Ridges and Reunions

One bite at a time...

Today, after spending a day moving base camp further norther, we hiked about 11 miles up out of the Tye River valley. Due to the inescapable laws of physics, what goes up must come down, and in the world of hiking, the same is true in reverse. So since we descended 3000+ feet into the Tye River valley on Wednesday, we had a 2800+ foot climb to tackle first thing this morning. I started the day off in poor spirits, I admit, because when we started our hike, it looked like rain. Amazingly, it sprinkled on us for about 5 minutes while we were gearing up, and never did anything else. I think it was because I took an extra 10 minutes to get my rain gear out before we started. Figures. But the Tye River was there to greet us in all its babbling glory.

Tye River

Tye River Suspension Bridge

The big climb actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. We made it up the 6 mile climb in just over 3 hours. The rest of the hike was along a ridge. Although the top of the mountain was woods, so you couldn't get a good view, we found a great vista to eat lunch at just on the other side of the summit.

Hanging Rocks

Great view even through the clouds...

I love when you get a good view of where you've just been. Really makes you feel like you accomplished something. That's the big mountain we spent 3+ hours climbing in the background.

The real treat of the day, though, was getting to eat dinner with The Professor and his Wife, who have been family friends ever since Daddy sat in The Professor's class in college. Coincidentally, they were RV-ing through the area, so we got to meet up for a meal. I had prime rib and mashed sweet potatoes. Delicious, and with good company. What a small, small world we live in. These "trail treats" are one of my favorite parts of this adventure.

Hundreds of miles from home, but never far from friends.

Mileage Update:

Miles from Springer - 835

Up and Down We Go

800 Miles Hiked!

Over the past two days, we hiked about 25 (hard!) miles and spent one night in the woods. Interestingly enough, we started out at a river (the James) and ended at a river (the Tye), and the most exciting landmark we hit was the 800 mile mark. We huffed and puffed up the climb out of the James River valley, but the rewarding walk across Cold Mountain (not to be confused with the "Cold Mountain" of literary and Hollywood fame...no Jude Law sightings here) was worth the effort. There were lots of open fields with good views to hike through and blackberries and wild apples to pick.

Cold Mountain

We camped in our hammocks after hiking about 12 miles. This time, though, I came prepared with extra clothes and my air mattress, so I was nice and toasty warm, unlike the last time I slept in my hammock. The next day involved 13 more miles of hiking, and although it looked easier on the topographic map, it wasn't. The hike included a couple of steep climbs and a very, very, very steep descent (3000+ feet over 4 miles). Although all that effort was not without some reward...

Spy Rock. You actually have to crawl up it on your hands and knees. I really need to learn legitimate rock climbing skills if I'm going to keep doing this...

My feet hated me after pounding down that mountain (which is called "The Priest"...not "Priest Mountain"...just "The Priest"...rather mystical and ominous if you ask me...maybe because you are praying you survive long enough to walk off of it by the time you're halfway through?), and I was glad to see the Trail Angel Mamma that afternoon, who came bearing blackberries for a snack. Yum. We just barely beat the rain down the mountain, and really, it's the little things that count the most.

Like random swings someone puts up on the AT. What fun.

(PS - I apologize if the pictures in this post are poorer quality/quantity than usual. Due to technical difficulties, all these are from our cameraphones. Not bad for cellular technology, though.)

Hiking and Tigers and Drive-Ins, Oh My!

A snake eating a frog....oh my!

I apologize profusely for the longer-than-usual hiatus from the cyberwilderness. No, I haven't broken any bones. No, I didn't end up on the losing end of a bearfight. No, I didn't meet those guys from "Deliverance." Medical school paperwork and technical difficulties have just distracted me. But I'm back to share more of my adventures, and there have certainly been plenty. On August 6th, we had a relatively easy hike along the Parkway, with lots of pretty wildflowers to see, along with some other interesting sights...

The aliens have come...in a giant golf ball...
(Calm down, it's a radar tower.)

They call this "The Guillotine." Wonder why...

For the next two days (Aug. 7-8), we hiked through the James River Wilderness, which included big climbs and descents up from and down to the mighty James River. The James holds a special place in my heart, because it runs right through Richmond, where I went to college, and my friends and I spent many a hot, beautiful day laying on the rocks and playing in the James. There was no playing in the water for me on this trip, though, but I got to enjoy the James from a whole different angle...

James River Wilderness.

Ridgetop view of the James.

Mountaintop View of the Wilderness.

Monument for Little Ottie Powell. He was only 4 years old and he managed to wander 7 miles up a mountain when he ran away from school.

James River Bridge at Big Island, VA. Behind us in the picture, you can see a few locals perched on the bridge rail. Apparently people pass the time around here jumping off of bridges...

The James River Wilderness hiking was a little harder than the nice gentle ridgetops, but it was beautiful. This area isn't without its non-wilderness perks, too. We got to go to a nearby town to go to a drive-in movie. I haven't been to a drive-in in my memorable life (Mamma insist she took me when I was a baby because I'd fall asleep halfway through the movie so she and Daddy could still have a night out without leaving me at home), and it was lots of fun. Where else can you have a burger and fries while you watch a movie from your car? "The Last Airbender" was playing. Cheesy? Absolutely (M. Night, you've really forgotten how to end a movie since you did "The 6th Sense). But it was actually pretty entertaining, and I really loved the whole experience.

Drive-In Fun.

August 9th was a gorgeous hike. Most of it was along Brown Mountain Creek, which was a babbling brook surrounded by bright green forests and full of perfect, round rocks. It would've been a great section to camp on, but we did it all in one day.

Brown Mountain Creek.

Swimming Hole. Too bad I forgot my suit.

We weren't the only ones to be attracted to Brown Mountain, though. According to signs set up by the Forest Service, freed slaves settled here after the Civil War, and lived here for several years as sharecroppers before selling their land to the Park Service. I don't blame them for picking this spot. The area was tranquil, fertile and the perfect place to start a new life.

Brown Mountain Community Info Sign.

Ruins of an old sharecropper town.

Overall, these were some fantastic hiking days. We made it about 40 miles over these 4 days. Perfect weather, some great views, a little fun and a little history to go with it. But I must confess, the absolute highlight of these few days had nothing to do with hiking or the trail, but everything to do with adventure and the wild. We drove past a local zoo on Saturday only to see the opportunity of a lifetime advertised in the parking lot. No one would believe me unless there was photographic evidence, so I'll let the picture speak for itself.

This is Tavomel. She's a baby snow tabby tiger, and she's very friendly. I got to have my picture taken with her for a donation to the zoo's new Tiger Habitat Fund. No Photoshop was used in the making of this image.

Stormchasers

Dwarfed by giant trees.

It's been storming off and on for the past two days, but we've managed to make it about 20 more miles and miss hiking in the thick of it. Yesterday, we went about 10 miles, and we were lucky that the hiking was relatively easy, because it was blazing hot. Just existing seems hard when the heat index gets in the upper 90s. But the storm stayed away until after we made it to the pick-up spot for the day, which was a blessing. We also got to walk through an area of forest that had recently been destroyed by a huge forest fire. It was rather eerie, seeing the lush mountains in the background through the dead branches of the burned area...

Forest Fire.

If yesterday passed rather uneventfully, today made up for it. We had hiked down to below 1000 feet above sea level the day before, so today we had to go straight back up. To 3,500 feet to be exact. It was a long, steady climb that definitely kept me on my toes. And there were plenty of surprises along the way to help.

GORGEOUS shelter about 4 miles into the hike. It was 3 stories tall, had a wrap around porch and a slate roof, and was made out of whole logs and wooden pegs.

Rattlesnake Alert! I got to within about 6 inches of this one before I saw it. Sneaky little rascals. Again, this guy didn't move, so I let him have the trail. I went around him.

We were running from some serious thunder by the time we got to the summit of our climb, and made it to the next shelter just in time to duck into it before it started pouring. We waited out the worst of the thunderstorm there, with two other thru-hikers from Seattle, both about my age. When thing cleared up, we put on our ponchos and walked the last 3 miles to the road.

View from Black Rocks in the rain.

We made it safely back to camp on both days, thank goodness, despite running from storms and deadly reptiles. One of the best perks of hiking this section was that yesterday we got to make a city run to Roanoke, which is just down the road, for a little civilization and some good food. We wandered around town and I had some tastey brick oven pizza at a local place. My favorite thing about Roanoke, though, was getting to see the Virginia Tech's brand new medical school, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute. They just opened their doors this year, and the plastic is still on the windows of their building, but everything looks state-of-the-art and amazing. Seeing it definitely put it at the top of my list of favorite medical schools I've applied to. What a treat that such a fun city and great school is so close to the mighty AT.

Perhaps Future Dowdy, MD?

Where the Wild Things Are

Trail Dog is ready for adventure.

Today, we only hiked about 3 miles. But it was a great day, because the Trail Angel Mamma came hiking with us. There's plenty of parking here where the AT runs along the highway, so we parked the Jeep and one end and the RV at the other and headed out. Even though we were never out of eye/earshot of the highway, it was still beautiful, cloudy and not too hot. And it's always better when I have my whole family with me.

Old Stone Wall. Not to be confused with the Confederate General.

Nano and Trail Angel Mamma enjoying the AT.

Because we didn't go too far today, we had some time to explore. Being the giddy little kid that I am, I wanted to go to the zoo. But this isn't just any zoo. The Virginia Safari Park is an up close and personal drive-through zoo. I figured the pictures in the brochure were staged, but I love zoos and I wanted to see for myself. They aren't kidding when they promise visitors a hands-on experience. Just see for yourself...

A Llama eating grain from a bucket I'm holding out the Jeep window.

Oh, hello, Mr. Camel. You got greedy and took my whole feed bucket. Bad camel.

Zebra!

Nature's favorite gawky, awkward kid, the giraffe.

Blackbuck

Elk. It's even bigger than it looks in this picture.

Feeding/petting the big guy. Our friend Hooter goes on huge wilderness expeditions to catch these things. I just lure them in with hugs and treats from a Jeep.

I got to feed and see all kinds of animals, all up close. From the llamas and camel and elk, to antelope and 10 different kinds of deer and bison, watusi cattle and water buffalo. It was really way more amazing than I expected. There was also a large walk-through area with other animals, most of which you couldn't feed, but were still beautiful to watch.

Kangaroos.

Lemur.

Week-old piglet. I really wanted to take it home.

Baby goat that somehow escaped from the pen.

Like a kid in a candy store, I loved every second at the zoo. Except for when the large, flightless birds came looking for a feed. I know they're wonders of nature, but I swear I felt like I was trapped in Jurassic Park...

Clever girl...

If this isn't frightening, I don't know what is...

The baby ones are kinda cute though...

Overall, it was a totally wild, totally fun day. I also got two more medical school secondary applications finished, so good progress is being made on all fronts.

Even after my wild encounters with exotic creatures, I still prefer my dog.

Quote of the Day: "No! Bad Llama! Mean llama!" - Trail Angel Mamma yelling at the greedy animals trying to steal food.

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...