MARCH 18, 2019

This 10 miles stretch along the South Fork of the Shenandoah River is remote, secluded, and overall spooky. It is the site of abandoned indigenous settlements and burial grounds. The area known as Hazard Mills has a strange energy and you have the sense of being watched the entire time. It is a nexus between roads, sandwiched between struggling farmlands to the south and west, and trailerparks and the river to the north and east. The forest is comprised of old pines and oaks that are stunted because of the thin soil on top of the mountain rocks. Twenty years ago, the Forest Service abandoned the area due to ‘vandalism and illegal activity’, but the truth was that the locals didn’t like a government presence so close. The road that runs through the area hasn’t been maintained in 20 years and drag your vehicle down into the muddy seeps that have sprung up under the road-bed. The energy is intense in the area and unwelcoming to outsiders. Walk through this area with respect and take nothing from it. It is public lands and anyone can visit.

Submitted by Lilith HM