The Trough

Last updated
The Trough, photographed on July 3, 2016. The Trough South Branch Potomac River WV 2016 07 03 07.jpg
The Trough, photographed on July 3, 2016.

The Trough is a 6-mile long wooded gorge carved by the South Branch Potomac River (SBPR) and situated in the Allegheny Mountains of Hampshire and Hardy Counties, West Virginia, USA. The area was the site of a 1756 skirmish of the French and Indian War, known as the "Battle of the Trough".

Contents

The steep slopes of the Trough are forested primarily with oaks, hickories, Virginia pine, large quantities of paw paw, with several rock outcrops visible on both sides. The two wooded ridges that define The Trough make it inaccessible from either side. Entry into The Trough is only by the South Branch Valley Railroad (the SVBR, along the foot of Mill Creek Mountain), by boat, or on foot.

Geography

The Trough is a narrow valley bounded by Mill Creek Mountain to its west and Sawmill Ridge (1,716 feet) to its east with the SBPR flowing in between them. The Trough's opening is located at the southern slopes of Mill Creek Mountain and Sawmill Ridge at McNeill in Hardy County. Mill Creek Mountain is made up of several steep ridges and knobs while Sawmill Ridge is one long continuous sharp ridge. River Ridge (1,906 feet) is the first of Mill Creek Mountain's ridges to rise over the South Branch. For canoeists, The Trough officially begins at the SVBR's trestle at Sycamore just below where Stony Run joins the river.

The Trough continues its northwestern course with several bends in the river and large boulders dislocated from the ridges above dotting its shores. The Trough passes into Hampshire County at High Knob (2,648 feet) on Mill Creek Mountain followed by a series of knobs separated by spring gaps. It is at the third spring gap where Wickham was once located at on the railroad. Following Wickham, Mill Creek Mountain's Long Knob (1,725 feet) flanks the Trough. Sawmill Ridge ends at the mouth of the Trough at the point where Sawmill Run descends the ridge and joins the river. The communities of Sector and Glebe are located here to the west and east, respectively. The concrete piers of the old bridge that once carried Fleming-Sector Road (County Route 8/3) connecting these two communities are still visible here as well. A typical Trough canoe run ends at the Harmison's Public Access Site below the old bridge and behind The Trough General Store.

Recreation

Kayakers Paddling The Trough TroughKayaking.jpg
Kayakers Paddling The Trough

The Trough is a popular canoeing/kayaking venue, although not a "true whitewater run" (difficulty level = Class I-II). It is, however, a markedly beautiful stretch of river. The Trough General Store in Glebe at The Trough's mouth offers canoe rentals and shuttles canoers and kayakers to The Trough's opening near McNeill in the South Branch Wildlife Management Area. Several primitive campsites are accessible along this stretch.

The area is well known as a habitat for bald eagles, hence its Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad sightseeing train on the SBVR. Visitors can board the train at Wappocomo Station on West Virginia Route 28 in Romney.

See also

39°13′25″N78°51′27″W / 39.22361°N 78.85750°W / 39.22361; -78.85750

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potomac River</span> River in the Mid-Atlantic United States

The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States and the 21st-largest in the United States. Over 5 million people live within its watershed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youghiogheny River</span> River in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland, U.S.

The Youghiogheny River, or the Yough for short, is a 134-mile-long (216 km) tributary of the Monongahela River in the U.S. states of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It drains an area on the west side of the Allegheny Mountains northward into Pennsylvania, providing a small watershed in extreme western Maryland into the tributaries of the Mississippi River. Youghiogheny is a Lenape word meaning "a stream flowing in a contrary direction".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Branch Potomac River</span> River in United States

The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of 139 miles (224 km), the mouth of the South Branch lies east of Green Spring in Hampshire County, West Virginia where it meets the North Branch Potomac River to form the Potomac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cacapon River</span> River in West Virginia, United States

The Cacapon River, located in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle region, is an 81.0-mile-long (130.4 km) shallow river known for its fishing, boating, wildlife, hunting, and wilderness scenery. As part of the Potomac River watershed, it is an American Heritage River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savage River (Maryland)</span> River in the U.S. state of Maryland

The Savage River is a 29.5-mile-long (47.5 km) river in Garrett County, Maryland, and is the first major tributary of the North Branch Potomac River from its source. The river was named for 18th-century surveyor John Savage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Branch Valley Railroad</span>

The South Branch Valley Railroad is a 52.4-mile-long (84.3 km) railroad in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The branch line, which parallels the South Branch Potomac River, runs north from Petersburg to Green Spring, where it connects to the national rail network at a junction with the CSX Cumberland Subdivision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Mill Ridge Wildlife Management Area</span> State Wildlife Management Area in Hampshire County, West Virginia

The Fort Mill Ridge Wildlife Management Area is located on 217 acres (0.88 km2) two miles (3 km) southwest of Romney in Hampshire County, West Virginia. Fort Mill Ridge WMA is owned by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. The Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches are located at the top of the Fort Mill Ridge access road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Knob State Park</span> State Park in Pennsylvania, United States

Blue Knob State Park is a 6,128-acre (2,480 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Kimmel, Lincoln, and Pavia townships in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The average annual snowfall at the park is about 12 feet (370 cm). The park is named for Blue Knob, the second highest mountain in Pennsylvania at 3,146 feet (959 m). It is the location of Blue Knob All Seasons Resort, the ski slope in Pennsylvania with the highest elevation. Blue Knob State Park is just off Interstate 99 on Pennsylvania Route 869 west of Pavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Creek Mountain</span>

Mill Creek Mountain is a continuous mountain ridge that runs northeast through Hampshire and Hardy counties in the Eastern Panhandle region of the U.S. state of West Virginia. Rising to its greatest elevation of 2,650 feet (808 m) at High Knob, Mill Creek is a folded mountain ridge, belonging to the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians. Mill Creek Mountain forms the western edge of the South Branch Potomac River Valley and is named for Mill Creek that carves through it at Mechanicsburg Gap allowing the Northwestern Turnpike to pass through as well. Along with Sawmill Ridge, Mill Creek Mountain forms the Trough along the South Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green River (North Carolina)</span> Stream in North Carolina, USA

The Green River is a dam-release river that flows through the mountains of North Carolina, south of Asheville. The Green has numerous tributaries, but much of its water flows from a confluence with Big Hungry Creek. The Green River is itself a tributary of the Broad River. The river is dammed to form Lake Summit, in Tuxedo, North Carolina, and Lake Adger near Mill Spring, NC. The Green River is named for its deep green color but runs brown after heavy rains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherry Run</span>

Cherry Run is a 7.2-mile-long (11.6 km) meandering stream that forms the northern section of the boundary between Morgan and Berkeley counties in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. While it is mostly non-navigable, Cherry Run provides many pools of varying depths for fishing and swimming. As a tributary of the Potomac River, Cherry Run is part of the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Creek (South Branch Potomac River tributary)</span>

Mill Creek is a 14.0-mile-long (22.5 km) tributary stream of the South Branch Potomac River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The stream is located in Hampshire County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Mill Creek flows into the South Branch west of Romney Bridge near Vanderlip along the Northwestern Turnpike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larrys Creek</span> Tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River

Larrys Creek is a 22.9-mile-long (36.9 km) tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Lycoming County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A part of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, its watershed drains 89.1 square miles (231 km2) in six townships and a borough. The creek flows south from the dissected Allegheny Plateau to the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians through sandstone, limestone, and shale from the Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Deer Hole Creek</span> Tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River

White Deer Hole Creek is a 20.5-mile (33.0 km) tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Clinton, Lycoming and Union counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A part of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, the White Deer Hole Creek watershed drains parts of ten townships. The creek flows east in a valley of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians, through sandstone, limestone, and shale from the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohiopyle State Park</span>

Ohiopyle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 20,500 acres (8,300 ha) in Dunbar, Henry Clay and Stewart Townships, Fayette County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The focal point of the park is the more than 14 miles (23 km) of the Youghiogheny River Gorge that passes through the park. The river provides some of the best whitewater boating in the Eastern United States. Ohiopyle State Park is bisected by Pennsylvania Route 381 south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The park opened to the public in 1965 but was not officially dedicated until 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Mountain (Virginia-West Virginia)</span> Mountain in West Virginia, USA

North Mountain is a mountain ridge within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westfield River</span> River in Massachusetts, United States

The Westfield River is a major tributary of the Connecticut River located in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley regions of western Massachusetts. With four major tributary branches that converge west of the city of Westfield, it flows 78.1 miles (125.7 km) before its confluence with the Connecticut River at Agawam, across from the city of Springfield's Metro Center district. Known for its whitewater rapids and scenery, the Westfield River provides over 50 miles (80 km) of whitewater canoeing and kayaking, in addition to one of the largest roadless wilderness areas remaining in the Commonwealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wills Mountain</span>

Wills Mountain is a quartzite-capped ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania and Maryland, extending from near Bedford, Pennsylvania, to near Cumberland, Maryland. It is the northernmost of several mountain ridges included within the Wills Mountain Anticline.

Wickham is an extinct unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It originally developed as a stop on the South Branch Valley Railroad in the Trough. Wickham is located within a gap in Mill Creek Mountain on the South Branch Potomac River. One white clapboard structure remains of the community.