October 8. Forest Road 186 to the Appalachian Trail north to a viewpoint and back. 6.0 miles. We've hiked the Spec Mines and Hammond Hollow Trails down the mountainside from Blue Ridge Parkway overlooks, but had never done either in reverse--getting the climb done before lunch rather than after. But alas, using the Appalachian Trail map and scouting along Va. 645, we could not find the lower trailhead for either. So we settled on another nearby climb--up Forest Road 186, a grassy, broad, pleasant walkway, 2.2 miles to its intersection with the Appalachian Trail just shy of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A first in all our hikes: Three cyclists coming up behind us as we walked abreast.
They said hello and wheezed on slowly ahead in their black-and-primaries garb, with both parties no doubt thinking the other was taking the completely wrong mode up the mountain. We then took the AT northward for just less than a mile to a rocky overlook for lunch.
October 14. Appalachian Trail north of Reed's Gap northward to blue-blazed trail to a viewpoint and back. 6.0 miles. A new section of the AT for us, albeit a short one. This is a wet, rocky section, with minor climbs and descents. The viewpoint--to the west--is more than worth the short walk from the AT. Our lunch there was marked by a visit from another couple, from Richmond, who said they'd lived as neighbors for years before discovering each other; they were also more than tolerant of the two dogs with us, describing in some detail their own, back home.
October 28. Mount Pleasant Loop Hike in the Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area. 7.0 miles. It had been at least two years since we did this great hike, which started on a pleasant if breezy day. By the time we reached Mount Pompey, the wind had picked up a bit, but the sun was strong enough to overcome its push toward chilling us. On the way up the last piece of ascent to 4,050-foot Mount Pleasant we encountered a group of scouts on their way down. "You think this wind is something, wait till you get to the top," was the collective and repeated admonition to us; we didn't talk about it, an indication of our collective dismissing of the warning. Well, we've been in summer storms at the coast and other mountain-top blows, but neither of us had ever been in a situation where you couldn't stand unless you kept all four limbs in contact with the ground. The western viewpoint atop Mount Pleasant, looking onto Cold Mountain and far beyond, is reached with a little rock scrabble, and the blast that hit me as I emerged atop it came as close as possible to knocking me back down the rock. We spent only a few moments there--shouting with amazement at each other to be heard through the wind, and retreated to the east face, where we hoped the wind would at least not be directly into our faces. But the eastern side is open enough that the wind was only slightly less strong. We tried spreading out there, but gave up and made our way down the eastern face of the mountain for 100 or so feet, to a tucked-in nook where you could at least hold food containers between your legs or feet and not have them ripped away by the wind. Mount Pleasant's 360-degree views and its rocky, near-treeless summit make it feel much higher than its real elevation, and give full credence to the title of national scenic area.
Click here for the archive of Kurt's Hikes
