Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV. From the Dobbin Grade Trail (TR 526) near the west fork of Red Creek, to the Upper Red Creek Trail, TR 509), west on the Blackbird Knob Trail, south on the Red Creek Trail, west on TR 553, north on Forest Rd. 80, to the Valley View Trail, to the Rock Ridge Trail, then down the Dobbin Grade Trail to our campsite.
With it being windy, a plan to loop the Rocky Ridge and Raven RidgeTrail was abandoned for a loop that would take us to Red Creek. The loop planned was thought to be 8 miles but turned out to be much longer.
Our compromise let us lunch at Red Creek before following a route on TR 553 that we'd backpacked in 2011 to Forest Rd. 80. I got ahead of the group and took a detour along the ridge on the Valley View Trail. It was really good to see the different terrain and sweeping views.
I ran part so of the grassy ridge before rejoining the group, and going back with a few of them. We were all pretty tired by the end of the hike, shortened from 8 to 10 miles long. The day had warmed-up a little so we were comfortable hiking. Most people got reddened by the sun. There were a lot of other people hiking and backpacking but not so many that it felt crowded.