Don't Chase the Clouds Away

Oh Troutville, why you have a cardinal bird and a church on your town sign instead of a trout, I'll never know.

We've done about 15 miles over the past two days, breaking that distance up because of some bad weather. We're getting into Virginia hill country, which means lots of staying high up on ridges and walking up and down to road crossings. Yesterday was an interesting day because there was a really dense fog in the air. The higher we climbed, the more dense it became. It eventually became downright creepy. I felt like I was shooting Blair Witch III.

Hiking in the fog.

The second half of the hike on the next day included some pretty good ups and downs, with very few views most of the way, but because of dense forest, not fog. We passed an old charcoal pit that loggers used to use to manufacture charcoal to fuel the furnaces when this area was a big logging town. Nice little history lesson there.

Me standing in the coal pit.

When we reached the crest of the ridge, the hiking got much easier and we were treated to some nice views. The trail runs along a major road for several miles through this section, which is very popular for scenic drives. After passing a few of the overlooks, it wasn't hard to see why.

Even on a cloudy day, the views were nice.

Overall, it was a very pleasant hike, especially because the clouds made things much, much cooler and the rain we've had really helped with the dry conditions. The ground was so thirsty, it wasn't even muddy by the time we hit the trail. We saw lots of other people enjoying the views from their cars at the end of our hike as we walked along the road. It's apparently a really popular spot for photography buffs. I even became a subject...

This lady is a first grade teacher, and wanted to take my picture to show her students "what a real hiker looks like." I hope I can deliver...