group and ask us some questions and tag along on our annual trip!
groups/13624...
If you want to plan a trip to the Dolly Sods Wilderness, here is my GPX file that includes multiple routes and waypoints for water sources and campsites!
drive.google.com/file/d/1ORQq...

[@Coletta123]

Gorgeous hiking!! Dolly Sods is going on my hiking bucket list!

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

It’s one of the coolest places I’ve been. Check out other places nearby. I have videos on my channel of Roaring Plains (neighbor to Dolly Sods), Spruce Knob and North Fork Mountain. They’re all so good I’m considering combining them into a 100 mile thru hike.

[@BucketHatsAndBackpacks]

Plan on headed there this upcoming weekend!

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

It’s one of my favorite places to backpack, you’ll love it.

[@GarryCollins-ec8yo]

Excellent video. I fondly remember the bog.

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

I personally think Dobbin is one of the best trails in the sods. Awesome views and water features, worth the slog lol

[@EraOneSamael]

Great video! I'll be doing essentially the same exact trip very soon minus Dobbin Grade

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

Enjoy, Dolly Sods is one of my favorite spots to backpack. I need to get back there in the fall.

[@backpackingcapebreton]

Fun trip! Really enjoyed that. 🤜🏼🤛🏼

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

One of my favorite places, thanks for watching!

[@ervinslens]

Just great hike my friend! This looks great!

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

Definitely one of my favorite places to backpack, Dolly Sods has it all. Hard to beat for the Eastern US.

[@cdhikes2906]

Looks awesome! I'll have to check it out if I'm ever out that way

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

One of my favorite spots to backpack, you gotta get out there

[@toninemeth8133]

What a beautiful video loved the rock formations and the flowers loved the waterfall hope you guys enjoyed your waterfall bath looked cold to me. Sara and her friend looked like they were enjoying their rest on the rocks. How were the blueberries? Sorry you had rain again but so glad that you are getting more friends wanting to take these trips with you and Sara that's awesome Have a great evening and see you in the next video cant wait to see what you will be up to next

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

Great trip, thanks for watching.

[@jzoop1]

I've been going to Dolly sods since the 70s. It's still a wonderland, I love it there too. I hit a really wet spring trip and sank up to my hips on dobbins. I avoid that section unless it has been dry. Might see you up there one day. Hike on!

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

Dobbin is a pain sometimes but it’s a beautiful stretch of trail, I usually include it in my route but always on the last day lol. I’m actually heading back there this weekend, it will be the first time I’ve seen it in the fall.

[@jzoop1]

@@Bacon_N_Backpacking My son is taking his girlfriend on her first camping trip and I suggested the upper stonecoal trail. She should be hooked after that.

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

@@jzoop1 Nice!

[@judutgard]

Hey, loving the videos man! I'm hitting Dolly Sods this weekend for the first time. Curious if you have any tips? Also, what's that little pocket you keep strapped around your chest when you're hiking? It looks super useful.

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

My tips are that it’s an interesting time of the year. Prepare for wet feet, possible rain, snow and wind. Chest rig is the kit bag from Hill People Gear. What trails are you doing?

[@judutgard]

@@Bacon_N_Backpacking I'm doing the lower Dolly Sods loop. Takes the red creek trail up to breathed mountain trail, then back down along big stonecoal

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

@@judutgard Stop and talk if you see me, we’ll be on trail this weekend.

[@kariclevidence1238]

I’m heading out shortly for a 3day hike. Any bear encounters on your trip? And while crossing the water, what do you use to keep your feet dry? Change shoes? Recommend gators? Wet feet ruined my Pictured Rocks hike last fall!

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

Never seen a bear in WV during my 7-8 trips out there. They do exist though. I don’t waste the weight to carry extra shoes. Trail runners are usually dry in 20-30 minutes I just walk through the water in my shoes. With the right socks and shoes I typically don’t get blisters. I hiked 25 miles on the AT a few months back with wet feet all three days and never got a hot spot. Only exception is winter obviously, I’ll keep my feet dry then. I always recommend gaiters in trail runners to keep pebbles out of your shoes.

[@colleenross7715]

Where is the camp spot you guys got by the river on night 2? Where you swam… this will be my first backpacking trip and we are doing it next week! 😝

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

39.01970, -79.35253 Be aware that all of those campsites fill up FAST so you’ll want to be next to Red Creek as early as possible. Have fun, Dolly Sods is beautiful!

[@colleenross7715]

@@Bacon_N_Backpackingthank you! Is there a name for that camp spot? We are planning on hiking a couple miles on night one just to get on trail. So I want to time it right to get those spots if possible.

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

@@colleenross7715 Dolly Sods is a wilderness area, it’s all dispersed, so there’s no name. There’s probably 300 campsites littered around dolly sods it isn’t hard to find one. There’s probably 10-12 just by that area in Red Creek.

[@bobertz8251]

I'm doing the same route in 3 weeks but maybe in only 2 days total. Is Dobbin passable with two dogs or should we add a bit and take Raven back up to Bear and then out?

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

My recommendation is to do it in three days. The biggest loop you can do out there is 25 miles, so you definitely could do an overnight trip. BUT, this place is beautiful man, I’d recommend just enjoying it and taking it in. If you’re done hiking early you can find good camping spots, take a swim, climb the mountain etc. As far as dogs, I guess it depends how big they are. In some places there’s knee deep mud and knee deep water crossings. Enjoy it out there, the place is awesome.

[@DuffDrones]

Trying to reply here too. Many im writing too much, was only 4 pages... lol

[@DuffDrones]

I got you wondering now ya? Let me get to my computer and shorten it to 2 pages.... lol

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

This is the only comment I see

[@DuffDrones]

@@Bacon_N_Backpackingnot sure why Utube is cutting my comments, I'm not surprised, it's really nothing, Thanks anyway, take care

[@blixy8623]

Great video! Do you have the gpx file for this?

[@Bacon_N_Backpacking]

Yeah, email me and I can share the link for you. I recently started adding GPX files to my videos about six months ago. At some point I plan on going back and adding them to all the video descriptions, but we aren't there yet lol

[@blixy8623]

@@Bacon_N_Backpacking Tried to find your email address (checked the Fbook group too) and couldn’t locate it!