April 26, 2008
September 27, 2007
Here's my campsite at the Grindstone USFS Campground - here they had a separate road loop for only tents. There was some thunder rumbling so I set up a little roof to sit under during my supper, but it never did rain. I loved the hot water shower at this place - with hot water, my camp chair, and my coffee maker, it was Eden.
September 25, 2007
The perfect bike-hike - the Virginia Creeper Trail is a popular rail-trail following the route of a former logging rail line in the valley of Whitetop Laurel Creek. Each morning, vans carry loads of riders to the high end on the Virginia-North Carolina border, and folks ride 30 or so miles down hill into Damascus, VA, where they can end with pizza or ice cream (or both). Well, the Creeper Trail also parallels the AT so for me it was the ultimate stream-side return trip after a hike over the mountain ridge. I had my trail lunch on the mountain, and chocolate-espresso ice cream in town at the end.
There are several excellent Forest Service campgrounds nearby (with hot showers too!) and it was the harvest moon at night - a great time to be camping!
May 29, 2007
Later the same day, I walked for hours through a riot of pink rhodies and flame azaleas. I almost forgot about my tired feet.
May 29, 2007
Climbing up Pearis Mountain out of the New River Valley - at around 3,000 feet I entered the rhododendron forest. From up in the sunshine, the rosy blooms can be seen, but down here at trail level, it's a shady tunnel.
May 27, 2007
It's Memorial Day weekend, and the campground is packed full of horse trailers, pickup trucks, horses, and their people. On the right side of the rail fence, only tenters are allowed, because the drinking water well is over there - so that's my tent on the lawn!
The horse people ride on fire roads, and the AT hikers have their own separate path for foot travel only, so I'm the only person who intersected both groups. Riding my bike, I had to wait for some horses that had apparently never seen a mountain bike before.
