Sunwall Trail Map
Route map of the Sunwall Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app as depicted a la Google Earth...
Route map of the Sunwall Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...
Sunwall Trailhead (F.R. 475B) -- 3,100'
The trail begins from Gumstand Gap along Forest Road 475-B. There's a small pull off here, just to the left of the trailhead...
The trail as it begins by heading up into a thick grove of rhododendron...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,120'
The grade at first is pretty gradual but, the climb doesn't let up until the base of the cliffs...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,150'
A few laurels begin to mix in...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,180'
As you can see this first part of the trail is pretty hemmed-in, restricting views of Looking Glass ahead...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,200'
Looking Glass could only occasionally be seen as a faint shadow through the thick fog on the morning this album was shot. On a clear day I'm sure it would be much more impressive, looming high above...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,220'
The moderate climb continues as the trails surroundings open up into a more traditional hardwood forest...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,260'
Once again, I have no doubt Looking Glass Rock would be an impressive presence looking ahead. The fog this day completely obscures it, however...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,300'
The only potentially confusing spot on the trail is just beyond this double-blaze, which warns of a sharp turn ahead. The path makes a hard turn right up through the rhododendron just beyond...
Things get steep and tight as the trail climbs through the rhodo seen in the previous shot...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,400'
Peering through the fog for a glimpse of the cliffs above...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,450'
As the trail makes its final approach, the huge cliffs appear through the fog...
Sunwall Trail -- 3,500'
The trail ends at a literal wall of rock...
Looking Glass Rock - 'The Nose' -- 3,500'
Looking up at the huge pock-marked face of 'The Nose' of Looking Glass Rock...
The Nose towers above in this shot from the end of the trail...
Blue skies break out above The Nose...
It's easy to see how this cliff face got its name...it protrudes very nose-like into the forest...
It's incredible how dramatically the cliffs rise form the forest here...
The boundary between wood and rock here is very fine...
Towering above...
A well-worn path extends along the base of the cliffs leading to what, I assume, are many climbing routes accessed from this area...
There's plenty of opportunity to explore along the base of the cliffs...
