Dolly Sods - West Virginia

A 3 day overnight backpacking adventure around the main loop of the Dolly Sods Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia. Starting at the Bear Rocks and going all the way to Lions Head and back through the swampy Dobbin Grade Trail with some amazing views and a wide variety of environments along the 20+ mile loop.

[@vincentc6919]

Best video yet of Dolly Sods. Great camera work. Great editing. Good work whoever did this. Every other DS video has been sub par. Excellent

[@joycefranklin8981]

Thank you ever so much! I have only taken shorter hikes from there but have wanted so much to see what it was like further in. Have never backpacked, only tent and in my minivan but have been envious 0f hikers like you. Am 83 and only able to do very limited walks so really appreciate what you do so others can live if only briefly through your experiences. Thank you again! Joyce NE Ohio.

[@johnbofinger395]

Great video. We were to Dolly Sods in 10/2020; day hike there and Seneca Rocks the same day

[@wstewart5532]

Great video! Going soon, same route. AllTrails doesn't show much water on Day 1 of your trip until close to your camp. Were there other useful water sources along your day 1 route?

[@wstewart5532]

Well, it shows wetlands but not any creeks... Is there enough depth or flow in the wetlands for filling up a filter bag?

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

@@wstewart5532 We didn't see anything after the first water crossing on Day 1, until we got to camp. The northern part of the loop is pretty dry.

[@wstewart5532]

@@downtoearthadventures1528 Thanks! That really helps. How much water did you pack for that first stretch? I was thinking 1.5 to 2 liters of water?

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

@@wstewart5532 I carried 2 liters, and it was enough. As long as it's not 90 degrees outside you should be fine, and the terrain is not super challenging in that section.

[@jzoop1]

Where did you go to eat after the trip. Fries looked good.

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

I honestly don't remember! LOL But yeah, the fries do look pretty good, and also the beer. Everything always tastes better after a long hike! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@rocketmanx3]

You went the same way my brother and I went. You got very lucky on having such a pretty day. Great Video!

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Thanks! Yeah, we got very lucky with the weather, and the campsites.

[@DamonBowe]

Nice editing, Dolly Sods is on my bucket list.

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Thanks Damon! Dolly Sods is a pretty amazing place, and the Fall is a great time to get out there. Don't wait!

[@thehafricanultralighter4973]

Night 1 campsite was my very first campsite ever at Dolly Sods. I had my pack right where you have yours n hung between those same two trees. Lmao nostalgia.

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

It's a great spot! Glad you enjoyed seeing it again!

[@thehafricanultralighter4973]

@@downtoearthadventures1528 heading back next month. Always so excited when I get a chance to go there.

[@scorpiodigit]

Subscribing because of the editing alone lol

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Thanks!

[@wdaubner]

Great video, thanks for sharing! My wife and I will be heading there in a month. Our start time will be about the same after our drive, so your route looks about perfect (saving mud for last leg too). Could you share your map and camp sites? Thanks.

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

The map we were using is from AllTrails, titled "Bear Rocks/Lions Head Loop", or you can just search for "bear-rocks-lions-head-loop". This map actually avoids the swamp at the end, but we decided to stay straight on the Dobbin-Grade trail because was a shorter hike out through the swamp. The Dolly Sods area is loaded with campsites everywhere and you can always find something, even on a crowded Labor Day weekend. On this trip our campsites were here: 39.018939, -79.377378 39.017811, -79.353067

[@thehafricanultralighter4973]

You rock scramble town the front of lions head. You can either come up that way or down. It's cairnedi

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Yeah, we couldn't figure it out at the time. I've been to the false Lion's Head by scrambling up from the bottom, but from the top of the real Lion's Head it didn't look like there was any way to get down. Maybe I'll find it next time.

[@thehafricanultralighter4973]

@@downtoearthadventures1528 its near the false lions head scramble. Looks like you can't get there but you need to go straight down and around through a small pine patch onto the rocks. If I remember correctly. O

[@OutdoorOperator]

Great video! I'm planning a trip there soon and the gps coordinates are very helpful You did a good job of showing the trails and the quality audio was appreciated.

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video and I'm happy to hear you found the info helpful. Have fun on your Dolly Sods trip!

[@1121gsm]

Great job. I've been hiking in West Virginia all around Dolly Sods but never there. How do you find a camp site? Are you restricted to established camp sites or can you camp anywhere? I'll be going when it cools off a bit. Thanks for sharing.

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Dolly Sods is loaded with established campsites. If you're in an open area and you see a cluster of trees, chances are there are campsites in there. LOL In both of the areas where we camped there were multiple options. You should not have any problem finding something.

[@joshriggs2792]

The water treatment powder you used could you please give me the name of it so I could get some. Thanks

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

To be honest, I was using my Sawyer Squeeze for this entire trip and this was just a fun little experiment to see how it would work in a real situation. I knew from my last visit to Dolly Sods that the water from Red Creek is not very clear, so I just wanted to see if this treatment would make any difference. The water is definitely drinkable but with a slight chlorine taste, which is not bad at all. I will probably carry these packets to use only for those times when I have to drink nasty swamp water (a.k.a New Jersey Appalachian Trail), which is what motivated me to give this a try. P&G Water Purification: csdw.org/pg-purifier-of-water-packets New Jersey swamp water: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKu5pYKrj69ll9U

[@scorpiodigit]

How did you edit that trail map progress? Very cool

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Thanks! I record the hikes on my gps watch and load the data into Google Earth, which has features to create tours and movies. I use it to segue between the clips and to give some context to where we currently are, and how far we hiked.

[@ninjagaming2036]

Beautiful man! Im going to be hitting this trail with some friends next month. What are the firearm laws for that trail if any? Thank you!

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Thanks! I have no idea about that, but you probably don't need it for Dolly Sods.

[@dominickzaucha]

Nice camera, what did you use to shoot this?

[@downtoearthadventures1528]

Thanks! I used two GoPro Hero 5 cameras, one with a stabilizer and the other on a selfie stick/tripod.

[@dominickzaucha]

@@downtoearthadventures1528 great camera work then, i have a 5 but my cuts look nowhere near as good as yours! Look forward to seeing more