Devil’s Marbleyard

Location:  Natural Bridge Station, VA (see below for directions)

Round trip: 3.4 miles (not including the scramble to the top).  There is also an option to do a 8+ circut hike as well.

This hike has been on my ‘to do list’ for some time, but one main reason has kept us from checking it out before:  conflicting reports of its length.  We try and keep our hikes with Billy and JJ to less than 6 miles as a general rule.    And, most of the reports I read on Devil’s Marbleyard had it at around 8 miles, so I have always put it on the back burner.   However, it turns out there are two options for this hike, which did not become apparent to us until we actually reached the marble yard.  Therefore this post hits upon one of the main reasons we started this blog:  to provide accurate, and useable information for the average hiker.

(Incidentally, A second main reason is to share our trail mix recipes.  No lie, that was one of the first things the boys mentioned when we started this blog – the importance of good snacks along the way!!!  And we self-importantly feel we can whip up a trail mix like nobody else.  So, our posts in the Summer of 2014 will always include our trail mix secrets. Here is our ‘Marbleyard Mix’ (we used peanuts at the base, and then added one ingredient for each member of the family):   for sweetness:  Reeces Pieces (JJ), and salty: Sunflower seeds (Billy), to be just a slight bit healthy, Golden Raisins (Mickey), and for another indulgence, Yogurt-Covered Pretzels (Minnie)

Billy posing with his portion of our ‘marble yard mix’!

Overall:  a nice mix of salt and sweet, but be careful when using yoguurt covered pretzels, on a hot day (which we did not have), the yogurt can melt….causing a mess!

 

Anyway, back to the hike, and how we finally settled on doing it:  We were going to be in the area anyway, because JJ won the ‘Victory’ for May and decided his reward would be to visit ‘Foamhenge’.   For an explanation on what ‘winning the victory’ means, check here:  http://virginiavinesandtrails.com/2014/01/31/viva-virginia-montpilier/  Well, as much as I knew that witnessing that  fabulous wonder firsthand would be an unforgettable experience, I also knew we did not want to drive 75 minutes down the road, and be at foamhenge for all of 10 minutes.    So, I set out to look for a hike in the area.  And, once again…..Devil’s Marble yard popped up.  And in my research came a small sliver of hope…..it seemed possible that the marble yard is just about a mile into the hike by one report.   So we could do an out and back to it, and not the whole 8 mile loop.   How exciting, because that made the hike totally doable for us….and a great addition to our JJ’s Victory…..because that boy loves a good rock scramble.

Devils Marbleyard is located In Natural Bridge Station Virgnia, along the Belfast Trail in what is called the James River Face Wilderness Area.    The parking is very limited (about 8 cars), so it is best to arrive early in the day.    The trail head can be found by following:

• I81, exit 175 to Natural Bridge/Rt. 11
• Turn onto 759
• After spotting Glenwood Iron Furnace on the left, turn onto 781
• A short distance down this road you will see parking on the left and the trail entrance for Belfast Trail.  This is the starting point
  

  The bridge over belfast is a great way to start our hike.

The hike gets off to a rousing start by crossing a very cool bridge over a beautiful stream (the Belfast creek), and then the hike proceeds between these two wonderful pillars:

 

The remains of camp Powathan

We loved picturing this boys scout camp of long ago….

Those pillars mark Camp Powhatan, which upon seeing the signs, Billy thought it to be a Boy Scout camp.   Well, that had us excited, because Billy has just crossed over to a boy scout troop this spring, JJ is a ”rising’ Webelo I, and I am a Packmaster of his Pack.   Being scout fans, we were excited to see the remains of what was likely the main building of the camp, and various outlying components.   And, upon getting home and googling Camp Powhatan, we found at that in fact it was a scout camp that was relocated to the Blacksburg area in the 1950’s.

We could not get sidetracked too long, however, since this hike proved to be quite confusing at the start.  Couple that with conflicting mileage information, and we spent much of the ascent of this hike wondering if  we had not gone the wrong way, and me hoping that what I had read about the marble yard not being far into the hike was accurate.   There are horse trails that intersect this trail, as well as a few narrow trails which jut off every so often….so this is not a straight up, no brainer hike……but we trusted our instincts (and scout training), and followed the blue blazes, (Note:  orange blazes are horse trails) as we know to do.

Even the sign at the trail head is way off on true distance, we can only surmise it is 1 mile ‘as the crow flies’.

Mickey always runs the ‘map my run’ app off his phone for us to accurately get the mileage for the blog whenever we hike.  Well, we got to about 1.4 miles with no marble yard in sight, and no sign of any other hikers and we started to think, maybe we had either taken the wrong trail at the start….or the marble yard was much further into our hike.  We decided we would give it exactly until 2 miles on our GPS and then turn around.  Just after making that decision; out of the blue, we met two hikers on their descent.  And they informed us that indeed we were headed in the right direction, and were just about a quarter of a mile from the marble yard.  Sure enough, we just then hit a steeper incline on the hike and seemingly out of nowhere, the marble yard appeared to our left.  This occurred at  1.7 miles.

And, it was a sight to behold.  Out of nowhere, this:

The boys gearing up for their climb!

 

There are two routes to take, one the path follows alongside the boulders, and continues the circuit hike.  And the other is straight up the rocks.   Is it any guess which Billy and JJ chose?

 

J-Wow wishing she could climb with the boys.

 

I stayed at the base with J-Wow, and she whimpered the whole time to join the boys, and watched them intently as they climbed.  I think if we let her off leash, she could have traveled to the top.  However, not without risk.   A risk we did not want to take.   And there is no way we would attempt to hike that with her on leash, as somebody would end up with a broken leg or worse….of that I am about certain!  So, is this hike dog friendly?  I would say  yes, in many ways.  J-Wow loves stream crossings, and of those there are a few.  The trail is wide which is always good when passing our fellow hikers.    There are two types of hikers we encounter….those who gush over our sweet girl, and want to pet her….and those who make a wide berth around her.  A wide trail makes those later encounters better for everyone!  (As an aside….we encounter far more of the former on the trails! )   The downside to this trail for dogs is the marble yard itself, but really the entire trail  is  quite rocky, so keep that in mind if taking your 4-legged friend.  J-Wow did not seem to mind;  but then again, she is part mountain goat!

 

Belfast creek is a pretty backdrop to this hike. And we enjoyed a few nice creek crossings.

This is a great hike to do with kids….as it is challenging, but also very rewarding.  There are steep parts, and overall, we experienced a 1,700 feet elevation increase….but it also had some points of flat interspersed in between, which brought the heart rate down and gave the legs a little reprieve.  And the 3.4 mile round trip is a perfect distance for many ages.    A few insights into this trail:  follow the blue blazes, and keep to the wide trails.  That will get you to the top.  Also, be careful where you park.  As I said before, there are only 8 spots at the parking lot.  This hike seems to skirt between the wilderness area, and private property….so make sure you know which you are parking in to keep from getting towed.  And make sure you park completely off the road if you do not get one of the coveted spots.  When Mickey researched directions, he read that some people have reported getting towed.  And believe you me….this hike is far enough out of town, that if you did get towed, getting your car back would likely not be a good (or expedient! or cheap!) experience.    This hike is just around the corner from the Yogi Bear Campground, and we met some families that were staying there for the weekend.  I imagine it is also a popular hike with the locals.  So, your best bet:  get there early.  Also, bring bug spray….and as always lots of water!  And, because rocks abound on the hike and at the marble yard….be aware of snakes.  We did not encounter a one (halleluiah!) but, I am sure many saw us!

The trail is a bit confusing at the beginning. JJ is pointing in the right direction. Stay on the WIDE trail, and follow the blue blazes…..

…and you might want to mark the trail with a few cairns as Billy did for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The marble yard is 8 acres in size.  So, what caused such a geological wonder?   This will not be a scientific explanation, but rather how my non-scientific brain has processed the explanation.  So, please do not mistake this for a pure (and accurate) description, but for what it is worth, this is how I understand the phenomenon:  Apparently at one time (just a short 500 million years ago…..) this area was a white sandy beach, when the sea level was much higher.  There is evidence in the rocks of tube like structures where worms resided.  As the earth moved and shifted and then ice formed in the worm tubes, the entire structure began to break open and then tumble down into what we see today.  If you get up close and look at some of the rocks, you can see the tube like worm tracks.

And, lastly a cute anecdote from the top of the hike.  As I waited at the base of the marble yard with J-Wow, a group of girls (probably late elementary, early jr. high aged) girls had hike ahead of their family.  The were huffing and puffing as they got to the marble yard.  Upon seeing it….one shouted, ‘oh this better not be the surprise.’ and another said, ‘oh, man….I was hoping for a waterfall’ and a third shouted, ‘this is awesome’ and started up the boulder.  A good reminder that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

  So, here is our rankings: 4.1  (out of 5)

Minnie (4.5):  Not my most favorite hike ever, for it lacked a great summit view (which our my faves….but I liked the vegetation change, and the stream crossings – and the marble yard was a sight to behold

JJ (4):  I loved the marble yard a lot, but the rest of it was kinda boring.  All you really looked at the whole time up was trees.

Billy (4.0)  The marble yard was great.  And it was not too hard to get to it.  And seeing the old scout camp was really neat.  I liked that a lot.

Mickey (3.5)  I really liked the hike…the trail was wide and well maintained, and I very much enjoy rock scrambles….but I was so worried we were going to get towed the whole hike, I could not enjoy it…..so I took a whole point off for the parking situation.

J-Wow (4.5) –  I loved being out in the woods with my pack.  There were so many great sniffs and fun stream crossings.  I wish I could have climbed the boulders, that looked so fun.  But, my mom and dad were probably right to protect me from danger.