The Dolly Sods Wilderness – originally simply Dolly Sods – is a
U.S. Wilderness Area
The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...
in the
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
of eastern
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, US, and is part of the
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...
(MNF) of the
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
(USFS).
Dolly Sods is a rocky, high-altitude plateau with sweeping vistas and lifeforms normally found much farther north in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. To the north, the distinctive landscape of "the Sods" is characterized by
stunted ("flagged") trees,
wind-carved boulders,
heath barrens, grassy
meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...
s created in the last century by logging and fires, and
sphagnum bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s that are much older. To the south, a dense
cove forest occupies the branched canyon excavated by the North Fork of Red Creek.
The name derives from an 18th-century
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
homesteading
Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. Pur ...
family – the
Dahles – and a local term for an open mountaintop meadow – a "
sods
Sods is a term used in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia for a mountain top meadow or bog, in an area that is otherwise generally forested. The term is similar (perhaps identical) to that of a " grass bald", a more widespread desi ...
".
Geography
Topography
Dolly Sods is the highest
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
east of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
with altitudes ranging from 2,644 ft. (806 m) at the outlet of Red Creek to 4,123 ft. (1,257 m) at the top of the eastern edge mountain ridge on the
Allegheny Front
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, eastern West Virginia, and western Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front forms the boundary between the Rid ...
. Much of the high plateau section lies at nearly 4,000 ft.(1,220 m) elevation. Prominent summits within the Wilderness are Coal Knob (), Breathed Mountain (), and Blackbird Knob (). The highest point in the immediate area (just outside the Dolly Sods Wilderness area in the
Roaring Plains West Wilderness
The Roaring Plains West Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is part of the Monongahela National Forest and includes Mount Porte Crayon, the sixth highest point in the state.
Known as "R ...
) is
Mount Porte Crayon
Mount Porte Crayon is a mountain in the Roaring Plains Wilderness of the Monongahela National Forest in the northeastern corner of Randolph County, West Virginia, USA. It rises to an elevation of , the elevational climax of the Allegheny Front. T ...
(). The summit area around Mount Porte Crayon is the largest flat-topped plateau in Eastern North America containing 5.5 square miles (14.2 square kilometers) above 4,500 ft. (1,372 m) elevation.
Drainage
Dolly Sods is on a ridge crest that forms part of the
Eastern Continental Divide
The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...
. Most of its area is drained by the North Fork of Red Creek, which is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Dry Fork River
The Dry Fork is a tributary of the Black Fork of the Cheat River in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. Via the Black Fork, the Cheat, and the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi Rive ...
. Via the Dry Fork,
Black Fork,
Cheat
Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate cr ...
,
Monongahela and
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
Rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
. South of Forest Service Route 19 is the adjoining Red Creek–Flatrock–Roaring Plains area, which is drained by the South Fork of Red Creek. Drainage on the east side of the ridge crest flows into the
headwaters
The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source.
Definition
The ...
of the South Branch of the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
, which is part of the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
watershed.
Boundaries
The original Dolly Sods was a mountaintop meadow of about at the southern end of Rohrbaugh Plains, near the present Dolly Sods Picnic Area. The present-day Dolly Sods Wilderness (DSW) encompasses some of U.S. Forest Service land and is itself only part of a larger area now known as "Dolly Sods".
The DSW is bordered by Forest Service Routes 75 and 19 on the east and south sides, respectively. (Since the early 1970s it has been common practice to include the Red Creek Plains, Flatrock Plains, and Roaring Plains areas to the south as part of the greater Dolly Sods area. Formerly, the area encompassed by these three mountaintop flats – all south of FS Rt 19 – was known locally and collectively as Huckleberry Plain.)
To the northeast, DSW is bordered by the
Bear Rocks Nature Preserve
Bear Rocks are a widely recognized symbol of West Virginia wilderness and among the most frequently photographed places in the state. They are a well-known landmark on the eastern edge of the plateau that includes the Dolly Sods Wilderness. They s ...
, owned by
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
. The surrounding area was recently added to the wilderness and is known as Dolly Sods North (the high sods). North of Dolly Sods North (and just outside the present DSW) is an area known as Dobbins Slashings – a sub-arctic bog forming the headwaters of Red Creek on Cabin Mountain. Dobbins Slashings has also been proposed for wilderness preservation. In the
Canaan Valley
Canaan Valley () is a large bathtub-shaped upland valley in northeastern Tucker County, West Virginia, USA. Within it are extensive wetlands and the headwaters of the Blackwater River which spills out of the valley at Blackwater Falls. It is a wel ...
to the west, the Wilderness is adjoined by the
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge
The Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge (CVNWR) in Tucker County, West Virginia, was the 500th National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) to be established in the United States. The refuge preserves a moist valley with unique wetlands and uplands at a rela ...
.
Almost all of DSW is in the southeast corner of
Tucker County
Tucker County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,762, making it West Virginia's fourth-least populous county. Its county seat is Parsons. The county was created in 1856 from a part of ...
with only very small sections extending into
Randolph and
Grant
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
*Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
*Grant, Inyo County, C ...
Counties.
Trails
There are some of hiking trails within the DSW (see
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
), many situated along the courses of abandoned railroad grades and old logging roads. The premier viewpoint within the Wilderness, affording a vista of the entire Red Creek drainage, is at a set of rocky crags known as Lion's Head Rock. It is reached by an almost three-mile climb from the nearest road. The last quarter mile is an eight-foot-wide bench (an old railroad grade) in the side of an otherwise steep slope. Like the cliffs constituting the eastern edge of the Sods at Rohrbaugh Plains, Lion's Head Rock consists of a mixture of
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
and
conglomerate. The Northland Loop Trail is a 0.3 mile interpretive trail just south of Red Creek Campground on FS Rt 75 which accesses Alder Run Bog a typical, and much studied, northern bog or southern
muskeg
Muskeg (Ojibwe: mashkiig; cr, maskīk; french: fondrière de mousse, lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or ...
.
History
Pre-logging
The Dolly Sods area was first encountered by Europeans when
Peter Jefferson
Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", creat ...
,
Thomas Lewis and others surveyed in 1746 to find the limits of
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (22 October 16939 December 1781), was a Scottish peer. He was the son of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, and Catherine Colepeper, daughter of Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper.
The on ...
's land grant from the
British Crown
The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
. The famous
Fairfax Line
The Fairfax Line was a surveyor's line run in 1746 to establish the limits of the " Northern Neck land grant" (also known as the "Fairfax Grant") in colonial Virginia.
The land grant, first contrived in 1649, encompassed all lands bounded by the ...
grazes the northern margin of the Wilderness near Bear Rocks. This area was generally avoided as too impenetrable to easily traverse until the late 19th century.
David Hunter Strother
David Hunter Strother (September 26, 1816 – March 8, 1888) was an American journalist, artist, brevet Brigadier General, innkeeper, politician and diplomat from West Virginia. Both before and after the American Civil War (in which he was initi ...
wrote an early and somewhat breathless travelogue of the area, published in ''
Harper's Monthly
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
'' magazine in 1852:
In Randolph County, Virginia, is a tract of country containing from seven to nine hundred square miles, entirely uninhabited, and so savage and inaccessible that it has rarely been penetrated even by the most adventurous. The settlers on its borders speak of it with a sort of dread, and regard it as an ill-omened region, filled with bears, panthers, impassable laurel-brakes, and dangerous precipices. Stories are told of hunters having ventured too far, becoming entangled, and perishing in its intricate labyrinths. The desire of daring the unknown dangers of this mysterious region, stimulated a party of gentlemen . . . to undertake it in June, 1851. They did actually penetrate the country as far as the Falls of the Blackwater, and returned with marvelous accounts of its savage grandeur, and the quantities of game and fish to be found there.
The extensive high areas in Dolly Sods and Flatrock–Roaring Plains were once mostly covered by dense, ancient
red spruce
''Picea rubens'', commonly known as red spruce, is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia, west to the Adirondack Mountains and south through New England along the Appalachians to western ...
and
eastern hemlock
''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...
forest. The trees were tall and some measured at least in diameter. The greatest stand of red spruce in the world, in terms of size and quality, could be found along the upper Red Creek. The largest recorded tree ever cut in West Virginia was a
white oak
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
, harvested in this region. Nearly as large as a
Giant Sequoia
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...
, it was probably well over 1,000 years old and measured in diameter at a height of , and in diameter above the base. We will probably never know how large the biggest trees in West Virginia were because most cuttings were not documented. Centuries of accumulated needles from these trees created a blanket of
humus
In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...
(soil) seven to nine feet deep.
The name Dolly Sods derives from the family name of Johann Dahle (1749–1847), a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
immigrant who settled nearby. Such early settlers utilized the natural open fields on mountainsides known as "
sods
Sods is a term used in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia for a mountain top meadow or bog, in an area that is otherwise generally forested. The term is similar (perhaps identical) to that of a " grass bald", a more widespread desi ...
". Logged out and burned over areas produced additional good grass cover for
grazing
In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...
sheep and cattle. (Repeated burning, however, killed the grass and left only
bracken fern
Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produ ...
, which was useless as fodder.) Locals changed the spelling of Dahle to "Dolly" and thus one such area became known as Dolly Sods. The Dahle family eventually moved on, leaving behind only the Americanized version of their name.
Local historian
Hu Maxwell
Hu Maxwell (September 22, 1860, Saint George, Virginia (now West Virginia) — August 20, 1927, Evanston, Illinois) was a local historian, novelist, editor, poet, and author of several histories of West Virginia counties.
Biography
Maxwell was ...
described the Dolly Sods area in the
Wheeling ''
Intelligencer
Intelligencer is an archaic word for a person who gathers intelligence, like a spy or secret agent. The term may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Daily Intelligencer (disambiguation)'', multiple papers
* ''Edwardsville Intelligencer'' (1862–present) ...
'' in 1886: "The top of the mountain is flat, except here and there rugged ridges and huge promontories of rocks rising above the level of the plains, and giving the scene an appearance of distance and mystery that must be witnessed before it can be understood".
The logging era
The area surrounding Dolly Sods was formerly described as the best
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
-
hemlock-
black cherry
''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the g ...
forest in the world, with some enormous trees up to 12 feet in diameter. The huge spruce and hemlock became accessible in 1884 when the West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railroad, a predecessor of the
Western Maryland Railway
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation.
The WM beca ...
, first arrived at nearby
Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
, from a junction with the
B&O Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
at
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
. In 1899, the
Parsons Pulp and Lumber Company (PPLC) established a
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
at
Dobbin on the
North Branch Potomac River
The North Branch Potomac River flows from Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to its confluence with the South Branch Potomac River near Green Spring, West Virginia, where it turns into the Potomac River proper.
Course
From the Fairfax Stone, the ...
in
Grant County Grant County may refer to:
Places
;Australia
* County of Grant, Victoria
;United States
*Grant County, Arkansas
*Grant County, Indiana
*Grant County, Kansas
*Grant County, Kentucky
*Grant County, Minnesota
*Grant County, Nebraska
*Grant Co ...
. In 1902, the PPLC installed a new
band saw
A bandsaw (also written band saw) is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and lumb ...
mill on the main stem of Red Creek. The lumber boom town of
Laneville soon sprang up around it with a population that peaked at over 300 people.
Shay locomotive
The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a ''geared st ...
s climbed the temporary railroads into the mountains and backcountry
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
camps sprang up throughout the Sods, clearing away the virgin forest to feed the hungry mills. Teams of
draft horse
A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less often ...
s dragged all the commercial timber to the nearest tracks. When the timber was exhausted in the sector around one camp, the rails were taken up and reused elsewhere. It was into the mill at Laneville that most of the timber of the southern two thirds of the Sods disappeared.
Unfortunately, however, the
humus
In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...
covering the ground dried up when the protective tree cover was removed. Sparks from the locomotives, saw mills and logger's warming fires easily ignited this humus layer and the extensive
slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
– wood too small to be marketable, such as branches and tree crowns – left behind by loggers.
Fires
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...
repeatedly ravaged the area in the 1910s, scorching everything right down to the underlying rocks. All insects, worms,
salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...
s, mice and other burrowing forms of life perished and the area became a desert. The destruction was extraordinary. The complete clearcut of this ecologically fragile area, followed by extensive wildfires and
overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
, exacerbated by the ecological stresses of the elevation, have prevented quick regeneration of the forest which has taken decades to recover. The
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...
was created in 1915, largely motivated by a desire to mitigate the sort of wholesale destruction that had swept over the Sods. In 1916 most of Dolly Sods was purchased by the federal government for the MNF from the Bridges Estate. Mineral rights remained in private ownership.
The Laneville mill closed in 1920 after almost all the timber had been cut and the local population dwindled. The last timber was felled in the Dolly Sods area in 1924. A particularly ferocious fire raged in late July 1930 in the northernmost Red Creek and southernmost
Stony River watersheds (along the Grant/Tucker County line). This conflagration – known as the Dobbin Slashings Fire – consumed and killed many trees left alone as non-commercial by the loggers. An eerie landscape persisted here for years, with the stumps of these trees perched high upon jumbles of boulders.
In the 1930s, the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
made some modest attempts to remediate the damage to Dolly Sods by re-planting stands of
red spruce
''Picea rubens'', commonly known as red spruce, is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia, west to the Adirondack Mountains and south through New England along the Appalachians to western ...
there.
Army use and cleanup
In 1943 and '44, as part of the
West Virginia Maneuver Area, the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
used the area as a practice
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
and
mortar range and maneuver area before troops were sent to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
to fight in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
; with Cabin Mountain and Blackbird Knob serving as designated targets.
In 1997, a work crew extensively surveyed trail locations and known campsites for shells. Workers made 32,594 excavations along the trails and discovered and detonated 14 live mortar shells, most along the Fisher Spring Run Trail. All were exploded on site. Two others were inert. They also found numerous railroad spikes, iron tools and horseshoes left over from logging days. Off-trail searches proved to be impossible, so some of the artillery and mortar shells (60 mm and 81 mm rounds) shot into the area likely still remain there. (See thi
linkfor a photo of two shells found in July 2006.)
Threat and recovery
Dolly Sods became popular with recreationalists and conservationists in the mid-1960s at which time political agitation began to set it aside as a preserve. Local farmers also ceased allowing their livestock to graze here at this time.
Nevertheless, the area was threatened by at least four potential developments:
#sub-divisions for summer homes on
Cabin Mountain,
#as a route for a proposed federal expressway (
Corridor H
U.S. Route 48 (US 48), also known as the incomplete Corridor H of the Appalachian Development Highway System, extends from Interstate 79 (I-79) in Weston, West Virginia, eastward across the crest of the Allegheny Mountains to I-81 in Str ...
) linking
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
with the highlands,
#
strip-mining
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...
of as many as six coal seams, which was already occurring within 3.5 miles of the Sods in the north and
#flooding by a huge reservoir as part of the proposed
Davis Power Project just to the west.
An ''
ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.)
Com ...
'' committee of stakeholders was convened by the MNF in Spring 1969. It advised that a scenic or botanical area should be set aside in the North Fork Red Creek area. In October 1970, the Forest superintendent announced the creation of "Dolly Sods Scenic Area".
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
played a major role in preserving the area. By 1972, it had purchased the
coal rights under the future federal wilderness ( of the Sods and Roaring Plains, itself now a designated Wilderness) for $15 million. Dolly Sods finally became a
federally designated wilderness area in 1975 which resulted in greatly increased numbers of visitors. The area had only an estimated 500 visitors in 1965; by 1997 there were 7,499 registered (and many more unregistered) users annually.
In the 1970s and '80s, it was not possible to propose Dolly Sods North for wilderness classification as it was all privately owned – by the
Western Maryland Railway Company and the
Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) – and was largely outside the
proclamation boundary of the MNF. Public acquisition could not go forward as the companies long refused to consider selling. In 1993, however, the Nature Conservancy paid another $6 million to acquire in Dolly Sods North (of the total of ) from the then-owner, the Texas-based
Quintana Corporation. This land was then donated to the Forest Service. Most recently, the
Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009
The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (, ) is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The bill designates millions of acres in the US as protected a ...
added of Dolly Sods North to the original of the Wilderness to make the present total of .
Climate and weather
The climate of Dolly Sods is classified as
humid continental
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
, similar to portions of Canada. Daily weather can vary greatly with large extremes in temperature occurring dangerously fast. Fog can form/roll in extremely quickly, dropping visibility to dangerous, disorienting near-zero conditions. Access roads can quickly become blocked by dense fog, downed trees from high wind, and snow/snow drifts.
Summers are cool and wet. At 4,000 feet (1,220 m), the average afternoon maximum is around 70 °F (21 °C) and the average morning minimum is in the 50s (10-15 °C). Thunderstorms are frequent during the warmer months. Frosts and freezes can occur any month of the year. Winters are typically cold, windy, and snowy. Minimum temperatures can drop to -30 °F (-34 °C). The average seasonal snowfall is estimated to be around 150 inches (381 cm). In exceptionally snowy winters, large drifts of up to 20 ft (7 m) can form, lasting in sheltered locations into May. Due to high elevation, frequently located at cloud level, spectacular
rime ice
Rime ice forms when supercooled water liquid droplets freeze onto surfaces. Meteorologists distinguish between three basic types of ice forming on vertical and horizontal surfaces by deposition of supercooled water droplets. There are also interm ...
is frequently seen totally coating the forest in pure white.
Despite the overall vigorous winter, the relative southern location (39th North parallel) allows for occasional intrusions of warmer, well above freezing air from the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, rain can occur during even the coldest winter months. During one of the snowiest winters in history (2009–10), about 275 inches (700 cm) of snow is estimated to have fallen above 4,000 feet (1,220 m).
This section of the Allegheny Front is one of the windiest spots east of the Mississippi. The effect of these winds can be seen in the flag-form red spruce trees; their branches grow mostly on one side (east), away from the prevailing west winds. Because of the drying influence of the winds, stunted branches are produced on the west side of the tree above the protective shrub layer. Stunted branches on the east side give the trees a twisted appearance. Where spruce are protected by a shrub layer, luxuriant webs of branches extend for a radius of a dozen feet, giving a mat-like look to vegetation.
Ecology
Flora
![Dolly-Sods-Red-Creek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Dolly-Sods-Red-Creek.jpg)
Dolly Sods is well known for its open expanses of sphagnum bog, heath shrubs and scattered and stunted red spruce – all creating impressions of areas much farther north. Many plant communities are indeed similar to those of sea-level eastern Canada. But the
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s within the Sods are remarkably varied. In recent decades, the many stages of
ecologic succession
Ecological succession is the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. The time scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire) or more or less.
Bacteria allows for the cycling of nutrients such as car ...
throughout the Sods have made the region one of enduring interest to botanists.
Sods (grass balds)
The local term "
sods
Sods is a term used in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia for a mountain top meadow or bog, in an area that is otherwise generally forested. The term is similar (perhaps identical) to that of a " grass bald", a more widespread desi ...
" is a traditional name referring to several high-elevation meadows in the High Alleghenies. The term is virtually synonymous with the "
grass bald" of the southern Appalachians. These grassy areas on mountain slopes or summits apparently existed by the scores in the mid-Appalachian region when first discovered . According to botanist
Earl L. Core, "The silvery sheen of the grass, against the dark green background of the spruce, attracted the attention of the early settlers.... The dominant grass is
Allegheny flyback (''Danthonia compressa''), a grass so light in weight that it would "fly back" against the scythe of the mower". The origin of these grassy tracts has been the subject of wide-ranging speculation. Core favored a multi-factorial explanation involving a "bald-susceptible zone" present at mountain summits where various causes (extreme weather, fires, etc.) initially wiped out trees followed by succession by grasses that was so competitive with the new tree seedlings that the cleared areas persist for a much longer period than at lower elevations.
Heath barrens (huckleberry plains)
The extensive views across the
tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
-like windswept open meadows in the northern section of Dolly Sods are reminiscent of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
n landscapes. "Heath barrens" is a botanical term, but the traditional local name for these unusual expanses was "huckleberry plains". These upper reaches have been extensively colonized by various
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...
(heaths):
blueberry
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...
and
cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...
(''Vaccinium''),
huckleberry
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho.
Nomenclature
The name 'huckleberry' is a Nort ...
(''Gaylussacia''),
rose azalea (''Rhododendron prinophyllum'') and
rosebay rhododendron (''Rhododendron maximum''),
mountain laurel (''Kalmia latifolia''),
teaberry (or wintergreen, ''
Gaultheria
''Gaultheria'' is a genus of about 135 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The name commemorates Jean François Gaultier of Quebec, an honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748 and taken up by Carl Linnaeus in his '. These pla ...
''), and
Allegheny menziesia (''Rhododendron pilosum''). Members of
Rosaceae (the rose family) also abound:
chokeberry
''Aronia'' is a genus of deciduous shrubs, the chokeberries, in the family Rosaceae native to eastern North America and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. The genus Aronia is considered to have 3 species. The most common and wide ...
,
mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to:
* ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia
* Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus''
See also
* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Mountai ...
,
serviceberry
''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...
, and pin cherry (''
Prunus pensylvanica
''Prunus pensylvanica'', also known as bird cherry, fire cherry, pin cherry, and red cherry, is a North American cherry species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Description
''Prunus pensylvanica'' grows as a shrub or small tree, usually with a straigh ...
''). Boulder fields left by the denuding topsoil fires of 80 years ago are extensive here.
Sphagnum glades (cranberry bogs)
These spruce-edged sphagnum bogs are found in the upper sections of Red Creek and its tributaries, often in association with thickets of
speckled alder
''Alnus incana'', the grey alder or speckled alder, is a species of multi-stemmed, shrubby tree in the birch family, with a wide range across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Tolerant of wetter soils, it can slowly spread with runners ...
. There are similar areas throughout the High Alleghenies, most famously the
Cranberry Glades
Cranberry Glades — also known simply as The Glades — are a cluster of five small, boreal-type bogs in southwestern Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. This area, high in the Allegheny Mountains at about , is protected as the ...
. The largest one at Dolly Sods is about a mile long and half a mile wide. The thick carpet of
sphagnum moss
''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...
and the
polytrichum moss hummocks also sustain
cotton grass
''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog h ...
,
round leaf sundew and the
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[reindeer moss
''Cladonia rangiferina'', also known as reindeer cup lichen, reindeer lichen (cf. Swedish language, Sw. ''renlav'') or grey reindeer lichen, is a light-colored fruticose lichen, fruticose, Cladonia, cup lichen species in the family Cladoniaceae. ...]
. In addition to the spruce, the bog margins are frequented by
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
s,
sedges
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...
and the occasional
balsam fir
''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...
. The
three-toothed cinquefoil (''Sibbaldiopsis tridentata'') is often abundant and
orchids
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
– for example the
pink lady's slipper – are sometimes seen.
Hardwood forests
The more southerly section of the Dolly Sods Wilderness includes maturing spruce copses, rhododendron thickets, northern hardwoods on the ridges and cove hardwoods in the deep tributaries of Red Creek. All of the original
old-growth
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
forest was removed a century ago, followed by fires that burned, then smoldered, for months. Much of the deep topsoil was lost forever. Today, there are patches of recovering native
red spruce
''Picea rubens'', commonly known as red spruce, is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia, west to the Adirondack Mountains and south through New England along the Appalachians to western ...
forest plus twisted
yellow birch
''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the pa ...
,
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
and
red maple
''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nativ ...
,
eastern hemlock
''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...
, and
black cherry
''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the g ...
.
American beech
''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada.
Description
''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...
, pine and hickory can also be found. The
wild onion Wild onion can refer to
* any uncultivated species in the genus ''Allium'', especially:
**''Allium bisceptrum''
** ''Allium canadense''
** ''Allium tricoccum''
** ''Allium validum''
** ''Allium vineale''
* ''Asphodelus tenuifolius''
* ''Cyperus bulb ...
known as the ramp (''
Allium tricoccum
''Allium tricoccum'' (commonly known as ramp, ramps, ramson, wild leek, wood leek, or wild garlic) is a North American species of wild onion or garlic widespread across eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Many of the common English na ...
'') is also present in the deeper forests.
Fauna
The larger
megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...
which once inhabited the High Alleghenies –
elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
,
bison
Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
,
mountain lion
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...
– were all exterminated during the 19th century. They survived longer in this area, however, than in other parts of the eastern United States. Because of the high altitude the climate is cool and some animals are more similar to ones found about farther north in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Many species found here are near their southernmost range. For example, the
snowshoe hare
The snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus''), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sink ...
found in Dolly Sods is usually found in Canada and Alaska and is adapted to snow conditions, with its large, hairy feet which allow it to run on the snow surface.
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
– which were restored to the state after a period of extirpation – continually create and refurbish their
beaver pond
A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers to create a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way th ...
s in these high elevation watersheds. Other animals that may be encountered include
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
gray foxes
The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon litto ...
,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
s,
black bears,
groundhog
The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.
The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...
,
timber rattler
The timber rattlesnake, canebrake rattlesnake, or banded rattlesnake (''Crotalus horridus'') Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of ...
s, wild
turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and
grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...
.
White-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
, also once eliminated from the region, were reintroduced in the 1930s and are now abundant. Currently, the
West Virginia Department of Natural Resources
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia. While formerly known as the cabinet-level Department of Natural Resources, it is now part of the West Virginia Department of ...
is considering an elk restoration program in Dolly Sods and other areas.
The
Cheat Mountain salamander
The Cheat Mountain salamander (''Plethodon nettingi'') is a species of small woodland salamander found only on Cheat Mountain, and a few nearby mountains, in the eastern highlands of West Virginia. It and the West Virginia spring salamander ('' ...
, listed since 1989 by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...
as
threatened
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...
, is also present.
Recreation
![Dolly sods hiking trail map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Dolly_sods_hiking_trail_map.jpg)
Camping is allowed in Dolly Sods, but visitors are cautioned to "leave no trace". All off-road motorized vehicles and any cutting of live vegetation or camping near roads (aside from Red Creek Campground) are forbidden. Hunting and fishing within state law are permitted. Dolly Sods is particularly popular during mid-summer with people who go there to pick blueberries and huckleberries. From May through late June, extensive and spectacular displays of mountain laurel in flower may be viewed. Due to severe winter weather, FS Rt 75, flanking the eastern side of Dolly Sods, is typically closed to vehicles from January 1 to April 15.
There is an extensive network of hiking
trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...
s in the Wilderness totalling 47 miles. Some follow old logging railroad grades, and occasionally you see some remnants of railroad ties and metal equipment. Because
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
and USFS maps of the trails have been inaccurate, a 200
mappingsite provides good maps based on GPS data. Trails include:
*Dolly Sods
**Wildlife Trail
**Rohrbaugh Plains Trail
**Red Creek Trail
**Fisher Spring Run Trail
**Big Stonecoal Trail
**Little Stonecoal Trail
**Dunkebarger Trail
**Rocky Ridge Trail
**Breathed Mountain Trail
*Dolly Sods North
**Beaver View Trail
**Blackbird Knob Trail
**Bear Rocks Trail
**Raven Ridge Trail
**Dobbin Grade Trail
**Upper Red Creek Trail
*Flatrock–Roaring Plains
**South Prong Trail
**Boars Nest Trail
**Roaring Plains Trail
**Flatrock Run Trail
The
Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area
Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area is a national recreation area in the Monongahela National Forest of eastern West Virginia.
The national recreation area protects three prominent West Virginia landmarks:
* Spruce Knob, the highe ...
is adjacent to Dolly Sods–Flatrock–Roaring Plains on the east and the south.
Gallery
See also
*
List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 803 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies:
*United States National Park Service (NPS)
*United States Forest Service (USFS)
*United States Fish and Wild ...
*
Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...
References
Citations
Other sources
*
Brooks, Maurice, "Remarkable Dolly Sods" (1969–70), ''
Outdoor West Virginia
Outdoor(s) may refer to:
* Wilderness
*Natural environment
* Outdoor cooking
* Outdoor education
*Outdoor equipment
*Outdoor fitness
*Outdoor literature
*Outdoor recreation
*Outdoor Channel, an American pay television channel focused on the outdoo ...
''
itle changed to ''Wonderful West Virginia'', 1970 Nov 1969, pp 10–13; Jan 1970, pp 10–13; Feb 1970, pp 10–13.
*Hall, George A. (1985), "The Birds of the Dolly Sods Area Sortie, 1984", ''
The Redstart'', Wheeling, West Virginia, October issue.
*Hutton, Eugene E. (1988), "Periglacial Features of Dolly Sods,", ''The Redstart'', Wheeling, West Virginia, July issue.
*Hutton, Eugene E. (1985), "Plant Description of Dolly Sods,", ''The Redstart'', Wheeling, West Virginia, October issue.
*Keating, Steve (2010), ''A Dolly Sods North - Blackwater Companion: A Guide to Hiking Through the History, Geology and Ecology of the Region'';
Parsons, West Virginia
Parsons is the county seat and largest city in Tucker County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,322 at the 2020 census. The mayor of Parsons is Dorothy Judy and the city administrator is Jason Myers. The city is also governed by ...
:
McClain Printing.
*O'Neil, L. Peat (1998), "Wonder in the Tundra. W. Va.'s Dolly Sods is a wilderness worth a look", ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', September 16, p D-9.
*Pyle, Ann H. (1985), "Ferns and Fern Allies at Dolly Sods,", ''The Redstart'', Wheeling, West Virginia, October issue.
*Venable, Norma Jean (1996),
Dolly Sods', West Virginia Renewable Resources Unique Areas Series 813, West Virginia University Extension Service, Morgantown, West Virginia.
*
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
(1988), ''Dolly Sods Wilderness and Surrounding Area'', pamphlet.
External links
Dolly Sods Wildernessat the U.S. Forest Service
Dolly Sodsat American Byways
at Forests of the Central Appalachian Project
Dolly Sodsat Wilderness
Webcam of Dolly Sods Wilderness
{{Authority control
Campgrounds in West Virginia
IUCN Category Ib
Monongahela National Forest
Protected areas of Grant County, West Virginia
Protected areas of Randolph County, West Virginia
Protected areas of Tucker County, West Virginia
Wilderness areas of West Virginia