February 4. Va. 311 at Catawba Mountain along the Appalachian Trail to Catawba Mountain Shelter and back. 4.0 miles. Surely the weeniest hike we've undertaken in the three years of getting out most every weekend.
It was cold, see, and we could blame it on son Adam who was along, but it was no more his fault than Gail's and mine that we never could quite get the two out of three votes needed to push us on up the mountain, over McAfee Knob and down to Campbell Shelter. The one thing we all three agreed on was that it was COLD, and that we all wanted a fire for lunch. So, though any one of us could have said let's keep going and the other two would have immediately followed, no one did. Fire building was challenging in the wind and cold, and we spent a shivery lunch mostly standing and stomping before we headed back down that embarrassingly short section of trail.
February 10. Va 43 at Bearwallow Gap on the Applachian Trail to Cove Mountain Shelter and back. 6.4 miles. The snow that had fallen earlier in the week in the Virginia mountains was unmelted and undisturbed by humans, as we started out in about three inches and walked in up to six on the north slopes we crossed. For the first time, we tested out the "snow tires" (rubber clip-on small-spiked snow treads) The Greatest Day Hiker got for us awhile back. The quick product review: They do add some traction, but lace your boot laces through them or add some way of tying them across your foot or they'll pop off with way too much regularity. A good fire at the Cove Mountain Shelter and then back through the snow, sans clip-ons.
February 17. Cove Mountain Trail to the AT to Cove Mountain Shelter and back. 7.5 miles. A great lesson in elevation and weather, this hike, which started out on a cool day with no snow or ice on the ground--just off of Va. 614 along Jennings Creek. Not far up the Cove Mountain Trail, which begins as a forest road, there were patches of ice.
Another 500 or so feet up and the trail was mostly ice- and snow-covered. Another 500 brought ice-coated trees, some with their branches tied to the icy ground. Along the ridgeline on the AT, we crunched along on melted and then re-frozen snow. At Cove Mountain Shelter--appearing unvisited since our lunch there a week earlier--we ate lunch under a snow shower that was just strong enough to convince that it was snowing for real, which, alas, it was not.
February 24. Old Hotel Trail at Cow Camp Gap to AT and back to Cow Camp. 7.2 miles. This ol' favorite lived up to its reputation once again and a day warm enough that we didn't need a fire at lunch. The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All distinguished herself anew on this day, having twisted her ankle on an urban walk the night before--to the point of swelling, color and "no way we're hikin tomorrow, Kurt." As usual, she left me behind as this walk begins its climb up through the blackberry patch, through the pine groves, past the old hotel plateau and through the woods to the stream by the shelter, where the sun was bright and the lunch was as good as usual. The climb to the Appalachian Trail and its own climb to the open vistas of Cold Mountain are what make this hike so nifty. You do have to ignore that the bald status is maintained with mowing as you walk for just less than a mile with great views in all directions. The descent back to Cow Camp Gap--down the north face of the mountain--was the only place where there was any snow and ice left on the trail, and by this time, The Day Hiker seemed to have no caution about or even consciousness of an ankle which, that evening and over the days since, has retained its status as not a pretty sight.
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