From 1933
through 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had over 67
camps in West Virginia. They built bridges, planted thousands
of trees, and built several State Parks, Lost River among them.
Camp
Hardy was located in Mathias, WV from 1935 until 1940, and
built the park's buildings, picnic facilities, trails and bridges.
A quarry within the park's boundaries provided stone for the
cabin foundations and fireplaces, and the timber used to build the
cabins was cut from within the park. The Lost River Craft Cooperative and
Museum is nearby in the town of Lost River (on Rt. 259) and has
an exhibit that commemorates the CCC and the building of the park.
Finding the
cache requires a 3.5 mile hike that takes approximately 1.5 - 2
hours (round trip) and includes a 900' rise in elevation over
well-marked trails. This location has a beautiful view of
five counties in two states. The listed coordinates are for
Cranny Crow Overlook, built on an outcropping at the top of Big
Ridge. Nearby Cheeks Rocks is another exposed rock overlook.
There are three ways to reach your destination: 1)
The White Oak Trail, which begins at the stables (see parking
coordinates) and is the most direct (but steepest) route, 2) the
mountain road that can be accessed from the main park road
(coordinates provided), or 3) Big Ridge Trail, which is located off
the mountain road. Trail maps can be had at the park office or
online at www.lostriversp.com/lostriver.pdf.
The park map shows the location of the overlook, which
affords a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.
Once you have
rested at the overlook and enjoyed the view, take a look at the
rock outcropping in front of the overlook. This area of West
Virginia is part of the "Valley and Ridge" section of the
Appalachians, and the mountains were formed during a period known
as the Alleghenian Orogeny. The rock formations consist primarily
of sandstone. At what angle are the rock strata? What clues does
this angle give you about how the ridges were formed?
To log this
cache, send me the answers to these questions by email and include
a photo of yourself with the Cranny Crow overlook in the
background.
Note: An
excellent side-trip to this cache is located west of Wardensville,
where the Lost River sinks under Sand Ridge and reappears on the
other side of the mountain as the Cacapon River. The site is near
the "Lost and Found" highway marker.
