The Great Channels are a virtually unknown slot canyon on the southern slop of Clinch mountain. They are impressive formations of 400-million-year-old sandstone, that create a maze of stone.
While slot canyons are somewhat common in the southwest USA, they’re pretty rare on the east coast. There is nothing else like the Channels anywhere in Virginia. The labyrinth of crevices, passageways, and twists and turns means it’s potentially easy to get lost so pay attention to where you came in.
We had a great time exploring the labyrinth of sandstone.
Geologists believe that the Channels were formed while the high-elevation sandstone cap was under the influence of permafrost and ice wedging during the last ice age. These forces shattered and enlarged the joints in the sandstone caprock creating the tunnels and maze we see today.
Looking up from the inside the channels. A lot of my pictures didn't come out, because there isn't a lot of light inside the maze. The sunlight sort of peeks through in spots like this.
After spending some time wandering around the slot canyon, we followed a trail that took us to the top of the Channels. Here we were able to peer down into the them. This made me a little nervous as we had to jump over some pretty steep spaces to move around this area.
This is the view from Middle knob. The elevations on the Channels State Forest range from 1,800 feet to more than 4,208 feet. The sandstone maze at the heart of Channels State Forest sits hidden at the top of Middle Knob – elevation 4208’.
The actual trail to the Channels is about 3 miles, from the parking lot. It's well marked and reasonably mild although there is a gradual 1000 ft incline.
We really enjoyed the hike (it had been way too long since our last one). The weather was gorgeous for October, and we found it well worth the 2 hour drive to get there.
0 comments:
Post a Comment