An old story tells of a native tribe that oncelived near the James River. High upon themountainside, they had an immense stonealtar surrounded by lush, green grass, andon each full moon they would walk to it topraise the Great Spirit with song. One dayan old man and young woman arrived intheir village. Although old, the man had acommanding presence, and the womanpossessed a beauty beyond compare.Never having seen such people, the tribewas willing to worship them as gods. Thevisitors, however, told the natives of a higherpower and, after a time, the tribe came toworship the new god. The next year a great drought caused allof the crops to fail, and the tribe blamed thenew deity. Hoping to make amends to theirold god, the natives burned the old man andyoung woman on the stone altar, but astheir spirits rose into the sky and becamebright stars, a horrendous storm appeared.Streaks of lightning crossed the sky andthunder crashed so loud that it shook themountain, causing trees and giant bouldersto come crashing down onto the altar,cracking it into the huge jumble of rocksthat we now call Devilís Marbleyard. Until the blazing of the Glenwood HorseTrail in the 1990s, it was not possible tovisit the Marbleyard while doing a circuithike. Now, however, you can make the climbto the site, enjoy its geological oddity andits vistas, follow a descending ridgeline tocatch views into the Shenandoah Valley,and return to the starting point via the areaíslower slopes. Since all the land is on ForestService property, you could make it anovernight journey, camping anywhere youwish. If you do not have the time to do theentire circuit, remember that you can alwaysdo a rewarding out-and-back just to theMarbleyard. The trailhead may be reached by takingI-81 to Exit 175, driving north on US 11 for1.8 miles, and turning right onto VA 130east. Make a right onto VA 759 in another3.1 miles and a left turn onto VA 781 in anadditional 3.2 miles. Continue for 1.4 moremiles to the marked parking area on the left. Walk the footbridge over the East Fork ofElk Creek, following the Belfast Trail {FS 9}past the bulletin board, an intersection withthe Glenwood Horse Trail {FS 3004}, andthe remains of Camp Powhatan, an old BoyScout facility. Cross Belfast Creek and bearright at 0.2 mile onto an old woods road,now the route of both the Glenwood Horseand Belfast Trails. Less than 200 feet later,the horse trail turns off to the left and youstay to the right, beginning to rise at a moderaterate. Enter the James River Face Wildernessat 0.3 mile and cross Belfast Creek (twice)at 0.9 mile. The climb becomes steadilysteeper and rockier as you ascend. Just asyou come to the base of the Marbleyard at1.3 miles, the creek drops over a large rockand, in winter, becomes a frozen waterfall,with 15-foot icicles sparkling in the sun. The Belfast Trail does not take you rightto the Marbleyard, but you could walk ontoit at any time by taking a few steps to theleft and enjoying the view into Arnold Valley.If you are feeling energetic, wander aroundthe rocks, exploring (and being careful of)their many cracks and crevices. Maybe youwill find tiny boreholes created by Skolithus,wormlike creatures that lived millions ofyears ago. The old legend notwithstanding, DevilísMarbleyard had its origins about 600 millionyears ago, when it was on the shoreline ofwhat would become North Americaís EastCoast. As time progressed, geologic forcespressed the sand into sandstone, an extremelyhard rock. When continents collidedaround 200 million years ago, the stonewas forced upward, and it cracked into thelarge boulders you see today. Following thedictates of gravity, the large stone blockshave been slowly rolling downhill. Whilethere are a number of such sights foundthrough the Blue Ridge Mountains, DevilísMarbleyard is unique in that its rocks are stillso large and the pile has stayed so high onthe mountain. Continuing along the Belfast Trail, theascent levels out a bit, going past beechand striped maple trees and the holesdrilled by pileated woodpeckers. Cross overa ridgeline at 2.0 miles and follow a sidehilltrail as it gradually ascends to a gap with atrail intersection at 2.4 miles. The BelfastTrail continues to the right, but you want tobear left onto the Gunter Ridge Trail {FS 8}. Cross another ridgeline at 2.7 miles,where the lack of leaves in the wintertimeopens up some grand views. At times youcan gaze so far north onto the rolling landsof the Shenandoah Valley that it seems likeyou can make out the curvature of the earth.Other times you can look up to a successionof peaks or out to the west to see thepeculiar U shape of House Mountain (seeHike 37) near Lexington. When you swingto the left of a knob at 3.0 miles and begina long descent, you can make out the cut ofthe Blue Ridge Parkway on the mountainsto the south. A score of switchbacks makes thedownhill journey easy on the knees, and asmattering of mountain fetterbush becomesintermingled with the mountain laurel as youdescend. A member of the heath family, thefetterbushís long clusters of tiny white blossomsbloom early in the spring, appearingabout a month before the mountain laurelísdoes. Drying up later in the year, they almostlook like small, brown peppercorns hangingfrom the tips of the branches. You will have lost a lot of elevation by thetime you have hiked 4.5 miles; galax, rattlesnakeplantain, and crowís foot are partof the undergrowth. Leave the James RiverFace Wilderness at 5.4 miles and cross LittleHellgate Creek, the first water you willhave encountered in almost 4.0 miles. Bearright onto an old woods road at 5.5 miles,coming to a T intersection with a dirt serviceroad 1,100 feet later. Turn left onto the road, which is part ofthe Glenwood Horse Trail, a cooperative effortof the U.S. Forest Service and localequestrian groups. With well over 50 milesof trails wandering beside rhododendronlinedbrooks, along rocky ridgelines, and outto open viewpoints, it was developed in thelate 1980s and early 1990s. Continue along the route to the right of awildlife clearing at 5.8 miles, walkingthrough a forest much younger than the oneyou have been in. The road swings to the leftat another wildlife clearing at 6.3 miles andsoon passes by a private home. Be alert at 6.7 miles! The Y intersectionmay be unmarked and confusing; do nottake the route rising to the left, but rather themore worn one descending to the right. Stayto the right again when you come to a T intersectionat 7.0 miles, and swing to the leftat the next intersection just 300 feet later. Your heart rate may accelerate a bit if oneof the resident flocks of turkeys suddenlybursts out of the underbrush in front of you.Once considered creatures of matureforests only, wild turkeys have surprised biologistsby adapting to a variety of environments.They roost in secure areas, may useopen lands to rear their young, and will wanderover miles of terrain in their search forfood and cover. Researchers have found thatthey scrupulously avoid roads with motorizedvehicles but will often make use of woodsroadsósuch as the one you are followingóasconvenient routes through the forest. At 7.4 miles, begin walking through anold timber sale area whose increased sunlighthas nourished a thicker amount of undergrowth.Things should look familiar toyou as you turn right onto the Belfast Trail at7.9 miles and retrace your steps to thehikeís starting point at 8.2 miles. For an additional outdoor diversion beforeheading home, drive uphill from theparking area; paved VA 781 becomes dirtFDR 35 in just a few hundred feet. Followthis twisting road for several miles to makea right turn onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.Drive south on the parkway for 3.7 miles,pull into the Thunder Ridge Overlook, andtake the short pathway through a mountaintopenvironment of hardwoods and rhododendronsto one of the loftiest views of theShenandoah Valley found anywhere alongthe Blue Ridge. If you start at one end ofthe parking lot and follow the 0.1-mile trailaround to the other end, you can brag tofriends that you have walked a portion ofthe famous 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail. Excerpted from 50 Hikes in Southern Virginia (2e) © by Leonard Adkins.Posted with permission of the publisher, The Countryman Press/W. W. Norton &Company, Inc. (http://www.countrymanpress.com)