With late winter comes warm winter afternoons, and with these afternoons comes hiking. On one such Saturday a couple weeks ago, after a couple friends suggested a spontaneous hike, I reluctantly agreed after they reiterated how non strenuous it would be (only a couple miles round trip). After all, I hadn’t been to the gym since last year.

We hastily gathered our things and drove the forty minutes to Bear Fence, a hike nestled within Shenandoah National Park. My friend had a parks pass, so we got in for free, but for anyone without one it would have cost around $30 to enter by car. However, the website does list some free entry days for those interested.

We parked just off the main road in a small lot, already a fair bit up in the mountains. The air was crisp but I was still plenty warm in my fleece sweater. After the other carload of friends arrived, we crossed the highway to the slightly secluded trailhead. Luckily we had a few veterans of the hike along.

The first and longest bit of the hike was just uphill walking, the mossy dirt peppered with rocks that made looking down necessary. It had just rained, so everything was shiny and the naked trees dripped on our shoulders every once in a while. The trees were really the only scenery save the occasional gap that showed us the barely-visible valley to our left.

After a fair bit of uphill, we reached a stretch of rock scrambling. Despite the light mist that had arrived, making the rocks slightly slippery, this quickly became my favorite part of the hike. The rocks broke up the monotony of walking and the sore thighs that came with the constant uphill. A more appropriate word for scrambling might be climbing, because the rocks were solid and big, with foot holds and ridges for us to navigate. We had to step and grab carefully, often hoisting ourselves up only to jump or slide down a slippery rock face.

After some intermittent rocks, they began to become the only terrain, and the right side of the mountain dropped out. With the mossy gray on one side and a steep drop to the other, the climbing was terrifying and exhilarating. If you are afraid of heights, this may not be the hike for you. 

Rather than evening out to a clearing, the overlook at the top of Bear Fence was… more big rocks. We sat atop the boulders and gazed out over the mountaintop, frigid wind whipping our hair back and forth. It felt dangerous, balancing precariously on top of the world. We drank in the beautiful mountain landscape and took some pictures. 

When we finally decided to head down, speculating that real rain may be coming soon, we were hit with a violent gust of wind that caused us to crouch, yelling that we were probably going to die. While melodramatic, it was slightly concerning because of our height and exposure. But once we carefully worked our way down the mountaintop rocks, we reached the shelter of trees and carved-out footpaths once again. From there it was an easy downhill, and we laughed and let the slope carry us back to our cars. It only took us about an hour to complete. 

The hike was not terribly hard, even for someone who doesn’t frequent the gym, and free with a parks pass. With some friends and maybe a clearer day, I would highly recommend this hike to all for a warm winter afternoon.